欧洲央行推出强力措施刺激欧元区经济

 　　FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank took a series of unexpected and radical¹ steps on Thursday to stimulate² the sluggish³ eurozone economy, including effectively paying banks to lend money.

　　法兰克福——周四，欧洲中央银行(European Central Bank)采取了一系列出人意料的激进措施，包括相当于出钱让银行放贷，以刺激疲软的欧元区经济。

　　While increasing the penalty it charges banks to store funds in its virtual vaults⁴, as expected, the central bank surprised analysts⁵ and investors⁶ by saying it would also offer four-year loans to commercial banks under an arrangement that would pay the banks interest on money they lend to businesses and consumers.

　　正如外界预料的那样，欧洲央行加大了对银行把钱存放在其虚拟金库里的惩罚力度。与此同时，该行还表示，将按一项协议的规定，向商业银行提供四年期贷款。这些贷款将向银行支付其发放给企业和消费者的贷款产生的利息。此举令分析人士和投资者大感意外。

　　The actions, which go well beyond what analysts predicted, are part of an increasingly urgent effort by the central bank to give the eurozone economy a decisive shove and to head off the threat of a destructive decline in prices known as deflation.

　　这些行动远远超出了分析人士此前的预期。它们是一项越来越紧迫的行动的一部分。欧洲央行试图通过该行动大力提振欧元区经济，并防止出现物价的破坏性下跌，即通货紧缩。

　　But the moves are not without risks, taking the central bank further into the relatively⁷ uncharted territory of so-called negative interest rates.

　　但这些举措并非没有风险。它们会让欧洲央行在所谓的负利率这个相对而言属于未知的领域陷得更深。

　　The central bank also said it would expand its purchases of government bonds and other assets to 80 billion euros, or about $88 billion, a month from 60 billion. In another unprecedented⁸ step for the eurozone, the central bank will also begin buying corporate¹⁰ bonds as part of the asset purchases.

　　欧洲央行还表示将把每月购买政府债券和其他资产的规模从600亿欧元扩大到800亿欧元。该行还将开始购买企业债券，将其作为资产购买行动的一部分。对欧元区来说，这又是一项史无前例的举动。

　　The announcement of the moves prompted an immediate¹¹ plunge¹² in the euro against the dollar, which is good for European exporters, while stocks rose. But the unexpectedly forceful action could also be interpreted as a sign that the European Central Bank is more worried than analysts thought about the risk of deflation.

　　这些举措的宣布促使欧元兑美元汇率立即大幅下跌。而这对欧洲出口商有利。与此同时，股市上涨。但力度超出预期的行动也可能会被当做一个迹象，表明欧洲央行比分析人士以为的更担心通货紧缩风险。

　　“This has all the hallmarks of the E.C.B. having thrown the kitchen sink at the problem,” Patrick O’Donnell, an investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management, said in a statement.

　　“这完全是欧洲央行使出浑身解数解决这个问题的标志，”安本资产管理(Aberdeen Asset Management)投资经理帕特里克·奥唐奈(Patrick O’Donnell)在一份声明中表示。

　　In a news conference, Mario Draghi, the central bank’s president, called the measures a “comprehensive package” meant to spur inflation and spur the eurozone economy.

　　在新闻发布会上，欧洲央行行长马里奥·德拉吉(Mario Draghi)称这些措施是一项“全面方案”，意在刺激通货膨胀和欧元区经济。

　　In normal times, commercial banks earn interest on money parked at the central bank. But beginning in June 2014, the European Central Bank began effectively penalizing¹³ banks for doing so, charging a negative interest rate on deposits.

　　正常情况下，商业银行会从存放在欧洲央行的资金赚取利息。但从2014年6月开始，欧洲央行开始对存款实行负利率。这实际上是对银行此种做法的惩罚。

　　In its first step on Thursday, the European Central Bank said it would further cut the deposit rate — the interest on commercial bank’s holdings at the central bank — to minus 0.4 percent. That was down from minus 0.3 percent. Some analysts had expected a bigger cut, to minus 0.5 percent.

　　周四当天，该行先是宣布将把存款利率——商业银行存放在该行的财产的利率——从目前的-0.3%进一步下调至-0.4%。一些分析人士本来预计下调幅度会更大，以为会降到-0.5%。

　　The moves signal the central bank’s sense of urgency about the eurozone economy. Despite the bank’s stimulus¹⁴ measures to date, inflation in the 19 countries of the eurozone has been stuck near or below zero for more than a year. The inflation rate, which had been slightly positive, was minus 0.2 percent in February, according to official figures. Falling prices are a symptom of slow growth, while a broad, sustained decline in prices can undercut corporate profits and lead to job losses.

　　这些举动标志着欧洲央行对欧元区经济有一种紧迫感。尽管该行迄今已出台多项刺激措施，但一年多以来，欧元区19个国家的通货膨胀率一直徘徊在零附近或以下。官方数据显示，2月，曾经略高于零的通货膨胀率为-0.2%。物价下跌是经济疲软的一个征兆，而物价全面持续下跌则可能会削弱企业利润，导致失业。

　　Deflation occurs when consumers delay purchases in anticipation¹⁵ of lower prices, creating a circle of falling prices and demand. Because retail¹⁶ sales have been growing slightly in the eurozone, deflation has technically¹⁷ not begun. But policy makers¹⁸ fear that it could set in, knowing that deflation is a debilitating¹⁹ condition that is hard to cure.

