Business 2006-07-17

A wild week on Wall Street has come to an end. Oil prices continue to shatter records. Let's check in with Valerie Morris, she has the details on oil and how the markets fare today. Hi, Valerie.

Hi there, Marissa. You use the word "wild" that is really quite appropriate. Oil prices are closing at another record high, but this really isn't the kind of record that consumers or investors¹ like to see. Light sweet crude settled at $77.03 a barrel and it neared $78 at one point during the day. One trader says that this is the greatest risk the oil market has seen since the embargo² of the seventies. Now the reason: a combination of geopolitical tensions. The conflict between Israel and Lebanon has escalated³. And even though neither country is an oil producer, they both lie in the heart of the Middle East which pumps nearly one-third of the world's oil. There's fear that the fighting could spread to Iran. And that's not all. Attacks on pipelines⁴ in Nigeria, which is the world's eighth largest exporter, have ignited fresh supply concerns. And of course when the price of oil rises, the price of gasoline is sure to follow. Experts say for a, to look for a big jump at the pump over the next few days. Checking on the closing numbers on Wall Street, as you see a picture of the Big Board, the Dow Industrials are posting triple digit⁵ losses for the third straight day, closing down 106 points. The Dow has lost a whopping 351 points this week alone and the NASDAQ Composite fell nearly one percent. Marissa?

Well, oil obviously has been the focus this week on Wall Street but we've also reached the start of yet another corporate⁶ earning season, so any great reports to kind of propel the markets?

I hate to be disappointing on this one but unfortunately no good news there either. Eh, General Electric. General Electric, often considered as a proxy⁷ for the whole market, posted a 4% increase in profits, now that was right in line with Wall Street estimates, but investors were still unimpressed. GE stock dropped nearly 2%, also wane⁸, unexpected declines in retail⁹ sales and consumer confidence that fueled worries of a slowing economy. Marissa.

So GE down, retail stocks down, but what about PETCO which jumped to what, more than 40 percent today. Great if you happen to hold that stock.

Absolutely, you know, this is the second biggest pet supply chain and it is bucking¹⁰ the downward trend and they are doing it big time. PETCO agreed to be bought by a private investment group, in a deal that's worth 1.6 billion dollars. Shareholders¹¹ are getting a 45% premium¹² over yesterday's closing price. I think I should end on that good news, Marissa, that's a wrap-up (I think we should.) of today on Wall Street. Have a good weekend.

Thank you,you too ,we'll see you next week.

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shatter:to break something suddenly into a lot of small pieces 打破
fare:used for saying how well or how badly someone does something 进展
light sweet crude :轻低硫原油
geopolitical:地理政治学的
proxy:someone who has the authority to do something for you,especially to vote 代理人
wane:become weaker or less important 亏损,衰退

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 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

3 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

4 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

5 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

7 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

8 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

9 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。

10 bucking   

v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马
• That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句

11 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

12 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。