Business Channel 2006-10-29&31

Stocks bounced out and in of negative territory throughout the day as investors¹ reacted to bleak² sales figures from Wal-Mart and the latest consumer spending figures. Let's take a look at the numbers. The Dow Industrial here essentially³ fat, flat, down about 4 points, while the NASDAQ finished the day up more than half a percent. Crude oil, meanwhile, settled at 58.36 a barrel, that's down more than 2 dollars, but even that couldn't lift the market. In other economic news, the government says that consumer-spending rose by only a tenth of a percent in September. At the same time, income rose by half a percent, which is considered a healthy jump. Incomes were up from August and made their biggest gains since June. September's spending increase was half as large as in August, and was the smallest climb in ten months. Richard.

Wow, what else you got there then, Gerri? That's a pretty good story.

All kinds of numbers, right?
Yeah.

Well, some analysts⁴ were pleased with these figures. They point out that there were healthy purchases of big ticket items like cars and appliances in September. What pulled down overall consumer spending was the consumption of so-called non-durable goods, that's like fuel and food. Analysts point out that when you take food and energy prices out of the equation, consumer spending rose last month. But Wall Street did not seem to draw any distinctions here at the lower spending numbers, and a disappointing sales forecast from Wal-Mart weighed on stocks today. And finally, in another consumer news, a new report says consumers are getting hit with bigger fees for bouncing checks and using ATMs. The study from Bankrate.com also found low yields for interest bearing checking accounts, according to Bankrate, the average penalty for bouncing a check is now 27 dollars and 40 cents, which is a record high. Meanwhile, Bankrate says fees for using another bank's ATM set a record for the third straight year, and now averages a dollar 64 cents. To get these numbers, Bankrate looked at account data from the largest banks and thrifts⁵ in 25 large US markets. Richard.

Wow, that's, that also from very compelling information and more data we're getting today.

Exactly, well, Richard, Bankrate found that the average yield for an interests bearing checking account is just over a third of a percent, that's the highest since it's been in three years, but still low. Richard, thank you.

1 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

2 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 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。

5 thrifts   

n.节俭，节约( thrift的名词复数 )；海石竹（海边野生植物，花鲜艳，呈粉红色）

参考例句：

• Banks and thrifts make three types of loans: commercial industrial loans, consumer loans, and mortgage loans. 银行和储蓄机构主要提供三种类型的贷款：工商贷款，消费贷款和按揭贷款。 来自互联网
• The agencies that insure deposits in banks and thrifts also have a role in regulating them. 那些为银行和储蓄机构的储蓄投保的管理机构也有职责监管他们。 来自互联网