经济学人:外汇交易:放规矩点!(1)

 　　Finance and Economics 财经

　　Foreign Exchange Trading: Be good, or else 外汇交易：规矩点

　　A new code of conduct aims to clean up a tonish market. 新规指向规整通行市场。

　　Financial market traders have earned a pretty shocking reputation in recent years. 近年来，金融市场交易者名声可谓是骇人听闻。

　　From manipulating LIBOR, a benchmark interest rate, to rigging the daily fix of foreign-exchange (FX) rates,  从操纵基准利率-伦敦银行间拆放款利率（LIBOR）到控制每日外汇（FX）利率，种种迹象已表明，

　　traders have shown themselves ready not just to stretch the rules, but to collude in outright¹ illegality. 交易者不再是仅仅打破规则，而是相互之间非法勾结。

　　A global code of conduct for the FX market, unveiled on May 25th, aims to put things on a sounder footing. 5月25日，外汇全球行为准则对外公布，该准则旨在打造一个更加稳定的市场。

　　Drawn² up over the past two years by a coalition³ of central bankers, known as the FX Working Group (FXWG) , and supported by a panel of industry participants,  在过去两年里，由央行行长联盟拟定并由行业参与者小组支持通过了一项新准则，

　　the code's 55 principles lay down international standards on a range of practices, from the handling of confidential⁴ information to the pricing and settlement of deals. 该准则中包含55个原则，依据一系列惯例制定国际规范，其范围包括从机密信息的处理到交易的计价和结算，

　　Such standards seem long overdue⁵ in the massive FX market. 在大规模的外汇市场上，这样的标准似乎早应该制定。

　　Roughly $5trn is traded every day. 每天，约5万亿美元在进行市场交易。

　　Many companies, pension funds and money managers depend on banks to hedge their exposure to currency fluctuations⁶. 许多公司，养老基金和资金管理者依靠银行来对冲货币波动带来的风险。

　　Yet in the past traders colluded with one another in internet chat rooms, secretly swapping⁷ client data in order to rig the widely used WM/Reuters benchmark exchange rates. 然而过去，为了操纵应用广泛的WM /路透社基准汇率，交易者在互联网聊天室中相互勾结，秘密交换客户数据。

　　Some were caught and fired. 为此，逮捕和解雇了有些交易者。

　　Banks such as Citigroup, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS paid billions of dollars in fines. 花旗集团，汇丰银行，摩根大通银行，苏格兰皇家银行和瑞士银行等银行为此支付了数十亿美元的罚款。

　　The FX market has always been lightly regulated, but many countries do have codes of conduct, usually drafted by the central bank in consultation⁸ with market participants. 外汇市场一直以来监管不力，尽管许多国家有行为准则，该准则通常由中央银行与市场参与者协商起草。

　　Often, however, the codes were defective⁹: they missed areas vulnerable to malpractice; and were rarely updated, scantily¹⁰ enforced and widely flouted¹¹. 但是，通常情况下，这些行为守则存在缺陷：忽略容易滋生腐败的地方；不适时更新，执行不力，形同虚设。

　　The new code starts with some advantages. 起初，新准则占据一些优势，将取代国家准则，提供统一的国际原则。

　　It will supersede¹² the national codes, and provide a single global set of principles, with adherence¹³ closely monitored by a newly formed committee of central bankers and trading institutions. 中央银行家和交易机构委员会将新成立委员会，该委员将会密切监督新准则统一执行。

1 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

5 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

6 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

7 swapping   

交换，交换技术

参考例句：

• The slow swapping and buying of horses went on. 马匹的买卖和交换就是这样慢慢地进行着。
• He was quite keen on swapping books with friends. 他非常热衷于和朋友们交换书籍。

8 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

9 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

10 scantily   

adv.缺乏地；不充足地；吝啬地；狭窄地

参考例句：

• The bedroom was scantily furnished. 卧室里几乎没有什么家具。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His room was scantily furnished. 他的房间陈设简陋。 来自互联网

11 flouted   

v.藐视，轻视( flout的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• North Vietnam flouted the accords from the day they were signed. 北越从签字那天起就无视协定的存在。 来自辞典例句
• They flouted all our offers of help and friendship. 他们对我们愿意提供的所有帮助和友谊表示藐视。 来自辞典例句

12 supersede   

v.替代；充任

参考例句：

• We must supersede old machines by new ones.我们必须以新机器取代旧机器。
• The use of robots will someday supersede manual labor.机器人的使用有一天会取代人力。

13 adherence   

n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着

参考例句：

• He was well known for his adherence to the rules.他因遵循这些规定而出名。
• The teacher demanded adherence to the rules.老师要求学生们遵守纪律。