澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2016-03-09

Good morning everyone. Leading finance news this morning. Australian share market participants and regulators, I ask you questions about the 24% surge in Fortescue Metals Group's share price. That took place the day before it announced a possible joint¹ merger² deal with Brazilian mining giant Valley. Now Fortescue Metals Group has announced it had struck a non-binding deal for Brazil's Valley, to buy a 5.15% stake in the company. The payer plans to sell 4 billion US dollars a year of blended Australian and Brazilian iron ore to China. The move is already being scrutinized³ by regulators. And now Fortescue Metals Group is being * playing its massive share price gain on Monday.

China's exports have seen the sharpest drop in almost 7 years, adding to concerns over the health of the world's second largest economy. Exports dropped sharply by about 25% from a year earlier, while imports fell nearly 14%. The weak data comes on the heels of Beijing registering the slowest economic growth in 25 years.

Let's go to the global markets now. A couple of hours before the close, the Dow was down 0.2%, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are both down around 0.5%, while in London the FTSE fell 0.9%. Checking commodity prices. WTC is trading at 37 US dollars a barrel. Tapis Crude is at 42 US dollars a barrel. And gold is trading at 1261 US dollars an ounce. The Australian dollars is currently buying 75 US cents, 68 Euro cents, and 52 Pence Sterling⁴. 

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

3 scrutinized   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The jeweler scrutinized the diamond for flaws. 宝石商人仔细察看钻石有无瑕庇 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Together we scrutinized the twelve lemon cakes from the delicatessen shop. 我们一起把甜食店里买来的十二块柠檬蛋糕细细打量了一番。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

4 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。