The Federal Reserve has been pumping money into the US economy by buying $85bn of bonds each month. From January, it will cut the figure to $75bn. And it has signalled that it will further reduce the scale of its bond buying if the economy continues to improve.
It's a small but highly significant step towards unwinding the extraordinary measures put in place to support the economy through six years of deep crisis.
The decision follows a run of data pointing to sustained if weak recovery and - the key factor - an improving jobs market.
But the Fed hasn't entirely kicked away the monetary props. It plans to keep short term lending rates at near 0% until it sees at least another 0.5% drop in the unemployment rate.
Investors responded by sending share prices higher. There was relief at the end to uncertainty over when the Fed, as has seemed inevitable for months, would start tapering off its monetary life support.
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Vocabulary
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pumping
(here) putting large amounts of
signalled
indicated
unwinding
(here) reversing the policy
kicked away
removed totally
props
structures to provide support
tapering off
gradually reducing until there is nothing left
It is being called Ireland's exit from the bailout. If all goes to plan Ireland will receive no more financial assistance. It does not mean that the money has been repaid - that will take until 2042.
Ireland will still need to borrow - and all the signs are that it will be able to do so in the financial markets at an affordable cost. The country's economy has shown signs of stabilisation. It has grown, though erratically, and unemployment is down from its highs. But living standards have been hit - the economy is still 9% smaller than it was six years ago.
This is an important stage in the Eurozone's financial repair effort. Ireland is the first country to be bailed out to get to this stage. Portugal is due to do it next year, though there are concerns that it might need more financial help.
Greece and Cyprus are further away from getting back on their feet financially. It certainly helps that the recession in the Eurozone has ended - that the economy of the region as a whole has started to grow again. But it is still feeble growth.
Europe needs stronger performance to generate the tax revenue that could really help struggling governments get control of their borrowing needs.
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Vocabulary
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affordable
reasonably priced
stabilisation
erratically
irregularly
getting back on their feet
recovering
feeble
weak
revenue
income from business earnings or (here) taxes
Chancellor Merkel said she would accept the minimum wage but, in return, would not accede to Social Democrat calls for higher taxes.
The French finance minister welcomed the floor on German pay as a signal of what he saw as a more cooperative German attitude within overall European economic policy.
It is not clear, though, that a German minimum wage would transform the European economic situation. It all depends on what level it is set at, and there is great resistance in Germany to doing anything which would make German exports less attractive.
Listen
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Vocabulary
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accede
agree to do what someone else wants
calls
requests; demands
taxes
money that people and businesses pay to the government
signal
sign; indication
cooperative
helpful
resistance
(here) refusal to accept a change or something new
It will go down as one of the most spectacular debuts in the history of financial markets.
Twitter has only been around seven years, has never made a profit and has modest sources of income - yet its shares rose 80% in value the moment it joined the stock market, and then briefly soared even higher than that.
Measured by the stock price in relation to revenues, Twitter's shares are now rated as among the most expensive of any new share issue ever.
It's a big bet that popularity - Twitter already has 230 million users - will eventually lead to massive profits.
Listen
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listen
Grammar
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go down
become known
debuts
first appearances; (here) launches
profit
money earned after costs are paid
modest
few and small
sources of income
people or organisations which it gets money from
soared
rose very quickly and very highly
revenue
money which is received regularly
In a speech at China's top university the chancellor said there should be no limits on the number of Chinese students and tourists able to visit Britain if they want to. He also stressed that there was no country in the west more open to Chinese investment than the UK.
The chancellor shared the stage at Peking University with London's mayor - Boris Johnson. Their high-profile visits are a sign of a diplomatic thaw between the two countries. Beijing was furious after the prime minister met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama - last year.
The chancellor's announcement to relax visa rules for Chinese nationals will be welcomed by British businesses. They've been calling on the government to ease restrictions as a way of encouraging more high-spending Chinese tourists to visit the UK.
Listen
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Vocabulary
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chancellor
high-ranking person in the government. The British Chancellor is responsible for economic and financial matters
no limits
no restrictions
stressed
(here) made its importance clear
high-profile
attracting a lot of attention in the media
a diplomatic thaw
improving relations between two countries
furious
very angry
exiled
sent away from his own country
to relax
(here) to make less strict
high-spending
using a lot of money to buy things
China is the world's biggest polluter. But toxic smog in its cities is increasingly generating enormous public anger.
Now the authorities say they want the green industries to have a turnover of more than $700bn by 2015. They're offering tax breaks and subsidies to promote growth and innovation within the sector.
