澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2015-10-28

 Good morning, everyone. Official inflation figures are due out today, and they are expected to show Australia’s sluggish¹ economy is keeping a lead on the rising price of goods and services despite the lower Australian dollar. Now the consumer price index is tipped to rise by 7% in the September quarter, driving by rising cost for housing and utilities. That will see annual inflation rise to 1.7% which is below the Reserve Bank’s target. Most economists² believe despite soft inflation and recent interest rate rises from the big banks, the RBA is still unlikely to cut interest rates this year. And talking by the big banks, National Australia Bank revealed its four-year profit later this morning which is expected to top 6 billion dollars. Now, NAB is also expected to unveil a multi-billion-dollar deal to sell most of its life insurance businesses. Yesterday, NAB shares were put in a trading halt after a Japanese newspaper reported that Nippon Life and Stock Base Company was poised³ by 80% of the business. According to market speculation⁴, Nippon is expected to pay by 2.5 billion dollars but of course, we will have more details later this morning when those results come out.

Let’s go to the global markets now, and they are all trading lower. But 30 minutes for the close, the Dow and Nasdaq were both down by 1/3 of a percent. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% while in London, the FTSE finished 0.8% down. Checking commodity prices, West Texas Crude is trading at 43 US dollars a barrel, Tapis Crude is at 48 US dollars a barrel, and gold is trading at 1166 US dollars an ounce. The Australian dollar is currently buying 72 US cents, 65 euro cents and 47 pence sterling⁵.

1 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

2 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》

3 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

4 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

5 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。