听新闻就是比较爱听一周要闻回顾的。
视听财经堂这次推出The Economist 的Business this week，自然是喜欢的，只是发现自己还是有好多东西不懂的。
Mar 19th 2008 From The Economist print edition
http://user.hjenglish.com/biz/biz0323sfu.wmv
论坛节目地址：http://www.hjbbs.com/thread-7-478218.htm
Financial markets endured another tumultuous few days, starting with a run on Bear Stearns, a venerable Wall Street bank, amid rumours of its imminent collapse. The Federal Reserve led a rescue by assuring $30 billion of the bank's assets and engineering its takeover by JPMorgan Chase. At the same time it said it would accept investment banks' collateral( property pledged as a guarantee for the repayment of a loan 抵押物; 担保品). The action was praised for halting Bear Stearns's complete meltdown. The deal values the investment bank at just $2 a share: in January 2007 its shares traded for over $170.
The Fed also made an emergency cut of one-quarter of a percentage point to its discount rate (which it charges commercial banks), to 3.25%, and extended the rate to securities firms. At its regular meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee reduced the federal funds rate by a further three-quarters of a percentage point, to 2.25%.
In a week when the markets were highly agitated(troubled or excited 焦虑的; 激动的), Visa managed to raise $17.9 billion from its initial public offering, the world's second-biggest (behind Industrial & Commercial Bank of China in 2006). The flotation floatation( starting of a new company by selling shares in it to the public （公开发行股票）开办新公司) will provide some much-needed cash to Visa's shareholders, the banks that issue credit cards.
China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, said his government would take “forceful” steps to dampen（make (sth) less strong; restrain 使（某事物）减弱; 抑制） inflation, which is running well above official targets. Soon after Mr Wen spoke, China's reserve ratio was increased for the second time this year, with lenders ordered to place 15.5% of deposits with the central bank.
Air France-KLM cemented（establish (sth) firmly; strengthen 将（某事物）结合在一起; 加强; 巩固） its offer to buy Alitalia, valuing the equity of Italy's loss-making state airline at just euro 139m ($217m). The Italian government has been trying to offload(get rid of sb/sth unpleasant or unwelcome) by passing him/it to sb else 转移或转嫁至他人以摆脱或推卸（某人[某事物]） the carrier for more than a year (several potential buyers pulled out of an auction last summer). It recommended Air France's offer, as did Alitalia's management. The airline's powerful unions, however, remain hostile, as are opposition politicians, one of whom invoked the battle of Caporetto—Italy's biggest defeat in the first world war.
Background info:
1) tumultuous
disorderly or confused; violent 无秩序的; 混乱的; 狂暴的
解释这个词，主要是想引出一些形容市场动荡的同义词（欢迎补充）：
程度轻一点的：fluctuate(v.)
大一点的：volatile(v.), turmoil(n.), upheaval(n.), agitate(v.), turbulence(n.)
2) JP Morgan Chase: 摩根大通为全球历史最长、规模最大的金融服务集团之一，由大通银行、J.P.摩根公司及富林明集团在2000年完成合并。总部位于纽约，它为3000多万名消费者以及企业、机构和政府客户提供服务。该公司拥有7930亿美元资产，业务遍及50多个国家，是投资银行业务、金融服务、金融事务处理、投资管理、私人银行业务和私募股权投资的领导者。
3）one-quarter of a percentage 0.25%
three-quarters of a percentage 0.75%
percentage表示一个百分点。
4) Federal Open Market Committee
The federal committee that is responsible for setting the interest rates and credit policies of the Federal Reserve System.
联邦公开市场操作委员会。 FOMC隶属于联邦准备系统，主要任务在决定美国货币政策，透过货币政策的调控，来达到经济成长及物价稳定两者间的平衡。
5)initial public offering 简称IPO，首次公开发行。
是指企业透过证券交易所首次公开向投资者增发股票，以期募集用于企业发展资金的过程。
6) reserve ratio 存款准备金率
银行机构不能将吸收的存款全部用于发放贷款，必须保留一定的资金，以备客户提款的需要。调整存款准备金率属于政府财货政策手段
7) Air France-KLM
It is an airline company incorporated under French law with its headquarters at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris, France. It is the largest airline company in the world in terms of total operating revenues, and the third largest in the world (the largest in Europe) in terms of passenger-kilometres. 法航荷航集团
法国航空公司(Air France)成功以8.33亿欧元（9.9570亿美元），获取了荷兰皇家航空公司的89%的控制权，准备组成全球收入最大的航空公司。
8) Alitalia
Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane is the national airline of Italy. Headquartered in Rome, it operates services to 28 domestic and 74 international destinations. The airline's hubs are Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport, Rome, and Malpensa International Airport, Milan.
意大利的国企航空公司，总部设于罗马。意大利航空经营国内及国际航线，其主要基地是米兰的Malpensa国际机场(MXP)，罗马达文西国际机场(FCO)则是其枢纽。
9) the battle of Caporetto—Italy's biggest defeat in the first world war
卡波雷托战役：1917年10月24日—11月9日，在第一次世界大战期间，奥德联军(德国第14集团军，奥匈帝国第10、第2集团军协同)在卡波雷托(意大利北部伊松佐河畔一居民点)地域和意大利第2和第3集团军进行的一次交战。
难句翻译：
1）Financial markets endured another tumultuous few days, starting with a run on Bear Stearns, a venerable Wall Street bank, amid rumours of its imminent collapse.
金融市场又经历了几天的动荡，起初是由华尔街一家薄弱的贝尔斯登银行受挫开始的，因为传言其面临崩溃。
2）In a week when the markets were highly agitated, Visa managed to raise $17.9 billion from its initial public offering, the world's second-biggest， (behind Industrial & Commercial Bank of China in 2006).
这一周市场严重动荡，运通银行仍然从它首次公开发行的股票筹资179亿美元，居全球第二位，仅次于中国的工商银行。
3）Air France-KLM cemented its offer to buy Alitalia, valuing the equity of Italy's loss-making state airline at just euro 139m ($217m).
法航荷航集团落实了购买意大利航空公司的要约，使得这个亏损的意大利国有航空公司的股票市值达到1.39亿欧元（2.17亿美元）