AS IT IS 2015-12-26 Top Business Stories in 2015

AS IT IS 2015-12-26 Top Business Stories in 2015

As 2015 comes to a close, here are some of the top business stories of the year:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership¹ (TPP) created the world’s largest free-trade zone among 12 nations around the Pacific.

Together, they account for $28.5 trillion in combined gross domestic product, or 40 percent of the world’s economic output. The TPP spans four continents and 800 million people. The agreement aims to strengthen economic ties, cut tariffs³ and foster trade among the member countries.

The 12 nations involved are the U.S., Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru.

The TPP is a counterweight to China’s growing economic power globally.

This year, the International Monetary⁴ Fund (IMF) selected China’s yuan to be in the group of top global currencies. Experts said this showed a declining role for Europe in global financial markets, and an increasing role for China. It is the world’s second-largest economy.

China had an economic slowdown in the third quarter, but analysts⁵ disagreed over its scope. There is a lack of transparency in the economic data that China provides to the rest of the world.

China also set up the Asian Infrastructure⁶ Investment Bank (AIIB). It is an international development bank with 57 countries participating. China will use the new bank to expand its global influence in Asia and compete with the World Bank in Washington, D.C.

Greek bailout

The huge bailout of the Greek economy was another big story this year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission (EC) and the European Central Bank (ECB) issued $97.6 billion to avoid a Greek bankruptcy⁷.

It was feared that if Greece failed to pay its debt and left the Eurozone, it would cause a global financial crisis. In exchange for the bailout, the lenders demanded major economic reforms from Greece. Despite these measures, the Greek economy has shrunk by a quarter in five years, and unemployment is above 25 percent.

Volkswagen admits to lying

Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker, was hit by scandal. The German automaker admitted to lying about carbon dioxide emissions⁸ from its cars. VW installed software that fooled regulators into thinking the cars emitted less pollution than they did.  

The cars gave off up to nine times more pollution than the amount allowed by the U.S. government. In September, Volkswagen admitted that up to 11 million cars globally could have the misleading devices. Bringing all these vehicles into compliance⁹ with pollution regulations will be one of the most complex and costly¹⁰ fixes in automotive history.

U.S. Fed raises interest rate

Lastly, in the face of an improving economy, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised the key interest rate for the first time in seven years. The rate increase was just ? of a point. During the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, the Federal Reserve cut the key interest rate to almost zero for the past seven years.

This was done to flood the economy with cheap money and boost hiring. Since the start of the Great Recession, unemployment has fallen from 10 percent to 5 percent.

And those are some of the top business and economic stories from 2015.

Words in This Story

zone – n. an area that is different from other areas in a particular way

strengthen – v. to make (someone or something) stronger, more forceful, more effective, etc.

tariff² – n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country

counterweight – n. a weight that provides a balance against something of equal weight

transparency – n. the quality that makes something obvious or easy to understand

boost – v.  to increase the force, power, or amount of (something)

bailout – n. the act of saving or rescuing something (such as a business) from money problems

bankruptcy – n. the condition of being bankrupt : a condition of financial failure caused by not having the money that you need to pay your debts

default – v. to fail to make the payments you must make on a loan

pollution – n. the action or process of making land, water, air, etc., dirty and not safe or suitable to use

compliance – n. the act or process of doing what you have been asked or ordered to do : the act or process of complying

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

3 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

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 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

8 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

9 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。