首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Economy Terrorized From Wall Street to Main Street, Layoffs, Losses, and Little Hope The popular word in business befo
Economy Terrorized From Wall Street to Main Street, Layoffs, Losses, and Little Hope The popular word in business befo
admin
2010-03-26
54
问题
Economy Terrorized
From Wall Street to Main Street, Layoffs, Losses, and Little Hope
The popular word in business before September 11 was "visibility." Company after company complained about their gloomy future because of the worsening economy. Now, though, corporate America has a clear vision of the immediate future--and it’s not a good one. "The attack has turned the business world upside down," says Diane Swonk, chief economist at Bank One in Chicago.
Companies have been aware of the possible loss due to the terror attacks. Firms directly affected by the horror, such as Boeing and Marriott, warned of lower profits. Airline layoffs alone will top 100,000, pushing some analysts to say as many as one million workers may lose their jobs because of the post-attack repercussions (反应). On Capitol Hill, lawmakers and the Bush administration began preparing an economic emergency response. "The foundations of our free society remain sound, and I am confident that we will recover and prosper as we have in the past," Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress.
A chief executive of Frontier Airlines in Denver last week announced a 20 percent flight reduction and large scale layoffs.
On Wall Street, markets tumbled (TM) amid the likelihood of recession and war: The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 700 points Monday. "It’s no longer about earnings or the economy or interest rates anymore," says Morgan Stanley market strategist Peter Canelo. "It’s about fear."
Some observers believe Washington’s response could be effective to prevent further economy deterioration. "The recovery could be much smoother than expected due to the fiscal and monetary stimulus we’re in store for," says Richard Weiss, chief investment officer for City National Bank.
Restoring consumer confidence is a top priority for Greenspan and Congress, given that consumer spending accounts for about two thirds of the nation’s total output. To that end, the Fed has been flooding the markets with cash. Congress, meanwhile, is awash in plans to spend money, drawing down the $153 billion Social Security surplus. There’s even talk of further tax cuts.
The economic devastation of the worst disaster on American soil is far and wide. Last week, individual industries began to estimate the loss.
Airlines
While "recessions are bad for the airline industry, terrorism is worse," says a senior vice president at aviation consultants Avitas. Now both are serious problems for airliners, as heavily indebted and cash-poor companies are seeing a drastic reduction in bookings. Some planes are flying less than half full. Experts predict that this will put some airliners out of business and the total industry losses will amount to $10 billion by the end of next year.
When--and if--the industry recovers, it will have been fundamentally changed. Passengers might find fewer flights overall and limited service to smaller airports, as airlines focus on large, profitable hubs (交通枢纽).
Oil
As U.S. naval forces headed out from Norfolk (美国一个重要的海军基地) toward the Middle East, the oil market was nervous but focused as much on recession as on the threat of war. Crude prices slid downward due to the predicted economic slowdown and a drop in air travel which would reduce demand. Still, with the prospect of armed conflict very real, analysts see considerable risk of higher energy prices, especially when the war might involve Iraq, an oil-producing country.
But Michael Lynch of the research firm DRI-WEFA said that despite decreasing demand, the terror attack had produced an "uncertainty effect" that would possibly drive oil prices higher in the weeks ahead. Lynch said that oil companies and large industrial users of oil very likely would attempt to build their inventories amid uncertainty.
Retailing
Many shoppers stayed home during the week of the attack. Federated Department Stores, which owns Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, said sales during the week were $65 million, or about 20 percent, below its forecasts. Other retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores and bookstore chains Borders Group and Barnes & Noble, as well as teen apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters, reported a fast decrease in sales but some rebound by last weekend. "For the most part, sales are starting to come back, but they’re not where we want them to be," says Tracy Mullin, president of the National Retail Federation.
Consumers already planning the purchase of a new car, appliance, or other big-ticket item may go ahead, but forget those who had only begun to think about buying, says Marian Friestad, president of the Society for Consumer Psychology. "This would be a time when people would not be particularly open to changing their purchase behavior or trying new things," she says. Frivolous purchases, like perfume and fashion, will probably decline.
Media
On Madison Avenue, advertising industry executives estimated their losses after nearly a week without network TV ads. But that is not all. Many companies felt it inappropriate to advertise during such a time of tragedy and canceled their commercials on TV.
