澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-12-04

 German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel has said Europe is working towards setting up a fiscal² union in an effort to resolve the eurozone's debt crisis. She told the German parliament that a new EU Treaty was needed to set up such a union and impose financial discipline. Ms Merkel's address came after she met the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has also called for EU treaty changes. EU leaders have been under pressure to do more to tackle the debt crisis amid concern about the survival of the euro.

 

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's says Australia's biggest banks remain among the safest in the world despite its downgrades to their investment rankings. The big four retail³ banks and investment bank Macquarie Group have seen their credit risk rise slightly. Standard & Poor's credit analyst⁴ Gavin Gunning has said the downgrades for the big four come amid the European financial crisis and the banks' dependence⁵ on offshore⁶ loans. 

 

To the market numbers, and local shares rose yesterday. The All Ordinaries index gained 58 points. The ASX 200 increased 59 points. European markets have closed higher. The FTSE 100 was up more than 60 points. In the US, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 made slight gains. 

 

Checking commodities, and gold is up; Tapis is down. And the Australian dollar is buying around 102 US cents.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 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。

5 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

6 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。