美国零售量下降,失业人数上升 (2).doc

US Retail Sales Down, Jobless Claims Up One day after the U.S. central bank signaled a possible end to Americas longest recession since World War II, new data suggest continued weakness in several economic sectors.Less than 24 hours after the Federal Reserve proclaimed the recession to be easing, the United States has been hit with a quadruple batch of somber economic news, with retail sales down, business inventories cut, jobless claims up and home foreclosures hitting a new record high.Instead of the modest gain economists had been expecting, U.S. retail sales dipped .1 percent in July. Lakshman Achuthan of the New York-based Economic Cycle Research Institute says even a slight drop in sales has consequences. You are talking about an American economy that is almost $14 trillion, Achuthan said. And that is why even a fraction of a fraction is billions and billions of dollars in activity. Automobile sales were a bright spot in the retail sector, recording a 2.4 percent jump last month amid a government program subsidizing the purchase of new, fuel-efficient vehicles. Achuthan says Americas sudden car-buying frenzy may have eaten up cash that would otherwise have gone to other sectors. It may be that the effort to buy a car made people hold off on buying other items like refrigerators and new dining room tables and things like that, Achuthan said. Other economic data included a slight rise in the number of people filing initial jobless claims. The Labor Department says 558,000 newly-laid off Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, 4,000 more than the previous week. But the total number of people receiving benefits fell from 6.34 million to 6.2 million.Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reports American businesses cut inventories 1.1 percent in June, the tenth consecutive monthly decline.And, despite recent signs of a turnaround in Americas battered housing industry, a private group reports the number of new home foreclosure filings rose 7 percent in July from the previous month, and are up nearly a third from a year ago.Rick Sharga is vice president of RealtyTrac, which compiled the numbers. This months report was particularly dismal. We really do not see much good news in any part of the country as it relates to foreclosure activity, Sharga said. It was a rash of home foreclosures after a prolonged period of lax lending standards that many economists blame for Americas financial meltdown last year.The days economic data stand in contrast to Wednesdays encouraging assessment of U.S. economic conditions by the Federal Reserve. The central bank said it sees signs that the economy is leveling out after a prolonged downturn. Meanwhile, Europes largest economies have returned to economic growth. Germany and France reported a .3 percent rise in second quarter gross domestic product.Economist Lakshman Achuthan shares Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankes oft-repeated belief that U.S. economic performance will improve by years end. The fact that retail sales come in weaker than expected does not change the future expectation that this recession is actually drawing to a close, Achuthan said. Even if the U.S. economy rebounds, most economists expect the recovery to be slow, with unemployment rates remaining stubbornly high for months to come.美国中央银行刚刚发出信号宣告二战以来美国延续时间最长的经济危机可能结束，一天之后，新的数据显示几个经济部门仍然比较微弱。美联储宣布经济衰退已经缓解还不到24小时，美国就遭受了四个不利的经济消息的打击，包括零售量下降，商业投资减少，失业人数攀升，房产没收达到新的纪录。与经济学家预期的轻微增长相反，美国7月份零售量下滑了1%。来自纽约美国经济周期研究所的Lakshman Achuthan表示，即使是销量的轻微下跌也会引起相应影响。“你现在说的是高达14兆美元的美国经济。”Achuthan说。“也就是说百分之零点几的下跌都会导致几千亿的损失。”汽车销售在零售部门是一个亮点，由于政府资助购买新的，更省油的汽车项目，上月销量上涨了2.4%。Achuthan说，美国的突然爆发的购车热可能用光了原本用于其他部门的资金。“可能由于人们将原本用于购买冰箱，餐桌等物品的钱用在了购买新车上。”Achuthan说。另外的经济数据包括申请失业补助人数的轻微上涨。劳工部称，上周558,000名新失业的美国人申请失业津贴，比上周多出4,000多人。但是接受失业津贴的总人数从634万下降到620万。同时，商务部报告美国6月份商业投资减少了1.1%，连续第10个月出现下滑。尽管早搜重创的房地产行业最近出现了好转，一家私人组织报告称，7月份房屋没收总量比前一个月上升了7%，比一年前上涨了接近三分之一。编辑该数据的公司是RealtyTrac，其副总裁是Rick Sharga。经过长期松懈的借贷标准之后，房产没收大量增加。许多经济学家称这是由于去年的金融危机。该经济数据与周三美联储发布的鼓舞人心的美国经济状况评估相反。美国中央银行称，经过长期的低迷周后，他们看到了美国经济开始走出低谷的迹象。德国和法国报告第二季度GDP增长了3%。经济学家Lakshman Achuthan则与美联储主席Ben Bernanke多次重复的观点一致：美国经济在今年年底将会有所好转。“零售量下降的事实并不能改变经济好转的预期，实际上，经济衰退正在接近尾声。”Achuthan说。许多经济学家预测，即使美国经济反弹，复苏的速度也会非常缓慢，未来的几个月，失业率仍然会居高不下。1.proclaim vt.宣布,公告,宣言,表明,赞扬例句：The youths harsh retort proclaimed his bitter anger. 那年青人的刺耳的反驳声显示了他的恼怒。2.quadruple a. 四倍的,四重的,四部组成的例句：We quadrupled the GNP. 我们的国民生产总值翻了一番。3.foreclosure n. 丧失抵押品赎回权 例句：Im afraid youd known how close you are to a foreclosure. 恐怕你早就已经晓得了你是如此接近失去你的赎回权了。4.consequence n. 结果,后果;推理,推断;重要性例句：The punishment is in consequence of his Breaking the law. 因为他犯法而遭处罚。5.consecutive a. 连续的,联贯的,始终一贯的例句：It has rained for four consecutive days. 已连续下了四天雨。6.turnaround n. 回车场,转变例句：On the positive side, the calendar suggests were due for a turnaround. 从积极的角度看，时间表明我们即将面临转机到来。7.compile vt. 编译,编辑,编纂,搜集例句：Im not sure I know how to compile a dictionary. 恐怕我不会编词典。8.prolonged a.持久的例句：His speech won prolonged applause. 他的讲话赢得了经久不息的掌声。9.oft-repeated adj.多次重复的10.rebound vi. 弹回,复原,复兴,返回,报应例句：The struck the board sideways ma and rebounded from it. 那支镖碰到板沿并弹了回来。11.stubbornly ad. 倔强地;顽固地例句：She stubbornly refused to cooperate. 她顽固地拒绝合作。1.Achuthan says Americas sudden car-buying frenzy may have eaten up cash that would otherwise have gone to other sectors. eat up吃完,吃光;耗尽,吞掉;使沉迷于,使纠缠于例句：The tedious job simply ate me up. 那单调乏味的工作简直把我烦死了。2.The Labor Department says 558,000 newly-laid off Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, 4,000 more than the previous week. apply for申请,