澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-10-09

 In business,the rating agency Moody¹ has downgraded 21 European banks over concerns about their ability to handle the region's debt crisis.Moody says it downgraded 12 British institutions,including the royal bank of Scotland, because it believes the UK government is unlikely to bail² the mess.It also cut the rating of 9 Portuguese³ banks over concerns about the safety of  big loans they've made to the Portugese government.

 

New figures show 103000 jobs were created in the US during September. Economists⁴ say it's more than expected,but the White House is warning that the unemployment rate remains⁵ too high at 9.1 percent.Around 14 million Americans are without jobs,with nearly half of those looking for works for more than 6 months.

 

The European commission has given its approval for US firm Microsoft to buy the internet voice and video servicer Skype.It says the deal won't   significantly impede⁶ competition.The agreement worth more than 8 billion dollars will be Microsoft's biggest acquisition.

 

And to the markets.US stocks have ended the session lower,the DOW Jones was down 25 points.In Europe,the FTSE 100 was 12 points higher.On the Asian markets, the Nikkei finished 84 points higher,the Hang Seng was 535 points up.

1 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

2 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

3 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。