It's the latest move by the government to curb pollution. Last month, the authorities ordered hundreds of steel, paper and leather factories to shut down production lines that were causing high levels of pollution.
Listen
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listen
Vocabulary
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polluter
a person or organisation that puts harmful substances into the environment
toxic smog
a poisonous mixture of fog and smoke which appears in some industrial cities
generating
producing
turnover
the amount of money taken by a business in a period of time
tax breaks
reduction of the amount of tax a business has to pay used as an incentive
subsidies
money given by a government or an organisation to help businesses keep the price of products or services low
promote
to actively encourage
innovation
a new idea or method
sector
a government branch
curb
to control or limit
high levels
above normal or average level
The birthplace of mass production, 'Motor City', has thrown in the towel.
Decades of decline led up to this moment. Spiralling crime and the departure of the car factories that gave Detroit its nickname saw the destruction of its tax base. Years of incompetent and corrupt management left the city insolvent.
The emergency manager appointed by the state governor spent months going through the city's books. His conclusion: the city's debts are too great to be sustained.
Now the courts will have to work out who gets paid what, and the city's fall is complete.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
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mass production
producing a large quantities of goods using machines in a factory
thrown in the towel
given up, admitted defeat
spiralling
increasing faster and faster in a downward direction
tax base
total of income, assets and property which can be taxed by a government
incompetent
not having the ability to do something in the right way
insolvent
not having enough money to pay debts
going through
examining carefully
books
financial records
After the furious public reaction to this bailout deal, the fight now turns to parliament. MPs will debate the new tax before it is voted upon later on today (Monday). And it's by no means certain to pass, with some coalition members set to rebel.
The President argued in a televised address last night that the deal was the only way to avoid bankruptcy. But in an attempt to soften the blow, he is now trying to reduce the levy on those with smaller deposits.
If the bill is rejected by MPs, today's bank holiday might be extended so as to avoid a run on the banks. And all the while, those in debt-stricken countries outside Cyprus are watching to see if this levy will set a precedent and whether they should fear for their savings too.
Listen
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listen
Vocabulary
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furious
very angry
bailout deal
agreement to do something in exchange for a payment
set to rebel
planning to disagree with the proposals
a televised address
a speech or announcement made on television
bankruptcy
not being able to pay what it owes
to soften the blow
to make a difficult thing easier to accept
levy
tax
smaller deposits
less money saved in a bank account
a run on the banks
a rush to take out as much money as possible from the banks
set a precedent
to do something that may be copied by a lot of other people
It is a convoluted supply chain involving Dutch and Cypriot agents, two French processing companies and Romanian abattoirs. But where in that complex network did horse become beef?
The investigation is focused on the paperwork, the export documents which should certify what kind of frozen meat is being transported. In Romania two of the 35 European approved abattoirs were involved: one that deals only in horses has now been cleared – the other, some 450km from Bucharest, slaughters both cattle and horses and remains part of the inquiry.
In France, where six supermarket chains have withdrawn products, the Prime Minister has called an emergency meeting.
The Romanian President is also deeply concerned. “I hope the false labelling of meat does not come from this country,” he said. “False labelling for financial profit would harm Romania’s credibility for years to come - with serious implications, he added, for our export market.”
Listen
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listen
Vocabulary
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convoluted
complicated
supply chain
the sequence of processes involved in taking a product from where it is made to where it is sold
abattoirs
buildings where animals are killed for their meat
paperwork
written records and documents
cleared
proved innocent
some
about, approximately
slaughters
kills animals for meat
inquiry
an official process to find out information about something that has happened (also spelled 'enquiry' in the UK)
credibility
believability, trustworthiness
implications
possible future effects
During Chinese New Year it's common to give gifts to bosses and officials as a way of gaining favour. But now the authorities have announced a ban on advertisements that have been encouraging people to give luxury items.
In a statement, the authorities said these radio and TV ads were spreading "incorrect values" and creating a "bad social ethos". According to reports, the ban relates to promotions which suggest products are "must-have items for superiors".
It's the latest move by China's leader, Xi Jinping, to try and cut down on government extravagance and corruption. At many official occasions, banquets have been banned or scaled back, red carpets are out, and the floral arrangements are no longer there. China's new generation of leaders are keen to display a more frugal administration in the face of growing public anger over official corruption.
Senior officials have repeatedly warned that corruption poses the greatest threat to the rule of the Communist party.
Listen
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listen
Vocabulary
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gaining favour
getting acceptance
luxury
expensive and desirable
ethos
values or belief
superiors
senior or higher ranking members of the communist party
corruption
dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power
scaled back
reduced in size
frugal
more economical (in relation to money)
in the face of
as a reaction to a threat from
This discussion paper says the antidote to fears about resources is what's known as material efficiency; that's making the things we want, but with less material.
