l亞洲股市重挫，恐受美經濟衰退牽動
Asian markets plunge on US economic concerns


Source from:
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/2008/01/16/139349/Asian%2Dmarkets.htm

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
By DIKKY SINN, AP


遣詞用字

1. plunge重挫=plummet=nosedive=slump=plump
drop dramatically/sharply
freefall/ plump/tumble
反義: rise dramatically/sharply
soar=surge

2. growing speculation一直在猜測

3. slide into a recession開始衰退
slip into a recession
fall into a recession衰退
in a recession衰退
economic gloom經濟慘淡
economic meltdown經濟衰退

4. global slowdown全球市場衰退

5. dump stocks大量拋售股價

6. write down mountains of
write off注銷,一筆勾銷

7. mountains of 大量的

8. fallout from (由於…造成的結果)；(政治)餘波;附帶結果

9. add to the gloom使得前景更加慘淡

10. sink下跌
fall
drop

11. drop sharply大跌

12. slow growth成長緩慢

13. send…below….使…低於…
send…down…

14. growing fear that一直擔心害怕

15. interest rate利率

16. cut rates by…降…利率

17. concerns about… be overblown某事被過度渲染

18. have limited impact on對…影響有限

19. contribute to導致

20. offset 抵銷

21. investor’s jitters 投資者過於敏感

22. inject…(money)..into把…注入…

23. yen’s appreciation 日圓增值

24. big declines 大跌

25. gain獲利/上升

26. thanks to 由於


HONG KONG -- Asian markets plunged Wednesday on growing speculation the U.S.
economy - a vital export market - is sliding into a recession that could lead to
a global slowdown.

Investors dumped stocks after an overnight sell-off on Wall Street and on news
that Citigroup Inc. had lost nearly US$10 billion in the fourth quarter as it
wrote down mountains of bad mortgage assets - the latest fallout from the credit
crisis. Weak U.S. retail sales figures also added to the gloom.

"American financial mismanagement has brought us to this economic meltdown,"
said Francis Lun, a general manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong. "Asian
stock markets are all suffering; nobody has escaped."

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index sank 5.4 percent to 24,450.85, while
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell 3.4 percent to close at 13,504.51 points, its
lowest in more than two years.

Markets in Australia, China, India, South Korea, New Zealand and the Philippines
also dropped sharply on worries about slower growth in the U.S. and uncertainty
about the extent of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Concerns about the U.S. financial system were also felt in the currency market,
which sent the U.S. dollar below 106 yen, its lowest since May 2005.

Investors saw more damage from the credit crisis when Citigroup said Tuesday it
had written down $18.1 billion in bad assets. That help send the Dow Jones
industrial average down 277 points, or 2.2 percent, to 12,501.11.

"The fallout from the Citigroup result is significant, with many saying ...
there is more bad news to come," said Trent Muller, an ABN Amro Morgan analyst
in Sydney. "We will see a bit of panic selling with a lot of investors taking
cash off the table today."


There is also growing fear that the Federal Reserve hasn't done enough to keep
the U.S. economy going. The central bank has lowered its key interest rate by a
full percentage point to 4.25 percent since early August.

Now many investors and analysts believe the Fed will cut rates by a half-point
at its Jan. 29-30 meeting.

But some believed the concerns about the U.S. economy were overblown.

However, Ernie Hon, a strategist with ICEA Securities in Hong Kong, said he
expected any U.S. economic slowdown would be temporary and have limited impact
on Asia. Strong demand from within Asia and the Middle East would offset slowing
demand from the U.S., he said, blaming the market drop on investor jitters.

"The recession will only last for one to two quarters because the U.S. will
continue to cut rates and inject money into its banking system," he said.

Still, in Tokyo, the region's biggest market, worries about the yen's
appreciation contributed to big declines in major Japanese exporters Honda Motor
Co., which shed 4.9, and Sony Corp., which plunged 6.8.

In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.8 percent to 5,290.60.
The index has gained 0.6 percent since the beginning of the year, compared with
losses in most other Asian markets.

"The U.S. market certainly influenced mainland Chinese markets due to its impact
on Hong Kong shares. That's the main reason for today's decline," said Peng
Yunliang, a senior analyst at Shanghai Securities.

But the impact is mainly limited to major bank and insurance companies whose
shares are listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. Overall, China's share prices
have strong support from domestic demand, she said.

"Other stocks like pharmaceuticals, energy, resources and tourism are all
continuing to gain thanks to strong demand," Peng said.