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Task 3. Find the names of people mentioned in the text. Using your knowledge of management and facts from the text characterise their job duties.

  1. A) Listen and read the article and say what communication technologies from the photos are mentioned in the article.
  2. A) Read the following text.
  3. Acknowledgements
  4. AND MANAGEMENT AS A SCIENCE IN UKRAINE
  5. AREAS OF MANAGEMENT
  6. AREAS OF MANAGEMENT
  7. Ask 10 general questions to the text.

WHAT THE PROS ARE BUYING NOW

Investors Turn to Defense Stocks, Hospitals and Cyclicals; Should You Follow Suit?

In recent days, market professionals have stormed back into the market, snapping up individual stocks at prices that would have been unthinkable a few months ago. That poses an important question for individual investors: Should you be buying what the pros are buying?

Stock picking was long derided during the 1990s as index funds piled up double-digit gains. But with the market's declines of the past two years, the pros are once again shopping with the list of very specific targets.

George Mairs, portfolio manager for Mairs and Power Growth fund, one of the top-performing mutual funds during the past 20 years, recently bought shares of both Merck and General Electric, blue-chips that he had long been waiting to get at favorable prices. His goal: "Very solid companies with good balance sheets, a continuous record of good management and earnings performance better than the overall market." Mr. Mairs's purchases included Supervalu, a food wholesaler and retailer and Donaldson, a maker of filtration systems.

Joel Dobberpuhl, manager of the Aim Worldwide Spectrum Fund, had been investing most of his fund's cash overseas. Now, he's refocusing his efforts on the U.S. "Pros are picking their spots," he says, and adding to holdings them already comfortable in case where prices have dropped. His recent buys include Jonson & Jonson, Noble Drilling and NVR, a Mid-Atlantic region homebuilder.

Other institutional investors have been directing funds into a variety of cyclical stocks, defence companies and hospitals, providing a road map for individual investors looking to return to the market.

Is it too late to buy the stocks the pros have been grabbing? In some cases, prices have already moved up substantially from last week's low. Last Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit its lowest level since October 1998. It has since rebounded about 13 per cent, closing yesterday down 31.85 at 8680.

Still, some stocks remain attractively priced. While index funds should remain an important part of most investors' portfolios, there are a few basic stock-picking principles that individuals can follow: Get to know a company and wait until you feel it's reasonably priced. Since the market is likely to remain volatile, investors considering the sectors below should have at least a two-year investment horizon.

CYCLICALS: Richard Nash, chief investment strategist for Victory Capital Management, a unit of KeyCorp, sees a variety of cyclical benefiting as economic growth picks up. His picks include industrial manufactures such as Ingersoll-Rand and Eaton. Another company likely to benefit from a pick-up in orders is International Paper.

Other investment pros are also betting on transportation companies, tool-markets and industrial manufacturers that should see business grow as manufacturers restock their inventories and boost capital spending. "This is a different recovery than we've seen in the past," says Jeffrey Kleintop, chief investment strategist for PNC Financial Services Group.

Among the companies likely to benefit from stronger economy growth are United Parcel Service, the world's largest package carrier and Illinois Tool Works, a maker of engineered component and industrial systems, Mr. Kleintop says.

HOSPITALS: Unlike cyclical companies, hospitals should do relatively well even if the economy suffers. That's because as Baby Boomers get older, more of them will be visiting hospitals for hip replacements, CAT scans and other medical procedures. At the same time, medical procedures are getting more complicated - and more costly. "The demographics are very positive on a long-term basis," says Edward Yardeni, chief investment strategist for Prudential Securities.

Hospitals have been one of the few sectors to deliver positive stock returns this year. But the good days aren't over, says Elizabeth Bramwell, president of Bramwell Capital Management in New York. Her top picks include Tenet Healthcare, Hospital Corp. of America and Triad Hospitals. "This is a group for the next 12 months," she says. She expects earnings for hospital companies to rise 15% to 20% over the next year and stock prices for the top companies to increase at least that much.

DEFENSE: Continued concerns about national defence and homeland security should provide a continuing boost to companies that produce missiles and other products used in national defence. "Defense spending is still rising," says Salomon Smith Barney strategist Tobias Levkovich.

Among the defence stocks that should fare well, says Mr. Levkovich, are Lockheed Martin, the nation's biggest military contractor and L-3 Communications Holdings, a defence-electronics maker. Mr. Kleintop of PNC likes defence contractor Raytheon.

TOBACCO: Tobacco shares have risen in recent days, but they are still "really cheap," says David Dreman, chairman of Dreman Value Management. Among his favourites are UST, a maker of snuff and chewing tobacco whose shares fell sharply after a federal judge denied its appeal of an antitrust case that involved a $1.05 billion award. "Here's a company that's very strong," says Mr. Dreman, who says UST has the cash needed to pay the award.

Tobacco stocks also pay hefty dividends, with some yielding more than 6%. Ben Fischer, managing director of NFJ Investment Group in Dallas, likes R.J. Reynolds because of its high dividend yield.

Many stocks, however, aren't the bargains they were just a few days ago. Ed Walczak, manager of Vontobel U.S. Value Fund, boosted his holdings of insurer American International Group. The stock is still well below its target price, but it was a better buy a week ago. With its recent rebound "there's simply less margin for safety," Mr. Walczak says.

Task 4. Read the text "Working Capital Problems in a Small Business" and translate it.

Task 5. Find answers to the following questions in the text and write them down:

1. What financing problems do seasonal small businesses have?

2. Is seasonality a problem that is exclusive to small business?

3. The smaller business firms are likely to be more dependent on suppliers and commercial banks, are not they?

4. What is the answer to seasonal working capital problems?

5. Does the answer to all these financing problems lie just in planning?



Task 3. Compose a summary of the text in 80 words. | Task 6. Reduce the text saving the main ideas.

Dialogue 2. | Task 38. Role plays. | USE OF THE ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY | APPLIED GRAMMAR | Task 19. Make up your own complex sentences with different kinds of subordinate clauses. | READING AND WRITING | AND MANAGEMENT AS A SCIENCE IN UKRAINE | Text 2. MYKHAILO TUHAN-BARANOVSKYY | Task 38. Role plays. | Task 5. Compose a summary of the text in 80 words. |

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