澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-11-27

 The ex-boss of disgraced camera-maker Olympus has met with the company's board for the first time since he was sacked. Olympus fired Michael Woodford last month after he revealed that the company was covering up investment losses. Mr Woodford said the meeting had been constructive¹ and honest. The board meeting came a day after the resignation of three directors in Japan accused of accounting² fraud. Olympus will be delisted if it fails to report financial data by mid-December.

 

Moody's has cut its rating of Hungarian government debt to junk status. The ratings agency blamed the country's high levels of debt and weak prospects³ for growth and has doubts over whether the government can achieve its economic goals. The government says the move is part of a series of financial attacks against the country.

 

Let's take a look at the market numbers. As they finished and developments in Hungary added to broader concerns about the health of the global economy, particularly in Europe, which dragged down those European stocks on Friday. Local investors⁴ followed suit. The market ended lower for the sixth day in a row in Australia with the ASX 200 falling below the benchmark level of 4,000. It's a similar story across the region. The Nikkei in Japan is around the lowest level in 2.5 years. And in the US, markets have ended the week on a negative note, the Dow just closing down there lower as you can see, and the Aussie dollar is hovering⁵ at around 97 US cents.

1 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

2 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

3 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 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

5 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。