澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-09-18

The local share market finished higher today, taking gains to three straight weeks. Both the All Ordinaries and the ASX 200 closed up about 0.75 per cent higher. Shares in Santos gained three per cent after the energy company issued 900 million dollars in debt. Meanwhile, ports and rail operator Asciano raised just over one billion dollars to pay off debt, but its shares ended lower.

Japan's Nikkei put on about 1.25 per cent today. On commodities¹, gold is buying 1,279 US dollars an ounce. And the Australian dollar is buying just under 94.5 US cents.

While Commonwealth² Bank chief executive³ Ralph Norris received a 75 per cent pay rise last year to 16 million dollars. The huge jump in Mr Norris's pay was driven by an increase in his long-term performance rights, which are tied to the performance of the bank's profits and share price. In the last financial year, CBA's profit grew by 20 per cent. The figures are contained in the bank's annual report.

And US Treasury⁴ Secretary Timothy Geithner has accused China of currency manipulation⁵, taking a tough stance on China's slow strengthening yuan. US Congress is considering a bill to charge duties on imported Chinese goods in response to the undervalued currency. Mr Geithner said the situation disadvantaged American companies in China.

1 commodities   

商品( commodity的名词复数 )； 农产品； 有价值的物品； 有用的东西

参考例句：

• rice, flour and other basic commodities 稻米、面粉和其他基本商品
• The manufacturers in some countries dumped their surplus commodities abroad. 一些国家的制造商向国外倾销过剩产品。

2 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

3 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

5 manipulation   

n.操纵，控制

参考例句：

• The government has disguised the true situation by clever manipulation of the figures. 政府巧妙地用数字掩盖了事实真相。
• They make a lot of money by clever manipulation of the Stock Market. 他们巧妙地操纵股票市场而大赚其钱。