VOA双语新闻 - 经济收缩 美国大力出资刺激借贷
时间:2019-01-19 作者:英语课 分类:VOA双语新闻 2008年11月
The U.S. economy has contracted more sharply than previously 1 believed, according to new government figures. Meanwhile, in yet another sign of continuing stress in the credit market, the U.S. central bank is allocating 2 hundreds of billion of additional dollars to purchase bad mortgage debt and spur consumer lending.
美国政府公布的最新统计数字显示,美国经济今年第三季度的收缩幅度远远大於先前的估计。与此同时,为了缓和信贷市场持续不断的压力,美国的中央银行正在拿出数千亿美元收购房贷坏帐和刺激消费者借贷。
Revised figures from the Commerce Department show the American economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the third quarter of the year, a greater contraction 3 than the original estimate of 0.3 percent. The negative quarter followed a year of mostly-anemic growth, and, while the fourth quarter has yet to be completed, economists 5 believe it, too, will show significant contraction.
根据美国商务部发布的经过修正的数据,美国经济在今年第三季度折合成年率收缩了0.5%,远远大於先前估计的0.3%。在此之前,美国经济增长已经持续疲软了一年。今年第四季度虽然尚未结束,但是经济学家相信,美国经济在今年最后三个月也将是大幅度收缩。
"GDP [gross domestic product] fell by 0.5 percent because consumers spent less, there were fewer new homes built, and expenditures 6 for business purposes fell," said. University of Maryland economist 4 Peter Morici. "Unfortunately, this is a precursor 7 of worse things to come."
马里兰大学的经济学教授彼得·莫里奇(Peter Morici)说:“国内生产总值(GDP)下降了0.5%是因为消费者花销减少、新房子修建太少、用于商业目的的开销下滑。不幸的是,这些还只是即将来临的更糟糕的情况的前奏。”
Most analysts 8 trace America's current economic woes 9 to tight credit conditions sparked by a wave of home foreclosures and mortgage defaults. In recent weeks, the U.S. government has taken a series of aggressive, unprecedented 10 steps to prop 11 up or take control of major lending institutions and financial firms, committing well over $2 trillion to the effort.
绝大多数分析人士都把美国目前的经济困难归咎于房贷违约和丧失抵押住房赎回权案子激增所导致的信贷条件紧缩。最近几周来,美国政府采取了一系列前所未有的大刀阔斧行动来支持或接管主要的信贷机构和金融公司,承诺拿出的资金总额已经超过两万亿美元。
Now, the Federal Reserve says it will devote an additional $600 billion to combat the mortgage meltdown, and another $200 billion to unfreeze consumer credit. A small portion of the new funds will come from a $700 billion rescue package Congress approved last month, which is being administered by the Treasury 12 Department.
现在,美国联邦储备委员会又说,将再拿出6000亿美元来抵御房贷市场的下滑,另外还要拿出2000亿美元来帮助消费者信贷市场解冻。在这笔新的救市基金中,有一小部分来自国会上个月批准的7000亿美元金融救援计划。美国财政部负责管理这些金融救援资金。
"By providing liquidity 13 to issuers of consumer asset-backed paper [consumer loans], the Federal Reserve facility will enable a broad range of institutions to step up their lending, enabling borrowers to have access to lower-cost consumer finance and small business loans," said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. "Today's announcement by the Fed underscores our support for the housing market. Nothing is more important to getting through this housing correction than the availability of affordable 14 mortgage finance."
财政部长保尔森说:“通过向消费者贷款发放部门提供流动性,美联储就可以帮助各种各样的机构增加借贷,并且使借款人能够获得成本较低的消费者贷款和小企业贷款。为了渡过这次房地产市场的修正期,没有什么事情比提供人们能够负担得起的房贷融资更加重要了。”
Few, if any economists would contest the importance of the availability of credit to the health of the American economy, nor the desirability of the federal government doing all it can to reverse a credit crunch 15 that has constrained 16 businesses and consumers alike.
说到信贷市场对于美国经济健康的重要性,几乎没有任何经济学家持反对意见。他们也都赞同联邦政府竭尽全力扭转信贷紧缩的局面,因为信贷紧缩使工商企业和消费者同时受到制约。
But the sheer scale of initiatives undertaken to date, and the apparent need for successive waves of government intervention 17 are an unsettling indication of the magnitude and the tenacity 18 of the problem being confronted, according to economics professor Lawrence White of the University of Missouri.
然而联邦政府迄今为止所采取的这些规模空前的计划,以及一波接一波迫切需要政府干预的浪潮,令人不安地显示出目前问题是多么的巨大和艰难。密苏里大学的经济学教授劳伦斯·怀特说:
"It is a recognition [that] we still have a big problem. It is a strong statement by the Fed that it is going to take massive, broad, forceful efforts to try to break the back of [resolve] the crisis," he said.
“大家都认识到我们仍然面临一个很大的问题。美联储的行动已经强有力地说明,我们需要采取大规模的、广泛的、强有力的努力来破解这场危机。”
In the face of relentlessly 19 grim economic news, Treasury Secretary Paulson says the federal government is doing all it can to mitigate 20 the situation.
面对这些滚滚而来的冷酷无情的经济新闻,美国财政部长保尔森表示,联邦政府将尽一切努力来缓和目前的形势。
"It will take time to work through the difficulties in our market and our economy, and new challenges will continue to arise. I and my regulatory colleagues are committed to using all the tools at our disposal to preserve the strength of our financial institutions and stabilize 21 our financial markets to minimize the spill-over [damage] into the rest of the economy," he said.
“我们需要时间来克服我们的市场和我们的经济中存在的困难,而且新的挑战还会继续出现。我和其他负责监管的同仁们决心利用一切可以利用的手段来确保我们金融机构的实力,稳定我们的金融市场,尽量减少其他经济领域受到的损失。”
In other economic news, a private research firm says U.S. consumer confidence has rebounded 22 somewhat this month, aided by falling energy prices, but that the index remains 23 at a low level. Meanwhile, U.S. export growth slowed, while American homebuilders continue to cut spending.
总部设在纽约的经济研究机构会议委员会报告说,美国的消费者信心在11月份出人意料地有所提高,主要由于能源价格下降,不过消费者信心指数仍然处于很低的水平。另外,美国的出口增长有所减缓,美国的住宅建筑商继续削减开支。
- The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
- Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
- Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面,行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
- A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。
- The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
- The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。
- He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
- He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家,自以为什么都懂。
- The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
- Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- We have overspent.We'll have to let up our expenditures next month. 我们已经超支了,下个月一定得节约开支。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The pension includes an allowance of fifty pounds for traffic expenditures. 年金中包括50镑交通费补贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
- He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。
- City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
- I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。
- Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
- She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。
- The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
- A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
- A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
- The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。
- The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
- This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。
- The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
- The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。
- The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
- There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。
- If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
- People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。
- The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服,他觉得不得不接受。
- I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。
- The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
- Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。
- Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。
- The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。
- The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
- He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她,拒不接受“不”的回答。
- The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
- Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。
- They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
- His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。
- The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回,欧文头球将球攻进。
- The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。