NPR 2008-10-09

Global financial markets remain severely¹ strained according to Treasury² Secretary Henry Paulson who said it underscores the need for fast action on the part of government officials. Paulson said, however, in terms of allocating³ the 700 billion dollars set aside under the government's financial rescue plan, it is more important the government get it right. "Yesterday we hold our first meeting of the program's oversight⁴ board. And we're committed to transparency in all aspects of the program. We will implement⁵ our new authorities with one simple goal, to restore capital flows to the consumers and businesses that form the core of our economy. " Paulson also said even with the government plan to buy up bad assets from financial firms, some banks will fail. His comments come on the same day the Federal Reserve and a number of other major central banks cut interest rates. The Fed instituted an emergency half a percent rate cut today.

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain says in order to solve the turmoil⁶ in financial markets, the US will have to help struggling homeowners. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

John McCain told supporters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania the housing woes⁷ are at the root of the nation's economic problems. He repeated a proposal he made during the presidential debate of having the federal government buy mortgages directly from home owners if their properties have lost value and they are having trouble making their monthly payments. "The dream of owning a home should not be crashed under the weight of a bad mortgage. " Under McCain's plan, borrowers could refinance into fixed-rate mortgages for the new lower value of their homes. Democrat⁸ Barack Obama warns if the government overpays for the mortgages, it will be rewarding lenders who made the bad loans and leaving taxpayers⁹ with the bill. Scott Horsely, NPR News, Strongsville, Ohio.

President Bush signed landmark¹⁰ legislation today that opens civilian¹¹ nuclear trade with India for the first time in decades. NPR's Giles Snyder has that story.

Congress gave final approval to the bill last week, a foreign policy success for President Bush. The bill marks a reversal of a 30-year US ban on selling nuclear technology to India, which developed its program outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Bush administration says the bill will let the US develop stronger ties with India, but opponents say it will help foster the spread of nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had been expected to sign a cooperation agreement when she was in the region last weekend but it was held up by administrative¹² issues. The State Department says she and India's external affairs minister will now sign the deal on Friday. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

Something of a mixed bag for the nation's retailers¹⁴ last month. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer¹³, along with wholesale¹⁵ club operator Costco reported solid September sales numbers. However, Target says its sales last month fell by 3%. Many retailers are gearing up for a decrease in holiday spending due to the weak economy.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 189 points to close at 9258. The NASDAQ lost 14 points. The S&P 500 fell 11 points.

This is NPR.

Giant Bank of America, which yesterday announced the sale of 10 billion dollars in shares as it struggles to raise capital, today said it would buy back up to 4.7 billion dollars in auction¹⁶ rate securities to settle charges that it misled thousands of investors¹⁷ about the risky¹⁸ investments. The SEC announced a preliminary agreement with the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank. BA yesterday suffered its biggest one day stock loss ever after announcing the stock sale. The bank, which saw shares plunge¹⁹ 26%, also reported a steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly profits and said it was cutting its dividend²⁰ in half.

For the past several days, General David Petraeus has been giving a PowerPoint presentation to various audiences in Washington on how he brought violence down in Iraq. In a few weeks, he takes over central command with responsibility for Iraq and Afghanistan. NPR's JJ Sutherland reports.

The introductions and the applause have been effusive²¹. Everyone in Washington seems to be hailing General Petraeus as a returning hero. With his new position though, he will also be responsible for a war that is not going well at all, Afghanistan. He cautioned that what worked in Iraq may not work there, though he did say that some ideas might, including sitting down and talking with people on the other side of the fight. "If there are people that are willing to reconcile, then I think certainly that there would be a positive step in some of these areas that have actually been spiraling downward throughout the course of this year." This has been the worst year for coalition²² casualties of the entire war. JJ Sutherland, NPR News, Washington.

Crude oil futures²³ ended the session lower. The near month contract for benchmark crude fell $1.11 today to end the session at $88.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

6 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。

7 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。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

10 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

13 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

14 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

15 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

16 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

17 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

18 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。

19 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

20 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

21 effusive   

adj.热情洋溢的；感情(过多)流露的

参考例句：

• Every visitor noticed that her effusive welcome was not sincere.所有的客人都看出来她那过分热情的欢迎是不真诚的。
• Her effusive thanks embarrassed everybody.她道谢时非常激动，弄得大家不好意思。

22 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

23 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。