VOA慢速英語(yǔ):2013年美國(guó)日本股市飆升

US, Japanese Stocks Rise in 2013

2013年美國(guó)日本股市飆升

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.

這里是美國(guó)之音慢速英語(yǔ)新聞報(bào)道。

Stock prices in the United States and Japan rose sharply in 2013. The rising prices were evidence of investors welcoming efforts to push down interest rates. Low interest rates help to reduce the cost of homes, equipment and other goods.

2013年美國(guó)和日本股票價(jià)格大幅上漲。股價(jià)上漲是投資者認(rèn)同推動(dòng)利率下降措施的證據(jù)。低利率有助于降低住房、設(shè)備和其它貨物的成本。

The leading measure of Japanese stock prices was up 57 percent last year. That was the best performance for Japan's Nikkei Index in many years. In the United States, another stock index, the S&P 500, rose almost 30 percent in 2013. Another measure of stocks, the NASDAQ Composite Index, rose 38 percent.

去年日本的日經(jīng)指數(shù)上漲了57%，這是日經(jīng)指數(shù)多年來(lái)的最好表現(xiàn)。而2013年美國(guó)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾500指數(shù)上漲了近30%，另一項(xiàng)衡量股票的納斯達(dá)克綜合指數(shù)上漲了38%。

The share prices were up, in part, because of actions by the US and Japanese central banks. The US Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates to almost zero a few years ago. More recently, the Federal Reserve has been working to push down long-term interest rates. The central bank has been buying billions of dollars' worth of bonds and other government securities. The bank recently announced it would reduce that program because the economy no longer needs so much help.

股價(jià)上漲部分是由 于美國(guó)和日本央行采取的行動(dòng)。美國(guó)聯(lián)邦儲(chǔ)備委員會(huì)(美國(guó)央行，簡(jiǎn)稱美聯(lián)儲(chǔ))幾年前將短期利率削減到幾乎為零。最近，美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)一直在努力降低長(zhǎng)期利率。作為央 行的美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)一直在購(gòu)買價(jià)值數(shù)十億美元的債券和國(guó)債。美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)最近宣布，由于經(jīng)濟(jì)不再需要這么多幫助，它將減少該程序。

Nick Ventura is with Ventura Wealth Management, a financial investment company in New Jersey. He calls some of the actions by central banks a "global gamble" that has worked, at least so far. In 2013, the American economy grew and housing prices rose. At the same time, the jobless rate fell a little.

尼克·文圖拉(Nick Ventura)就職于文圖拉財(cái)富管理公司，這是一家位于新澤西州的金融投資公司。他稱美、日兩家央行的一些行動(dòng)是一場(chǎng)全球賭博，但到目前為止是成功的。在2013年，美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)出現(xiàn)增長(zhǎng)，住房?jī)r(jià)格出現(xiàn)上漲。與此同時(shí)，失業(yè)率略所下降。

Mr. Ventura says the improving economy meant fewer wild movements in stock prices, and fewer worried investors.

文圖拉表示，經(jīng)濟(jì)改善意味著股票價(jià)格劇烈波動(dòng)會(huì)變少，憂心忡忡的投資者也會(huì)減少。

"Every time that there was the slightest pullback in stock prices it was rewarded with a fresh round of buying. So there is a growing confidence in the U.S. recovery and I think that's what really perked up the U.S. economy."

他說(shuō)，“每次股價(jià)輕微回調(diào)，都會(huì)得到新一輪買盤的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。所以全球?qū)γ绹?guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇的信心越來(lái)越強(qiáng)，我認(rèn)為正是它激活了美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)。”

Experts say they saw improvements in consumer and investor confidence toward the end of last year. That sense of trust seems to be making investors more willing to take small risks by purchasing shares of stock.

專家們表示，他們看到了去年年底消費(fèi)者和投資者信心的增強(qiáng)。這種信任感使得投資者更愿意通過(guò)購(gòu)買股票冒些小風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

The Wall Street Journal says investors are simply looking for stocks with low prices and a likelihood of strong earnings. Another newspaper, The Financial Times, reports that investments said to offer safety in troubled economic times saw fewer buyers. These investments include gold and government bonds. Some experts predict stock prices will continue to climb in 2014, but at a slower rate than last year.

華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)表示，投資者只是在尋找可能存在豐厚收益的低價(jià)股票。另一家報(bào)紙金融時(shí)報(bào)則報(bào)道說(shuō)，經(jīng)濟(jì)困難時(shí)期據(jù)稱安全的投資現(xiàn)在鮮有買家。這些投資包括黃金和國(guó)債。有專家預(yù)測(cè)，2014年股價(jià)會(huì)繼續(xù)攀升，不過(guò)與去年相比速度會(huì)放緩。

Over in Turkey, a deepening political crisis is affecting the country's stock market. By the end of 2013, Turkey's stock market had fallen more than 20 percent, while the value of Turkish money hit new lows.

而在土耳其，一次深化政治危機(jī)正影響著該國(guó)的股市。到2013年年底，土耳其股市已經(jīng)下跌逾20%，土耳其貨幣價(jià)值也觸及新低。

Concerns are growing about the effects of the power struggle between the government and the judiciary. More than 20 people, including state officials, have been arrested on corruption charges.

對(duì)政府和司法機(jī)構(gòu)之間權(quán)力斗爭(zhēng)影響的擔(dān)憂在不斷發(fā)酵。包括政府官員在內(nèi)的20多人因腐敗指控被逮捕。

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismisses the investigation as part of a plot to bring down his government.

土耳其總理雷杰普·塔伊普·埃爾多安(Recep Tayyip Erdogan)駁回了一項(xiàng)調(diào)查，這是密謀推翻他的政府的措施的一部分。

Last week, protesters gathered in several cities to demand the resignation of the prime minister. Thousands of supporters of Mr. Erdogan held separate demonstrations.

上周，示威者聚集在數(shù)個(gè)城市要求總理辭職。埃爾多安的數(shù)千名支持者也舉行了另外的示威活動(dòng)。