No.6 Purchasing power

  How the supermarkets are squeezing their suppliers

   (Are supermarkets are squeezing small suppliers?)

String of words：

1. The money owed by A to B means A is the debtor and B is the creditor.

          e.g. The money owed by these two retailers to their suppliers has increased at a far faster rate than either sales or stocks.

          owe it to yourself: to deserve and need to do sth that will be good for you.

          e.g. Take a few days off work - you owe it to yourself.

          owe sb a living

          e.g. No one owes you a living.

2. long before             

          1) 用于句中，表示先于某事之前

          e.g. In food retailing, stock is turned into cash at the check-out counters long before suppliers have to be paid.

          2) 用于句末，表示比过去某时早得多的时间 (区别于long ago)

          e.g. She had left long before. / She left long ago. 

          before long means soon.

          e.g. They'll be home before very long.

3. hold onto/on to sth: to keep sth you have 

          e.g. In effect, the suppliers are acting as bankers for the supermarkets. The suppliers can hold on to their money for anything up to 90 days. 

          hold out for sth: to wait until you get what you want.

          e.g. The workers are holding out for a ten percent pay rise.

4. This is a problem for A more than B: 这对A要比B更是一个问题

          e.g. For all suppliers this is a problem, but for some more than others.

*All pictures are from Google, plz contact me if any violations found then i'll delete it.