VOA常速英语2008年-Asian Markets Higher on US Interest Rate Cuts

By Naomi Martig
Hong Kong
19 March 2008

Markets posted steady gains in Asia following an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. Earlier this week most Asian stock exchanges plummeted¹ on fears that the U.S. credit crisis is far from over. As Naomi Martig reports from Hong Kong, investors² are still fearful that the Federal Reserve may be running out of options to ward³ off a U.S. recession.

Japan's Nikkei Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both closed more than two percent higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. Most other Asian markets rose by similar amounts.

Although the cut was less than many investors had expected, it still sparked a rally on Wall Street. Stronger-than-expected earnings⁴ from two U.S. investment banks also encouraged investors to buy stocks.

The Fed's rate reduction follows emergency measures in recent days to ease the liquidity⁵ crisis in credit markets.

Michael Spencer is the chief Asia economist⁶ for Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. He says concerns are still rampant⁷ that the Fed may not be able to do enough to avoid a U.S. recession.

"But I think it's important to understand that what the Fed is doing at the moment is much less around trying to shore up growth and more trying to take out the … risk for the U.S. economy that would come from a broader systemic crisis within the U.S. financial system," he said.

Spencer says he expects the Fed to further reduce interest rates by around 25 to 50 basis points. But he says that in addition to the U.S. credit crisis, the Federal Reserve governors are now concerned about other economic challenges.

"It does appear from the statement last night that the Fed is beginning to get a little more worried about inflation and that may lead them to cut rates a little bit less aggressively over the next few meetings than what we ere expecting," he said.

Low interest rates can worsen inflation because companies and consumers are willing to spend more and take on more debt when rates are low. To counter rising prices, central banks typically raise interest rates, which discourages spending and borrowing, and can help push a weak economy into recession.

The cut in U.S. interest rates helped lift the dollar. It was trading at 99.24 yen⁸ in Wednesday afternoon trading, well above a 13-year low earlier this week. Commodity prices also fell on Wednesday, with gold hitting a low of $980.80 an ounce, down from more than $1,030 on Monday, and oil fell one dollar to around $108 a barrel.

The banking⁹ system woes¹⁰ in the U.S. are largely the result of the sub-prime mortgage collapse¹¹. Sub-prime mortgages were made to homebuyers with poor credit records, and many of them now are struggling to pay their debts because interest rates rose and property prices fell.

Despite the steadier financial markets Wednesday, Asia's largest economy, Japan, faced a new challenge. The parliament rejected the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's latest nominee¹² to replace the previous governor of the Bank of Japan, leaving the job vacant.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has been struggling to avoid a vacancy¹³ at the BOJ at a time when global markets are in turmoil¹⁴. But many financial analysts¹⁵ think the stalemate is not likely to significantly affect global markets.

1 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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

3 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

4 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%。

5 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

8 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。

9 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

10 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

11 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

12 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

13 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

14 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

15 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。