澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-09-04

 The US economy added no new jobs in August. The zero figure is much worse than had been expected. The predicted figure was about an addition of about 70,000. Figures from the Department of Labor¹ show the unemployment rate remains² unchanged, from July 9 per cent.

 

Global stock markets have been lower all day on Friday. Here are the numbers. Those figures pushed US markets lower. The Dow Jones lost more than 250 points. The local share market also finished the week on a sour note with investors³ nervous ahead of those jobs numbers. The ASX 200 lost 1.5 per cent. And those losses were mirrored elsewhere in the region. Japan's Nikkei lost 110 points. The Aussie dollar is weaker against the greenback. It's currently around 106 US cents.

 

American financial stocks have also fallen on news that a government agency is planning to sue more than a dozen major banks including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. The Federal * in Housing and Finance Agency says the banks misrepresented the quality of mortgages they sold during the housing bubble.

 

And European bank stocks tumbled for the first time in five days amid renewed concern over the region's recovery. There's particular concern about Greece, Spain and Italy. And the head of the European Central Bank is urging Italy to persevere⁴ with deficit⁵ reduction targets, which Rome drafted last month.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 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

4 persevere   

v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• They are determined to persevere in the fight.他们决心坚持战斗。
• It is strength of character enabled him to persevere.他那坚强的性格使他能够坚持不懈。

5 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。