澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2009-12-26

Hello, US car giant General Motors is having trouble raising much needed capital after a spectacular fall from grace during the golbal financial crisis. It's failed to sell its Swedish car brand SAAB and will begin an orderly wind down of SAAB operations. GM had been in talks with the Dutch specialty¹ car maker² Spyker over the sale.

The US dollar's new found strength is keeping world market subdued³. A further half of a percent climb by the greenback has put even more pressure on resource companies and weighed on exporters. But gains in Tech stocks kept the benchmarks in the black, the Dow Jones Industrial Average put on 21 points, the S&P 500 finished up seven points and the NASDAQ gained almost 1.5%.

In Europe, continued speculation⁴ about tough new financial regulations has weighed on markets for the fourth session in a row. Banks are concerned that higher capital-holding ratios will hit their bottom line while they are trying to recover from the financial slump⁵. That led the FTSE down 21 points. The DAX and the Euro Stoxx 50 also fell.

And the Australian dollar has made up some ground against the strengthening US dollar. Early on the weekend, it was buying 89 US cents and 80 Japanese Yen⁶.

And that’s ABC Business News.

1 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

4 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

5 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

6 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。