VOASE0830_Economics Report

30 August 2007

How Bad Loans in US Have a Far Reach
Investors around the world have bought debt securities based on risky mortgages as a way to earn higher returns.

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This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

A man watches as stock prices fall in Seoul on August 16

A listener in China named Turbo wonders why problems with subprime home loans in America can influence world markets.

Subprime mortgages are loans to people who may not have enough money to repay them. These and other risky housing loans are often grouped with other mortgages and sold as debt investments.

Investors all over the world have bought bonds and other securities based on subprime mortgages as a way to earn higher returns.

Sometimes, the investors are banks that want to spread their risk by investing in several different countries. What happened in late July to a German bank, however, is an example of spreading risk with bad results.

IKB Deutsche Industriebank had put money into American debt securities, including some based on subprime loans. Some of those loans started to fail.

The bank was in danger of not being able to pay its short-term debts. Other German banks, led by the government-owned KfW Group, agreed to provide almost five billion dollars to aid IKB.

In early August, the French bank BNP Paribas had to temporarily bar investors from withdrawing money from three investment funds. Their value dropped by twenty percent in less than two weeks. The bank blamed difficulties in valuing its holdings in the subprime market.

Worries over subprime loans have hurt even some of the biggest lenders in the United States. On August sixteenth, the nation's biggest housing lender, Countrywide Financial, had to turn to banks to finance its short-term debt. Normally the company would raise the money in financial markets.

Many took this as a sign that investors were becoming unwilling to provide short-term loans to companies. Especially companies involved with subprime loans.

A shrinking debt market, a credit crunch, can affect stock markets. Not only have subprime losses hurt financial stocks. Many companies depend on credit. Private equity groups often use borrowed money to finance buyouts of publicly traded companies. Hedge funds also use borrowed money for their investment activities.

In an effort to calm financial markets, the Federal Reserve two weeks ago cut the rate it charges banks to borrow money. Many investors hope the central bank will cut its main short-term interest rate when policymakers meet on September eighteenth.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE0830_American Mosaic

30 August 2007

Looking for the Best in a Fresh Crop of Graduates From Art School
Also: A new presidential coin honors Thomas Jefferson. And a question from Burma about Linkin Park.

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

I'm Doug Johnson. On our program this week:

We listen to music from the group Linkin Park …

Visit a show by recent art school graduates …

And report about the newest American coin.

Thomas Jefferson Dollar

HOST:

Earlier this month, the United States Treasury Department released a new dollar coin. It is the third in a series that honors American Presidents. Steve Ember has more.

STEVE EMBER:

The new dollar coin honors Thomas Jefferson, the nation's third president. The nation's first president, George Washington, was honored with a similar coin in February. A coin honoring second president John Adams appeared in May. And one honoring fourth president James Madison will follow in November.

Congress created the program in the Presidential Dollar Coin Act of two thousand five. It calls for the secretary of the treasury to design and produce presidential dollar coins honoring each president in the order in which they served. Four coins will be released each year.

The coins show the president and his years in office on one side. The other side shows the Statue of Liberty.

he presidential coins are the same size and color as the golden dollar coin that honors the American Indian guide, Sacagawea. That coin was introduced seven years ago, but has not been very popular with the American public.

Department of Treasury official Edmund Moy expects the presidential coins to be more popular. He told reporters the presidential coins have an educational value. They can teach the American public about past presidents. A study carried out last month found that the public does not really know much about the presidents.

Only about thirty percent of Americans could name Thomas Jefferson as the nation's third president. Ninety-four percent knew that George Washington was the first president. But only seven percent could name the first four presidents in order.

Mister Moy says another coin series already is helping educate Americans about their country. That is the fifty-state quarter program.

Each twenty-five cent coin in that series honors an American state. The coins are released in the order in which each state became part of the United States.

Reports say more than one hundred forty million people in the United States are collecting those state quarters. They are learning about American history and geography at the same time.

