Business Channel 2006-11-23&25

Let's start out with the airlines, because airlines can be measured, Richard, in so many different ways, by revenue, by market cap, miles flown by paying customers, and one more, number of people flown.

Well, in August, Southwest Airlines took the lead in that final category for the first time ever, the low-cost carrier flew 8.7 million passengers during the month, topping American's 8.5 million passengers, but American's total includes 2 million international travelers. Southwest only flies here in the US. So in terms of miles flown, American still can call itself the world's largest carrier. Nonetheless, analysts¹ say that Southwest's conquering of that first milestone² is a confirmation³ the carrier has become a major player in the domestic airline business. The low-cost airline has not posted a quarterly loss in 15 years. It has continued to grow even as larger rivals took big hits after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Richard.

That Southwest is really quite amazing. You, you know, the airlines, while Southwest is doing well and Thanksgiving is gonna help them do well, are any of the airlines helping⁴ folks out?

Well, yes. I mean, according to USA Today, the airlines face, well, the busiest Thanksgiving air travel period ever. This year 25 million passengers are expected to fly from now through November 28th. That is up 3 percent from last year. But there's a big concern that new travelers won't be familiar with new federal restrictions⁵, you know the ones about bringing liquids, gels and aerosols⁶ on board. The rules have confused some screeners as well. Because of this, airlines are taking steps to urge passengers to follow new security procedures, everything from running ads and posting billboards⁷ to deploying⁸ extra workers in the terminal. And Hefty is planning to give away more than one million, one-quart plastic bags to help the fliers meet security requirements, Richard. I don't know if you've been flying recently, but they now will say to you "Well, do you have a baggie to put this in?" (Yeah) And if not, they provide it.

Yes, it's, it's quite nice, and some...

There is also more disappointing news on the nation's rapidly cooling housing market. A government report showed housing starts dropped to nearly 15% in October to the lowest level in 6 years.

And a key measure of builder confidence fell to its slowest pace in nearly 9 years. So with that as a backdrop, let's check the final numbers. Looking at the New York Stock Exchange Big Board, the Dow rose 36 points; that's about a third of a percent, closing at 12,342. It is the fourth straight record close. (Holy Moses) But the Nasdaq Composite, the Nasdaq slipped about a tenth of one percent.


market cap
Abbreviation for "market capitalization." The market cap is the value of an entire company as determined⁹ by the market at any given time. You can calculate this by multiplying the price per share by the number of outstanding shares. Because this value is set by the stock price per share, it fluctuates daily along with the stock price.

aerosols (n.)
a small metal container with liquid inside. You press a button on the container to make the liquid come out in very small drops.

Holy Moses
a phrase that can be used interchangeably with "holy crap" or "holy Lord." usually exclamatory.

1 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。

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 aerosols   

n.气溶胶( aerosol的名词复数 )；喷雾剂；（气体中的）浮粒；喷雾器

参考例句：

• Aerosols are present throughout the atmosphere. 气溶胶存在于整个大气层。 来自辞典例句
• Deodorants are available as aerosols or roll-ons. 除臭剂有喷雾装或滚抹装。 来自辞典例句

7 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

8 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。