Roundup Episode | 70

Summary

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Down to Business English - Episode 70: Roundup Episode

Date: June 26, 2014
Hosts: Skip Montreux (Tokyo, Japan) & Des Morgan (Abu Dhabi, UAE)

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Episode Overview

This “Roundup Episode” sees Skip and Des revisit and update several significant business topics previously discussed on the podcast. The goal is to help listeners expand business English vocabulary through real-world business news and lively dialogue, with a focus on following up on trending stories—from tech to geopolitics—and introducing useful professional expressions.

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Key Discussion Points & Updates

1. Computer Gaming Companies: Tencent and Electronic Arts

[03:00 - 04:54]

• Tencent: The Chinese tech giant, fifth in global gaming sales, saw a 4% dip in shares despite 13% earnings growth—below market expectations. The downturn was blamed on the slower-than-expected user growth of their messaging app WeChat (6% user base increase).

  • Skip: “Not if you are the best performing stock over the last 10 years on the Hong Kong Stock exchange.” [03:45]

• Electronic Arts (EA): EA's sales outlook was cut due to declining performance of older games. Additionally, their servers were compromised due to outdated calendar app software, a recurring tech security theme.

  • Des: “Are those events related?”
  • Skip: “Not directly, but in a way they are both related to relying on old software.” [04:19]

• Reference to Past Topics: The PlayStation Network hack in 2011 is mentioned as a similar situation, emphasizing ongoing cybersecurity concerns in gaming.

  • Des: “We did a story about something similar happening to the PlayStation Network a long time ago.” [04:43]

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2. Scottish Independence and EU Membership

[05:24 - 06:57]

• The assumption that an independent Scotland would automatically gain EU membership is challenged, as Spain and France voice concerns about setting precedents for their own separatist regions (Bretons, Basques, Catalans).

  • Des: "Spain and France have now indicated that an independent Scotland might not be allowed to join the eu." [05:45]

• The hosts explain the political sensitivity: allowing Scotland could inspire similar moves in other regions.

  • Skip: "So it is more about what an independent Scotland means rather than an independent Scotland." [06:30]
  • Des: "That's better. And don't forget that without EU membership, the vote for independence seems way less likely..." [06:47]

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3. Microsoft News: Leadership & Company Direction

[07:01 - 08:54]

• Microsoft’s new CEO: Satya Nadella is named as Steve Ballmer’s successor; the markets react neutrally.

• Bill Gates returns as a “Technology Advisor,” sparking speculation about internal dynamics.

  • Skip: "I wonder how happy Nadella is about that. Having Bill Gates hovering over his shoulder..." [07:56]

• Gates to keynote at TED Talks; TED’s Professor Negroponte criticizes Apple for secrecy, offering a rare pro-Microsoft stance.

  • Des: “Professor Negroponte who runs TED Talks, has stated recently that he has very little time for Apple. He sees them as a secretive company that does not seek to share knowledge.” [08:26]

• Skip: “Well, as all of our listeners know, I, Skip Montreux, have a lot of time for Apple.” [08:57]

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4. Khalifa Port Update

[09:10 - 09:27]

• Khalifa Port remains on track to surpass Dubai’s Jebel Ali as the world’s most advanced container port.

• The hosts repeat the point humorously, highlighting the enduring competition in the Gulf.

  • Des: “It's still going to be bigger than Jebel Ali in Dubai and it is still going to be the most advanced container port in the world.” [09:10]
  • Skip: “Yes, dez, I think you did.” [09:24]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Skip (on expectations for the Baltic Dry Index story):
  "If we were doing a report on the Baltic Dry Index and shipping charges, I would need to pour myself a giant sized coffee to stay awake." [02:24]

• Des (on outperforming expectations):
  "High performing companies are a bit like throwing the best parties in town. You have to keep upstaging yourself every year in order to remain popular." [03:52]

• Playful Banter:

  • Skip (self-deprecatingly): "Remember, I'm the one that uploads D2B to our website… I am very aware of the dates of each episode." [05:00]

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Business & Professional Vocabulary (D2V Segment)

[10:08 - 14:29]

Des and Skip then shift to reviewing useful expressions from the episode, blending light-hearted explanations with business relevance.

