Stock prices were down again Wednesday, on Wall Street and in Europe and Asia. Investors seem to doubt that plans to help troubled financial institutions will be enough to fight off a deep recession.
华尔街，欧洲和亚洲股票价格星期三再次全线下滑。投资者似乎怀疑挽救陷入困境的金融机构的计划是否足以避免经济陷入严重衰退。
Wall Street followed Europe and most Asian exchanges in losing ground on Wednesday. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 300 points, or three percent, early in the day. London's FTSE 100 index, the DAX in Frankfurt and the CAC 40 in Paris were all down more than five percent in afternoon trading.
华尔街股市随着欧洲和亚洲大部分地区星期三的收红而应声下滑。 在纽约，道琼斯工业平均指数在早市中下跌超过300多点，或百分之三。在一天前。伦敦金融时报100指数，法兰克福DAX指数和巴黎CAC-40指数在下午的交易中均下跌超过百分之五。
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index gained 100 points, or more than one percent, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped almost five percent (835 points).
在东京，日经指数上涨100点，涨幅超过百分之一。但是，香港恒生指数下跌近百分之五，跌了835点。
A report that U.S. retail sales plunged in September accented global concerns that the United States is either moving toward a recession or already in one. The Commerce Department said Wednesday retail sales dropped by 1.2 percent last month. It was the biggest decline in three years, and almost double what experts were expecting. Consumer spending is two-thirds of the total U.S. economic activity.
最新公布的一份报告显示，美国零售销售额九月份急剧下挫，导致全球担心美国是否正在走向经济衰退，或者已经进入衰退。 美国商务部星期三说，美国零售销售额九月份下降了百分之一点二，这是三年来的最大降幅，几乎比专家预期的数字增加一倍。消费者支出占美国整个经济活动的三分之二。
Another report showed that U.S. wholesale prices dropped for the second straight month, led by retreating energy costs. But aside from energy and food, all other wholesale prices had their biggest annual increase in more than 17 years.
另一项报告显示，在能源价格的带领下，美国批发物价指数9月份连续第二个月下降。但是除了能源和食品之外，所有其它商品批发价格的年度升幅达到17年来的最高记录。
U.S. President George Bush says he believes the nation's economy will rebound. As the president met with his Cabinet Wednesday to discuss the financial crisis, he said his administration has taken bold actions to strengthen financial institutions.
美国总统布什说，他相信国家的经济将会反弹。布什总统星期三会见了他的内阁成员讨论了金融危机，他说，他的政府已经采取了大胆的行动，以加强金融机构。
"These are extraordinary measures, no question about it," he said. "But they are well thought out, they are necessary and I am confident in the long run this economy will come back."
布什说：“这些都是非常措施，这一点没有疑问。但是这些措施都经过深思熟虑，同时也是必要的，我相信从长远来看，美国经济一定会反弹。”
On Tuesday, Mr. Bush announced plans for the government to buy $250 billion in stock in private banks, in hopes of getting credit flowing again.
星期二，布什总统宣布，他计划由政府出资购买2500亿美元的私营银行的股票，希望能够恢复信贷的流动。
Meanwhile, the European Union is holding a summit in Brussels, focused on the financial crisis. EU officials want to increase the amount of money protected by insurance, among other initiatives. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the world's financial institutions need major changes.
与此同时，欧洲联盟正在布鲁塞尔举行一次首脑会议，重点讨论金融危机。欧盟官员们希望增加保险保障的金额，并采取其它措施。英国首相戈登．布朗表示，世界各地的金融机构需要做出重大的改革。
"To build confidence about the future, which is essential for every saver and every depositor and every business, we have to show that we are dealing with the problems that caused the events of the last few months in the first place," he said.
布朗说：“建立对未来的信任，对每一个存款人，对每一个储蓄户和每一个企业都是至关重要的。为了建立这种信心，我们必须表明我们正在首先处理过去几个月的事件造成的问题。”
In other business news, U.S. antitrust regulators have approved Bank of America's $35 billion purchase of Merrill Lynch. The deal combines the largest U.S. bank by deposits with the world's largest brokerage. The acquisition must still be approved by the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve.
在其他商业新闻方面，美国反垄断监管机构已经批准美州银行350亿美元收购美林的计划。此次收购将是美国最大的存款银行与世界上最大的证券商的合并。收购计划还必须得到美国的中央银行，也就是美国联邦储备委员会的批准。
Also, J.P. Morgan Chase's profit plunged by 84 percent in the third quarter, due largely to bad mortgage investments, leveraged loans and home loans. Still, profits at the New York-based bank were higher than expected.
此外，摩根大通第三季度的利润暴跌了百分之八十四，主要由于不良房贷的投资，杠杆贷款和住房贷款。不过，总部设在纽约的摩根银行的利润仍然比预期的要好。
And one big U.S.-based company has some good news. Coca-Cola reports its third-quarter profits were up 14 percent. Sales in emerging markets offset weakness in North America.
有一个美国大公司有好的消息。可口可乐公司报告其第三季度利润增长百分之十四。可口可乐在新兴市场的销售抵消了北美市场的疲软。 |