2019年经济学人 货币市场和美联储(1)

 

The federal reserve had plenty to fret¹ about as it prepared to discuss policy interest rates on September 17th and 18th.

当美联储准备在9月17日和18日讨论政策利率时，它有很多事情要担心。

Trade tensions and wilting² global growth have seen businesses cut back investment in the second quarter of the year.

贸易紧张和萎靡的全球经济增长导致企业削减了今年第二季度的投资。

In manufacturing, production and capacity utilisation have been falling since the end of 2018.

自2018年底以来， 制造业的生产和设备使用率一直在下降。

Though the Fed has described jobs growth as "solid", some analysts³ worry that the labour market is wobbling.

虽然美联储称就业增长“稳健”，但一些分析家担心劳动力市场动荡不安。

As expected, these concerns prompted the central bank to lower rates for the second time this year,

果然，这些担忧促使中央银行今年第二次降息

by 0.25 percentage points, to a target of 1.75-2%. But the meeting was overshadowed by turmoil⁴ in money markets.

0.25个百分点至1.75-2%的目标。但货币市场的动荡给这次会议蒙上了阴影。

On September 17th, for the first time in a decade, the Fed injected cash into the short-term money market.

9月17日，美联储十年内首次向短期货币市场注入资金。

The intervention⁵ was needed after the federal funds rate, at which banks can borrow from each other, climbed above the Fed's target.

在联邦基金利率（银行间拆借利率）攀升至美联储目标之上后，干预是有必要的。

It rose as the "repo" rate—the price at which high-quality securities

随着“回购”率—高质量证券

such as American government bonds can be temporarily swapped⁶ for cash—hit an intra-day peak of over 10%.

如美国政府债券暂时可换取现金的价格—超过单日高点的10%时，利率上涨。

On September 17th the Fed offered $75bn-worth of overnight funding, of which banks took up $53bn.

9月17日，美联储提供了750亿美元的隔夜资金，其中银行拿走了530亿美元。

The following two days it again offered $75bn-worth. Banks gobbled it up.

接下来的两天，美联储再次提供了750亿美元。银行将其吞入。

That sent shivers down spines⁷. A spiking⁸ repo rate was an early warning sign before the financial crisis.

这让人毛骨悚然。回购利率飙升是金融危机前的一个早期预警信号。

In 2007, as market participants began to doubt the quality of collateral⁹ backed by mortgage lending, repo rates jumped as lenders hoarded¹⁰ cash.

2007年，由于市场参与者开始怀疑由抵押贷款支持的抵押品的质量，回购利率随着银行囤积现金而飙升。

The latest jump was unlikely to have been caused by such doubts.

最近一次暴涨不太可能是由这些疑虑引起的。

Most collateral is now high-quality American Treasury¹¹ bonds or bills. Even so, there are reasons to worry.

现在大多数抵押品都是高质量的美国国债或票据。即便如此，还是有理由担忧。

America's banks and companies seem to be short of cash. And during the turmoil the repo rate stopped tracking the federal funds rate.

美国银行和公司似乎缺钱。并且在市场动荡期间，回购利率不再跟随联邦基金利率。

This link is the main way monetary¹² policy influences the economy.

这种联系是货币政策影响经济的主要方式。

A gap opening between the two deprives the Fed of its most important policy tool.

两者之间的差距剥夺了美联储最重要的政策工具。

1 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.

2 wilting   

萎蔫

参考例句：

• The spectators were wilting visibly in the hot sun. 看得出观众在炎热的阳光下快支撑不住了。
• The petunias were already wilting in the hot sun. 在烈日下矮牵牛花已经开始枯萎了。

3 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。

4 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

7 spines   

n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊

参考例句：

• Porcupines use their spines to protect themselves. 豪猪用身上的刺毛来自卫。
• The cactus has spines. 仙人掌有刺。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 spiking   

n.尖峰形成v.加烈酒于( spike的现在分词 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。 来自辞典例句
• We could be spiking our own guns. 我们可能要遭到失败。 来自辞典例句

9 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

10 hoarded   

v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It owned great properties and often hoarded huge treasures. 它拥有庞大的财产，同时往往窖藏巨额的财宝。 来自辞典例句
• Sylvia among them, good-naturedly applaud so much long-hoarded treasure of useless knowing. 西尔维亚也在他们中间，为那些长期珍藏的无用知识，友好地、起劲地鼓掌。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 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。