Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to All:   
      
   ak>  http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30829917   
   ak>  -----Beginning of the citation-----   
   ak>  Swiss franc soars as Switzerland abandons euro cap   
      
   ak>  The Swiss franc has soared as much as 30% in chaotic   
   ak>  trade after the central bank abandoned the cap on the   
   ak>  currency's value against the euro.   
      
   ak>  The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said the cap, introduced   
   ak>  in September 2011, was no longer justified.   
      
   ak>  At the same time it reduced a key interest rate from   
   ak>  - 0.25% to - 0.75%, increasing the amount investors have   
   ak>  to pay to hold Swiss deposits.   
      
   ak>  Following the SNB move the Swiss franc went from 1.20 to   
   ak>  the euro to 0.8052.   
   ak>  ----- The end of the citation -----   
      
   ak>  I've always thought that when a price soars the good   
   ak>  becomes more expensive.   
      
      
             Uh-huh.  We use the same verb with reference to birds & planes which   
   have reached a high altitude or are gaining altitude....  :-)   
      
      
      
   ak>  But as for a Swiss franc, I understand it lost its value.   
      
      
             Ah.  Here's my interpretation of the news report:   
      
             Initially the Swiss franc seemed to have lost value relative to that   
   of the euro... perhaps because a lot of folks were hesitant about investing in   
   it until they understood the ramifications of the change more fully.   
      
             Later... as these people gained confidence in the Swiss franc... the   
   demand increased & the price went up as a result.   
      
      
      
   ak>  Did it?   
      
      
             I don't know what the perceived value of the Swiss franc relative to   
   that of the Euro was before the change.  By removing the cap, however, the SNB   
   is saying in effect that there will no longer be a limit on the price.   
      
      
             IMHO one of the things which make this citation difficult to read is   
   that the events are reported in newspaper... vs. chronological... order.  Cast   
   your mind back, if you will, to the days when such news would be sent from one   
   place to another via telegraph.  I gather it wasn't uncommon for transmissions   
   to be interrupted, therefore journalists developed a style of writing which is   
   still in use today:  the most important and/or most recent info is included in   
   the first paragraph & expanded upon in subsequent paragraphs.  It can be quite   
   confusing sometimes, though, when earlier events are mentioned later....  :-))   
      
      
      
   ak>  The Swiss franc has soared as much as 30% in chaotic trade   
   ak>  after the central bank abandoned the cap on the currency's   
   ak>  value against the euro.   
      
      
             Who, what, when, where, why, how.  The writer has covered all of the   
   essentials.  In the next three paragraphs, s/he adds background information re   
   some of them.  You've seen this style of writing before... and so have I.  But   
   we're both out of our depth WRT numbered bank accounts in Switzerland....  ;-)   
      
      
      
   ak>  For instance:   
   ak>  Oil prices soared to a new record.   
      
   ak>  Does the sentence mean that oil became more expensive?   
      
      
             Yes... in this example, more expensive than ever before.  We use the   
   verb "[to] soar" literally WRT the height of objects in the sky & figuratively   
   WRT, e.g., the temperature in Antarctica or the price of wheat in China or the   
   value of Swiss francs compared to xxx when the numbers are going "up"....  :-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)