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Hello, my name is Jennifer Gray, and I'll be your host for this lesson.
No deal gets made, no contract gets signed, no business gets done just between two people or two companies.
Everything occurs against the background of networks, of relationships on the local, regional and global scales.
These relationships of price and production form what's called the economy.
People who study the economy.
Economists like to point out, for example, that the price of soybeans in Brazil can affect the price of meat in China.
It's no wonder then, that a favourite activity of business people everywhere is talking about the economy.
Only by understanding the economic environment in which we do business can we operate effectively in it.
In this episode, we'll be studying some phrases and vocabulary that we can use to discuss economic issues, including voicing and reassuring concerns.
The dialogue today takes place at Kendall Marcus, a global retailer of upmarket clothing and accessories.
A retailer sells goods to the end customer.
Accessories are things like jewellery and belts, which go along with or accessorise clothing.
During a trip to Shanghai Martin, a VP at Kendall's, is visiting Tony Wu, country manager for China.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
As usual, the answers will be posted in a few days on our website.
1.
Why has Martin come to China?
2.
Is Tony optimistic about the economic outlook, that is the future, in China?
3.
What kind of concerns does Martin have?
4.
How does Tony reassure him?
Yeah, that sounds great.
I'm looking forward to seeing some other parts of China.
Yes, I think you'll be really impressed by the pace of development in these second-tier cities.
Speaking of that, what's your view on the immediate economic outlook here?
Well, the headline figures, except for inflation, all look great.
Overall GDP is up 12%.
Growth and consumption is robust.
But inflation is hitting basic food prices pretty hard.
For example, the CPI in Shanghai is up 8% on last year.
That said, so far it's mainly affecting lower income brackets.
So do you have any concerns about inflation affecting the purchase of non-essentials?
Not particularly.
At this point, income growth in China's new middle class is still really strong.
I see.
But continued growth in this area is key to our plans here.
It seems to me it's something we can't just rely on published figures for.
Yes, definitely.
Our market research is focused directly at middle income demographics.
Okay.
Well, I look forward to seeing the outcome.
Now, what's your take on the long-term outlook?
What are some of the challenges you see?
Looking beyond the Olympics, which will provide an obvious boost, there's three main areas of concern.
Jobs for farmers, inflation, and the income gap between rich and poor.
I see.
And what about political stability?
Do you think issues like the widening income gap you just mentioned may be a threat?
Well, it's certainly going to increase stresses on society.
But I think the real challenge will be sustaining economic growth to provide enough employment for the masses.
Yes, well, thanks, Tony.
That's helped reassure some of my concerns.
I'll be sure to share your views with the Executive Committee.
Martin and Tony have covered a lot of ground in their conversation, ranging from the immediate situation to the long-term view or outlook.
Now we're going to go through the dialogue piece by piece to study useful language and expressions.
Let's start with the beginning of the dialogue.
Listen again.
Yeah, that sounds great.
I'm looking forward to seeing some other parts of China.
Yes, I think you'll be really impressed by the pace of development in these second-tier cities.
Speaking of that, what's your view on the immediate economic outlook here?
It sounds like Martin and Tony have been talking about Martin's travel plans.
Apparently, Martin is going to be visiting some second tier or smaller cities.
From the dialogue we learn that Kendall Marcus is planning to expand its operation from larger urban areas into these secondary regions.
So Martin is very concerned about finding out whether or not the current economic environment in China is good for such a move.
He starts his query by asking Speaking of that is a way to connect his question to the previous topic.
Immediate economic outlook refers to the near economic future.
What are some other ways to ask about current economic events?
Let's practice a variety of phrases that could be used in different situations.
I'm a bit out of touch.
What's been happening with your market these days?
What's happening in your market at the moment?
What's the unemployment situation at the moment?
Of course, we've been reading a lot in the newspapers about the recession in the U.S.
How is it affecting your economy?
How is your company doing?
For a complete list of the vocabulary used in these phrases, along with definitions and example sentences, refer to the study notes for this episode available at wwwbusinessenglishpodcom.
