VOA标准英语10月-G-7 Nations Agree on Financial Action Plan

Finance ministers and central bank governors from seven major industrial economies met Friday in Washington and agreed on a five-point plan to stabilize¹ global financial markets that this week experienced their biggest declines in 30 years. VOA's Barry Wood has more.
　

Financial officials in Washington, 10 Oct 2008

The top officials from Europe, North America and Japan agreed on joint² action to stabilize markets and restore confidence. Saying that the current situation requires urgent action, they pledged cooperation on measures to unfreeze credit and get banks to lend to one another.

They promised to use all the tools at their disposal to prevent the failure of banks and institutions that could destabilize the global system. They will increase deposit insurance so that savers have confidence that their money is safe. And finally, they pledged action to make sure that money continues to be available for home purchases.

The seven participating countries are the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada.

The daylong meeting at the US Treasury³ was attended not only by finance ministers but also by the heads of central banks, including the European Central Bank, responsible for the 15 countries using the euro currency.

"What stood out to me was that everybody said the same thing. Here are the issues we've got to deal with. Let's learn from each other and let's stay in communication. Let's go about developing these measures as soon as we can," said Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, who chaired the meeting.

The Group of Seven meeting capped a week in which global stock markets suffered losses of 15 to 18 percent. It was the worst week for markets in 30 years with no region of the world immune from the financial panic associated with the freezing up of normal credit operations.

Paulson said he expects continued market volatility⁴ but he is confident that stability will be restored. "Never have all of us been more dependent on the others and more connected. This is truly a global marketplace. It is truly a global economy. Growth in any area helps all of us, weakness anywhere hurts all of us."

Paulson conceded that credit markets are still clogged⁵ and that more action is required. "We've got more to do in the liquidity⁶ area. It is the pressing, short-term issue that we're facing," he said.

On Saturday a broader group of finance officials, not only from these seven industrial democracies but also from Russia, China, India and other developing countries meet to discuss the global financial crisis. There will also be a meeting with President Bush.

1 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

5 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

6 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。