Investors:This refers to investors who buy and sell
currencies on the foreign exchange markets.
step up:If you “step something up”, you increase it.
bets on:The verb “bet (on something)” comes from
gambling, where it means to “put money on a par-
ticular outcome”. Here, “bets” is a noun and
refers to acts of financial speculation.
a slide in yen:A “slide” is a fall, here in the value
of Japan’s currency.
In simple English:Investors are increasingly speculat-
ing on a decrease in the value of Japan’s currency.The Wall Street JournalOnline sales:This is the amount of money that con-
sumers spend online. Here, it refers specifically to
money spent in the US on “Black Friday”, the Fri-
day after Thanksgiving. On this day, shops offer
discounts to increase sales.
boost:This word can be either a noun or a verb.
Here, it is part of the compound noun“online sales
boost”. This means an increase in online sales.
beats stores:“Beats” is the verb in the headline. It
indicates that online shops sold more than physi-
cal stores did. Note the use of the present tense to
refer to the past, which is typical in headlines.
In simple English:An increase in online sales means
that online shops sold more than physical shops.Financial Times2/2014 http://www.business-spotlight.de 21BUSINESS PRESS GLOBAL BUSINESSBehind the headlines
Headlines in the English-language media are often difficult to understand because they use jargon and
wordplay, and leave out words. Here, we look at the meaning of recent business headlines.boost (sth.) [bu:st] Auftrieb; etw. ankurbeln
compound noun Kompositum, zusammengesetztes
[)kQmpaUnd (naUn] Substantiv
due: be ~ [dju:] anstehen
fixed rate[fIkst (reIt] Festtarif
foreign exchange market Devisenbörse, -markt
[)fQrEn Iks(tSeIndZ )mA:kIt]
gambling[(gÄmblIN] Glücksspiel
malt [mO:lt] Malz
wreck [rek] havarieren, zerschellenadvancedAre you confused by the language in the press? Keep your
English up to date at http://www.business-spotlight.de/newswwwThe EconomistThe GuardianCo-op and Ecotricity:Two UK green energy firms.
fixed deals:This stands for “fixed-ratedeals”,
which are contracts that guarantee energy prices
will not rise over a specified period.
pile pressure on: If you “pile (the) pressure on some-
body or something”, you increase it greatly.
Big Six: The six largest energy suppliers in Britain.
In simple English:The promise by the UK green en-
ergy firms Co-op and Ecotricity not to raise prices
is greatly increasing the pressure on Britain’s six
biggest energy suppliers to do the same.Scotch on the rocks: This is a play on words.
“Scotch” normally refers to a Scottish malt
whisky, and “Scotch on the rocks” is whisky
served only with ice cubes. In this headline, how-
ever, Scotch refers to Scotland’s finances and “on
the rocks” is used idiomatically to mean to “be in
trouble”. The expression comes from ships that
are wrecked“on the rocks”. Here, the headline
refers to the likely economic problems of an inde-
pendent Scotland. (A referendum on Scottish in-
dependence is duein 2014.)
In simple English:(An independent) Scotland is like-
ly to have serious financial troubles.21 GlobHeadlinesB_2_14 14.01.14 13:44 Seite 21