澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2014-09-03

 Today's national accounts are expected to show Australia's economic growth slows significantly during the last quarter. Economists¹ are forecasting that Gross Domestic Product grows by 0.4% in the 3 months to the end of August.                                                    

 

That's down from 1.1% growth in the previous quarter and it will take the annual rate of growth to 3%.

 

Supermarket giant Coles is expected to announce today that it's axing up to 600 jobs from its headoffice in Melbourne. It counts part of a renewed efficiency drive to free up funds to help reduce food and legal crisis.

 

The jobs will reportedly come from back-office functions including payments, accounts and IT. Coles is also expected to announce a shakeup to senior management.

 

To the markets on Wall Street.

 

Trade has returned after the Labor² Day long weekend with mixed results. The Dow finished down. The NASDAQ gained ground. The S&P 500 slipped slightly. In London the FTSE closed up marginally.

 

And checking commodity prices.

 

West Texas crude is trading at 93 US dollars a barrel. Tapis crude is trading at 104 US dollars a barrel. And gold is trading at 1265 US dollars an ounce. The Aussie dollar is buying just under 93 US cents, 71 euro cents and 56 pence sterling³.

1 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。