• "Paint the town red" [10:19]

  • To party all night or in a lively way.
  • Skip: "So nothing to do with actual paint then?"

• "Shoehorn" [11:22]

  • To squeeze something in, often awkwardly.

• "Earnings expectations" [12:15]

  • Analyst predictions for company profits—a crucial driver of stock market reactions.

• "Upstage" [12:57]

  • To outdo or overshadow in a grand way.

• "To have a lot of time for" [13:53]

  • To approve of or respect something (not related to actual time).

  • Des: "Well, hopefully our listeners have a lot of time for D2B and find the show useful." [14:22]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:00] - Gaming industry updates (Tencent, EA)
• [05:24] - Scottish independence and EU concerns
• [07:01] - Microsoft leadership and Bill Gates' new role
• [09:10] - Khalifa Port developments
• [10:08] - D2V Vocabulary segment

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Final Thoughts & Engagement

• The hosts encourage feedback and questions via Facebook and invite listeners to download episode scripts for further learning.
• Des: "Well, hopefully our listeners have a lot of time for D2B and find the show useful." [14:29]

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Tone: Engaging, informative, and filled with light-hearted banter—making business news approachable and memorable.

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Transcript

[A]

From Tokyo, Japan and Abu Dhabi, uae, this is down to Business English. Business News to improve your business English with your hosts, Skip Montreux and Des Morgan.

[B]

A big hello to all of our listeners out there. Welcome to a new episode of down to Business English, the show that helps you build your base of professional vocabulary through discussing the latest in business news.

[C]

And a big hello to you too, Skip.

[B]

Oh, I'm sorry. Hello to you, Des.

[C]

Hello, Skip.

[B]

Okay, now that we have all greeted each other, how are things?

[C]

Well, my wife Roxy and our new baby daughter have just gone on a trip back to Scotland for a week.

[B]

Oh, nice. So you are free then? Are you going to paint the town red, party every night till dawn, get out your old dancing shoes, maybe?

[C]

No, Skip, I'm going to take it pretty easy. Maybe get a takeaway, get out some of the PlayStation games that I've been meaning to play. Maybe Skype, a few people that I haven't spoke to in a while. And check up on the prices for the Baltic Dry Index.

[B]

The Baltic what? Wait a minute. You don't even have a PlayStation? That's way too cool for you.

[C]

You're right. I don't have a PlayStation. And the Baltic Dry Index is the index used to calculate the cost of

[B]

shipping goods transported by sea in the Baltic Sea.

[C]

No, that's just the name.

[B]

So is that our story for today? Shipping charges?

[C]

Actually, not really. But I'm trying to create a nice segue into our episode today.

[B]

Really? I'm a bit confused.

[C]

Nothing new there. Anyway, I thought that today we could do a roundup of some of the recent stories we've covered here on D2B. So of course, Scottish independence and computer games were the first two topics I mentioned. Then Skype, which is owned by Microsoft and therefore connected to the story we did on their acquisition of Nokia.

[B]

Okay, I see that now.

[C]

But I couldn't think of any way to Shoehorn Khalifa port into the conversation, so I talked about the Baltic Dry Index.

[B]

Well, this is a relief. If we were doing a report on the Baltic Dry Index and shipping charges, I would need to pour myself a giant sized coffee to stay awake. So let's do it. Let's get D2B down to business with updates on some of the most recent stories covered on down to Business English.

[C]

Shall we start off with computer games? That was your report, I believe, Skip.

[B]

It sure was. By any chance, Des, do you remember the Chinese gaming company that I talked about in that report? The One that was fifth in global sales, 50 Cent. No, Des, 50 Cent is the wrapper. The company was called Tencent and recently their shares have fallen 4% because earnings missed expectations by only growing 13%. Apparently it was not in the gaming division, but the company's messaging app, Wexin or Wechat, that caused the problem by only growing its user base by 6%. Much less than expected.

[C]

Surely in the current economic climate, those are fairly respectable figures.

[B]

Well, not if you are the best performing stock over the last 10 years on the Hong Kong Stock exchange.

