Investors Count Their Losses Following a Rough Week Les investisseurs comptent leurs pertes après une semaine difficile

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Financial markets around the world took investors on a shaky ride this week. Les marchés financiers du monde entier ont fait vaciller les investisseurs cette semaine.

On Tuesday, concerns about the health of Chinese markets and the United States economy helped send investors on a flight from risk. Mardi, les inquiétudes concernant la santé des marchés chinois et de l'économie américaine ont contribué à éloigner les investisseurs du risque. A selloff that began on the Shanghai stock market quickly spread to Europe and the United States. Une vente qui a commencé sur le marché boursier de Shanghai s'est rapidement propagée à l'Europe et aux États-Unis. Markets in Africa and Latin America also suffered losses.

China's main stock market in Shanghai fell nine percent Tuesday. It was the worst drop in Chinese stocks in ten years. Investors hurried to sell their stocks as concern spread that the government might raise interest rates. Les investisseurs se sont empressés de vendre leurs actions, craignant que le gouvernement n'augmente les taux d'intérêt. There were also unconfirmed reports of a possible new tax on capital gains. Il y avait aussi des rapports non confirmés d'un possible nouvel impôt sur les plus-values. Chinese officials denied those reports.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average of thirty major stocks dropped four hundred sixteen points, more than three percent. À Wall Street, le Dow Jones Industrial Average des trente principales actions a chuté de quatre cent seize points, soit plus de trois pour cent. That was a loss about six billion dollars of shareholder value on the New York Stock Exchange. C'était une perte d'environ six milliards de dollars de valeur actionnariale à la Bourse de New York. It was the biggest one-day drop since the first day of trading after the terrorist attacks in September of two thousand one. Il s'agit de la plus forte baisse sur une journée depuis le premier jour de cotation après les attentats terroristes de septembre 2011.

But at one point Tuesday, after a month of moving up, the Dow was down as much as five hundred forty-six points. Mais à un moment donné mardi, après un mois de hausse, le Dow a perdu jusqu'à cinq cent quarante-six points.

The intense trading even overloaded the systems that continually compute the Dow Jones average. Les échanges intenses ont même surchargé les systèmes qui calculent en permanence la moyenne du Dow Jones. Traders had the wrong information for seventy minutes. But the Dow Jones company says it does not believe that the delay worsened the drop in the market.

Investors may have also been influenced by comments from Alan Greenspan. On Monday, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve said a recession was possible in the United States by the end of the year. Later, though, he said a recession is possible but not probable.

The current Federal Reserve chairman told Congress that the markets in the United States seemed to be working well. Ben Bernanke said the central bank still expects "moderate growth" in the economy this year. His comments Wednesday seemed to help calm the markets.

A better-than-expected manufacturing report on Thursday also helped stock prices, after an early drop on Wall Street. Un rapport sur la fabrication meilleur que prévu jeudi a également aidé les cours des actions, après une chute précoce à Wall Street. Another economic report had been blamed as one of the causes of Tuesday's big selloff. Un autre rapport économique a été accusé d'être l'une des causes de la grande vente de mardi. On Tuesday the Commerce Department reported the biggest drop in three months in orders for durable goods in January. Mardi, le département du Commerce a signalé la plus forte baisse en trois mois des commandes de biens durables en janvier. These are higher-priced goods designed to last three years or more, like cars and computers. Ce sont des biens plus chers conçus pour durer trois ans ou plus, comme les voitures et les ordinateurs.

There was also concern in the markets this week about companies that deal in "subprime" home loans. Il y avait aussi des inquiétudes sur les marchés cette semaine au sujet des entreprises qui s'occupent de prêts immobiliers « subprime ». These loans for people with weak credit histories have been popular in recent years. Ces prêts pour les personnes ayant de faibles antécédents de crédit ont été populaires ces dernières années. But many people are now having trouble paying them back.

All together, it was one of the worst weeks in several years for financial markets that have recently hit new highs. Dans l'ensemble, ce fut l'une des pires semaines depuis plusieurs années pour les marchés financiers qui ont récemment atteint de nouveaux sommets. Investors hoped that their shaky ride was nothing more than a normal price correction. Les investisseurs espéraient que leur tour chancelant n'était rien de plus qu'une correction normale des prix.

And that's IN THE NEWS, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.