Now, how does Tony respond to Martin's query about the present economic environment?
Well, the headline figures, except for inflation, all look great.
Overall GDP is up 12%.
Growth and consumption is robust.
Tony uses a range of vocabulary here to describe the economy.
He starts by saying that the headline, or important figures, all look great.
For example, GDP, or gross domestic product, is up.
That is, has increased 12%.
And growth and consumption...
Let's keep listening.
Inflation is hitting basic food prices pretty hard.
For example, the CPI in Shanghai is up 8% on last year.
That said, so far it's mainly affecting lower income brackets.
Tony continues by describing how inflation, or the increase in prices, is hitting that is, affecting food prices pretty hard.
He goes on to say that the CPI in Shanghai is up 8% on, or compared with, last year.
CPI refers to Consumer Price Index, which is a measure of inflation.
Tony finishes off by saying and this is very important to his argument that the inflation is mainly affecting lower income brackets, that is, people with less income who will probably not buy Kendall Marcus's products.
As you can see, a lot of talking about the economy is describing trends.
We've done some great episodes on describing trends, including BEP 103, which is part of our e-book on presentations, so that would be a good episode to review.
Now, let's review some more example phrases of this economic vocabulary in use.
Though the headline figures all look pretty good, economists are still concerned about the long term outlook.
GDP is certainly an important measure of economic growth, but it doesn't really take into consideration how the economy affects the environment.
Inflation in food prices obviously hits the poorest people the hardest.
A CPI is usually based on a basket of basic goods such as food, cooking oil and fuel.
Getting back to our dialogue, how does Martin respond to Tony's statements?
So do you have any concerns about inflation affecting the purchase of non-essentials?
Not particularly.
At this point, income growth in China's new middle class is still really strong.
Martin is voicing a concern about whether or not inflation will affect the market for non-essential goods like Kendall's products.
Essential describes something that we need, like food or water. so non-essential refers to luxuries.
Tony responds by reassuring Martin.
Tony's not particularly worried, since income growth in China's new middle class is still really strong.
That means the middle class people who buy Kendall's products are still getting richer all the time.
Voicing concerns is something that we are constantly doing about the economy.
It's a basic part of thinking about the economic situation to be concerned about how it will affect us.
Let's review some more useful phrases for voicing concerns.
That's all well and good, but don't you think that rise in prices will have a large impact on the market?
I'm really concerned about the fall in demand.
We're all very interested in how the macro environment of global markets is going to affect local competition.
This is certainly a major area of concern for us, don't you think?
Though Tony has tried to reassure Martin, he's not totally convinced yet, is he?
As Martin continues, he comes back to his worry about whether or not the growing wealth of China's middle class will provide a sustainable market for Kendall's products.
I see.
But continued growth in this area is key to our plans here.
It seems to me it's something we can't just rely on published figures for.
Yes, definitely.
Our market research is focused directly at middle-income demographics.
Okay.
Well, I look forward to seeing the outcome.
Tony agrees with Martin's point that Kendall can't just rely on officially published figures and he points out that Kendall Marcus China is carrying out its own market research on middle-income demographics.
Demographics is a term from social science.
It means the study of population or population statistics.
In this case, it refers to a specific population group.
As the dialogue continues, what is Martin's next question?
Now, what's your take on the long-term outlook?
What are some of the challenges you see?
Looking beyond the Olympics, which will provide an obvious boost, there's three main areas of concern.
Jobs for farmers, inflation, and the income gap between rich and poor.
In this exchange, Martin queries Tony about the longer-term picture.
He says, What's your take on the long-term outlook?
What's your take means, what's your opinion or view?
Tony responds that the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 will provide a boost, that is, help the economy.
But then he lists three areas of concern.
Jobs for farmers, inflation, and the income gap between rich and poor.
What are some other ways to ask about the general or longer-term picture?
Let's learn some language for asking about the economy.
That would be useful in a variety of situations where we are interested in informing ourselves about general background information.
How about in the medium to long term?
What kind of picture do you see?
