From VOA Learning English, this is the EconomicsReport.

The last two months have been difficult for investors in China’s stock markets. Major stock indexes, measuresthat track share values, all had big decreases duringthe month. This has many people questioning whatChina’s stock market problems mean for its economyand the world.

对中国股市投资商来说，上两个月是波折不断的月份。在那两个月内，主要股票市场指数和保留股票市值的措施都有所下降。这使得许多人产生疑问：中国股市的困难对本国及其世界经济的影响。

On July 27th, the Shanghai Composite index droppedmore than eight percent in value, its largest single-daydrop in eight years. In recent weeks, prices droppedalthough the government put a number of measures inplace to keep prices from falling too far.

7.27号，上海综合指数下降超过8个百分点，这是八年来最严重的单日下滑。最近几周，尽管政府采取一些措施防止股票过度下滑，但是股票指数仍在下降

Measures to stop falling prices

防止股票下降的措施

These included lending billions of dollars to stocktrading companies, having pension funds increase stock holdings and threatening short-sellers with legalaction. Short-sellers make a profit by trading stocks that are decreasing in prices.

这些措施有贷给股票交易公司百万美元、提高养老金的股票持有以及以合法举措限制短期买卖者。小额买卖者通过股票涨价时兜售股票从中获利。

The state China Securities Finance Corporation onTuesday said it will continue to buy stocks to "stabilize" the market. The People's Bank of China also said itwould place over $8 billion into money markets funds,which are considered safe debt investments.

中国金融证券有限公司周二表示，将继续买进股票以稳定股市。中国人民银行也表示，将会向资金市场注入八亿美元，这被认为是安全债务投资。

Companies have also cancelled plans to sell new shares on exchanges and, at one point, more than 1,400 companies requested that trading in theirshares be halted.

各个企业同样取消了在股市上市新股票的计划，几乎同时，超过1.400家企业被要求暂停股市交易、

Will it affect China’s economy and the world?

是否影响中国及世界经济

However, China’s stock market is not closelyconnected to its economy. The Associated Press recently reported on a study by the SouthwesternUniversity of Finance in Chengdu, China. It said only 8.8percent of households in China are involved in themarket. That is much lower than the 30 percent ofhouseholds in the U.S. with investment in the market.

然而，中国股市与其经济联系不是那么紧密。美联社有次报道了中国成都的西南财经大学的研究，研究中显示，中国有8.8%的家庭投资市场，远低于美国30%的家庭投资数量。

Many of the companies listed on Chinese markets arestate-owned companies. Investors react to changes ingovernment regulations and to availability of financing for trading. This canmean that share prices do not follow the economic performance of thecompanies that issue them.

中国市场上的许多上市公司都是国有企业。投资商都是根据政府调控措施和可用资金进行投资。这意味着公司发行的股票价格并不随着公司的经济运行状况相变化。。

In the twelve months before June, China’s stock market measures gainedabout 150 percent. At the same time, China reported lower economic growthduring the same period.

在六月之前的12个月里，中国股市盈利150个百分点。与此同时，中国经济增长偏低。

China’s share price drop has had a limited effect on stock exchanges aroundthe world. Stock indexes in Europe and Asia have had decreases in July. But,China limits the number of stocks that foreign investors can buy through a linkcalled the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connection. In the case of China, thatmeans money from foreign investors cannot easily flow in or out.

中国股市下降对世界股市影响有限。欧洲和亚洲股票指数在7月有所增长。但是，中国通过上海——香港股票联合限制国外投资商购买股票。在中国，这意味着来自国外投资商的资金并不能轻易流进或流出。

Some experts say recent losses could be a sign that Chinese investors areworried that the government plans to reduce its support for the market.

一些专家表示，最近股市下降有可能表明中国投资商对政府减少市场扶持的担忧。

I’m Mario Ritter.

Mario Ritter wrote this report with additional material from VOA’s WilliamGallo, Reuters and AP. Hai Do was the editor.

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Words in This Story

pension –n. a plan that provides pay to retirees from a company orgovernment which invests money taken from employers and employees

stabilize–v. to become less affected by change or movement; to becomemore stable

households –n. people of one family who are living together

issue–v. to release, give out or sell (example: company officials issued thestock)

From VOA Learning English, this is the EconomicsReport.

The last two months have been difficult for investors in China’s stock markets. Major stock indexes, measuresthat track share values, all had big decreases duringthe month. This has many people questioning whatChina’s stock market problems mean for its economyand the world.

On July 27th, the Shanghai Composite index droppedmore than eight percent in value, its largest single-daydrop in eight years. In recent weeks, prices droppedalthough the government put a number of measures inplace to keep prices from falling too far.

Measures to stop falling prices

These included lending billions of dollars to stocktrading companies, having pension funds increasestock holdings and threatening short-sellers with legalaction. Short-sellers make a profit by trading stocks that are decreasing in prices.

The state China Securities Finance Corporation onTuesday said it will continue to buy stocks to "stabilize" the market. The People's Bank of China also said itwould place over $8 billion into money markets funds,which are considered safe debt investments.

Companies have also cancelled plans to sell new shares on exchanges and, at one point, more than 1,400 companies requested that trading in theirshares be halted.

Will it affect China’s economy and the world?

However, China’s stock market is not closelyconnected to its economy. The Associated Pressrecently reported on a study by the SouthwesternUniversity of Finance in Chengdu, China. It said only 8.8percent of households in China are involved in themarket. That is much lower than the 30 percent ofhouseholds in the U.S. with investment in the market.

Many of the companies listed on Chinese markets arestate-owned companies. Investors react to changes ingovernment regulations and to availability of financing for trading. This canmean that share prices do not follow the economic performance of thecompanies that issue them.

In the twelve months before June, China’s stock market measures gainedabout 150 percent. At the same time, China reported lower economic growthduring the same period.

China’s share price drop has had a limited effect on stock exchanges aroundthe world. Stock indexes in Europe and Asia have had decreases in July. But,China limits the number of stocks that foreign investors can buy through a linkcalled the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connection. In the case of China, thatmeans money from foreign investors cannot easily flow in or out.

Some experts say recent losses could be a sign that Chinese investors areworried that the government plans to reduce its support for the market.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Mario Ritter wrote this report with additional material from VOA’s WilliamGallo, Reuters and AP. Hai Do was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

pension –n. a plan that provides pay to retirees from a company orgovernment which invests money taken from employers and employees

stabilize–v. to become less affected by change or movement; to becomemore stable

households –n. people of one family who are living together

issue–v. to release, give out or sell (example: company officials issued thestock)