经济学人262:图表看雷曼尽五年变迁

　　Finance and economics
财经商业
Five years after Lehman
图表看雷曼尽五年变迁
The world of banking¹ has changed dramatically, if not radically², in the five years since September 15th 2008, the day Lehman Brothers went bust³.
2008年9月15日，雷曼兄弟宣布破产。此后5年时间里，银行业即便不说是彻底改变了，也确实是发生了巨大的变化。
American and European banks used to dominate the list of the world's biggest banks; the Chinese have since scaled the charts.
欧美银行曾经牢牢统治着“世界最大银行排行榜”，但从那以后，中国的各大银行逐渐爬上榜单。
The balance-sheets of Europe's behemoths have got quite a bit smaller;
欧洲银行巨头们的财务状况表缩水了不少；
consolidation⁴ has made America's giants bigger than ever.
而各类合并倒是使美国的主要银行愈加庞大。
Western banks are generating much lower returns on equity⁵ than they did in the years before the crisis, in part because the industry is being forced to fund itself with higher levels of equity than in the past.
西方各银行的股本回报率比起金融危机前要低得多，部分原因是在过去，银行需要高水平的股权来支持自己的财政。
So cost-cutting is much more important than it was: compensation ratios at investment banks have fallen.
因而现在进行消减开支比起以前要重要得多：投资银行的补偿金比率已经下降。
But those who want a complete reshaping of finance can still argue that change has not gone far enough:
但是那些盼望金融界完全改头换面的人依然可以反驳说这种变化程度不深：
more people work in finance in London in 2013 than did in December 2007.
2013年伦敦的金融行业从业人数比起2007年12月份反而更多。
1.go bust 失败，破产，完蛋
Third, allow some defaulting banks to go bust.
第三，允许一些资不抵债的银行破产。
Italy avoided a housing bubble; its banks did not go bust.
意大利避免了房地产泡沫，国内银行也没有陷入倒闭困境。
2.used to do 过去常常做某事
We used to do it to avoid the narcs.
我们过去仅仅是为了躲避缉毒警察。
A human being with a computer can hold the same amount of information stored in the russian state library, but that technology can also be used to do great harm.
一个拥有电脑的人可以拥有与俄罗斯国立图书馆（russian state library）等量的信息，但这种技术也会被用来制造极大伤害。
3.in part 在某种程度上，部分地；一半
Markets are nervous in part because of national politics.
国内政治是一部分市场紧张的原因。
In part this was the result of happenstance.
这在某种程度上是偶然事件造成的。
4.much more 更加；多
It was much more difficult than on land.
这比在陆地上难多了。
The verdict matters much more than the punishment.
陪审团的裁决比惩罚本身更加重要。

1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

3 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

4 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

5 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。