Can you give us an idea of the economic prospects for the next 5 to 10 years?
What is the longer term outlook for the stock market?
What are the main factors that will affect your market down the road?
Returning to the dialogue finally, in the last part of their conversation, Martin focuses on the issue of political stability.
That refers to the issue of whether the country or nation as a whole is stable or solid.
But Tony thinks there is another, more important challenge.
What is it?
I see.
And what about political stability?
Do you think issues like the widening income gap you just mentioned may be a threat?
Well, it's certainly going to increase stresses on society.
But I think the real challenge will be sustaining economic growth to provide enough employment for the masses.
Tony doesn't really agree that lack of political stability due to the income gap is a big issue.
But instead of disagreeing with Martin directly, he acknowledges that the gap leads to stresses on society.
Then he voices what he thinks the main challenge will be, sustaining or continuing economic growth.
This yes-but approach is a good strategy for disagreeing, one that we've practised before, for example, in the intermediate level podcast BEP29.
The point here is to express disagreement diplomatically in order to keep the conversation going.
This can be particularly important when talking about economic problems, since issues of finance and money can be so sensitive.
Also, as we've seen in the dialogue, the yes but structure can be useful for reassuring people's concerns.
Let's practice a couple of yes but type sentence structures for disagreement.
Pay attention to how the sentences work to reassure the questioner.
I'm worried that increasing labour costs will result in outsourcing.
Well, I suppose that higher labour costs can lead to outsourcing, but honestly I don't think that it poses a significant threat in this case.
Don't you think the rise in oil prices is a significant danger to us?
Yes, I can see what you mean about that, but you know, it's really not such a large concern, to be honest.
Finally, let's take a quick look at how the dialogue ends.
Yes, well, thanks, Tony.
That's helped reassure some of my concerns.
I'll be sure to share your views with the Executive Committee.
For the moment, Martin is satisfied.
His concerns have been reassured.
Now let's try our own hands at addressing some economic concerns.
Imagine that you are talking to a visiting colleague about the economic situation in your country.
First, you'll hear your visitor voice their concerns.
Then, after the beep, use the yes but structure to reassure them.
You can use such language, as it's not a particularly big concern in my opinion, or I don't think it poses a significant threat in this case.
Let's give it a try.
So, aren't you worried that the American recession will have a big effect on our business?
Well, I'm still worried about how the fall in demand will affect our long-term outlook.
Let's listen now to example answers.
Of course, your answers may be different.
So, aren't you worried that the American recession will have a big effect on our business?
Yes, of course it's a concern, but to be honest, it's not a particularly big one, in my opinion.
Well, I'm still worried about how the fall in demand will affect our long-term outlook.
Yes, the fall in demand is concerning, but honestly I don't think it poses a significant threat in this case.
Now let's review some useful economic vocabulary.
You'll hear a series of sentences.
In each sentence, one word is blanked out with a beep.
Repeat the sentence, but say the missing word.
For example, if you hear... You will say... Economists are still concerned about long-term outlook.
After each exercise the answer will be played.
The figures all look pretty good.
The headline figures all look pretty good.
Product is certainly an important measure of economic growth.
Answer.
Growth's domestic product is certainly an important measure of economic growth.
It's usually true that inflation the poorest people the hardest.
Answer.
It's usually true that inflation hits the poorest people the hardest.
The consumer index is usually based on the prices of basic goods.
Answer.
The consumer price index is usually based on the prices of basic goods.
Political is certainly a major concern for us.
Answer Political stability is certainly a major concern for us.
That's all for this episode on talking about the economy.
We've reviewed some key economic vocabulary, learned a range of useful phrases for asking about short and long-term outlooks and for voicing concerns, and practiced the yes-but structure for reassuring the questioner.
Be sure to check out the study notes for this and other episodes at www.businessenglishpod.com.
There you'll find vocabulary, explanations and example sentences, language exercises and full transcripts for the shows.
Also go to our website for access to our Learning Centre, which contains a wide range of additional language review and extension exercises.
Thanks for listening.
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