Business Channel 2006-11-17&19

The CEOs of General Motors, Ford¹ and Chrysler met with President Bush today, and brought to him concerns ranging from health care cost and the alternative fuel to unfair trade. Overall, the executives said they were pleased by the talks.

"I would say it was a very good dialogue, very open, back and forth². I think it's fair to say on a number of areas, we sensed ah, I mean, there was agreement in things we can continue to work on, we talked about the energy, we talked about some health care areas. But some areas where, frankly³, we might see it differently. Exchange rate policy in particular, and our strong conviction the Japanese Yen⁴ is systematically⁵ undervalued, which helps them to maintain significant trade balance surpluses in our industry. "

But, but still the President didn't make any promises, although the executives took comfort in the fact that the president said he would work with Democrats⁶, soon to be in control of Congress, on issues important to the auto⁷ industry. Richard?

Emm. . . Okay, so that story continues to develop. Ah, also retail⁸ industry news today, what are you hearing?

Well, shoppers were reluctant buyers last month. A government report shows retail sales fell 0. 2% in October, largely due to a big drop in gas sales. Without that, sales rose 0.4%, but economists⁹ were expecting cheaper gas to put consumers in, in even more of a buying mood. Separately, Wal-Mart is trying to get people to spend too, promising¹⁰ shoppers "relentless¹¹ holiday discounts". But that can spell trouble for other retailers¹² who in many cases are forced to match Wal-Mart's prices to stay competitive. Target says Wal-Mart's vow¹³ is nothing out of the ordinary and plans to respond with price cuts of its own. By the way, Wal-Mart and Target posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings¹⁴ today. Richard, I don't mind when they discount their prices, it doesn't bother me.

I love the language too, "relentless holiday markets(根据Richard的口型判断是markets,而且可以听到有个r的音,应该不是pockets)." It's like, oh, you can't have enough. " All right, you know, and it looks like, and this is sort of translated into the market. Hoo, what a day!

Yeah, it did, with Wal-Mart, Target and Home Depot¹⁵ leading the way, the Dow Industrial is to another record high. Stocks staged the late-day rally after spending much of the session around the breakeven point. Those profit reports may have boosted optimism about holiday spending, plus, ahead of the open, a report came out showing core wholesale¹⁶ inflation in October, took a sharpest tumble in more than 13 years. And that reinforce(d) a feeling that the Fed will keep interest rates steady at its next meeting. Checking the final numbers, the Dow industrials jumped 85 points to 12,217. That’s a new all-time high. The NASDAQ Composite added one percent.


breakeven (n.)
the level of business activity at which a company is making neither a profit nor a loss

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

4 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

5 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

8 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。

9 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》

10 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

11 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

12 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

13 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

14 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%。

15 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

16 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。