　　消费者因为预计会降价而推迟购买，由此产生通货紧缩，形成一个价格和需求不断下降的循环。因为欧元区零售总额一直在小幅增加，所以严格来说通货紧缩尚未开始。但政策制定者担心它可能会到来。他们知道，通货紧缩这种削弱经济的情况是种顽疾。

　　Rekindling²⁰ inflation is one of the central bank’s main policy goals.

　　重新让通货膨胀加速是欧洲央行的主要政策目标之一。

　　Mr. Draghi and his colleagues on the central bank’s Governing Council have had to explore new frontiers of monetary²¹ policy as they try to push inflation back to the official target of close to, but below, 2 percent. It is a goal the central bank has not been able to meet since 2013.

　　在努力推动通货膨胀回到接近但不到2%的官方目标时，德拉吉和他在欧洲央行管理委员会(Governing Council)的同事不得不探索货币政策的新前沿。自2013年以来，欧洲央行一直未能实现这个目标。

　　Negative interest rates, which have been adopted in some countries outside the eurozone, including Denmark and Switzerland, have upended many assumptions about how the financial system works. In the eurozone, the trend has led to negative rates on other assets such as German government bonds and recently even some bonds by commercial borrowers. Investors who buy such bonds have in effect been willing to pay to store their money in a place they consider safe.

　　负利率推翻了有关金融体系运行方式的很多假设。在欧元区，负利率趋势造成了其他资产，如德国政府债券陷入了负利率，最近甚至商业债务人发行的债券也陷入了负利率。购买这类债券的投资者，实际是愿意支付费用，把资金存放在一个他们认为安全的地方。欧元区以外的一些国家，包括丹麦和瑞士也实行了负利率。

　　On Tuesday, Berlin Hyp, a German bank, issued 500 million in bonds with a negative interest rate of 0.162 percent. The bank said that demand for the bonds, mostly from other banks, was three times the supply.

　　周二，德国柏林房地产融资银行(Berlin Hyp)以负0.162%的利率发行了5亿英镑债券。该银行称，对这些债券的需求是发行额的三倍，主要来自其他银行。

　　There has been considerable debate among economists²² about whether the central bank measures have done any good. There are also risks. For example, negative interest rates could hurt bank profits even as many banks are struggling with bad loans or other troubled assets.

　　对于欧洲央行的措施是否起到了帮助作用，经济专家之间存在相当大的争议。这些举措也存在风险。比如，负利率可能会削弱银行利润，而很多银行眼下正在艰难应对坏账和其他不良资产。

　　It was almost exactly a year ago that the European Central Bank set eurozone precedent⁹ by buying government bonds and other assets. The program has essentially²³ been one of printing money in hopes of stimulating²⁴ the eurozone economy, which has yet to recover fully²⁵ from the global financial crisis of 2008.

　　几乎就是在一年前，欧洲央行开欧元区之先河，开始购买政府债券和其他资产。该计划本质上就是大印钞票，以期刺激欧元区经济。而欧元区经济尚未从2008年的全球金融危机中完全恢复过来。

　　The money-printing program, known as quantitative²⁶ easing, has helped keep the euro weak against the dollar, which is good for European exporters. And Mr. Draghi has argued that it has made it easier for banks to lend.

　　该印钞计划又叫量化宽松，帮助维持了欧元对美元的弱势地位。这有利于欧洲出口商。德拉吉称此举降低了银行放贷的难度。

　　Whatever the potential pitfalls²⁷ of the new measures, “the risks of doing too much are probably now less than the risks of doing too little,” economists at Oxford²⁸ Economics said in a report.

　　牛津经济顾问公司(Oxford Economics)的经济师们在一份报告中表示，不管新措施的潜在隐患是什么，“现在做的太多的风险可能低于做的太少”。

 

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

3 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

4 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 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

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

9 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

10 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

13 penalizing   

对…予以惩罚( penalize的现在分词 )； 使处于不利地位

参考例句：

• This is more than just penalizing a company that you are mad at. 她说：这将远远超过惩罚一个你感到不满的公司。

14 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

15 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

16 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

17 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

18 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

20 rekindling   

v.使再燃( rekindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There might be a rekindling of the kind of nationalistic fervour of yesteryear. 过去的国家主义狂热可能再次被点燃。 来自互联网
• Bryant and O'Neal on the floor at the same time, rekindling memories both good and bad. 科比和奥尼尔在地板上在同一时间，死灰复燃的回忆有好有坏。 来自互联网

21 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

22 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

24 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

25 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

26 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

27 pitfalls   

（捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误

参考例句：

• the potential pitfalls of buying a house 购买房屋可能遇到的圈套
• Several pitfalls remain in the way of an agreement. 在达成协议的进程中还有几个隐藏的困难。

28 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。