Analysis.

(Remember: this analysis is particularly true about British language and culture, though mostly it is the same for other English-speaking countries like Australia and the United States.)

Sentence by Sentence analysis.

Mr Blake: "So, Ivan, what do you think of this Woolard's business? Damn regulators interfering eh? And yet their chairman seemed completely certain that it would go ahead."
(Mr Blake wants to accuse Ivan of something, but he has no proof, so he begins indirectly.)

Ivan: "He wanted to believe it. But when you look at the amount of business the two companies do in the same places - they would have had a monopoly."
(Ivan does not suspect anything yet, and gives his honest opinion.)

Mr Blake: "You know a lot about it. Have you been looking at it?"
(Mr Blake begins his attack. Ivan seems well informed, yet Mr Blake knows that Ivan has not traded shares in the company.)

Ivan: "Yes. I was planning to put about £40 000 in when the merger was announced. The savings looked good, but when I realised the merger would probably not go through, I dropped the idea."
(Ivan has prepared this answer, because he thought someone might ask him this question.)

Mr Blake: "And you also dropped the idea of investing in Pilbroch breweries?"
(Mr Blake hopes to shock Ivan by showing that he understands what Ivan has done - and why.)

Ivan: "Oh ... indeed. It seems Peter had the same idea, and he locked up most of the available shares. There aren't many on the market. Pilbroch is a family firm, you know."
(Ivan's hesitation at the start shows that he is thinking fast. He suspects that Mr Blake knows what has happened, so he admits that Peter brought shares in the brewery before he could buy them, and because not many shares were available, Peter prevented Ivan from buying any, because there were none left.)

Mr Blake: "It's not like Peter to invest in something like a brewery. More your type of thing."
(Mr Blake is suggesting that Peter stole the idea of buying the brewery shares from Ivan)

Ivan: "Well, I understand he made a good profit."
(Ivan is still angry about losing those profits to Peter, and he can't hide it.)

Mr Blake: "And then lost it all on Woolard's. And about £20 000 more. It seems he thought it was certain to do well."
(Mr Blake now shows why he is very angry with Ivan, as Peter has lost a lot of the company's money.)

Ivan: "Ah."
(Ivan did not know that Peter had gambled that much money, and he can see why Mr Blake is angry)

Mr Blake: "You did a lot of reading on the merger, did you, Ivan? Lots of chairman's reports, for example? Did you leave little notes to yourself on your desk, suggesting it was a good thing?
(Mr Blake is now accusing Ivan of leaving information on his desk for Peter to find. Ivan knew that Peter found out about the brewery by spying through the papers on Ivan's desk, so Ivan left him lots of good news about a company which was about to lose money. This is why Mr Blake mentions the chairman's reports. At the beginning he of the conversation, remember, he said that the chairman "was sure it was a sure thing".)

Ivan: "Probably, yes. Good research is always important. I always research thoroughly."
(Ivan defends himself by indirectly pointing out that Peter did not have to believe what Ivan had left for him to find. ("Good research is important") and he suggests that if Peter did his own research instead of stealing Ivan's this would not have happened.)

Mr Blake: "I am sure you leave nothing to chance. So through its employees, my company has lost a lot of money. Please keep me informed about what investments you are planning next, Ivan. I want you to be confident that I know what is going on.
("I'm sure you leave nothing to chance" is Mr Blake's way of saying that Ivan planned this carefully. Notice that the says "through its employees" (plural!) the company has lost money. He blames Peter and Ivan. His final comment is "I know what is going on" - which means "I know what you have done".)

SUMMARY

Peter realised that he had to do some good deals soon. So he waited until Ivan was out of the office, and then he went through Ivan's papers, and found that Ivan was planning to invest in a brewery called Pilbroch. He immediately brought all the available shares in this company, so that he was able to look good with Ivan's research. Ivan was very angry, and decided to find a company that looked good, but was likely to lose money. He left lots of information for Peter to steal, but made sure that all this information gave Peter the wrong idea. But Peter was too confident, and he brought more shares than Ivan was expecting. He lost so much money that Mr Blake investigated. Mr Blake soon understood what had happened, and he realised that Ivan had planned it all along. But he does not have any evidence that Ivan has done anything wrong; so he can only show Ivan that he knows what has happened, and that he is very annoyed with Ivan as well as with Peter.