The United States central bank, the Federal Reserve, has cut its forecast for growth this year, saying the pace of recovery in the US has slowed. Mark Mardell is in Washington.
美国央行美联储降低今年对增长的预期,称美国复苏的步伐在放慢。Mark Mardell在华盛顿报道。
The Federal Reserve has cut its growth forecast for this year from 2.9% to 2.4%. The central bankers' report says there's still a recovery in the United States, but it's just slowed down, and what's happening in the rest of the world poses significant risks. The Fed says the US economy is expanding moderately, but unemployment is high, job creation has slowed, and so has household spending. The housing market is still depressed. Also the Fed is extending Operation Twist until the end of the year. That's a plan to swap short-term bonds for long-term ones at a cost of around $267bn.
美联储将今年的增长预期从2.9%调低到2.4%。央行的报告称,美国还在恢复,但速度放慢,世界其他地区所发生的事构成了巨大的风险。美联储说,美国经济正适度发展,但失业率很高,就业机会增长放慢,家庭开支也在减少,房屋市场仍不景气。美联储在年底之前会一直扩展扭转操作,计划卖出价值约2670亿美元的短期债券来购买长期债券。
The Red Cross says its teams are still waiting to enter the Syrian city of Homs, where hundreds of civilians are in desperate need of help. On Wednesday government forces and opposition fighters agreed to a two-hour ceasefire to allow aid through, but it's still unclear if the heavy shelling and gunfire has died out completely. The International Committee of the Red Cross called the situation in Homs critical with hundreds of people in need of food, water and medical care.