VOA标准英语2009年-Stocks Soar on News Banks May Be Turning Corner

Stock prices rose on many of the world's markets Tuesday after a report that troubled Citigroup posted its best financial performance in more than a year in the first two months of 2009.
　
Citigroup headquarters in New York (file photo)

An internal memo¹ from Citigroup chief Vikram Pandit said the firm had an operating profit of more than $8 billion so far this year.

Global financial markets took a break from persistent² gloom-and-doom pessimism³ to rally sharply Tuesday.

After months of relentlessly⁴ selling shares, investors⁵ returned to a buying mood, sending markets soaring from Asia to Europe to the Americas.

"It is nice to know that the market does not only go in one direction when that one direction seems to be down," said Michael Farr,Washington-based market analyst⁶.

With governments and central banks around the world struggling to contain and reverse a financial crisis and global credit squeeze, investors responded enthusiastically to positive news from Citigroup, one of America's largest banks and financial services providers. Citigroup's top executive, CEO Vikram Pandit, reported the company has operated at a profit for the first two months of the year, after suffering five consecutive⁷ quarterly losses.

For weeks, U.S. legislators have been debating the merits of further government intervention⁸ to prop⁹ up major financial corporations like Citigroup, as opposed to nationalizing them or allowing them to go bankrupt.

Once started, the market rally was not derailed by other, less upbeat news. The Commerce Department reported U.S. businesses cut inventories¹⁰ at the wholesale¹¹ level for a fifth consecutive month in February, and Delta¹² Airlines announced plans to further slash¹³ international routes. Brazil revealed its economy contracted at a 3.6 percent rate in the final quarter of last year, while the head of the International Monetary¹⁴ Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, proclaimed that the world has entered what he termed a "Great Recession" that could last a long time.

Many analysts¹⁵ have been left asking if Tuesday's rally was a sign of better days to come, or a momentary¹⁶ interruption of a continuing trend downward. UBS wealth management researcher Michael Ryan says, at long last, markets may have reached a bottom.

"The bounce we are getting today comes off of a period where equity¹⁷ markets have been under severe pressure and we have seen significant losses," said Ryan. "I think the fact that we have seen markets start to rebound¹⁸ suggests that we have reached really technically-oversold levels."

Market analyst Michael Farr says no one should interpret a one-day rally as a sign of a market turnaround, noting that economic conditions remain grim in the United States and elsewhere. Just the same, he says, in today's climate, market upticks should be savored¹⁹.

"Carpe diem, live for the day! Enjoy this moment - we have not had enough of them," he said.

Even with the day's rally, Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost roughly half its value since late 2007. Global financial losses of wealth have been estimated as high as $50 trillion.

1 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

2 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

3 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

4 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

5 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

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

8 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

9 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

10 inventories   

n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制

参考例句：

• In other cases, such as inventories, inputs and outputs are both continuous. 在另一些情况下，比如存货，其投入和产出都是持续不断的。
• The store must clear its winter inventories by April 1st. 该店必须在4月1日前售清冬季存货。

11 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

12 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

13 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

14 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

17 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

18 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

19 savored   

v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的过去式和过去分词 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝

参考例句：

• We savored the barbed hits in his reply. 我们很欣赏他在回答中使用的带刺的俏皮话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We savored, (the pleasures of) mountain life to the full. 我们充分体会了山居生活的乐趣。 来自辞典例句