VOA慢速英语2009年-Economics Report - US Banks Under Pres

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

President Obama with members of the financial industry at the White House on Monday

President Obama told some of the nation's top bankers Monday that they need to explore "every responsible way" to make more loans.

BARACK OBAMA: "America's banks received extraordinary assistance from American taxpayers¹ to rebuild their industry. And now that they're back on their feet, we expect extraordinary commitment from them to help rebuild the economy."

Earlier, he criticized what he called "fat-cat bankers on Wall Street."

Major banks have been doing well since the worst of the financial crisis shook Wall Street more than a year ago. Banks including Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo have recently announced plans to repay government rescue money.

New profits and freedom from the pay limits tied to federal aid mean bankers can again receive big bonuses. But critics say banks are profiting mainly from trading activities, not from making loans to small businesses or homeowners.

Britain has placed a fifty percent tax on bonuses for bankers. There have been calls for similar measures in the United States.

Unemployment rates are the highest in a generation -- ten percent nationally in November. An estimated seventeen percent of the labor² force either lacks a job or is not working enough to pay all the bills.

The weak job market has not only hurt spending, the lifeblood of the economy. It also puts pressure on homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage loans. Record numbers have been told that they could lose their homes. Banks are expected to have sent almost four million foreclosure notices this year.

The administration has had limited success with its promise of seventy-five billion dollars to help struggling homeowners. The Making Home Affordable³ program aims to prevent up to four million foreclosures. The idea is to get banks to reduce monthly payments. But fewer than thirty-two thousand loans have been permanently⁴ changed so far.

Lenders are unwilling⁵ to change loans that they suspect will fail anyway. An estimated one-fourth of homeowners owe more than their home is worth. That situation increases the risk that a loan will not be repaid.

Stephen Thode at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania says progress in the housing market will be limited until the job market gets better.

STEPHEN THODE: "Typically the real estate sector⁶ leads the economy in a recovery, meaning that it tends to pick up before some other things. But people have to have confidence that things are going to improve."

Most new jobs in the United States are created by small businesses. But small businesses have been hit hard by the recession and now the difficulty in getting loans.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

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 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

5 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

6 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。