新西兰英语 83 Official Cash Rate Cut

　　Once more the governor of the Reserve Bank, Alan Bollard, has cut the official cash rate, but this time by a large amount: 1.5%. This brings the official cash rate now to 5%, the lowest in a long time. This is the rate that banks pay to borrow overnight. (See Sept 11 and Oct 22). The banks are now expected to lower their mortgage¹ rates, maybe to 7.5%. Some banks have already made changes and are offering much cheaper mortgages² to home owners. The last two official cash rate changes have been just 0.5% so the drop this time to 1.5% shows that Alan Bollard thinks New Zealand’s economic situation is serious.
It is possible that the New Zealand dollar will again drop against the American dollar but the feeling is that the New Zealand dollar has gone too low, below its fair value. A low New Zealand dollar can be good for exporters trying to sell our products overseas. Of course, they will receive less money for their products but they might get more sales. Both the US and Europe are not in good financial positions and they might not have the money to buy our products. On the other hand, Japan is not affected³ so badly by the global financial crisis⁴ and Japan is one of our main markets.
Early 2009 will see big changes in New Zealand’s economy. There are the promised tax cuts to come, government spending on infrastructure⁵ which was also promised, and the government’s promise to help people who lose their jobs because of the financial situation. These things should help to bring back confidence in the economy.
However, those people who have investments will suffer with lower interest rates. Older people who have small savings⁶ will now have less money to spend.

1 mortgage   

n.抵押，抵押贷款；vt.抵押

参考例句：

• He's having a lot of trouble paying his mortgage every month.他付每月的抵押借款利息有很大的困难。
• The bank refused to accept any mortgage on land.银行拒绝接受任何土地抵押。

2 mortgages   

n.抵押借款( mortgage的名词复数 )；抵押债款的利息v.抵押( mortgage的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The corporation extends loans, secured against first mortgages. 公司提供以押品作担保的流动资金。 来自辞典例句
• Traditionally, S&Ls collected small savers' deposits and invested them in long-term home mortgages. 储贷业历来吸收小储户的存款，把它投入到购买住房的长期贷款之中。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 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。