The job recovery could perhaps best be described as modest , and Friday ’ s jobs report for May further solidified that descript

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问题     The job recovery could perhaps best be described as modest , and Friday ’ s jobs report for May further solidified that description. U. S. employers added 175,000 new jobs last month—a strong showing, but only moderately so. And from the perspective of a central banker, that might be welcome news.
    An employment report that showed too big of a spike in job creation could spook investors, even as it signals a healthy economy, says Brett Wander, chief investment officer in fixed income at Charles Schwab Investment Management. "There’s some concern[among investors]that in turn[Federal Reserve Chairman Ben]Bernanke’s going to take the punch bowl away. Then it may be a very shortlived party. He wants a long sustained jobs growth," says Wander.
    That "punch howl" is the Fed’s $85 billion of monthly purchases of bonds and mortgage backed securities, known as QE3. While Bernanke has mentioned the possibility of tapering in coming months. he has also said he believes sustained and substantial job market improvement will be a prerequisite for dialing back the program. Markets have been watching closely for any signs of when that might be.
    Those bond buys have been keeping interest rates very low. However, even Bernanke’s mention of possible future tapering in a congressional testimony last month sent bond yields spiking. If a job report comes in too strongly, says Wander, it will trigger a bond sell-off, sending bond yields upward. In other words, there is a scenario in which a supremely positive jobs report could, ironically, hurt the economy. "It’s those low yields that are arguably stimulating the economy," says Wander. For example, low bond yields mean low mortgage rates, which could inspire more buyers to get into the housing market. Higher interest rates could slow that down.
    On the other hand, it’s important to remember that low interest rates are not the Fed’s ultimate goal. Rather, they’re a means to the end of boosting employment. For that reason, it may be that the economic outlook is sunny, whether jobs data is modest or booming.
    "If you take a bullish view—and we are bullish—we’re kind of in a win-win situation here," says Hank Smith, chief investment officer and director at Haverford Trust. "Yes. better data will lead to the fed starting to pull back from its quantitative easing, but better data is something that is desired. So that should be good for corporate earnings, which is the ultimate driver of stock prices. "
    In Smith’s opinion, the latest jobs report was better than expected but "still reflective of an economy that’s growing at a below-average rate. " He’s not the only one who considers economic growth middling. In its latest Beige Book report released Wednesday, the Federal Reserve characterized activity as growing at "modest to moderate pace. " So while the chatter grows, even among Fed Presidents, about the prospect of tapering, more mixed data could mean a full punch bowl for at least a few more months.
According to Paragraph 3, the prerequisite for taking the punch bowl away is______ .

选项 A、a spike in job creation
B、sustained and substantial job market improvement
C、more buyers getting into the housing market
D、high interest rate

答案B

解析 本题考查考生对第三段中有关潘趣碗概念和运行条件的理解。第三段一开始就对这一概念作了说明,指出潘趣碗即QE3,美联储主席认为取消它的先决条件是持续大幅改善的就业市场,即选项B。这里强调了两点,一是就业市场的大幅度改善,二是这种改善必须是持续的。A选项没有提到持续的,因此不正确。C选项是潘趣碗得以维持情况下的一种结果,不是撤掉它的前提条件,因此错误。D选项是撤掉潘趣碗以后可能造成的一种结果,也不是撤掉它的前提条件,因此也不正确。
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