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The Financial Times says investors are dumping shares as the economic outlook worsens amid the eurozone teeters on recession. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
If one thing sparks another, the first thing causes the second thing to start happening. • A YouTube video showing an Louisville Metro police officer hitting a suspect with a flashlight has sparked an internal investigation.
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Greece's debt issues could trigger a credit crisis and recession in Europe and the U.S. CNN's Lisa Sylvester explains.
TRANSCRIPT
SYLVESTER: In the movie "Contagion," a deadly virus moves rapidly across the world as scientists race to find a cure. That's the stuff of Hollywood, but a different kind of epidemic, a debt crisis, could potentially spread throughout Europe and across the Atlantic to the United States. It starts with Greece, teetering on the edge of default. If that happens, it could spill over to bigger countries in the Eurozone like Italy, whose credit rating was downgraded this week by Standard & Poor's. Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Greece have all had similar downgrades this year. So, you may wonder how this affects you and why you should care.
JOE GAGNON, PETERSON INST. FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: A recession in Europe will surely slow the growth rate of America down. It may not cause a recession, but it may feel like it, and it will surely contribute to unemployment.
SYLVESTER: Here's how it could unravel. All signs point to Greece not being able to pay back its 355 billion euros in debt. If Greece defaults, European banks would take a hit. As credit tightens, that could tip Europe into a recession. The European Union is the United States' largest trading partner. If Europeans are buying fewer U.S. goods, that could push the U.S. into recession. Push down the U.S. stock market, American companies would scale back production and you could be left out of a job. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says what is happening in Europe is already undermining confidence in the United States.
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: And we have a huge stake as a country in helping them deal with those challenges. We have a huge economic stake, financial stake, and it is not in the interest of the United States for Europe to be weakened by a protracted economic and financial crisis.
SYLVESTER: The European Union is working on a new aid package for Greece, coupled with new austerity measures, but Greece is quickly running out of two things: cash and time.
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The Bank of England could follow the US central bank and pump cash into the economy, reports The Guardian. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
An ailing organization or society is in difficulty and is becoming weaker. • On Thursday in New York, Brazil, Russia, India and China—the BRICs—will discuss ways of helping the ailing euro zone.
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The cartoon by Dave Brown from The Independent shows Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi playing what looks like a cello in the form of a scantily-dressed woman. The woman is inspired by Le violin d'Ingres, a work by 20th century American artist Man Ray. In the background we can see the Colosseum in flames.
EXPLANATION
To understand the cartoon you need to know the idiom fiddling while Rome burns, which means "to occupy oneself with unimportant matters and neglect priorities during a crisis". The origin of this expression is the story that Nero played the fiddle (violin) while Rome burned, during the great fire in AD 64. In the modern version, the Italian economy is in serious financial difficulty (its credit rating has just been downgraded), while Berlusconi pursues his unashamedly promiscuous lifestyle (he recently boasted of sleeping with eight women in one night). Given Berlusconi's history of corruption charges, there could also be a play on the word 'fiddling', which means 'to get money dishonestly'.
ALSO SEE
• Economy enters 'dangerous phase' (BBC News)
• Berlusconi boasts of sleeping with eight women in one night (The Independent)
• Fiddling while Rome burns (The Phrase Finder)
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A slowdown in Britain's austerity drive will have to be considered by the Government if economic growth continues to stall, the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
IMF is an abbreviation for International Monetary Fund. •The IMF has warned that another worldwide recession is on the cards.
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The Daily Telegraph leads with the Energy Secretary's plans to keep energy bills in check. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
A pledge is a serious promise to do something. • Hundreds of cancer experts have made a pledge to save 1000 lives from the killer disease.
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Advertising blog Adfreak thinks this campaign for Sheets Energy strips is "the low point of 2011 advertising so far":
This is a product you put in your mouth, yet it's being marketed with headlines that reference defecation. It's one thing to do a silly coupon—it's another to build a brand around this kind of thing. Pitbull (above) and LeBron James are among the company's celebrity endorsers (James is actually a co-founder of the company), but that won't do much to help its reputation—it'll just bring theirs down.
