澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2014-07-30

 Despite being flat for most of the session the local market gained some ground in the last hour or so of trade and managed to close 0.2 of a percent higher. If we take a look at the final numbers, both the All Ords and the ASX 200 added 11 points. 

 

Shares in QBE insurance plummeted¹ 11% after the firm announced an unexpected profit downgrade. The Big Banks made solid gains, NAB put on more than 1%, and major retailers² were mostly higher too, Harvey Norman adding 1%. 

 

Checking elsewhere in the region now:

 

Japan's Nikkei is up 89 points and the Hang Seng has added 81 points. And the Australian Dollar is currently buying 93.9 US cents. 

 

In another good sign for the construction industry, new home sales continued to climb in the three months to June. Figures from the Housing Industry Association show sales rose by 1.2% in the month of June, and by 2% in the quarter. The rise was driven by the sale of units, while detached house sales also rose in four of the five mainland states. 

 

And ratings agency Standard & Poor's has left Australia's top AAA credit rating in place, saying the country is performing quite well with average growth and low levels of debt. S&P says the AAA rating has been maintained because of the country's strong public policy settings, economic resilience, and significant fiscal³ and monetary⁴ flexibility⁵.

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 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。

3 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

4 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

5 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。