豆知识 2010-11-21&11-27 图说信贷危机(1/3)

 What isthe credit crisis? It’s a worldwide financial fiasco involving terms you’ve probably heard like sub-primemortgages, collateralized debt obligations, frozen credit markets and creditdefault swaps¹. 

Who isaffected? Everyone.

How didit happen? Here’s how:

Thecredit crisis brings two groups of people together: home-owners and investors².Home-owners represent their mortgages and investors represent their money.These mortgages represent houses and this money represents large institutionslike pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign funds, mutual³ funds, etc.These groups are brought together through the financial system, a bunch ofbanks and brokers⁴ commonly known as Wall Street. Although it may not seem likeit, these banks on Wall Street are closely connected to these houses on MainStreet. To understand how, let’s start at the beginning.

Yearsago, the investors are sitting on their pile of money, looking for a goodinvestment to turn into more money. Traditionally they go to the US FederalReserve where they buy treasury⁵ bills, believed to be the safest investment.But, in the wake of the dotcom bust⁶ in September 11th, Federal Reserve chairman,Alan Greenspan, lowers interest rates to only 1% to keep the economy strong. 1%is a very low return on investments, so the investors say: “no, thanks.” 

On the flip⁷ side, this means banks on WallStreet can borrow from the Fed for only 1%. Add to that, general surpluses fromJapan, China and the Middle East, and there is an abundance of cheap credit. Thismakes borrowing money easy for banks and causes them to go crazy with leverage⁸. 

Leverageis borrowing money to amplify⁹ the outcome of a deal. Here is how it works:

In anormal deal, someone with $10,000 buys a box for $10,000. He then sells it tosomeone else for $11,000, for a $1,000 profit, a good deal. But using leverage,someone with $10,000 would go borrow $990,000 more, giving him $1,000,000 inhand. Then he goes and buys 100 boxes with his $1,000,000, and sells them tosomeone else for $1,100,000. Then he pays back his $990,000 plus $10,000 ininterest. And after his initial $10,000, he’s left with a $90,000 profit versusthe other guy’s, $1,000. Leverage turns good deals into great deals. This is amajor way banks make their money. So Wall Street takes out a ton of credit,makes great deals and grows tremendously rich, and then pays it back.

1 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

4 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 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。

7 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

8 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

9 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。