VOA标准英语10月-Asian Shares Fall Again as Japanese Market Sheds

Asian share prices have fallen for a third day as investors¹ feared a global recession would badly hit company earnings². Japan's Nikkei index closed at a five-and-a-half year low, down 9.6 percent after the country's electronics giant Sony halved³ its full-year profit forecasts. In Australia, the government has been forced to amend⁴ its promise to guarantee all bank deposits, amid concerns that non-bank institutions not covered by the plan would be destabilized. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

It has been another day of carnage on Asian stock markets.
　

Traders on the Tokyo Stock Exchange gaze at digital indicator5 as Japan's key stock index nose-dives on a rising yen6 and growing recession fears in Tokyo, 24 Oct 2008

Some of the worst pain Friday was felt in Tokyo, where the Nikkei fell below the 8,000 mark for the first time in more than five years as investors were again spooked by fears of a global recession.

The strength of the Japanese yen is causing concerns about the country's export earnings, as the dollar fell below 96 yen, its lowest level in 13 years. A stronger yen makes Japanese exports more expensive on world markets.

Stock markets across Asia followed the Nikkei's slide. Seoul's benchmark Kospi index closed below 1,000 points for the first time since May 2005. The main indexes in Mumbai and Singapore were down more than seven percent in late trading, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed down more than eight percent.

In Australia, the selloff was less brutal⁷, and the ASX fell by 2.7 percent.

But the Australian government has come under more pressure over its guarantee on bank deposits, which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Treasurer⁸ Wayne Swan announced earlier this month. The move was intended to soothe⁹ worried savers and prevent massive bank withdrawals¹⁰.

Critics say instead, investors rushed to move huge amounts of money out of institutions not covered by the guarantee, such as investment funds, and put it into banks. That, they say, is destabilizing some financial businesses.

Australian opposition¹¹ leader, Malcolm Turnbull, says the program needs to be changed.

"Mr. Swan and Mr. Rudd have created a terrible mess here. There is no question about that. And I'm sure if they had their time over again they wish they hadn't made the grand gestures they did on the 12th of October," he said. "But in terms of where we go, how we get out of the mess they've created and move forward, it should be at a level recommended by the Reserve Bank."

Some of the selling in Asia was sparked by poor earnings outlooks for giant regional corporations. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics reported third-quarter earnings shrank 44 percent, and forecast tough times ahead. And Japan's Sony sharply cut its profit forecast for the year. Both electronics exporters saw their share prices fall about 14 percent Friday.

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 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

5 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

6 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

9 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

10 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

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。