[C]

True, high performing companies are a bit like throwing the best parties in town. You have to keep upstaging yourself every year in order to remain popular. Anything else new in the gaming arena?

[B]

There is another company we spoke about in the computer gaming episode. Electronic Arts cut its sales outlook and its servers got hacked.

[C]

Are those events related?

[B]

Not directly, but in a way they are both related to relying on old software. They revised the sales outlook down because sales of their older game titles were slowing down and hackers were able to get into their servers because they were using an old calendar app software.

[C]

Sounds serious.

[B]

Well, it has happened to other companies before.

[C]

We did a story about something similar happening to the PlayStation Network a long time ago now.

[B]

Well, that was November 2011 to be precise.

[C]

Listen to Mr. Automatic Recall. And you say that I'm the one that needs to get out more.

[B]

No, Des, it's not automatic recall. Remember, I'm the one that uploads D2B to our website, updates the RSS feed, creates the blog post, announces every show on our Facebook page and Twitter feed. I am very aware of the dates of each episode.

[C]

That's true. Thanks a lot for all of that hard work, Skip.

[B]

I just want to be appreciated, that's all.

[C]

And you are now for an update on a story I reported on Scottish independence.

[B]

Yes. What is going on there?

[C]

Well, all along Scotland has been assuming that if it became independent, then it would automatically be allowed into the eu. But, and this is a big but, Spain and France have now indicated that an independent Scotland might not be allowed to join the eu.

[B]

Why not? I thought Europe liked Scotland's salmon, their biscuits. Oh, oh, and their fine Scotch whiskey.

[C]

Like you, Skip, they do. But the issue is more what may happen within France and Spain if Scotland became independent. You see, the Bretons in France and the Basques and Catalans in Spain have long thought that they should be independent regions. So if Scotland were allowed to be independent but part of Europe, then couldn't they do the same?

[B]

So it is more about what an independent Scotland means rather than an independent Scotland.

[C]

Well said.

[B]

Well, okay, let me try that again. It is more about the symbolism of an independent Scotland rather than the economics of an independent Scotland.

[C]

That's better. And don't forget that without EU membership, the vote for independence seems way less likely than it did just a few weeks ago.

[B]

I see. Ok. Anything new from Microsoft?

[C]

Oh yes. As you are well aware, there was big news from Microsoft.

[B]

Yes, I know.

[C]

Don't sound so sad, Skip. Just because the theory you were all excited about in your report on Microsoft buying Nokia didn't pan out doesn't mean you need to be depressed.

[B]

But it was such a good theory.

[C]

Oh well. But the big news is that Microsoft, after a long search, reached within its ranks for a successor, it finally selected long term employee Satya Nadala to become CEO.

[B]

That's right. He took the reins of the company in late February and the markets reacted quite neutrally to the new leadership.

[C]

I think that had a bit to do with Bill Gates announcing at the same time that he was returning to Microsoft as well in the role of technology advisor.

[B]

I wonder how happy Nadella is about that. Having Bill Gates hovering over his shoulder as he tries to take the company into the future.

[C]

I don't think it'll be bad. It seems Gates won't be spending all his time at the office. In fact, he is keynote speaker at this year's TED Talks conference.

[B]

Oh really? What is he going to talk about? How far Microsoft has fallen behind Apple and how much farther it has to fall.

[C]

Steady on, Skip. Remember this is a news show, not your personal opinion. And actually, Professor Negroponte who runs TED Talks, has stated recently that he has very little time for Apple. He sees them as a secretive company that does not seek to share knowledge.

[B]

Huh. So he does have time for Microsoft then?

[C]

Slightly more than Apple. Yes.

[B]

Well, as all of our listeners know, I, Skip Montreux, have a lot of time for Apple.

[C]

Yes, they certainly do. Do know that.

[B]

Moving on. Anything new on Khalifa Port?

[C]

It's still going to be bigger than Jebel Ali in Dubai and it is still going to be the most advanced container port in the world. Oh, did I mention it's going to be bigger than the port in Dubai?

[B]

Yes, dez, I think you did.

[C]

Well, I guess that about rounds it up. For updates to recent stories covered here on D2B then it does.

[B]

So let's just get D2V down to vocabulary.

