澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2012-04-29

 Time for the business news, and when the markets in Europe closed a couple of hours ago, London's FTSE was up 28 points, the DAX up 61 points, and the Euro Stoxx up 13. In the US, trading closed higher. The Dow was up 24, S&P 500 also finishing the week positively¹, as did the NASDAQ.

 

And in currencies, the Aussie dollar is worth 104 US cents this morning. It also buy you 64 British pence.

 

MacQuarie Group says a lack of investor² confidence has led to a 24% slide in its annual profit. The firm made $730 million in profit for the 12 months to the end of March. It says falls in customer revenue as a result of volatile³ markets was broadly to blame for the result. To cut cost, the bank slashed⁴ around 1,300 jobs during the period with the largest cuts in its securities division.

 

Well, as figures on the US economy show that economic growth has slowed, the US Commerce Department says businesses have cut back on investment, depressing GDP. Growth is down to 2.2 per cent from 3 per cent in the final three months of last year. And economists⁵ say the figure is below estimates of 2.5 per cent. On a positive note, consumer spending is up by 2.9 per cent, the fastest since 2010.

1 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

4 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》