Business Channel 2007-07-18&07-20, 财经新闻杂志

script:
Well this does seem like it was too long ago that the Dow Industrials crossed the 13,000 mark for the first time. Well today, the Dow flirted¹ with 14,000. Stephanie Elam joins us from New York to tell us just how close we came. Hey there, Stephanie.


Virginia, it was just 11 points. That's how close we came to cross the 14,000 mark before the bluechips retreated a bit. But still, hey, we ended on a record high. One reason, optimism at earning season which kicked into gear on Tuesday. Let's take a look at the final numbers. The Dow industrial is up 43 points to 13950. And then taking a look at the NASDAQ, it's up 9, I'm sorry, down 9 points, off about a third of a percent at 2697. The S&P500 off about 3 points today at 1549. So not really huge losses there on the other markets, but definitely the Dow was the winner of the day, Virginia.

So Stephanie you mentioned earning season, corporate² earnings³ is that what's really driving the market?

Well, it's definitely one of the main factors, but today's stocks also got a lift from deal making activity, a so-called Merger⁴ Monday as we know them around here. One deal is in the restaurant sector⁵ and includes two companies you probably know. IHOP, of course, the International House of Pancakes. Well, they are acquiring Applebee's for more than 2 billion dollars, shares of IHOP jumped nearly 9 percent, Applebee's climbed 2 percent. And Verizon, one of the companies in the Dow industrials, well, it rose more than 2% on a report that it could be the target of a potentially huge bid from Britain's Vodafone. Vodafone responded by saying it has no plans to make an offer, but just that little bit of speculation⁶ can help give a stock a lift. Virginia.

Well, I wanna turn to the job market now. I understand sort of some good news for folks who are looking for a job. This is good to hear.

It is always come, good to come with good news about this part, because people are always worrying about jobs. Well it looks like it's taking less time to land a new position. Job seekers found jobs 17% faster in the last 3 months than in the previous quarter. According to a recent survey, it took just 3 months to find a job last quarter down from a more than 3 and a half months wait in the previous quarter. In the 3rd quarter of 2006, it took more than 4 months to find a job. That suggest the job market is pretty strong. The biggest movement, or improvement up there came from those over 50 who are looking for work. The survey also showed that people looking for a job were more likely to say they've found a job as good or even better than their previous job. So I guess for some people, Leslie, it might be time to start working on their resume, right?

Yeah, it's always good to keep it fresh. (Yeah!) OK let's say you can't find work, maybe you can get your big break in show business?

Yeah! Or something like that and now you can do it over a website, you know make it even easier. (Yeah!) Sony’s crago.com is the latest to compete with video sites like Youtube. And to get you interested, it has a unique offer---stardom. Your video could get plug from the masses for a chance to perform a stand-up routine at the Enprob. Crago is also offering a 15,000-dollar-development deal with Columbia Pictures. Other video sites are offering a shot of stardom. So forget working on the resume, I guess, work on your video uploads.

Yeah, exactly. And your singing voice and your acting⁷ ability, as well.

And also you are able to hold, your ability to hold the camera straight.

Exactly, at your face and not at your stomach. Alright. Stephanie , thanks so much. Talk to you next time.

Sounds good.

Notes:
Stand-up: Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical⁸ fourth wall. A person who performs stand-up comedy is known as a stand-up comic, stand-up comedian⁹ or more informally stand up.

1 flirted   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She flirted her fan. 她急速挥动着扇子。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• During his four months in Egypt he flirted with religious emotions. 在埃及逗留的这四个月期间，他又玩弄起宗教情绪来了。 来自辞典例句

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

9 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。