The researchers say we could use half as much cement in buildings, for instance, if we designed and built them with more time and care. We don't do it now because labour's dear and materials are cheap. We could drastically reduce steel in cars, if governments deterred the trend towards bigger, more powerful vehicles.
The researchers say material efficiency is vital for tackling climate change, too. For the UK, for instance, to generate enough clean energy so materials are produced in current quantities, would need the equivalent of a four-fold increase in nuclear power or a 40-fold increase in wind power. That's barely feasible, they say, so resource efficiency is the only way ahead.
The researchers say the trick will be to make sure that good design allows people to continue getting the things they want but simply made from less. For the transition to happen fully they urge governments to shift taxation away from people and on to resources. This would be controversial but the researchers predict it will create jobs for people to manufacture goods in a more intelligent way.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
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antidote
thing that prevents the unwanted effects
drastically
extremely or severely
deterred
discouraged
trend
a direction in which something is changing or developing
tackling
dealing with
four-fold
four times
barely feasible
unlikely to happen
transition
change
urge
try to persuade
controversial
an issue people would disagree on
Italians' love for fast cars is legendary. But glamour is, it would seem, no defence against the current economic gloom.
New figures from the Italian motor dealers' federation show that the country's best known luxury sports cars, Ferrari and Maserati, have seen their sales in Italy plummet over the past year; Ferrari's by more than 56%, Maserati's by 72%.
The actual number of vehicles sold is, of course, tiny. Just 248 Italians forked out for a Ferrari last year, not surprising, perhaps, when each car costs the equivalent of up to $300,000.
The head of the motor traders' federation blamed high taxes for the fall in sales.
However, while poorer Italians may register an uncharacteristic flicker of schadenfreude at the news that their richer compatriots are cutting back, they won't have much time to gloat.
Official figures recently showed that almost a third of Italians are on the verge of poverty, while the average Italian family is bracing itself for an extra €585 of government taxes.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
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legendary
famous, very well known
economic gloom
financial recession
plummet
fall very quickly
forked out for
paid a large amount of money for
register an uncharacteristic flicker of
have a small emotion that is not typical
schadenfreude
a good feeling when something bad happens to someone else
compatriots
people of the same nationality
to gloat
to feel or show pleasure at someone else's bad luck
on the verge of
very close to
bracing itself for
preparing itself (for bad news)
It's a small but highly significant step towards unwinding the extraordinary measures put in place to support the economy through six years of deep crisis.
The decision follows a run of data pointing to sustained if weak recovery and - the key factor - an improving jobs market.
But the Fed hasn't entirely kicked away the monetary props. It plans to keep short term lending rates at near 0% until it sees at least another 0.5% drop in the unemployment rate.
Investors responded by sending share prices higher. There was relief at the end to uncertainty over when the Fed, as has seemed inevitable for months, would start tapering off its monetary life support.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
pumping
(here) putting large amounts of
signalled
indicated
unwinding
(here) reversing the policy
kicked away
removed totally
props
structures to provide support
tapering off
gradually reducing until there is nothing left
It is being called Ireland's exit from the bailout. If all goes to plan Ireland will receive no more financial assistance. It does not mean that the money has been repaid - that will take until 2042.
Ireland will still need to borrow - and all the signs are that it will be able to do so in the financial markets at an affordable cost. The country's economy has shown signs of stabilisation. It has grown, though erratically, and unemployment is down from its highs. But living standards have been hit - the economy is still 9% smaller than it was six years ago.
This is an important stage in the Eurozone's financial repair effort. Ireland is the first country to be bailed out to get to this stage. Portugal is due to do it next year, though there are concerns that it might need more financial help.
Greece and Cyprus are further away from getting back on their feet financially. It certainly helps that the recession in the Eurozone has ended - that the economy of the region as a whole has started to grow again. But it is still feeble growth.
Europe needs stronger performance to generate the tax revenue that could really help struggling governments get control of their borrowing needs.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
affordable
reasonably priced
stabilisation
erratically
irregularly
getting back on their feet
recovering
feeble
weak
revenue
income from business earnings or (here) taxes
Chancellor Merkel said she would accept the minimum wage but, in return, would not accede to Social Democrat calls for higher taxes.
The French finance minister welcomed the floor on German pay as a signal of what he saw as a more cooperative German attitude within overall European economic policy.
