A. securities markets
B. a state-owned bank
C. financial markets
A.stimulate
B.promote
C.facilitate
D.move
Financial markets have the basic function of () .
A.bringing together people with funds to lend and people who want to borrow funds
B.assuring that the swings in the business cycle are less pronounced
C.assuring that governments need never resort to printing money
A.speculation
B.speculator
C.speculate
D.speculative
Financial markets improve economic welfare because______.
A.they allow funds to move from those without productive investment opportunities to those who have such opportunities
B.they allow consumers to time their purchases better
C.they weed out inefficient firms
D.all of the above
E.both A and B
A.shift consumption through time from higher-income periods to lower
B.price securities according to their riskiness
C.channel funds from lenders of funds to borrowers of funds
D.allow most participants to routinely earn high returns with low risk
Why didn't the government's expansion program work very well?
A.Because the farmers were uncertain about the financial support the government guaranteed.
B.Because the tanners were uncertain about the benefits of expanding production.
C.Because the farmers were uncertain whether foreign markets could be found for their produce.
D.Because the older generation of farmers were strongly against the program.
Unfortunately, banks' lobbying now seems to be working. The details may be unknowable, but the independence of standard-setters, essential to the proper functioning of capital markets, is being compromised. And, unless banks carry toxic assets at prices that attract buyers, reviving the banking system will be difficult.
After a bruising encounter with Congress, America's Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) rushed through rule changes. These gave banks more freedom to use models to value illiquid assets and more flexibility in recognizing losses on long-term assets in their income statements. Bob Herz, the FASB's chairman, cried out against those who "question our motives." Yet bank shares rose and the changes enhance what one lobbying group politely calls "the use of judgment by management."
European ministers instantly demanded that the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) do likewise. The IASB says it does not want to act without overall planning, but the pressure to fold when it completes its reconstruction of rules later this year is strong. Charlie McCreevy, a European commissioner, warned the IASB that it did "not live in a political vacuum" but "in the real world" and that Europe could yet develop different rules.
It was banks that were on the wrong planet, with accounts that vastly overvalued assets. Today they argue that market prices overstate losses, because they largely reflect the temporary illiquidity of markets, not the likely extent of bad debts. The truth will not be known for years. But banks' shares trade below their book value, suggesting that investors are skeptical. And dead markets partly reflect the paralysis of banks which will not sell assets for fear of booking losses, yet are reluctant to buy all those supposed bargains.
To get the system working again, losses must be recognized and dealt with. America's new plan to buy up toxic assets will not work unless banks mark assets to levels which buyers find attractive. Successful markets require independent and even combative standard-setters. The FASB and IASB have been exactly that, cleaning up rules on stock options and pensions, for example, against hostility from special interests. But by giving in to critics now they are inviting pressure to make more concessions.
Bankers complained that they were forced to ______.
A.follow unfavorable asset evaluation rules.
B.collect payments from third parties.
C.cooperate with the price managers.
D.reevaluate some of their assets.
The government responded to the universities' threat by setting up the most fundamental review of higher education for a generation, under a non-party troubleshooter (调停人), Sir Ron Dearing.
One in three school-leavers enters higher education, five times the number when the last review took place thirty years ago.
Everyone agrees a system that is feeling the strain after rapid expansion needs a lot more money--but there is little hope of getting it from the taxpayer and not much scope for attracting more finance from business.
Most colleges believe students should contribute to tuition costs, something that is common elsewhere in the world but would mark a revolutionary change in Britain. Universities want the government to introduce a loan scheme for tuition fees and have suspended their own threatened action for now. They await Dearing' s advice, hoping it will not be too late--some are already re ported to be in financial difficulty.
As the century nears its end, the whole concept of what a university should be is under the microscope. Experts ponder how much they can use computers instead of classrooms, talk of the need for lifelong learning and refer to students as "consumers".
The Confederation (联盟) of British Industry, the key employers' organization, wants even more expansion in higher education to help fight competition on world markets from booming Asian economies. But the government has doubts about more expansion. The Times newspaper agrees, complaining that quality has suffered as student numbers soared, with close tutorial supervision giving way to "mass production methods more typical of European universities."
The chief concern of British universities is ______.
A.how to tackle their present financial difficulty
B.how to expand the enrollment to meet the needs of enterprises
C.how to improve their educational technology
D.how to put an end to the current tendency of quality deterioration