VOA标准英语2009-GM to Step Up Debt Repayment

By Mil Arcega
Washington D.C.
17 November 2009
 
General Motors President and Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson (file photo) 
General Motors says it lost more than $1 billion in the third quarter, but the head of the U.S. auto¹ giant says the company has performed better than expected. GM CEO Fritz Henderson says as a result, the company is now in a better position to begin repayment² of nearly $7 billion in emergency U.S. government loans.

The GM plan to repay debt by 2011

General Motors posted a third quarter loss of $1.1 billion (November 16), but says stabilizing³ sales and lower operating costs will allow the company to repay what it owes the U.S. government by the end of 2011 - four years ahead of schedule.

GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson says the first payment of $1 billion will go out in December. "It's a commitment from the entire leadership team in the company to repay the taxpayer⁴, first and foremost, from repaying the loan and then over time, generating value in the shares so that the taxpayers⁵ benefit as major shareholders⁶ of the company," he said.

The debt represents 13 percent of the $52 billion that U.S. taxpayers have invested in General Motors - the majority of which was exchanged for a 61 percent ownership stake in the company.

Earnings⁷ are better than expected

Despite suffering a net loss in the third quarter, GM Chief executive Fritz Henderson says company earnings were better than expected. "Again, these are managerial numbers. Not satisfactory. I mean, certainly much lower than what has been," he says, "Although it is not necessarily comparable, and certainly better than our plan going into bankruptcy⁸. But nonetheless it's a loss and you cannot be satisfied with it."

Much of the company's third quarter sales came from overseas as a result of GM's expansion in Asia. The new numbers coincided with President Obama's visit to China. "GM is an American company with tens of thousands of employees in this country," he explains, "and responsibility for its future ultimately rests with us."

GM, which emerged from bankruptcy in July, has lost $88 billion since 2005. But there were encouraging signs Monday for U.S. automakers as the government released new consumer numbers.

U.S. retail⁹ sales grew 1.4 percent in October, boosted by a seven percent jump in vehicle sales.

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

3 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

4 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

5 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。

6 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

7 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%。

8 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。

9 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。