Title:
2010 Marked by Debt Problems in Europe and Growth in
the Developing World
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
Here are some of the top economic stories of two
thousand ten. The world continued to struggle with a
slow recovery from the financial crisis two years
earlier. Greece admitted to bigger-than-expected
budget deficits. Investors punished Greece with much
higher borrowing costs. The sixteen countries that
use the euro joined the International Monetary Fund
in offering loans of about one hundred forty billion
dollars in May.But, Greece had to agree to deeply
cut government spending. Some demonstrations against
the measures turned violent. And debt problems
extended beyond Greece. Ireland asked euro-area
members and the IMF for help in November. Its rescue
was even bigger, considering the size of the Irish
economy. Euro-area nations have set up a bailout
fund of about one trillion dollars. But the IMF
worries that may not be enough. Portugal, Spain and
Italy could soon require emergency loans. And the
euro has declined, making imports more costly for
the area's struggling economies. China's exports of
important industrial metals also made news in two
thousand ten. China temporarily cut off rare earth
metals meant for Japan after a territorial dispute
in September. China controls nearly all of the rare
earth metals market. These metals are used in
everything from smart bombs to batteries. China
recently announced lower export limits for rare
earths for two thousand eleven. In the United
States, the central bank took steps to speed
recovery. The Federal Reserve announced a plan to
add six hundred billion dollars to the economy. The
goal is to keep long-term interest rates low and
make investment--and hiring--easier. Unemployment
remained above nine percent all last year. On Wall
Street, a sudden drop in a big stock index shocked
investors on May sixth. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average dropped about nine percent in less than an
hour before mostly recovering. A five-month federal
investigation of the so-called flash crash suggested
a single big trade may have been the cause. World
Bank economist Hans Timmer says not all countries
are reporting problems. He said the biggest story is
the very strong performance of the emerging
economies in Asia and Latin America.The so-called
BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia, India and China, were
expected to report notable economic growth in two
thousand ten. For VOA Special English, I'm Alex
Villarreal.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
