美国国家公共电台 NPR--The U.S. economy is losing steam. Bank woes and other hurdles are to blame.

The U.S. economy is losing steam. Bank woes¹ and other hurdles³ are to blame.

Transcript⁴

From banks to burger joints⁵, the U.S. economy is showing signs of stress as nervous shoppers watch their spending and anxious lenders keep a tight grip on credit.

A report from the Commerce Department Thursday shows the nation's gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of just 1.1% in the first three months of the year, compared to a 2.6% pace in the previous quarter. Growth was weighed down by declining inventories⁶ and housing investment.

The economy is projected to lose more steam in the months to come as rising prices and higher interest rates take a toll⁷ on families and businesses.

"Our base expectation is for a mild recession in the U.S.," McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said this week.

Although the fast-food chain reported strong sales so far in 2023, customers are less likely to splurge after two years of rising food costs, he said in an earnings⁸ call with investors⁹.

"Things like — did someone add fries to their order?" Kempczinski said. "We're seeing that go down in most of our markets around the world — slightly — but it's still going down."

Virginia resident Desiree Prince says she's more budget conscious now than she used to be, and making decisions about what she spends with an eye on the price tag.

"Once upon a time, I might have said, 'I'd like to have steak and potatoes for dinner,'" Prince said. "Now it's like, 'Let's see what's in the refrigerator and cobble together a meal from things that I already have."

Prince, who lives in Alexandria, is planning a vacation this summer with her mom and sister, but with airfares up nearly 18% this year, they're limiting themselves to places they can go by car.

"We did have to be a bit selective about what we'll be doing on vacation," Prince said. "Do we want to pet the dolphins? That's a bit pricey. Maybe we'll just do the free national park. So we've been frugal¹⁰ with our travels."

Consumers are spending enough to keep the economy going

Spending by consumers like Prince is the biggest driver of the U.S. economy. Personal spending grew at an annual rate of 3.7% in the first quarter, with increased spending on both goods and services.

"The American consumer is the firewall between a recession and an economy that moves forward. And right now the firewall is holding firm," said Mark Zandi, chief economist¹¹ at Moody's Analytics.

People may not be spending aggressively, "but they are spending enough to keep the economy moving forward," he said.

Zandi believes the U.S. can avoid an outright¹² recession this year, but he argues it won't be easy, especially after the collapse¹³ of Silicon¹⁴ Valley Bank and Signature Bank and the resulting drop in lending by other banks.

"The Federal Reserve is still raising interest rates," Zandi said. "You throw into the mix the ill effects of the banking¹⁵ crisis and it does suggest that growth through the remainder of this year and into next is going to be very much on the soft side."

Mike Kaeding, who builds and leases apartments in Minnesota, has noticed the sharp drop in loans.

"Some of the regional banks here in the Twin Cities that do a lot of construction [loans], they're not lending at all right now," Kaeding said. "I think there's going to be a negative impact on the construction industry, where we'll actually see for the first time in a while where jobs start to dry up."

Construction companies cut 9,000 jobs last month.

Many other businesses are still hiring, but job growth in March was the slowest in more than two years. Even profitable companies like McDonalds and General Motors have been cutting white-collar jobs.

That rattles¹⁶ Prince, even though her own job as a nuclear engineer seems secure.

"You start seeing banks start to fail, companies like Microsoft and Facebook laying people off," she said. "I'm not an economist so I don't know what to think, but it doesn't feel great."

The debt limit fight could create the economy's next hurdle²

Politics could also pose a risk, as members of Congress squabble over the federal government's debt limit.

House Republicans want big spending cuts and other concessions¹⁷ in exchange for letting the government borrow more money. The White House insists it won't negotiate and argues the full faith and credit of the government must be protected.

If no agreement is reached by summer, the government could default on its debts, resulting in falling stock prices, rising borrowing costs and a great deal of uncertainty¹⁸.

"All the things you don't want at any time but particularly when the economy is struggling to keep its head above water and out of recession," Zandi said.

1 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

2 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

3 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

6 inventories   

n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制

参考例句：

• In other cases, such as inventories, inputs and outputs are both continuous. 在另一些情况下，比如存货，其投入和产出都是持续不断的。
• The store must clear its winter inventories by April 1st. 该店必须在4月1日前售清冬季存货。

7 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

8 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%。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 frugal   

adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的

参考例句：

• He was a VIP,but he had a frugal life.他是位要人，但生活俭朴。
• The old woman is frugal to the extreme.那老妇人节约到了极点。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

15 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

16 rattles   

（使）发出格格的响声， （使）作嘎嘎声( rattle的第三人称单数 )； 喋喋不休地说话； 迅速而嘎嘎作响地移动，堕下或走动； 使紧张，使恐惧

参考例句：

• It rattles the windowpane and sends the dog scratching to get under the bed. 它把窗玻璃震得格格作响，把狗吓得往床底下钻。
• How thin it is, and how dainty and frail; and how it rattles. 你看它够多么薄，多么精致，多么不结实；还老那么哗楞哗楞地响。

17 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

18 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。