Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.
NEW YORK, the United States
The biggest Wall Street banks slashed their small business loan portfolios by 9% between 2008 and 2009, more than double the rate at which they cut their overall lending, according to a government report released Thursday.
The Congressional Oversight Panel report spotlights the role banks, especially the largest ones, played in the credit crunch that has plagued small companies throughout the recession. "Big banks pulled back on everyone, but they pulled back harder on small businesses," said Elizabeth Warren, the panel’s chairwoman.
Warren’s oversight committee was established to keep tabs on the federal government’s financial stabilization effort. The committee’s May report focuses on the role her committee played in improving credit access for small companies. Madria, spain
The European Union eases trade with Latin America at the Madrid summit. The EU plans to boost trade with Latin America despite warnings from some European ministers and farmers, who fear unfair competition. EU negotiations with the Mereosur trade bloc, frozen since 2004, will reopen. The Mercosur group embraces Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Trade deals were also reached with Central America, Peru and Colombia, following marathon talks in Madrid. EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said: "We have opened a ground-breaking chapter in the EU relationship with our Latin America and Caribbean partners. " The EU is pursuing regional trade agreements while global trade talks -- the so- called Doha Round--have failed to make progress.
Tripoli, Libya
Members of a Dutch family are on their way to Libya after being told that the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed 103 people might be their relative. A member of the Dutch family told the media that officials had told her family the child being treated at a hospital in Tripoli might be her grandson, nine-year-old Ruben van Assouw. The Dutch foreign ministry confirmed that two presumed family members of the injured child were on their way to Tripoli. Ruben had been on safari in South Africa with his brother, mother, and father, all of whom perished in the crash, said the newspaper. Sixty-one Dutch citizens were believed killed when the MA Flight 230 from Johannesburg to Tripoli crashed on landing in clear weather at 6 am. The Times understands that seven passengers had been due to fly on to London. Two of the dead were Britons and one was Irish.
London, the United Kingdom
Target Corp posted a higher quarterly profit as consumers loosened their wallets to spend on items including clothing and electronics. The discount retailer said profit was ￡671 million in the fiscal first quarter that ended May 1, compared with ￡522 million a year earlier. Target has benefited from consumers becoming a bit more willing to spend on discretionary items such as clothing and home furnishings. The company previously said that sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.8 percent in the first quarter.
Bonn, Germany
Fears of greater financial regulation across Europe hammered stocks on Wednesday after German measures aimed at limiting speculation were taken to smack of desperation.
Stock markets were unnerved by Germany’s unilateral ban on certain naked shorts announced late on Tuesday. And the euro suffered a knee-jerk reaction, falling more than 1 percent against the yen, as investors saw foreign exchange as the only way to bet against the euro zone.
World stocks were down 1.43 percent whilst the more volatile emerging markets index fell 2.64 percent.
There were also fears that the debt crisis was about to worsen as some believed Germany’s move smacked of desperation.
Question No. 6 What did the biggest Wall Street banks do between 2008 and 2009 as reported in the news
9().
A. ￡522 million.
B. ￡671 million.
C. As much profit as one year earlier
D. 2.8 percent more profit than a year earlier.
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