VOA标准英语2008年-Asian Markets Drop on News of Lehman Brothers C

Asian stock markets dropped sharply Monday after one of the world's biggest investment banks declared bankruptcy¹ and another was taken over. Stock markets in Australia, Taiwan and Singapore dropped three-to-four percent on fears that the credit market crisis could spread beyond the failed Lehman Brothers investment house. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.

Asian investors² were reacting to Lehman Brothers' announcement the company is declaring bankruptcy, Monday.
　
Man carries box from offices of Lehman Brothers in Canary Wharf³, London, 15 Sep 2008

Lehman was hard hit by the American credit crunch⁴ and was in talks for a takeover by Barclays Bank, but failed to close the deal.

Also, rival investment bank Merrill Lynch was bought out by Bank of America. Both Lehman and Merrill have extensive operations in Asia.

Callum Henderson is head of foreign exchange strategy for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. He says Asian markets are particularly vulnerable.

"Asia has the highest exposure, in terms of any emerging market region, to global trade," Henderson said. "And, obviously, when the global economy goes into a slowdown, it's more exposed than anyone else."

The shake-ups raise further concerns about the stability of financial markets. The crisis began a year ago as banks began having trouble with so-called subprime mortgages - loans made to weak borrowers.

"It spread as those loans went bad because banks and investment funds had invested heavily in complex securities based on mortgages," he explained. "While many financial experts say Asian banks have relatively⁵ low exposure to these risky⁶ investments, the crisis restricts the amount of capital available for lending and hurts international companies that invest in the region."

Ten of the world's largest banks have agreed to provide $7 billion each to make more cash available to the financial markets. The banks hope to stabilize⁷ what they call "unprecedented⁸ volatility⁹" in global equity¹⁰ and debt markets.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has also eased access to emergency lending for investment banks.

Henderson says despite the measures, Asian markets are likely to stay under significant pressure.

"Investors here at least will continue to focus on slowing growth, still relatively high inflation, and also the prospect¹¹ of further outflows in terms of portfolio¹² investors," Henderson said. "All of that is negative for Asian assets and negative for Asian currencies."

Henderson says more pro-growth policies are needed in Asia such as cutting interest rates or reducing bank reserve requirements.

Stock markets in Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea were closed for a holiday Monday.

 

1 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

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 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

4 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

7 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

8 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

9 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

10 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

11 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

12 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。