European Markets Remain Volatile

 　　European stock markets were volatile¹ Monday despite the European Central Bank saying it intended to buy up government debt.

　　European Commission spokesperson Ollie Bailly said Monday that the measures taken by the European Central Bank should calm investors²' jitters³.

　　"All of the messages that came over the weekend from the G20, the G7, the different member states and the European Central Bank go in the right direction, in the good, in the same direction, and send a strong message of confidence to the markets and to the key players," Bailly said.

　　The European Central Bank, or ECB, announced Sunday that it would buy Spanish and Italian bonds in order to stabilize⁴ the markets.  The move was designed to allay⁵ fears that two of Europe’s largest economies might default on their debts.

　　Already, the eurozone has bailed⁶ out three of its member nations -- Greece, Ireland and Portugal - to prevent them from defaulting.

　　On Monday, dealers⁷ said the ECB began buying Italian and Spanish debt as soon as European bond markets opened.

　　Initially⁸ the plan seemed to be working.  Yields on 10-year Italian and Spanish bonds fell dramatically, and the euro rose against the dollar.

　　Nick Parsons, an economist⁹ at National Australia Bank, said the ECB had made the right move.

　　"It has been an absolutely critical decision, and I think we are going to have to see much more of this in the future if we are going to continue

　　this spread tightening," Parsons said.

　　But the gains were unstable¹⁰; European markets slipped back in the afternoon.

　　Analysts¹¹ say part of the problem is that investors are worried about the U.S. economy.  On Friday, the U.S. credit rating was downgraded, and on Monday, Wall Street stocks tumbled.

　　The U.S. is the world’s largest economy, and the state of its finances has global repercussions¹².  Shares in Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea also plunged¹³ Monday.

　　Analysts say the problem in Europe is domestic as well.  The ECB and European leaders still, they say, have not made a concrete plan about what they will do next to cope with the European sovereign debt crisis and stagnating¹⁴ economies.

　　Vanessa Rossi from London’s Chatham House is an expert on the European economy.

　　She says, in the first place, it is not clear that the ECB has enough funds to keep Spain and Italy clear of the brink¹⁵.

　　“I would have serious concerns that the amount of funding they would need to be able to make a real impact there will perhaps be more than the resources they wish to allocate,” Rossi said.

　　Government policy, she says, is not aimed at creating economic growth, and nations are relying on exports to keep their economies afloat.

　　"The difficulty is that governments virtually have no fire power left to provide any stimulus," Rossi said.

　　On Friday, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced plans to balance the country's budget by 2013 - a year earlier than planned - while Spain has also promised to speed up cost-saving measures.

1 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

2 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

3 jitters   

n.pl.紧张(通常前面要有the)

参考例句：

• I always get the jitters before exams. 我考试前总是很紧张。
• The whole city had the jitters from the bombing. 全城居民都为轰炸而心神不宁。

4 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

5 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

6 bailed   

保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Fortunately the pilot bailed out before the plane crashed. 飞机坠毁之前，驾驶员幸运地跳伞了。
• Some water had been shipped and the cook bailed it out. 船里进了些水，厨师把水舀了出去。

7 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 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。

10 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

14 stagnating   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I feel I'm stagnating in this job. 我觉得，干这份工作我没有长进。
• ITT was stagnating when Geneen became the chief executive officer in 1959. 1959年吉宁出任行政总负责人时，国际电话电报公司正处于不景气时期。 来自辞典例句

15 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。