Economic Outlook Slides in Europe and Asia
欧洲和亚洲的经济前景黯淡
European stock markets fell Friday after a mixed performance in Asia. A weak outlook for oil prices depressed global markets as share of crude hits its lowest level in five years.
欧洲股市星期五下跌。亚洲股市有升有降。油价前景看空使原油类股跌落到五年来的最低点，全球股市也受此拖累。
European stocks are generally down again as energy shares made investors skittish.
能源类股让投资人感到不安。欧洲股市再次整体下滑。
Earlier in Asia, Japan's central bank slashed its key interest rate down to just a tenth of one percent. The Japanese government predicts the nation's economy will experience negative growth through 2010.
在亚洲方面，日本央行把基准利率削减到0.1%。日本政府预测，日本经济的负增长局面将会持续到2010年。
The economic storm there is badly affecting exports. Various media reports out of Japan say Toyota, the country's top-ranked automaker, will announce its first-ever operating loss next week.
这场经济风暴严重影响到出口。日本多家媒体的报导都说，日本头号汽车制造商丰田公司将在下个星期公布首次运营亏损的消息。
Toyota sales have nosedived due to the soaring value of the yen, which makes Japanese products more expensive overseas.
由于日元大幅度升值推高了日本产品在海外的价格，所以丰田汽车的销售急剧下滑。
Here in Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown held his final monthly news conference of the year. While not ignoring the tough times ahead, he underlined that getting out of this downturn will only be accomplished through coordinated, global action.
在英国方面，布朗首相举行了今年最后一次的月度记者招待会。他对今后的困难直言不讳，同时也强调，只有通过全球协调行动经济才能够走出这次的衰退。
"So if 2008 was the year we confronted the global downturn, 2009 must be the year that the world comes together to invest and build a prosperous future while giving real help to families and businesses now. And the countries that continue to invest for the future through the downturn, will be the countries that emerge stronger in the future," he said.
“所以，如果2008年是我们遭遇全球衰退的一年，那么，2009年就一定是全世界行动一致，投资建设未来繁荣的一年。我们现在就要给家庭和企业提供实质性帮助。那些在衰退时期投资未来的国家将来会变得更加强大。”
Mr. Brown says in Britain and elsewhere, the right things are being done right now to combat this difficult recession but he stressed it will take time to see results work through the system.
布朗在英国和世界其它地方多次表示，为了跟这一阶段的衰退进行战斗，有关方面正在采取各种可能的措施。但是，布朗强调，这些措施要在经济体系中产生效果还需要一些时日。
"Yes, it is unfortunate that we have been the victim of a global downturn. It is unfortunate that it spread from being a financial crisis into affecting all the sectors of our economy. But we are in a strong position to deal with this because we have cut interest rates, we have injected money into the economy, we are a competitive economy and over the next few months you will see for many people a result of the fall in oil prices and the fall also in food prices that peoples' standards of living, for many, many people will go up," said Brown.
“是的，很不幸，我们已经成为这次全球衰退的受害者。很不幸，这次衰退正在从一次金融危机扩大到整个经济的各个领域。不过，我们现在所处的位置相当坚实，原因是：我们已经削减了利率，给经济注入了资金，我们的经济富有竞争力，在今后几个月，人们会看到油价的下滑和食品价格的下滑对人们的生活产生了效果，许多、许多人的生活水平将会提高。”
Although oil prices have tumbled from nearly $150 to $40 a barrel in the past six months, Mr. Brown warns that price volatility will remain a pressing challenge.
虽然油价在过去的六个月里已经从将近150美元一桶下降到30多美元一桶，布朗还是提醒人们，价格的波动依然是严峻的挑战。
Adding to the gloom was a prediction by a top banking association that said the worst has yet to come for the world economy.
一家有名望的金融业机构的预测加重了前景的暗淡程度。这个机构认为，世界经济最糟糕的时候还在后面。
The Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents more than 375 of the world's major banks and financial institutions, said the global economy would shrink by 0.4 percent in 2009 after two-percent growth this year.
国际金融协会表示，全球经济明年将会收缩0.4%。这个机构认为，今年的增长为2%。国际金融协会代表着全球至少375家大银行和大的金融机构。
Charles Dallara, managing director of the IIF, called the current situation "the most severe, globally synchronized recession in modern economic history" as he presented the report at a news conference in Washington on Thursday.
国际金融协会的执行主任查尔斯.达拉拉(Charles Dallara)星期四在华盛顿举行记者招待会公布了该协会的一份研究报告。达拉拉称目前的形势是“当代经济史上最严重的全球同步衰退。”
Powerhouse economies - including the United States, the 15-nation eurozone and Japan - that are now in recession were forecast to contract a hefty 1.4 percent amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
世界主要的经济体美国、欧元区15国和日本等现在都已经陷入衰退。经济预测说，在未来一年中，这些经济体将会在大萧条以来出现的最严重的金融危机中收缩1.4%。
