Business Channel 2006-12-14&16

Today, Citigroup raised its view for 2007. Its market forecasters are now targeting around 14,000 for the Dow Industrials and 1,600 on the S&P. That is about a 14 percent increase from where the Dow is right now, Nicole.

So is this a big deal and why the change?

Ah, it's fairly a big deal. Now even though the market numbers are rising more quickly now than in the past, it still represents a large increase. Any investor¹ who has money in the market is looking at these numbers and is probably fairly satisfied at least for the moment. The new figures are partially² due to an increase in Gross Domestic Product and international sales. And interestingly, Nicole, strategists say that the increase might have also been impacted by the presidency³. The third year of a president's term is traditionally the best for stocks.

Politics, business, always go hand in hand. Here's something that really caught our eye this morning. You don't see this everyday. Big business(es) afford the environment?

Oh yes, ah, the CEOs of FedEx, UPS, Dow Chemical, along with retired⁵ military generals, they are all pressing the Bush administration to end our reliance on foreign oil and they are asking for some new standards ah. . , that the environmental groups have been lobbying Ford⁴ for years. They call themselves the Energy Security Leadership Council and they are calling for a 4% increase per year in fuel efficiency for cars. During the meeting on the Hill today, they all tried to convince lawmakers to step in and put a limit on dependence⁶. They don't think that the market economy alone can fix this growing problem, Nicole.

We'd like to think that this is all very benevolent⁷, but why exactly are these companies doing this?

Well, let's remember that the companies are big, big users of petroleum⁸, and they pay hefty amounts for it. It's not often that you see one big business fighting against another one but they would benefit from cheaper gas and we would all benefit from a cleaner environment. I think obviously.

Yeah, obviously. Here's another story that caught our eye: money might mean more valuable these days when it's not money at all. What is this all about?

I know, isn't that weird⁹? It just kind of catches your eye, because this is really kind of an interesting story. Metal has become so valuable these days that the stuff used to make nickels and pennies would actually be worth more if you melted it down and sold it that way. So the government is now making that a crime. It would be illegal to melt down one and five-cent coins. They are also placing limits on the amount of coins that can be shipped out of the country, not more than 100 dollars at a time. Twenty years ago, pennies and nickels stopped being made of primarily copper¹⁰ and nickel, but even so the metal is still valuable. The actual coins are worth about two cents more than their face value, Nicole.

Wait, hold on one second. Does this mean that Disneyland, and all those fun places could get into trouble with those little penny machines that smash them up into a different shape (I understand, I know.) and put a stamp on them?

Oh look at her, she's getting all worked up about it. Do you mean Disneyland and it's...

That's my favorite little machine.

You know, really it is a good question. That, however, is considered to be legal (oh) because it doesn't take advantage of its primary use, which is commerce. Now the penny is no longer being used for currency, it's being used just for a souvenir. So that's absolutely legal. So you can keep yours if you got it from when you visited Disneyland as a kid, no problem.

Thanks for entertaining my silly question. Val, I appreciate it.

No, it was a great question (oh, good), no problem at all. That's the latest from here. Take care.

Ok, you too.

Alright.


worked up (adj.) very upset or excited about something
You shouldn't get so worked up about it.

1 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

2 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

7 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

8 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

9 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

10 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。