Art Show

HOST:

For three years, Irvine Contemporary gallery in Washington, D.C., has been holding an exhibit for recent art school graduates. This year's show is called "Introductions Three." A group of art collectors examined the work of over two hundred fifty artist graduates. They invited eleven of the best new artists to take part in this year's show. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

'Your Relentless Tenderness Is Our Prism Pivot Point' by Lauren Clay

When you walk into Irvine Contemporary, the first piece of work that catches your eye is a tall sculpture. It looks like a pale purple building that is sitting on several green and blue geometric forms. It is made from carefully cut pieces of paper. Lauren Clay made the artwork.

Near the sculpture are two of Miz Clay's paintings. She uses bright colors to paint extraordinarily detailed geometric shapes. She explores combining a traditionally female look to very simple geometric objects by painting them in bright colors or by adding paper decorations.

Detail from "Wrapping Project-New Studio" by Akemi Maegawa

Akemi Maegawa was born in Japan but now lives in Washington. Her sculpture is called "Wrapping Project-New Studio." It is a chair and table covered with many different kinds of tools and objects. All the objects are covered in pieces of white felt fabric.

Miz Maegawa explores how the material changes common objects. For example, a sharp tool with shiny edges loses its threatening quality and becomes soft and rounded. Each object takes on a whole different form and role in her imaginary studio.

Detail from ''A Year's Progression'' by Katie Lewis

Katie Lewis' work, "A Year's Progression," is made up of four forms of a woman's body. The first two look like they are made from small dots drawn in pencil on the wall. But if you look closely, you can see that she has created the shape of the body by writing very small dates in pencil.

The other two forms are made up of sharp metal pins that stick into the wall. Miz Lewis carefully wrapped thin pieces of thread up and around the many pins. The art serves as maps of sensation and the body's nervous system. The drawn forms represent the loss of feeling, while the pins show the presence of pain.

These are just a few of the interesting pieces in a show that brings the work of some of the best new artists to the nation's capital.

Linkin Park

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Burma. Cho The asks about the group Linkin Park. Linkin Park has become one of the most successful heavy metal bands in the United States.

Drummer Rob Bourdon, guitarist Brad Delson, and singer Mike Shinoda formed the band in nineteen ninety-six while they were in high school in southern California. After they graduated, they added Joe Hahn and Dave "Phoenix" Farrell. Three years later, singer Chester Bennington joined the group. The band took the name Linkin Park after Lincoln Park in Santa Monica, California.

The group joined with Warner Brother's Records. They released their first album, "Hybrid Theory," in two thousand. It was very successful around the world. "Hybrid Theory" sold over eight million copies in North America. It was the best-selling album of two thousand one in the United States. The group won the Grammy music award for best hard rock performance for this song, "Crawling."

(MUSIC)

Linkin Park's second album, "Meteora," was released in two thousand three. It was also very successful in the United States and was the number one hit in many countries. Experts say it is a mixture of the band's earlier sound with new effects and instruments. Here is the hit single "Somewhere I Belong."

(MUSIC)

Linkin Park postponed working on a new studio album for several years. Band members worked on different projects with other musicians. The band also performed in concerts to raise money for victims of hurricanes in the United States and the tsunami in Asia and for aid to Africa.

The group's third album, "Minutes to Midnight," was released in May. It sold six hundred thousand copies in the first week. We leave you with that album's first single, "What I've Done."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. It was written by Erin Braswell, Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach. Mario Ritter was the producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to mosaic@voanews.com. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

VOASE0829_The Making of a Nation

29 August 2007

American History Series: Supreme Court Ruling Decides the 2000 Presidential Election
George W. Bush was declared the winner after several weeks of legal battles over the results in Florida. In the end, a divided high court said disputed ballots in that state should not be recounted.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Bob Doughty with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Today, we tell about the presidential election of two thousand. It was an event that few Americans would soon forget.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In the year two thousand, the United States was preparing to elect a new president. Bill Clinton would finish his second term as president in January, two thousand one. The Constitution prevented him from competing for a third term. This meant Mister Clinton’s Democratic Party needed to choose a new candidate for president.

