Europe's Financial Crisis Intensifies

 　　Europe's financial crisis has deepened this week as worries rose about the health of another bank - the Franco-Belgian-owned Dexia.  Dexia's board meets Saturday to discuss the bank's future. Dexia's woes¹ underscore growing criticism about the region's handling of its crisis.

　　This is not the first time Dexia has been in trouble. French and German authorities bailed² out the bank in 2008. Now it is on the financial brink³ again because of its high exposure to Greek debt.

　　Dexia is reportedly trying to sell its affiliate⁴ in Luxembourg. Its board meets Saturday, reportedly to discuss a larger breakup.

　　French and Belgian authorities have vowed⁵ to take all necessary to help save Dexia and protect its clients, a promise echoed Thursday by Belgium's interim⁶ Prime Minister Yves Leterme.

　　Speaking on France's RTL radio, Leterme said the Belgian and French governments would do everything to ensure Dexia continues to function and to guarantee the bank's continuity.

　　Like many other European banks, Dexia passed a European stress test to assess its financial health. That was just three months ago.

　　For Karel Lannoo, head of the Brussels-based Center for European Policy Studies, the new reports about Dexia's struggles highlight a bigger problem - European officials are not being transparent⁷ about the region's banking⁸ crisis.

　　"The authorities... want to cover it up. And apparently⁹ have not learned a lesson from the crisis; that if you cover it up, it gets even worse when it explodes," said Lannoo/ "We have seen similar periods in 2008, early 2009 with other banks, where authorities try to hide problems, but it is even worse when you see it. "

　　Dexia is not the only European bank that is struggling because of high exposure to the debts of Greece and other ailing¹⁰ European economies.

　　"Dexia could be the tip of the iceberg¹¹, probably the weakest of the banks which are around," said Lannoo. "But as soon as we have anther hit somewhere, the sovereign problems which Europe has today, these banks will be in trouble."

　　More broadly, analysts¹³ fear Europe as a whole may be tipping toward another recession. At his final news conference Thursday, outgoing European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet delivered a sober assessment¹⁴.

　　"Ongoing¹⁵ tensions in financial markets and unfavorable effects on financing conditions are likely to dampen the pace of economic growth in the euro area in the second half of the year. The economic outlook remains¹⁶ subject to particularly high uncertainty¹⁷ and intensified¹⁸ downside risks," said Trichet.

　　Europe's debt and banking crises are certain to top the agenda when leaders of the Group of 20 meet in France next month. On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama again warned about the risk of a larger fallout.

　　"The problems Europe is having today could have a very real effect on our economy at a time when it is already fragile," said Obama.

　　Analyst¹² Lannoo said Dexia's crisis also is notching¹⁹ up the alarm felt by many ordinary Europeans at a time of high unemployment and weakening economies.

　　"People will be even more concerned about the state of the financial system and even have less trust in the financial system," said Lannoo.

　　As a result, Lannoo predicts that Europeans may instead begin sinking their savings²⁰ into real estate or other areas they feel are safer than their banking system.

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 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。

3 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。

4 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

8 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。

9 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

10 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

11 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 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。

14 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

15 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 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。

18 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 notching   

adj.多级的（指继电器）n.做凹口，开槽v.在（某物）上刻V形痕( notch的现在分词 )；赢得；赢取；获得高分

参考例句：

• Results are very linear and free from phase notching. 结果非常线性，没有相位凹口。 来自互联网
• This means that the system only improves, always notching forward, never backsliding. 这意味着系统只能够被改进，总是向前的，从不会倒退。 来自互联网

20 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。