Business Channel 2007-09-26&09-28, 美元危机?

Scripts:

The dollar just keeps falling and falling and falling. When does the end come when we get some good news on the US housing market?

Ah, probably when US interest rates start to go up.But that's not going to be anytime soon. We know that the US economy is likely to weaken markedly. And of course the federal reserve has been cutting interest rates and may very well be forced to cut them again given that the subprime fallout is unlikely to end anytime soon indeed the expectation is that it could be another year before it fully¹ washes through. Uh, so we, our expectation and the expectation of the markets generally is that the dollar will continue to weaken on the foreign exchanges although that will cause problems particularly in Europe where exporters are beginning to be concerned by the uncompe(titiveness), relative uncompetitiveness of their exports related to other regions of the world.

So what's the current thinking on when there might be another rate movement, in what direction?

Well it still is inconceivable that there could be another rate cut when the federal reserve's open market committee, the committee that sets interest rates in the United States meets again at the end of October, though inconceivable but the Fed really very well wants to see some more data from the real economy before it moves. Our expectation is that interest rates in the United States will be half a percent below where they are now by the end of the second quarter of next year.

Another interesting currency story overnight in Tokyo that pound sterling² has been falling not massively but quite significantly because of an article in a British newspaper which basically points out that what's called the deposit protection plan that is it the bank of England has emplaced to protect depositors?(yes) basically hasn't got enough money in there ?

That's right.

This is a very interesting story. There has been some work done clearly behind the scenes to work out just how much is it in the compensation pots.

It's linked to Nothern Rock?

It is essentially³ linked to northen Rock. That's right because of course the government has promised to underwrite depositors' money. So that's quite rightly a number of people have attempted to have a look and see just how much money there is in the pots.Just not nearly enough. There isn't anything like enough. But apparently⁴ if the rumor⁵ is to be believed there's only 4.4 million pounds which of course isn't anything like the, is sufficient to cover the 20-odd billion of depositors' money . It could affect all the banks.... Well, it could affect all banks but Nothern Rock is absolutely the most affected⁶.

Notes:

Pound Sterling: the basic monetary unit of Great Britain, divided (since 1971) decimally into 100 new pence

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

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 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。

5 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。