Unit 3 financial market 财经英语课程资料.docxVIP

Unit 4 Financial market 金融市场 In a narrow sense: It refers to a place where currencies货币, securities有价证券, foreign exchange外汇 and gold are traded. In a broad sense: the combination of borrowing and lending activities, which cover money-trade in the visible and invisible market, finance in the inter-bank and outer-bank, and direct and indirect finance. 2. functions of financial market 1. borrowing and lending It permits the transfer of funds(purchasing power) from one agent to another for either investment or consumption purposes. 2. price determination It provides vehicles by which prices are set both for newly issued financial assets and the existing stock of financial assets. 3. risk sharing It provides the holders of financial assets with a chance to resell or liquidate these assets. 3. The major players in financial markets3.1 brokers 经纪人 A broker is a commissioned agent 有佣金的代理人of a buyer(or seller) who facilitates trade to complete the desired transaction, such as the real estate broker不动产经纪人,stockbroker股票经纪人. 3.2 dealers 经销商 Dealers make profits by buying assets at relatively low prices and reselling them at relatively high prices(buy low-sell high) , such as the car dealers, dealers in government bonds and Nasdaq stock dealers 3.3 investment banks 投资银行 It assists in the initial sale of newly issued securities(i.e., in IPOs=Initial public offerings首次公开募股) by engaging in a number of different activities, the famous investment banks such as the Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Salomon Brothers, First Boston Corporation and Goldman Sachs 3.4 financial intermediaries 金融中介 They make profits by charging relatively high interest rates to borrowers and paying relatively low interest rates to savers and on their investment portfolios投资组合. a. depository institutions存放款机构 (commercial banks, savings and loan associations, mutual savings bank, credit unions） b. contractual savings institutions契约性储蓄机构 (life insurance companies, fire and casual