Tag Archive: business news – intermediate

  Pre-reading questions: Do you know Amazon.com? What are the things you think that are better bought online? What are the things you think that are still better shopped in a normal way?   Online store Amazon has set a maximum limit on the number of reviews each customer may leave on the site. The new regulation only permits five ratings per week of items not purchased through the site. This step aims to get rid of bogus reviews circulating in the online marketplace as to regain the customers’ trust. Furthermore, Amazon has begun suing sellers for buying false reviews as to consequentially clamp down people selling positive ratings. The…
Read more

  Pre-reading questions: Do you use the Internet every day? Have you tried shopping online?   What started as a day to celebrate singlehood was turned into a shopping bonanza. The Chinese e-commerce company reported this year’s sales had reached 121 billion yuan ($18billion) on November 11, an upsurge of 32 percent compared against last year’s $14.3 billon. Reports said the highest number of purchases was made on mobile phones reaching 82 percent. On the contrary, some have doubted the accuracy of Ali Baba’s sales data amid claims of excessive sales figures released by online retailers. Another setback the industry is facing is the existence of alleged online merchants selling…
Read more

Pre-reading questions: Do you buy products from China? What are the things you buy that are made in China? China’s exports in the first ten months of this year went down to 7.7 percent, while imports fell 7.5 percent. It is officially shown in the data on November 1st. The General Administration of Customs said that it left the country a big amount of trade surplus. It means that China sells more to other countries than it buys from other nations. The imports were expected to have decreased by 1 percent after falling 1.9 percent last month. Reuters had forecasted a 6 percent tumble for exports, 1 percent slump for…
Read more

  Pre-reading questions: What do you think about cereals for breakfast? What do you usually eat every morning?   Kellogg’s faces loss in sales for the seventh time based on their reports for the third quarter of 2016. Recently, the cereal manufacturer’s net sales plunked to 2.3%. They blame it to the slumping demand for cereals in the US and struggling market in the UK. Dr. Dimitrios Tsivrikos, a business psychologist at University College London, said people’s breakfast habits were changing. He explained a lot of individuals only spend five or six minutes on breakfast and are looking for quicker solutions. He also mentioned the younger population will replace cereal…
Read more

  Pre-reading questions: How popular are Samsung smartphones are in your country? Do you believe that self-destructing devices will be abundant in the near future?   A total of 527 Galaxy Note 7 owners in South Korea filed a case against Samsung Electronics over the smartphone’s tendency to overheat or catch fire. According to Attorney Peter Young-Yeel Ko, head of the Harvest Law Firm, Galaxy Note 7 users requested to be compensated for the expenses and inconvenience it cost them to return their defective phones. The complainants include someone who claimed to have lost thousands of pictures taken during a family vacation. Another asserted he drove for eight hours round-trip…
Read more

  Pre-reading questions: What is your idea about a self-driving car? What do you think of a futuristic vehicle that is being built by a company that originally creates smart phones and gadgets? Are you familiar with car manufacturers outside your country?   Apple, Inc. makes adjustments on project Titan which originally aimed to develop a self-driving system and construct vehicles in 2020. The company refuses to pursue automobile manufacturing with the fear of compromising quality which could negatively affect their existing products in the market. The project’s team leaders redesigned the plan to give Apple, Inc. the option to tap car makers instead, or delay building its own vehicles…
Read more

  Pre-reading questions: What is the difference between an expensive phone and a cheaper one aside from the price? Based on your monthly telephone bills, is having an expensive or a cheap phone model worth it?   In Japan, companies are offering low-cost smartphones to everyone with specific type of data. Comsumers may choose a contract that suits their budget. They can be charged up to 20 yen for 30 seconds for a call charge. NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and SoftBank Group may charged consumers up to 7,000 yen with unlimited phone calls and a transmission volume of 5 GB. “Though transmission speeds become slow sometimes, I’m satisfied with…
Read more

  Pre-reading questions: Do you play video games? Tell me more about it. What are the things you are looking for in a video game? What makes a good video game? What do you think is the best gaming device? Tell me more about it.   Nintendo, a most famous video game company, recently gave a sneak peek of their new video game console–Nintendo Switch. A high tech gaming device that will surely be enjoyed by gamers since it can be played  both indoors and outdoors. This new device of Nintendo is like a tablet, but with controllers attached. The company has not given any details yet, but the Nintendo…
Read more