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米住宅対策、最大900万世帯を救済 政府が住宅市場に抜本的に介入
White House: Housing Plan Could Help Up to 9 Million People (WSJ.com)
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration announced new plans Wednesday to make it easier for up to nine million people to rework or refinance their mortgages, as the White House began an aggressive effort to stabilize the housing market.
A central element of the plan would allow up to five million people to refinance their mortgages into more affordable products through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a summary of the plan.
The Obama administration's plan has three main elements: an effort to help homeowners refinance; another effort to help stabilize the housing market through a $75 billion initiative aimed at reaching up to four million at-risk homeowners; and a third element that aims to drive down mortgage rates.
to refinance: ～を低利ローンに借り換える
central element: 中心の柱
to drive down mortgage rates: 住宅ローン金利を押し下げる
米FRB、議長「経済復興のためにできることは全てやる」 09年実質GDP成長率予想値を1.3％減－0.5％減に下方修正、失業率予想値は8.5％－8.8％
Bernanke vows to do all he can to revive economy (The Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged anew Wednesday to do everything in his power to lift the country out of recession, while defending the extraordinary steps the Fed has taken to fight the worst credit and financial crisis since the 1930s.
In a separate report Wednesday, the Fed sharply downgraded its projections for the U.S. economy this year. Unemployment will rise to between 8.5 and 8.8 percent, the central bank said, from its current level of 7.6 percent.
The Fed also forecast that the economy will shrink between 0.5 and 1.3 percent this year, down from its mid-November estimate that the economy might decline 0.2 percent or grow 1.1 percent.
米国、食品の原産地表示 政府がより厳格な表示を要請
White House Calls for Stricter Food Labels (WSJ.com)
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is calling for stricter labels on fresh meat and other foods that would show more clearly where an animal or food came from.
The move comes as Mr. Obama prepares to visit Canada -- a longtime opponent of the so-called "country of origin" labels -- on Thursday. Both Canada and Mexico have protested the labeling in a complaint to the World Trade Organization.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told consumer groups, farm groups and meat industry leaders Tuesday that he will ask the meat industry to voluntarily follow stricter guidelines for new package labels designed to specify a food's country of origin. The Agriculture Department abruptly canceled a scheduled announcement of the decision Wednesday morning, with little explanation.
country of origin: 原産地
米リセッション、子供の将来に与える影響
How Growing Up in a Recession Can Shape a Child's Future (WSJ.com)
In this current recession, we may be creating a new generation of Ms. Szabos (K. Esther Szabo who was a small child when the recession of the early 1970s sent her family's fortunes into a tailspin). Economic downturns leave enduring marks on the career prospects and aspirations of children. Some youngsters will face lasting setbacks, while others will emerge more focused and motivated, based on studies of past recessions. The outcome depends partly on a child's age, on the example set by parents, and on whether young people can be empowered somehow to help their families through the crisis.
College students may be among the hardest-hit. Graduates who entered the job market in the recession of the early 1980s made significantly less money for at least a decade, compared with those who graduated in more prosperous times, says a study by Yale University's Lisa Kahn. Another study, a 21-year look at 39,000 father-son pairs published last year in the Journal of Labor Economics, found sons whose fathers were laid off had annual earnings 9% lower than comparable youths whose fathers kept their jobs. Recession-era grads also tended to remain stuck in lower-prestige jobs, even after the economy recovered, Dr. Kahn found. While the reasons aren't clear, some may have invested too much in their original jobs to try to move to a more prestigious job and start anew when the economy picked up. Others may have felt loyalty to the employers that harbored them in hard times.
Small children, too, are vulnerable psychologically in ways that shape their aspirations. Glen Elder, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, found in studies of the Great Depression that the self-image of small children of that era was shaped by the morale of their same-sex parent. Amid the traditional gender roles of the time, young boys suffered most, from seeing their fathers deprived of work and a sense of identity, says Dr. Elder, author of "Children of the Great Depression." Because preschoolers and pre-teens were too young to understand the causes or to help out financially, they risked growing up with "a lack of initiative, of confidence, of self-efficacy," he says.
aspirations: 野心
empowered: 力をつける
somehow: どうにかして
lower-prestige job: より劣った仕事
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良い一日を(o^-')b