澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-03-05

 Australian homes remain the most overpriced in the world - that's according to the The Economist¹ magazine. The publication says that Australian property is overpriced by about 56 per cent, refuelling the debate over whether the nation's housing market is in some kind of a bubble. The Economist also claims home prices have risen by more than 200 per cent since 1997, compared to 95 per cent in the US, and that the Australian property market is the worst in the world followed closely by Hong Kong and France. The growth of disposable income has contributed to the surge in prices.

 

The private equity² owners of the cinema chain Hoyts have shelved plans to float the company because of market uncertainty³. Reuters is reporting the private equity group has no timetable in mind to sell the business. Media reports have put the value of Hoyts at between $500 million and $1 billion. Hoyts manages about 50 cinema complexes in Australia and New Zealand.

 

And to the market numbers now, the Dow is down by about 34 per cent. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are also down. Europe's main stock markets were down on Friday. Elsewhere in the region, Japan's Nikkei closed the session stronger. Optimism about the US economic outlook and easing oil prices helped to drive both indices over 1 per cent higher. And the Australian dollar has given up a little ground against the greenback.

1 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。

2 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。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。