The Democratic Party nominated Vice President Al Gore. Mister Gore had served almost eight years as vice president under President Clinton. Mister Gore chose Senator Joseph Lieberman of the state of Connecticut to compete for vice president. Mister Lieberman was first elected to the United States Senate in nineteen eighty-eight. He was the first Jewish person ever nominated for one of America’s top positions.

VOICE TWO:

Al Gore in 1971 as an Army reporter in Vietnam

Al Gore was born in Washington, D.C. in nineteen forty-eight. His father was a United States senator from the state of Tennessee. Young Al Gore grew up in Washington and in Carthage, Tennessee, where his family had a farm.

Al Gore studied government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated in nineteen sixty-nine. His father opposed American involvement in the war in Vietnam. But Al joined the Army during the war. He spent about six months of his service as a reporter in Vietnam.

VOICE ONE:

Back in civilian life, Mister Gore again worked as a reporter. Later he studied religion and then law. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in nineteen seventy-six. He became known for supporting nuclear arms control and protecting the environment.

Mister Gore was elected to the United States Senate in nineteen eighty-four. He was re-elected six years later. He tried and failed to become the Democratic candidate for president in nineteen eighty-eight.

Four years later, Bill Clinton won the Democratic presidential nomination. Mister Clinton chose Mister Gore as his vice presidential candidate. As vice president, Al Gore was praised for his work on the environment, technology and foreign relations.

VOICE TWO:

The Republican Party nominated a son of former President George Bush. They chose Governor George W. Bush of Texas as their candidate for president. Richard Cheney, a former secretary of defense, was chosen to compete for vice president. George W. Bush was born in the state of Texas in nineteen forty-six. He is the oldest child of former President Bush. The younger Mister Bush is often called “W” because his name is so similar to that of his father.

George W. Bush during his time in the Texas Air National Guard

George W. Bush grew up in the Texas cities of Midland and Houston. He graduated from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He studied business as a graduate student at Harvard University. George W. Bush was a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. Later he worked in the oil and gas industry.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen eighty-eight, Mister Bush worked on his father’s successful campaign for president. Later, George W. Bush was one of the owners of the Texas Rangers, a professional baseball team. He was elected governor of Texas in nineteen ninety-four. He was re-elected four years later by a large majority.

At Governor Bush’s urging, Texas legislators enacted measures to improve public schools. However, critics charged that public education in Texas was still very poor. And they said the state’s criminal justice policies supported by Mister Bush were too severe. For example, Texas executes more criminals than any other state.

VOICE TWO:

The candidates debate in 2000

Presidential candidates Gore and Bush disagreed on most major issues. For example, Al Gore said women should have the right to end unwanted pregnancies. He supported gun control and restrictions on tobacco sales. He supported higher wages for the lowest paid workers. Governor Bush opposed him on these issues.

Governor Bush supported a plan to provide public money for students to attend private schools. And he supported investing taxes on government retirement money in private retirement plans. Mister Gore opposed these measures.

VOICE ONE:

Several other candidates also ran for president in the November seventh election. They represented small political parties. For example, activist Ralph Nader was the candidate of the Green Party. He criticized large corporations for having too much influence in America. Conservative Patrick Buchanan ran as the Reform Party candidate.

Opinion studies showed that the race between the Republican and Democratic candidates was extremely close.

VOICE TWO:

On November seventh, two thousand, more than one hundred million people voted for either Mister Gore or Mister Bush. In this popular vote, Al Gore received more votes than George W. Bush. The final vote would show that Mister Gore received about five hundred forty thousand more votes than Mister Bush. But that alone did not make Mister Gore president of the United States.

Americans do not vote directly for their presidents. They vote for electors to represent them in the Electoral College. The Electoral College then elects the president. Each state has at least three electors. The states with the most population have the most electors and the most electoral votes.