It is not clear, though, that a German minimum wage would transform the European economic situation. It all depends on what level it is set at, and there is great resistance in Germany to doing anything which would make German exports less attractive.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
accede
agree to do what someone else wants
calls
requests; demands
taxes
money that people and businesses pay to the government
signal
sign; indication
cooperative
helpful
resistance
(here) refusal to accept a change or something new
It will go down as one of the most spectacular debuts in the history of financial markets.
Twitter has only been around seven years, has never made a profit and has modest sources of income - yet its shares rose 80% in value the moment it joined the stock market, and then briefly soared even higher than that.
Measured by the stock price in relation to revenues, Twitter's shares are now rated as among the most expensive of any new share issue ever.
It's a big bet that popularity - Twitter already has 230 million users - will eventually lead to massive profits.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Grammar
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
go down
become known
debuts
first appearances; (here) launches
profit
money earned after costs are paid
modest
few and small
sources of income
people or organisations which it gets money from
soared
rose very quickly and very highly
revenue
money which is received regularly
In a speech at China's top university the chancellor said there should be no limits on the number of Chinese students and tourists able to visit Britain if they want to. He also stressed that there was no country in the west more open to Chinese investment than the UK.
The chancellor shared the stage at Peking University with London's mayor - Boris Johnson. Their high-profile visits are a sign of a diplomatic thaw between the two countries. Beijing was furious after the prime minister met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama - last year.
The chancellor's announcement to relax visa rules for Chinese nationals will be welcomed by British businesses. They've been calling on the government to ease restrictions as a way of encouraging more high-spending Chinese tourists to visit the UK.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
chancellor
high-ranking person in the government. The British Chancellor is responsible for economic and financial matters
no limits
no restrictions
stressed
(here) made its importance clear
high-profile
attracting a lot of attention in the media
a diplomatic thaw
improving relations between two countries
furious
very angry
exiled
sent away from his own country
to relax
(here) to make less strict
high-spending
using a lot of money to buy things
China is the world's biggest polluter. But toxic smog in its cities is increasingly generating enormous public anger.
Now the authorities say they want the green industries to have a turnover of more than $700bn by 2015. They're offering tax breaks and subsidies to promote growth and innovation within the sector.
It's the latest move by the government to curb pollution. Last month, the authorities ordered hundreds of steel, paper and leather factories to shut down production lines that were causing high levels of pollution.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
polluter
a person or organisation that puts harmful substances into the environment
toxic smog
a poisonous mixture of fog and smoke which appears in some industrial cities
generating
producing
turnover
the amount of money taken by a business in a period of time
tax breaks
reduction of the amount of tax a business has to pay used as an incentive
subsidies
money given by a government or an organisation to help businesses keep the price of products or services low
promote
to actively encourage
innovation
a new idea or method
sector
a government branch
curb
to control or limit
high levels
above normal or average level
The birthplace of mass production, 'Motor City', has thrown in the towel.
Decades of decline led up to this moment. Spiralling crime and the departure of the car factories that gave Detroit its nickname saw the destruction of its tax base. Years of incompetent and corrupt management left the city insolvent.
The emergency manager appointed by the state governor spent months going through the city's books. His conclusion: the city's debts are too great to be sustained.
Now the courts will have to work out who gets paid what, and the city's fall is complete.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
mass production
producing a large quantities of goods using machines in a factory
thrown in the towel
given up, admitted defeat
spiralling
increasing faster and faster in a downward direction
tax base
total of income, assets and property which can be taxed by a government
incompetent
not having the ability to do something in the right way
insolvent
not having enough money to pay debts
going through
examining carefully
books
financial records
After the furious public reaction to this bailout deal, the fight now turns to parliament. MPs will debate the new tax before it is voted upon later on today (Monday). And it's by no means certain to pass, with some coalition members set to rebel.
The President argued in a televised address last night that the deal was the only way to avoid bankruptcy. But in an attempt to soften the blow, he is now trying to reduce the levy on those with smaller deposits.
If the bill is rejected by MPs, today's bank holiday might be extended so as to avoid a run on the banks. And all the while, those in debt-stricken countries outside Cyprus are watching to see if this levy will set a precedent and whether they should fear for their savings too.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
furious
very angry
bailout deal
agreement to do something in exchange for a payment
set to rebel
planning to disagree with the proposals
a televised address
a speech or announcement made on television
bankruptcy
not being able to pay what it owes
to soften the blow
to make a difficult thing easier to accept
levy
tax
smaller deposits
less money saved in a bank account
a run on the banks
a rush to take out as much money as possible from the banks
set a precedent
to do something that may be copied by a lot of other people
It is a convoluted supply chain involving Dutch and Cypriot agents, two French processing companies and Romanian abattoirs. But where in that complex network did horse become beef?
