ECONOMICS REPORT - The Year in Economic News, Part 1

ECONOMICS REPORT - The Year in Economic News, Part 1
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, December 24, 2004

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Today we look back at some of the stories from two thousand four.

We start with new developments at Fannie Mae, the biggest buyer of home loans in the United States. The chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines, retired¹ this week. The chief financial officer at the company, Timothy Howard, resigned.

A few months ago, a government agency accused Fannie Mae of misreporting its financial condition. The agency is called the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight². A report suggested that company officials may have tried to make Fannie Mae appear more profitable so they could receive extra pay. Mister Raines and Mister Howard both defended the company before Congress.

But last week the Securities and Exchange Commission found that Fannie Mae had violated rules for reporting its costs and earnings³. Now the company will have to restate its earnings since two thousand one. It is expected to report up to nine thousand million dollars in losses. This is about one-third of its profit during that period.

Fannie Mae buys home loans from banks. It then sells investments based on those loans, in a market worth almost eight million million dollars. Investigations⁵ of Fannie Mae continue.

Earlier this year we also reported on the legal troubles of businesswoman Martha Stewart. She became rich and famous for her advice about home design. But in March a jury found her guilty of lying about a sale of some private stock and interfering⁶ in a federal investigation⁴.

In October she started a five-month sentence in a federal prison in West Virginia. Since then, NBC television has announced plans for a new show starring Martha Stewart. That is, after she gets out of prison. The price of stock in the company she started, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, has increased sharply in recent months.

Another story this year involved the United States trade deficit⁷. The widest measure of international trade, the current account deficit, reached record levels. Still, the increase from July to September was smaller than economists⁸ had expected over the three-month period before. But deficits⁹ and the drop in the value of the dollar remained important issues for the United States and its trade allies.

We will continue our look back at two thousand four next week.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 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。

2 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

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 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

6 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 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》

9 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句