英式商务英语 17Aug2022 【附原文及实用单词短语】

【今日单词及短语】cast a pall over /pɔːl/ noun.a dark cloud of smoke, dust, etc."a pall of black smoke hung over the quarry"-----------------------------原文如下：The day in the marketsby Ian Johnston(来自：The Financial Time 金融时报)What you need to know• Poor US construction data leave Wall Street flat• Confidence survey casts fresh doubts over outlook for German economy• Oil prices fall on recession fearsUS stocks were subdued yesterday and oil prices fell after a fresh burst of disappointing economic data from the US and Germany added to concerns over the global growth outlook.Wall Street’s broad S&P 500 was up 0.1 per cent by late morning in New York, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.3 per cent. Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 share index closed 0.2 per cent higher. Germany’s Dax rose 0.7 per cent and London’s FTSE 100 added 0.4 per cent.Those moves came after data showed that the rate of new home construction in the world’s largest economy fell to its lowest level in July since early 2021. US housing starts last month fell 9.6 per cent month on month to an annualised pace of just under 1.45mn, lower than Wall Street forecasts of about 1.54mn and below June’s figure of 1.6mn.“Homebuilders now have far too much inventory, and prices are under pressure,” wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.Fresh survey results cast a pall over the outlook for Germany. Figures from economic research group Zew showed investment professionals’ confidence in the economy had deteriorated again in August. A reading of minus 55.3 was worse than the previous month’s figure and a consensus forecast of minus 53.8.Central banks have indicated monetary policy tightening will be guided in part by signals given by economic data releases.This has made market watchers pay more attention to individual data points than they have previously, said Altaf Kassam, Emea head of investment strategy and research at State Street Global Advisors.The muted performance in US equity markets came despite Walmart, the world’s largest bricks-and-mortar retailer, reporting stronger than feared quarterly figures and raising its full-year guidance.In oil, Brent crude fell 2.2 per cent to $93.06 a barrel, extending declines from the previous session in the latest sign of recession fears stalking markets. US marker West Texas Intermediate dropped 2.6 per cent to $87.13 a barrel.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed down 1.1 per cent, pulled lower by a drop in the shares of food delivery group Meituan after Reuters reported that tech group Tencent planned to sell all or the bulk of its 17 per cent stake.US government bonds came under pressure, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising 0.04 percentage points to 2.83 per cent as its price fell.