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米各州が財政悪化に直面、７－９月期の税収が急減
States' Tax Receipts Fell Sharply in Latest Quarter (WSJ.com)
State tax receipts were down sharply during the most recent quarter, representing what is likely to be their biggest decline in more than six years, according to a new report that highlights a widening fiscal crisis in state government.
The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities surveyed data from revenue departments for 15 states that had available figures, and found the median state experienced an inflation-adjusted 5.5% decline in total tax revenue during the quarter that ended in September. Total revenue was down in 14 of the 15 states, after adjusting for inflation.
The organization, a liberal think tank based in Washington, estimates states will face a total budget gap of $100 billion by fiscal 2010, which starts in the middle of next year, or about 15% of their budgets.
state tax: 州税（の）
total budget gap: 赤字予算総額
米財務省、保険会社救済の拡大を検討 株式買収
U.S. Mulls Widening Bailout to Insurers (WSJ.com)
WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department is considering buying equity stakes in insurance companies, a sign of how the government's $700 billion rescue program could turn into a piggy bank for a range of beleaguered industries.
The availability of U.S. government cash in the middle of a global credit squeeze is drawing requests from insurance firms, auto makers, state governments and transit agencies. While Treasury intended for the program to apply broadly, the growing requests could put a strain on the $700 billion, a sum that only last month stunned lawmakers.
MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc., two of the nation's largest publicly traded life insurers, and New York Life Insurance Co., one of the highest rated insurers in the U.S., are interested in exploring a sale of equity stakes to the government, according to people familiar with the matter.
in the middle of a global credit squeeze: 世界的な信用収縮のさなかに
to put a strain on: ～に負担をかける
life insurer: 生命保険会社
レギュラー2.858ドル、スタンドの収益環境改善 粗利益１ガロン約40セント
Station Owners Welcome Cheaper Gas (WSJ.com)
Plunging gasoline prices aren't yet prompting drivers to fuel up and hit the highways, gas-station owners say, but the lower prices are helping to boost station operators' profitability by lowering their costs.
The poor economy and fears that it could worsen are keeping consumers in a fuel-conservation mode. It will also take time for drivers to recover from the shock of $4-a-gallon gas, said Paul A. Weissgarber, an energy expert at consulting firm A.T. Kearney.
Still, cheaper gas is easing the pressure on gas retailers, who couldn't increase their prices as fast as suppliers did. With prices coming down, the lag works in their favor. It now costs retailers less to buy a tanker-load of gas, which they say is especially welcome at a time when it is hard to borrow money.
gas-station owner: ガソリンスタンド経営者
fuel-conservation mode: 燃料節約モード
to work in one's favor: ～に有利に働く
米大統領選、世論調査専門サイトが人気 数字中毒者が急増
The New National Pastime: Poll-Watching (WSJ.com)
Laura Staniland, a senior at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, leaves her BlackBerry on her nightstand so she can check overnight poll results from her bed. She analyzes data her friends send her by instant message and checks at least four political Web sites a day. She studies pollsters for bias, reading reviews of their work and poring over their methodology.
In a high-stakes national election that many voters call the most crucial of their lifetimes, more Americans than ever are glued to the raw numbers being churned out by pollsters. Like obsessed baseball fans, it's not enough for these diehard poll-watchers to just read the statistics. They need to pick them apart, search for signs of hidden partisanship and scour for shifts in public opinion.
The proliferation of sites such as Pollster.com, RealClearPolitics.com and FiveThirtyEight.com are feeding the poll-watchers' habits -- offering up-to-the-minute information on the race by compiling dozens of polls, posting electoral-vote maps and inviting readers to comment. At least 10 new national polls and 15 to 30 new state polls are released every day, says Mark Blumenthal, editor and publisher of Pollster.com.
pastime: 娯楽
pollster: 世論調査会社
proliferation: 乱立
up-to-the-minute: 最新の
EU温暖化ガス削減、航空会社に排出権購入を義務化 コスト上昇要因に
Europe Is Forcing Airlines to Buy Emissions Permits (NYTimes.com)
BRUSSELS — European Union governments gave formal approval Friday to a potentially costly system of capping greenhouse gases from any airline flying into or out of the trade bloc — just as the airline industry reported new evidence of the impact of a worsening economy.
Airline chiefs immediately criticized the decision, saying it would cost the industry at least 3.5 billion euros ($4.4 billion) each year to comply. The Europeans are “acting in a bubble — even in the middle of a global economic crisis,” said Giovanni Bisignani, the director general of the International Air Transport Association.
European justice ministers meeting in Luxembourg approved the greenhouse gas measures, which oblige airlines, regardless of nationality, that land or take off from an airport in the European Union to join the emissions trading system starting on Jan. 1, 2012.
emissions permit: 排出権
to cap greenhouse gases from: ～の温暖化ガス排出を制限する
emissions trading system: 排出権取引制度
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