This trend is likely to mean further losses for an industry already suffering from a sharp cutback in spending.
Already, the six TV networks report an estimated $320 million in lost ad revenues due to the attack. And four of the country’s newspaper groups warned of a shortfall in third-quarter earnings because of canceled ads.
Entertainment
The most pressing question right now is what will happen in TV, already suffering from a big drop in advertising. Although the new season has been pretty well purged of any references that might be deemed offensive in the wake of the attack, there is serious doubt about viewers’ tastes in the future.
Two big-budget films--Big Trouble and Collateral Damage--were shelved indefinitely last week. Other movies with New York themes were pushed back. Still more were simply scrubbed clean of their references to terrorism and the World Trade Center.
However, the entertainment industry may not suffer long-term damage, with losses expected to level off by the first quarter of next year, according to analysts.
Insurance
Already stunned by a plunge in profits and losses from storms in the first half of the year, property and casualty insurers now face even worse. "All profits will be wiped out," says an analyst. Despite some loss, analysts are confident that the industry will be able to meet the estimated $30 billion in projected claims, a loss that could escalate if costly business-interruption and personal injury claims accelerate.
One thing is certain: There will be higher rates and more limited coverage for terrorist or war-related events, especially for airlines.
The estimated loss to the airline industry amounts to $10 billion by the end of this year.
选项
A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案
B
解析
此题可根据数字定位相关信息。Airlines部分的第一段最后一句说明应该是by the end of next year,因此判断此题不符合文章的内容。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/68k7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Whatis"directed"research?Directedresearchmaybecomeadangertothefutureofsciencebecause______.
A、BecauseDarwinhadgotatotoffacts.B、BecauseDarwincondemnedthemenofthechurchesfortheirnonsense.C、BecauseDarwin
ThepassagefocusesontheneedforAmericanstolearnforeignlanguages.Itispossibletoget______ofEsperantospeakersan
ThepassagefocusesontheneedforAmericanstolearnforeignlanguages.MostAmericans,likethewriter,learnFrenchathigh
TheCarnegieFoundationreportsaysthatmanycollegeshavetriedtobe"allthingstoallpeople".Indoingso,theyhaveincre
Antarcticahasactuallybecomeakindofspacestation—auniqueobservationpostfordetectingimportantchangesintheworld’s
OneoftheorganizersforthissurveyisMTVU,whichis______.Whenfacingstressproblem,studentscommonlygethelpfrom___
Itcanbeinferredfromthefirstparagraphthat______.Thenewtrendinroboticdevelopmentinthecomingfutureisthatrobo
A、Tocheektheaccuracyofscales.B、Toseethequalityofothermetals.C、Tomeasurechangesintheair.D、Tomeasurethelengt
Neitherthestudentsnortheteacher__________________(知道答案).
随机试题
简述对待文化差异的原则。
请根据我国现行《民事诉讼法》及相关司法解释的规定,就当事人陈述的性质与功能谈谈自己的看法。(武汉大学2005年考研真题)
轴心竖向力F和G作用下,基桩竖向力的设计值与______项值接近。轴心竖向力F和G和弯矩M、剪力V共同作用下基桩竖向力设计值的最大值与______项值接近。
计划发行债券的公司,担心未来融资成本上升,通常会利用利率期货进行()来规避风险。[2012年5月真题]
商业银行持有我国中央政府投资的金融资产管理公司为收购国有银行不良贷款而定向发行的债券的风险权重为()
《巴塞尔新资本协议》的新增内容包括()。
I’velovedmymother’sdesksinceIwasjusttallenoughtoseeabovethetopofitasmothersatdoingletters.Standingbyher
农民王宝四、宋长林想进行长途运输赚点钱,但没有买车资金。两人便找到镇银行营业所的会计韩兵借钱。开始韩兵称:“贷款给个人买车从事贩运活动是违法的,”不同意借款,后来韩兵认为长途贩运很赚钱,便提出他可以提供贷款,但运输利润三人要平分。王宝四、宋长林表示同意后,
你和小张一起完成一项审计工作,小张多次因为马虎导致工作出现问题,在一次与被审计单位的直接沟通中,小张再次出现工作失误并且造成严重后果,你当场指出问题,小张情绪很激动,你怎么处理?
下列叙述中正确的是()。
最新回复
(
0
)