Eurozone Recession Looms as
Business Activity Falls
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19659506
2012-09-20
Presenters: 钟雅萍 1003112231
陈珍珍 1003112233
陈瑶佳 1003112234
吴惠燕 1003112236
Activity among Eurozone firms suffered its steepest
contraction since June 2009, according to a survey.
The Markit Flash Eurozone Purchasing Managers' (PMI)
Composite Output Index fell to 45.9 in September, the
lowest for 39 months, from 46.3 in August. The composite
figure combines services and manufacturing activity and a
figure below 50 indicates contraction. The results indicated
the Eurozone was heading back into recession.
"The Eurozone downturn gathered further momentum
in September, suggesting that the region suffered the
worst quarter for three years," said Chris Williamson,
Markit's chief economist.
"The flash PMI is consistent with GDP contracting by
0.6% in the third quarter and sending the region back
into a technical recession."
However, while there were falls in production and
new orders across the Eurozone as a whole, Germany's
rate of decline slowed "substantially”. The HSBC flash
China manufacturing PMI rose from 47.6 in August to
47.8 in September. But the French composite PMI figure
fell to 44.1 in September, the lowest reading since April
2009, from 48.0 in August. The employment in France
also fell substantially. And there are few signs of demand
to stimulate growth in France.
Words and Expressions
 Markit Economics 市场研究机构
an independent, global provider of some of the world’s
most influential business surveys.
 Purchasing Managers‘ (PMI) Composite Output Index 采
购经理人综合产出指数
an indicator produced by Markit Group and the Institute for
Supply Management of financial activity reflecting the index
of purchasing managers' acquisition of goods and services.
Words and Expressions
 Recession（downturn=fall）衰退，不景气
the state of the economy declines; a widespread decline in
the GDP and employment and trade lasting from six
months to a year.
 GDP（gross domestic product）国内生产总值
the market value of all officially recognized final goods and
services produced within a country in a given period.
Words and Expressions
 HSBC (Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation) 汇丰银行
a British multinational banking and financial services
company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
 Manufacturing 制造业
the production of goods for use or sale using labor and
machines, tools, chemical and biological processing, or
formulation.
Background
欧元区 Eurozone
http://dict.youdao.com/wiki/欧元区/#
 欧元区是指由采用欧元作为单一的官方货币的国家组合而成的区域。
欧元区由欧洲中央银行负责制定货币政策。至2011年，欧元区共有
17个成员，另有9个国家和地区采用欧元作为当地的单一货币。根据
官方对于2007年GDP数据的预测，欧元区已经成为世界上最大的经
济体。2011年11月7日，受欧债危机拖累，意大利融资成本持续攀升
创下该国加入欧元区以来最高纪录，有经济专家警告，欧债危机迟迟
未能解决，将引发欧洲全面性衰退。
Background
欧洲主权债务危机概要
http://business.sohu.com/s2010/zhuquanzhaiwu/
 肇始：2008年10月，冰岛主权债务问题浮出水面，其后是中东欧国家，由于救助
及时未酿成较大的国际金融动荡。
 爆发：2009年12月，全球三大评级公司标普、穆迪和惠誉分别下调希腊的主权债
务评级，此后欧洲多个国家也开始陷入危机，“欧洲五国 PIIGS” (葡萄牙、意大
利、爱尔兰、希腊、西班牙) 的信用评级被调低，经济下滑，债台高筑，整个欧洲
面临严峻考验。
 救助：2010年5月10日，欧盟27国财长被迫决定设立总额为7500亿欧元的救助机
制，帮助可能陷入债务危机的欧元区成员国，防止危机继续蔓延。
 现状：严格地说，欧元区16个成员中，无一个国家的政府赤字目前在GDP的3%以
内；它们的平均赤字在GDP的7％以上。除希腊以外，爱尔兰、意大利、西班牙、
葡萄牙的赤字和债务问题都很突出。