美语词汇掌故第 50 课： In the Red: Better to Be in the Black-1

Our first expression is in the red . It is another way of saying that a business is losing money.

In the past, numbers in the financial records of a company were written in red ink to show a loss.

A business magazine recently published a report about a television company.

The report said the company was still in the red, but was able to cut its loss from the year before.

A profit by a business is written in black numbers. So a company that is in the black is making money.

An international news service reported that a private health insurer in Australia announced it was back in the black with its first profit in three years.

Another financial expression is run on the bank . That is what happens when many people try to withdraw all their money from a bank.

A run on the bank usually happens when people believe there is danger a bank may fail or close.

Newspaper reports about a banking crisis in Russia used that expression.

They said the government acted because of fears that the crisis would cause a run on the banks.