澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-03-27

 There've been more angry protests in Cyprus as that country's banks remain closed. Authorities are still working on measures to restrict withdrawals¹ to stop a feared run on deposits. 

 

They also want to control the flow of the money out of the country. The chairman of the country's biggest bank offered his resignation, but the bank's board refused to accept it.

 

Consumer confidence in the United States has fallen sharply for the month, according to a much-watched report. The Conference Board's index of consumer attitudes fell by 8.3 points in March. Now the fall has been blamed on federal budget cuts that came into force at the start of the month.

 

New home sales also fell in February. They were down almost five percent on January figures, which had been a five-year high. Excuse me...

 

Let's go to the markets.

 

And the US markets have gained three quarters of a percent overnight. London's FTSE also closed higher. 

 

To commodity markets.

 

West Texas Crude is trading at 96 US dollars a barrel. Tapis Crude is 114 US dollars a barrel. And gold is worth 1600 US dollars an ounce.

 

The Australian dollar is buying 105 US cents, 82 Euro cents and 69 pence sterling².

1 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

2 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。