The investigation is focused on the paperwork, the export documents which should certify what kind of frozen meat is being transported. In Romania two of the 35 European approved abattoirs were involved: one that deals only in horses has now been cleared – the other, some 450km from Bucharest, slaughters both cattle and horses and remains part of the inquiry.
In France, where six supermarket chains have withdrawn products, the Prime Minister has called an emergency meeting.
The Romanian President is also deeply concerned. “I hope the false labelling of meat does not come from this country,” he said. “False labelling for financial profit would harm Romania’s credibility for years to come - with serious implications, he added, for our export market.”
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
convoluted
complicated
supply chain
the sequence of processes involved in taking a product from where it is made to where it is sold
abattoirs
buildings where animals are killed for their meat
paperwork
written records and documents
cleared
proved innocent
some
about, approximately
slaughters
kills animals for meat
inquiry
an official process to find out information about something that has happened (also spelled 'enquiry' in the UK)
credibility
believability, trustworthiness
implications
possible future effects
During Chinese New Year it's common to give gifts to bosses and officials as a way of gaining favour. But now the authorities have announced a ban on advertisements that have been encouraging people to give luxury items.
In a statement, the authorities said these radio and TV ads were spreading "incorrect values" and creating a "bad social ethos". According to reports, the ban relates to promotions which suggest products are "must-have items for superiors".
It's the latest move by China's leader, Xi Jinping, to try and cut down on government extravagance and corruption. At many official occasions, banquets have been banned or scaled back, red carpets are out, and the floral arrangements are no longer there. China's new generation of leaders are keen to display a more frugal administration in the face of growing public anger over official corruption.
Senior officials have repeatedly warned that corruption poses the greatest threat to the rule of the Communist party.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
gaining favour
getting acceptance
luxury
expensive and desirable
ethos
values or belief
superiors
senior or higher ranking members of the communist party
corruption
dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power
scaled back
reduced in size
frugal
more economical (in relation to money)
in the face of
as a reaction to a threat from
This discussion paper says the antidote to fears about resources is what's known as material efficiency; that's making the things we want, but with less material.
The researchers say we could use half as much cement in buildings, for instance, if we designed and built them with more time and care. We don't do it now because labour's dear and materials are cheap. We could drastically reduce steel in cars, if governments deterred the trend towards bigger, more powerful vehicles.
The researchers say material efficiency is vital for tackling climate change, too. For the UK, for instance, to generate enough clean energy so materials are produced in current quantities, would need the equivalent of a four-fold increase in nuclear power or a 40-fold increase in wind power. That's barely feasible, they say, so resource efficiency is the only way ahead.
The researchers say the trick will be to make sure that good design allows people to continue getting the things they want but simply made from less. For the transition to happen fully they urge governments to shift taxation away from people and on to resources. This would be controversial but the researchers predict it will create jobs for people to manufacture goods in a more intelligent way.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
antidote
thing that prevents the unwanted effects
drastically
extremely or severely
deterred
discouraged
trend
a direction in which something is changing or developing
tackling
dealing with
four-fold
four times
barely feasible
unlikely to happen
transition
change
urge
try to persuade
controversial
an issue people would disagree on
Italians' love for fast cars is legendary. But glamour is, it would seem, no defence against the current economic gloom.
New figures from the Italian motor dealers' federation show that the country's best known luxury sports cars, Ferrari and Maserati, have seen their sales in Italy plummet over the past year; Ferrari's by more than 56%, Maserati's by 72%.
The actual number of vehicles sold is, of course, tiny. Just 248 Italians forked out for a Ferrari last year, not surprising, perhaps, when each car costs the equivalent of up to $300,000.
The head of the motor traders' federation blamed high taxes for the fall in sales.
However, while poorer Italians may register an uncharacteristic flicker of schadenfreude at the news that their richer compatriots are cutting back, they won't have much time to gloat.
Official figures recently showed that almost a third of Italians are on the verge of poverty, while the average Italian family is bracing itself for an extra €585 of government taxes.
Listen
Click here to hear the vocabulary
listen
Vocabulary
SHOW ALL | HIDE ALL
legendary
famous, very well known
economic gloom
financial recession
plummet
fall very quickly
forked out for
paid a large amount of money for
register an uncharacteristic flicker of
have a small emotion that is not typical
schadenfreude
a good feeling when something bad happens to someone else
compatriots
people of the same nationality
to gloat
to feel or show pleasure at someone else's bad luck
on the verge of
very close to
bracing itself for
preparing itself (for bad news)