NPR 2008-10-16

The chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke warned today that an economic recovery will not come overnight. But he said federal officials are using every resource to stabilize¹ the financial markets. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Speaking to the Economic Club of New York, the Fed chairman reviewed some of the extraordinary measures taken by the Treasury² Department and the Fed to thaw³ out the credit markets. "I am not suggesting that the way forward will be easy. But I strongly believe that we now have the tools we need to respond with the necessary force to meet these challenges." Among the measures he cited was the Bush administration's announcement this week that it would buy 250 billion dollars worth of stock in some of the country's biggest banks. Bernanke also defended the government's decision to let Lehman Brothers go under. He said rescuing the company would have cost taxpayers⁴' money because unlike mortgage giant Fannie Mae and insurance company AIG, it lacked the collateral⁵ to guarantee federal loans. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

Wall Street was apparently⁶ not reassured⁷ by the Fed chairman's remarks. The Dow Jones Industry Average fell 733 points today. That's a nearly 7.9% decline. The NASDAQ ended the day down 150 points. The S&P 500 fell 90 points.

Members of the Group of Seven industrialized nations are calling for an international summit this year to discuss what they are calling a new world financial order to prevent future financial crisis. The call from European leaders came today at a meeting in Brussels where Britain and Germany joined France in advocating the session. Meanwhile, EU leaders have agreed on a continent-wide 2.3-trillion-dollar bailout plan for the banking⁸ sector⁹. The agreement will pave the way for all 27 EU nations to shore up national banks and financial institutions.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan is in a Los Angeles hospital. She is being treated for a fractured pelvis. A family spokeswoman says Reagan is not expected to require surgery. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

Mrs Reagan fell at her Bel-Air home last week and according to a spokeswoman did not immediately seek medical care. But after persistent¹⁰ pain, the former first lady went to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and was hospitalized for a broken pelvis and a sacrum. The spokeswoman said Reagan is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days and then will receive up to two months of physical therapy. Reagan is 87 years old. Earlier this year, she was hospitalized for three days after taking a fall. Carrie Kahn, NPR News.

Hurricane Omar has been picking up strength as it heads for Puerto Rico and some of the smaller islands in the northeastern Caribbean. Omar is the season's 15th named tropical storm. Officials at the National Hurricane Center expect it to reach Category-2 strength when it makes landfall sometime later tonight. Eduardo Tirado, was a resident of San Juan, Puerto Rico and says he's ready for the worst. "We have hurricane shutters¹¹. So we are installing all of those. Getting some canned goods just in case we run out of electricity or water at some period of the storm."

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Two of the nation's largest airlines have weighed in with their quarterly earnings¹² numbers. The parent company of American Airlines says excluding its sale of investment division, it lost 360 million dollars in the third quarter. Delta¹³ which is in the process of buying Northwest says it lost 50 million dollars. Both Delta and America have been working to reduce their domestic capacity. Delta recently announced plans to cut 2000 jobs. However, both airlines also express some optimism that with fuel costs coming down, they may see better fourth quarter numbers.

Band leader and composer Neal Hefti has died. Hefti was most famous for composing the themes for TV's "Batman" and "The Odd Couple". NPR Sonari Glinton has more.

That driving beat was part of Neal Hefti's signature sound. Before he started penning catchy¹⁴ theme sounds in the 1940s, Hefti played trumpet¹⁵ and arranged for Earl Hines and Woody Herman. In the 50s, Hefti became the in-house arranger for the Count Basie Orchestra responsible for some of the band's biggest hits and its hard driving swing. Hefti also branched out into pop, arranging hit albums from Dean Martin, Malt Almay and Frank Sinatra. Hefti died Saturday. He was 85. Sonari Glinton, NPR News.

Consumers were apparently staying away from stores and shopping malls in droves last month. The Commerce Department confirmed that with the financial markets in turmoil¹⁶ and credit markets basically locked up, consumers reined¹⁷ in their spending. The government says retail¹⁸ sales fell 1.2% in September. That was nearly double what analysts¹⁹ had expected. It was the biggest decline in spending in three years. Much of that was led by a fall-off in car and truck sales.

1 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

4 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

5 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

11 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

12 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

13 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

14 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

15 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

16 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

17 reined   

勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理

参考例句：

• Then, all of a sudden, he reined up his tired horse. 这时，他突然把疲倦的马勒住了。
• The officer reined in his horse at a crossroads. 军官在十字路口勒住了马。

18 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

19 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。