VOA常速英语2008年-Japan's Unemployment Rate Rises, Chevron Discov

By Naomi Martig
Hong Kong
31 March 2008

Japan's jobless rate has risen for the first time in five months, and Chevron¹ Corporation has discovered large offshore² natural gas deposits in Vietnam. Naomi Martig in Hong Kong has more on these and other business stories from the region.

Japan's unemployment rate has risen for the first time in five months, partly because exports to the United States fell. Japanese officials say the jobless rate rose to 3.9 percent in February, up from the 3.8 percent recorded the previous month.

Analysts³ say the increase is not worrisome, but that it does indicate that companies are concerned about hiring workers as they deal with rising costs and slower U.S. consumer spending.

David Mann is chief currency strategist at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong. He says Japan and other areas of Asia are likely to feel a bit of the pinch from slower U.S. consumer growth. But he says the region's economies should be able to hold steady for the time being while the U.S. tries to revive growth.

"So what we're seeing is a bit of a divergence⁴ economics-wise where the data in the U.S. continues to melt down, meanwhile the data elsewhere is holding up relatively⁵ okay," he said. "It's starting to come off but nothing that is worrying policy makers⁶ too much."

Core consumer prices in Japan also rose one percent in February from a year earlier, the quickest pace since March 1998.

Elsewhere in the region, Chevron Corporation says it has found at least 142 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Malay Basin off Vietnam's southwestern coast. Chevron says the gas was discovered following a three-month drilling program that ended in mid-March.

It says it is negotiating with its partner, PetroVietnam, on when production from the field will begin. But Chevron says it expects to produce about 14 million cubic meters of gas a day within five years of starting up. That would be worth about five million dollars a day at current prices.

And in Hong Kong, conglomerate⁷ Hutchinson Whampoa reported a 53 percent increase in net profit, as the sale of its Indian mobile phone operations offset⁸ losses in other parts of its mobile business. Hutchinson said net profit for 2007 stood at $3.9 billion.

Cheung Kong Holdings, which controls nearly half of Hutchison, also saw earnings⁹ rise 53 percent in 2007, to $3.5 billion. The increase was largely the result of Hutchison's performance and from gains in investment income.

Hutchison was one of the first in the world to introduce 3G mobile services, but has struggled to earn a profit from the venture.

1 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。

2 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

3 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。

4 divergence   

n.分歧，岔开

参考例句：

• There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
• In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

8 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

9 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%。