In general, the candidate with the most votes in a state wins that state’s electoral votes. There are five hundred thirty-eight electors in the electoral college. To become president, a candidate must win two hundred-seventy electoral votes. Neither Mister Gore nor Mister Bush had received that many electoral votes. No winner was declared because of the situation in the state of Florida.

VOICE ONE:

Florida had enough electoral votes to make either candidate the winner. The big southern state counted almost six million votes on November seventh. Mister Bush had slightly more votes than Mister Gore. But the election was still not over.

Florida State law calls for a recount when the difference in votes between two candidates is less than one-half of one percent of the votes. This meant Florida had to count the votes again. State recounts normally involve the governor. But the Florida governor said he would not be involved. That is because Governor Jeb Bush is a brother of George W. Bush.

VOICE TWO:

The election in Florida involved several problems. Some voting machines counted the votes incorrectly. Some African Americans said election workers prevented them from voting. And, many supporters of Mister Gore in one area believed they had voted for Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan by mistake. The names of Mister Buchanan and Al Gore were next to one another on the ballot. Democrats charged that the ballot design was illegal. But Republicans say Democratic officials never objected.

VOICE ONE:

Almost three weeks after the election, Florida declared Mister Bush the winner of the state’s twenty-five electoral votes. Florida election officials said Mister Bush won the popular vote in Florida by five hundred-thirty-seven votes. That total was out of six million ballots. But the election was still not over. Mister Gore and supporters in Florida protested the results. They asked the courts to reconsider because of what they called the many voting problems.

The Florida Supreme Court ordered the disputed ballots counted again. This could have given Florida’s electoral votes to Mister Gore. The votes could have made him president.

VOICE TWO:

The Supreme Court set aside a Florida high court ruling that permitted selective ballot recounts

Bush campaign officials quickly appealed to the United States Supreme Court. A majority of the high court justices declared the Florida court ruling unconstitutional. They said Florida law did not explain how officials should judge the ballots. They ruled that the disputed ballots should not be re-counted. The Supreme Court justices said not enough time remained to settle the problem before the Electoral College held its required meeting.

On December eighteenth, two thousand, Electoral College members met in each state capital. They made the election official. George W. Bush became the forty-third president of the United States.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program of The Making of a Nation was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by George Grow. This is Sarah Long.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

VOASE0829_Education Report

29 August 2007

Debating Year-Round Education
Some families and businesses oppose programs that keep schools open all year. Second of two reports about school calendars in the US.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

A teacher in Texas meets a new student on the first day of school

Today we continue our discussion of school calendars as a new American school year begins.

Some people say the traditional calendar of one hundred eighty days no longer meets the needs of American society. They point out that students in most other industrial countries are in school more hours a day and more days a year.

Critics also say a long summer vacation causes students to forget much of what they learned.

Schools are under pressure to raise test scores. Some have changed their calendars to try to improve student performance. They have lengthened the school day or added days to the year or both.

This can be costly if schools need air conditioning on hot days and school employees need to be paid for the extra time.

Local businesses may object to a longer school year because students are unable to work as long at summer jobs.

Some schools have a year-round schedule. The school year is extended over twelve months. Instead of a long vacation, there are many short ones.

The National Association of Year-Round Education says almost five percent of public school students attend year-round schools. It says almost all of the states have some public schools that are open all year.

Some parts of the country had year-round programs in the nineteenth century, mostly for economic reasons. They felt it wasted money to use school buildings for only part of the year.

Year-round programs can also reduce crowding in schools. In one version, students attend school for nine weeks and then have three weeks off. The students are in groups that are not all in school at the same time.

Another year-round calendar has all students in school together for nine weeks and off for three. This is meant to provide the continuous learning that can be lost over a long break.

But year-round schooling has opponents. They say it can cause problems for families when they want to make summer plans. And they say it interferes with activities outside school -- including summer employment.

Some experts say no really good studies have been done to measure the effect of school calendars on performance. But some educators think year-round schooling especially helps students from poor families that lack educational support at home.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.