澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-10-30

Australian shares have been hit by a steady stream of profit-taking as investors¹ gear up for a raft of local and international economic data due out next week. Both the All Ordinaries Index and the ASX200 have closed down about 0.5%. Shares in Macquarie Group have surged almost five per cent after the investment bank revealed a better-than-expected first half net profit of $ 403 million. That's down 16 per cent on its profit for the same time last year, but it's still beaten market forecasts.

Mining stocks have been fairly mixed today. Shares in Whitehaven Coal have jumped almost nine per cent after it said it would formalize talks with potential bidders². But Rio Tinto has taken a little bit of hit, and Telstra has closed 1.5 per cent lower.

Turning now to commodities. That gold has eased and oil is fairly steady. And the Australian dollar is buying 97.6 US cents.

There's some good news for first-time buyers today with signs that housing affordability³ is improving. The property research group RP Data says home values rose just 0.1 per cent last month, seasonally⁴ adjusted. Homes in regional areas have fared even worse, falling almost one per cent. It's the fourth straight month that values have flatlined. Canberra was the best performing capital city in the whole September quarter, while values in Perth fell five per cent. Analysts⁵ say the price stagnation⁶ will help first-time buyers get a foothold in the property market.

1 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

2 bidders   

n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Bidders should proceed only if they intend on using a PayPal account to complete payment. Bidders的唯一形式，应继续只当他们在使用贝宝帐户，以完成付款打算。 来自互联网
• The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest. 其他竞标人抱怨说该合同的竞标不公平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

4 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。