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VOA慢速英语 2007 0622a

时间:2007-12-13 06:49:32

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

 
 
Bonds have been in the news a lot in the last few weeks. Yields on the ten-year United States Treasury1 note jumped to their highest level in five years, before easing.

Bonds are debt owed by a government or a company. The holder2 of a bond is paid interest until the date when the bond matures. Then the amount of the bond, its face value, is paid back.

Investors3 can buy a new bond and keep it until it matures. Or they can buy and sell existing bonds. The return on a bond is called the yield. Yields and prices of existing bonds can change as investors trade them.

Yields fall when investors seek the security of bonds and are willing to pay higher prices. Yields increase as prices fall.

This month, yields on the ten-year Treasury note rose above five percent for the first time in close to a year. Higher yields raise the cost for individuals and businesses to borrow money at interest rates that are tied to the ten-year note.

Rising yields can also hurt stock prices. When yields rise, investors often sell stocks in order to buy bonds. If investors can get high yields holding low-risk bonds, or simply keeping money in the bank, they will do it. Yet holding bonds can also have risks as values for new and existing bonds change in the market.

Bond prices can also drop on signs of inflation. But inflation does not seem to be a threat with the current softness in the American housing market. New housing starts fell more than two percent in May.

Most experts believe the United States central bank will keep interest rates unchanged when policy makers4 meet next week. But many investors are concerned about pressure for higher interest rates in Europe and Asia.

Another influence on the bond market is the willingness of foreign countries to buy United States government debt. In Asia there have been signs that some countries that hold a lot of low-yield debt want greater returns on their investments. China, for example, recently announced it will invest three billion dollars in the Blackstone Group, the private-equity company in New York.

For much of the last year, bond yields have been inverted5. Short-term debt returned higher rates than long-term debt. In the past, an inverted yield curve was thought to signal a possible recession. Now things are back to what is considered "normal" with long-term debt paying higher yields.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.


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1 treasury 7GeyP     
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。
2 holder wc4xq     
n.持有者,占有者;(台,架等)支持物
参考例句:
  • The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
  • That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。
3 investors dffc64354445b947454450e472276b99     
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
4 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 inverted 184401f335d6b8661e04dfea47b9dcd5     
adj.反向的,倒转的v.使倒置,使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
  • Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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