1. The company celebrated because they have been in business for a century. A century is .......... .

2. Large companies usually put a lot of money and time into .......... in order to gain an accurate understanding about the location, size and makeup of a particular market.

3. The explanation that the managers gave for the loss was a complete fabrication. A fabrication is .......... .

4. The painting in my manager's office is priceless. If something is priceless, it .......... .

5. The writer always ensures that all of his stories are authentic. If something is authentic, it is .......... .

6. .......... refers to extensive staff cuts in order to reduce costs. In other words, when companies need or want to save money, they will lay off many employees to do so.

7. The .......... in any given company is derived from a profit-and-loss statement and refers to a bottom figure that measures profits.

8. When a company tries to .......... its expenses, the company charges higher prices in an attempt to get back or recuperate its increased manufacturing or supplier costs.

9. All of the employees began to disperse once the press conference came to a close. Disperse means to

10. Prior to the Internet, large telephone companies had a competitive .......... over smaller communication companies because they owned most of the telephone line infrastructure. Now, Internet capabilities have changed all that.