In addition to the print campaign, there's also a website and a video:
COMMENT
Of course, the campaign plays on the similarity in sound between 'sheet' and 'shit', which form a minimal pair (two words which differ by only one phoneme). Native English speakers do not usually have any problem distinguishing between 'shit' and 'sheet' (watch this video if you do). However, my French students often find it amusing when I tell them to look at their sheet, proving that they can't hear the difference. It's the same problem with 'live' and 'leave'.
DISCUSSION
What do you think about the Sheets campaign? Is it just a bit of harmless fun, or an advertising atrocity of epic proportions?
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The Daily Mail front page says a man held on suspicion of killing a burglar in Greater Manchester feared for his family. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
A burglar is a thief who enters a house or other building by force. • Police are warning homeowners to beware of burglars after a spate of break-ins.
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In this cartoon from The Observer, Chris Riddell suggests that Greece is the EU's Achilles' heel.
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad. Legend has it that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel. As he died because of a small wound on his heel, the term "Achilles' heel" has come to mean a person's principal weakness (Wikipedia).
In the cartoon, Achilles represents the eurozone (his shield has the euro sign on it). Blood is pouring from his heel, which has been pierced by an arrow, and which is labelled 'Greece'. Achilles says, "It's just a flesh wound".
VOCABULARY
A flesh wound is a wound that breaks the skin but does not damage any bones or internal organs. Flesh wounds are not usually life-threatening. Achilles' statement is therefore ironic in view of the amount of blood he's losing.
INTERPRETATION
The cartoonist seems to be saying that the EU leaders are unwilling to admit that the euro is mortally wounded as a result of the Greek debt crisis. The arrows could be seen as representing attacks on the euro by currency speculators in the international financial markets.
PRONUNCIATION
Note that the word 'wound' is a heteronym (same spelling, different meanings and pronunciation). The noun 'wound' (as in 'flesh wound') rhymes with 'spooned'. However, when 'wound' is the past participle of the verb 'to wind', it rhymes with 'round'.
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The Daily Mail leads with a story on Zara Phillips and her rugby player husband Mike Tindall. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
Agony is great physical or mental pain. • Europe's finance ministers have prolonged the agony for Greece and the eurozone by delaying a decision on more bailout cash for the country.
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This cartoon by Schrank from The Independent relates to the triumphant visit to Libya by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
COMMENTARY
Cameron and Sarkozy gave early support to the Libyan rebels in their ultimately successful campaign to oust Colonel Gaddafi, which is why they are shown giving the V-for-victory sign. However, the Libyan dictator has so far managed to evade capture and in the cartoon appears behind the two leaders giving the 'rabbit ears' sign. In some cultures, this sign was originally used to indicate a cuckold, but these days it is commonly used as a prank behind the head of someone being photographed. So in the cartoon, Gaddafi is making fun of Cameron and Sarkozy because they can't catch him.
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The Guardian's front page carries the story of a city trader who is suspected of fraud that has caused Swiss investment bank UBS losses of around £1.3bn. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
A rogue trader is a trader who acts independently of others - and, typically, recklessly - usually to the detriment of both the clients and the institution that employs him or her. In most cases this type of trading is high risk and can create huge losses. Read more >>
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The Independent leads on the president of the European Commission's warning to Germany that it should act now to save the euro. Full story >>
VOCABULARY
An ultimatum is a warning to someone that unless they act in a particular way, action will be taken against them. • Libyan rebels say they're closing in on Muammar Qaddafi and have issued an ultimatum to regime loyalists in the fugitive dictator's hometown.
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CNN reports on the growing jitters in Europe on the prospect of Greek default and its consequences.
ALSO SEE
• Merkel and Sarkozy to hold crisis talks with George Papandreou (The Guardian)
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The FT reports that Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, sought on Tuesday to quash speculation that a Greek default was imminent Full story >>
VOCABULARY
If you stamp out something bad that is happening, you make it stop. • Liquor licenses were first issued to Brisbane restaurants in 1957 in an effort to stamp out illegal drinking in the city'sclubs and restaurants.
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