VOA慢速英语 2007 0105a

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.


Euronext plans to combine with NYSE to create the first Trans-Atlantic stock market

The NYSE Group and Euronext hope to create the world's largest financial exchange group by the end of March. Their shareholders¹ voted last month to approve a plan to combine the two exchange operators.

The proposed fourteen billion dollar deal will create the first trans-Atlantic stock exchange. American and European government officials must still approve the merger² plan.

The new group, to be called NYSE Euronext, will have a combined market value of about twenty-seven billion dollars. The deal has been developing since June.

The New York Stock Exchange is the world's biggest stock market. Euronext is Europe's leading international exchange. It operates the stock markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris.

Germany's Deutsche Borse withdrew its own offer for Euronext in November.

Financial markets have grown increasingly international and competitive. The planned merger of Euronext and the NYSE Group is a good example of this new climate.

Euronext is itself the product of mergers³. The Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris exchanges joined in two thousand to create Euronext. It was first traded publicly in two thousand one, and has since added other exchanges in Lisbon and London.

In the past, stock markets were organized unlike the companies they listed. Now many financial markets operate as publicly traded businesses. That means they must answer to their own shareholders.

The New York Stock Exchange was a nonprofit organization that was largely self-supervising. Then, last March, the NYSE Group was formed as a publicly traded company. That happened when the Big Board combined with the electronic trading exchange Archipelago Holdings.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange became the first publicly traded exchange in the United States at the end of two thousand two.

Some markets have sought to buy or link with other exchanges. These deals have created bigger markets, often selling highly complex financial products. Bigger markets offer more liquidity⁴ -- investors⁵ have a greater chance of selling quickly if needed.

NYSE Euronext will trade not only stocks but options, futures⁶, bonds and more. Total value of the listed companies? About twenty-six trillion dollars.

The stock prices of the NYSE Group and Euronext both doubled last year. This has other big exchanges considering deals of their own.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

1 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

2 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

3 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

5 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

6 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。