澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-09-28

 And hopes of a new debt rescue plan have sent European markets higher overnight. 

 

The Greek parliament has also just approved an unpopular new property tax as the prime minister tries to convince European countries that Greece is serious about solving its debt crisis. 

 

"I understand the political difficulties in our European family, as one country wonders why it should support another for its past mistakes, or why some countries should take so much pain for a crisis that began with the banking¹ system. But as I have said, this is not an investment in past failures. This is an investment in future successes, our common success." George Papandreou there. 

 

Let's take a closer look at those big gains on global markets overnight. The biggest gains were in Europe where French and German markets were both up more than 5 per cent. Now that led to a positive close in the US too, where the Dow has gained 147 points, Nasdaq up 30, the S&P500 put on 14. And across in London, the FTSE closed 4 per cent higher, a rise of more than 200 points. 

 

Checking commodity prices, West Texas crude is trading at $US84.07 a barrel, Tapis crude's at $US118.05 a barrel. And gold is at $US1649.49 an ounce. The Australian dollar is heading back towards parity². It's now buying 99 US cents, 72 euro cents and 63 pence sterling³.

1 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。

2 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。

3 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。