U.S. stocks close mixed after Obama releases budget

    NEW YORK, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday as investors¹ were digesting the government's budget proposal for fiscal² 2012.
    U.S. President Barack Obama proposed（提议,计划） a budget on Monday, according to which the deficit³ for the current year will increase to 1.65 trillion dollars, a level equal to nearly 11 percent of the gross domestic product, making it the largest shortfall since the end of World War II.
    According to the budget, the deficit is expected to decline sharply to 1.1 trillion dollars in the year of 2012.
    Of the 1.1 trillion dollars in deficit(赤字) savings⁴ that Obama is projecting over the next 10 years, two-thirds would come from spending cuts and one-third would come from tax increases. Obama also proposed raising taxes on energy companies.
    Some investors believed that slashing⁵ spending might imperil the economic recovery, while some other investors worried that the debt crisis will become a big challenge to the U.S. economy.
    Investors were now keeping a close watch on education, clean energy and high-speed rail sectors⁶, because the government will increase spending in these areas which Obama considered as priorities.
    Meanwhile, the Dow was boosted by energy stocks, because the price of benchmark crude fell to its lowest level in 12 weeks Monday as oil traders weighed growing U.S. oil supplies against unrest in the Middle East.
    China's trade surplus fell to its lowest level in nine months in January as imports increased. The reading would help promote Asian markets, boost European commodity stocks and potentially send U.S. natural resource shares higher.
    Stocks ended last week with a moderate gain after the resignation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. The Dow rose to its highest close since June 2008.
    The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 5.07 points, or 0.04 percent, to 12,268.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.17 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,332.32. The Nasdaq gained 7.74 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,817.18.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

5 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

6 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》