[A]

Be sure to visit the down to Business English website to download your free audio script of today's podcast, www.downtobusinessenglish.com. that's www.DowntobusinessEnglish. do.

[C]

We have quite a few more casual expressions in today's D2V?

[B]

But even though casual, they are still very useful to communicate in a professional situation.

[C]

I will begin with to paint the town red, which really means to go out all night or till the early hours. In the story, Skip asked me if I plan to party or paint the town red as Roxy and the baby are away.

[B]

So nothing to do with actual paint then?

[C]

No. There are many theories as to where this expression originated, but no one knows for sure. In any case, it originally referred to a group of men going out on the town in the evening and taking part in a lot of drinking, which leads to fighting, which results in blood, which is of course red being spilt.

[B]

Hmm. That origin sounds much more violent than the way it is used today. For example, when a group of co workers go out and celebrate at the end of a particularly hard year, you can say they paint the town red to relieve stress.

[C]

Oh, to tell you the truth, it sounds a little stressful when you say it that way.

[B]

Ah, fatherhood is mellowing you out. Describe. Now I have the somewhat casual verb to shoehorn, which means to squeeze something in.

[C]

I think it literally means to use a shoehorn or lever to get tight shoes on.

[B]

It does, but in the story, Des used it to talk about squeezing a topic into the conversation.

[C]

As a further example, people often talk about squeezing or shoehorning an event into a busy schedule with the feeling that it's generally or at least partly unsuccessful. For example, I shoehorned an interview in on Monday morning. Even though I was able to finish the interview, I didn't really have enough time to speak to the candidate properly.

[B]

I do that sort of thing all of the time.

[C]

Me too. Now I have a business or really a stock market expression, earnings expectations. What this means is that analysts predict what they think the earnings will be for a company, and then the shares rise or fall depending on whether this expectation is met.

[B]

So you were saying it is not the actual earnings that is important, but rather if it is greater or less than the prediction.

[C]

Exactly. In the story, Skip said that the Chinese Internet and gaming company shares fell because they were lower than earnings expectations, even though they were still growing.

[B]

So the prediction is more important than the reality. Hmm, very interesting. Now I have the verb to upstage, which means to do better than before or better than another person, usually in a grand way. In the story, Des gave the example of people having to hold ever and ever better parties and to remain as the town's best party host. In effect, they are upstaging themselves each time.

[C]

You get that a lot where I work with people buying new cars to upstage each other in the parking lot. Oh my old Ford doesn't upstage anyone though. I will finish D2V today with another phrasal verb, to have time for someone or something. This expression means to approve of the person or topic and is not really related to time.

[B]

Hmm. I have a lot of time for Apple products.

[C]

That was the example from the story. Yes.

[B]

Okay, well another example would be that I have a lot of time for the Apple stores here in Tokyo.

[C]

No, Skip, that really is the same example.

[B]

Okay, okay, here, how about this? I have a lot of time for postal workers. I think that they have a hard job in all weathers and they always do it with a smile.

[C]

Good example. Well, hopefully our listeners have a lot of time for D2B and find the show useful.

[B]

I hope so too.

[A]

Would you like to support the show? Be sure to subscribe to down to Business English through itunes. While you are there, be sure to leave a comment and rate the show. This will help down to Business English reach more people wanting to improve their English skills. You can follow Skip on [e-mail] skipmontreau that's M O N T R E u x&[e-mail] desmorgan Want to get down to Business even more? Sign up for the D2V English newsletter to receive updates from Skip and Dez on some of the stories covered on down to Business English Business news to improve your business English.

[B]

Well Des, thank you very much for that roundup of those stories. In the end, it was a very good idea.

[C]

Well, thank you very much and I hope all the listeners enjoyed it.

[B]

Everyone, I just would like to remind you to drop by the down to Business English Facebook page and give us a like.

[C]

And while you're there, you could post a question. If there's anything that you didn't understand

[B]

from the show, either Des or myself will be sure to answer your questions. We look forward to that. Bye everyone. See you next time.

[C]

Bye everyone. See you next time.

[B]

The music in today's show comes from Mi Vo's Music Alley. Check it out at music.mivo.com.