VOA标准英语2009年-Weak US Housing Numbers Reported

By Michael Bowman
Washington
20 October 2009

Weak U.S. housing data is tempering enthusiasm stoked by upbeat earnings¹ reports from some of America's best-known corporations.

From technology giant Apple to construction-equipment maker² Caterpillar³, a flurry of corporate⁴ heavyweights have topped earnings and profit expectations for the third quarter of the year, turning in strong performances in one of the toughest global economic climates in decades.

The earnings reports would seem to validate⁵ an upward march by stock markets in the United States, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently topped 10,000 for the first time in a year.

 
U.S. construction workers
But economic soft spots remain, including America's beleaguered⁶ housing sector⁷. It was a rash of mortgage defaults that helped precipitate⁸ last year's financial meltdown and sent an already-weakened U.S. economy deeper into recession. In addition to continued high home foreclosure rates, applications for home-building permits fell in September by the largest amount in five months.

Drops in permit applications usually forecast a slowdown in home construction. 

Channel Capital Research Institute Chief Investment Strategist Douglas Roberts says America's housing sector will likely remain weak well into next year.

"I do not think it is going to be an engine of growth like it was before," he said. "I think right now it is like we are scraping along the bottom [of the U.S. housing market], and I think you could have weak numbers in this area for a while."

The U.S. Commerce Department says new home construction edged up .5 percent in September, less than many economists⁹ had anticipated.

And what of a U.S. stock market that has seen the Dow rise by 50 percent since March?

New York-based equity¹⁰ strategist Peter Boockvar says sustaining the rally will become more challenging, even if corporate earnings continue to beat estimates.

"Going into the second quarter, expectations were very low," he said. "We beat those. Now we have greater expectations. We are getting those fulfilled, but the market is only up 2 to 3 percent [in recent days]. I think we have priced in a lot of these good numbers and that is why the market is showing signs of getting tired here."

Boockvar spoke¹¹ on Bloomberg television.

The Labor¹² Department reports that U.S. wholesale¹³ prices fell .6 percent last month due primarily to falling energy prices. During the past year, core wholesale prices have risen a modest 1.8 percent, a sign that U.S. inflation remains¹⁴ in check. 

1 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%。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

4 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。

5 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

6 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 precipitate   

adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物

参考例句：

• I don't think we should make precipitate decisions.我认为我们不应该贸然作出决定。
• The king was too precipitate in declaring war.国王在宣战一事上过于轻率。

9 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》

10 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 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。

13 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。