Business Channel 2007-04-22&24

If you want one example why the dollar is so weak, look no further than housing. Home prices in Britain continue to soar despite many predictions that market would cool, so house price inflation is one big reason. The Bank of England is expected to raise rates once again. The opposite is true in the United States. A weak housing market may mean the Federal Reserve’s next move is a cut in rates. So big investors¹ are moving their money where they can get higher returns.

It's now that we are seeing this big disparity between the UK economy which looks quite robust², and the US economy which appears to be faltering⁴ that we are seeing this play-outs on the currency markets.

That's the why, but now what’s the effects? Well, if you live in Europe, this is the cheapest time in nearly 15 years to head to the USA. Virgin⁵ Atlantic says its Easter bookings to the US were up 15% over last year. And since the dollar hitting 2 to 1 should sell even more tickets, now that people have become aware of the bargain. But of course it’s now even more expensive for Americans to leave home.

We have been out too very many times in most people’s life time. So, there will be people taking advantage of that. And by contrast, there, there is absolutely no doubt that at this kind of exchange rate US tourists find London pretty prohibitively expensive.

The pain is reversed for companies. American firms have found it cheaper to sell their goods overseas. Coca Cola on Tuesday credited favorable currency impacts as one reason it saw a 24% jump in the value of sales in Europe and Asia in the first quarter, but European companies have spent the last few years finding ways to counter this strong pound on euro as they try to sell goods in the US. Either way analysts⁶ say companies plan for currency moves, so stock markets aren't impacted as much as people's travel plans.

Jim Boulden, CNN, London.

NOTES:

1. falter³

to become weaker and unable to continue in an effective way

2. play-out

an idea, situation etc that is played out is finished or no longer has influence

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 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

3 falter   

vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚

参考例句：

• His voice began to falter.他的声音开始发颤。
• As he neared the house his steps faltered.当他走近房子时，脚步迟疑了起来。

4 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

5 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

6 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。