World markets are mostly lower amid continuing fallout from the failure of the U.S. House of Representatives to approve a bailout package for troubled financial institutions.
美国国会众议院否决金融救市计划的影响还在继续，世界大部分股票市场出现下滑。
Stock markets in Japan and Australia posted steep losses of more than four percent, while Hong Kong had a modest gain of less than one percent. Among major European markets, only London was higher in midday trading, while U.S. markets posted early gains after suffering the biggest ever single-day point loss Monday.
日本和澳大利亚的股市跌幅超过4%，香港股市小幅上扬不到1%。在欧洲主要市场中，只有伦敦股市在中午交易时出现上扬，而美国股市在星期一经历了历史上最大的单日跌幅后在星期二早上有所上涨。
Investors in many countries are increasingly panicked, according to senior manager Martin Hannecke of the Hong Kong-based financial firm Tyche Group.
香港金融投资顾问公司桥川集团的高级经理汉内克认为，许多国家投资者的慌乱情绪在增长。
"There is a huge amount of uncertainty now," he said. "The investors here have been looking to go into cash [sell assets] and they have seen substantial losses."
他说：“现在的不确定性很高。投资者们都想着套现，而他们的资产价值已经大幅下跌。”
Less than an hour before trading began on Wall Street, President Bush reaffirmed the need for congressional action to stave off further financial upheaval. Mr. Bush spoke hours after European leaders pleaded with their American counterparts to avoid further delay in tackling the situation.
在离华尔街开市不到一小时的时候，美国总统布什重申了国会采取行动避免进一步金融动荡的必要性。布什发表讲话的几个小时以前，欧洲国家领导人恳请美国领导人避免在解决金融危机方面进一步延迟。
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she and the German government expect that a U.S. financial rescue package will be approved this week, which she described as a vital precondition for creating new confidence in the markets.
德国总理默克尔说，她本人和德国政府期待美国在本周之内通过金融救市计划。她说，这是市场重建信心的重要先决条件。
Meanwhile, a European Union Commission spokesman said the United States must take responsibility and show leadership for its own sake and the sake of the world.
与此同时，欧盟委员会的一位发言人说，美国必须为自身和全世界的利益承担责任并发挥其领导作用。
Just as the Bush administration has felt compelled to rescue or take over troubled American financial institutions, two Belgian banks have now received emergency bailouts. Ireland has moved to guarantee bank deposits. Central banks around the world have aggressively injected money into financial systems to counteract tight credit that could strangle economic expansion.
就在布什政府觉得不得不接管陷入困境的美国金融机构的同时，两家比利时银行获得了紧急救助，爱尔兰政府采取行动保障人们在银行里存款。世界各国的中央银行积极向金融系统注入资金，以应对可能使经济增长停滞的信贷紧缩。
The increasingly-global financial crisis began with a rash of U.S. home foreclosures after a prolonged period of loose credit that saw millions of Americans acquire home mortgages they could not afford. U.S. housing prices have plummeted during the past year, and new figures show further sharp declines in America's biggest housing markets.
这场在全球蔓延的金融危机开始于美国住房因房主没有能力偿还房贷而被银行没收的浪潮。在房屋市场危机发生前，美国在很长一段时间里信贷过于宽松，导致数百万美国人获得了他们无力偿还的房屋抵押贷款。在过去一年中，美国的房价大幅度下跌，新的数据显示，美国几个最大房屋市场中的房价在进一步快速下降。
Without swift intervention, the situation will get more grim, according to University of Maryland Business and Management Professor Peter Morici.
美国马里兰大学商业及管理系教授莫里奇认为，如果政府不对市场进行快速干预，形势就会进一步恶化。
"We are going to see [U.S.] unemployment in the double digits if we do not do something fast," he said. "And we are going to see housing prices stay depressed, banks failing, the FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation] insurance fund running out of money and the Congress having to bail that out."
他说：“如果我们不尽快采取行动，美国的失业率就会达到两位数。我们还会看到房价继续低糜，银行倒闭，联邦存款保险公司用尽其保险基金，而国会不得不出面挽救。”
U.S. congressional leaders have pledged to renew efforts to pass an economic rescue package later in the week.
美国国会领导人保证他们将再次努力，在本周晚些时候通过挽救经济的计划。 |