2019年经济学人 金融界的计算机革命(1)

 

Leaders

来源于《社论》版块

Masters of the universe

宇宙主宰者

Forget Gordon Gekko. Computers increasingly call the shots in financial markets

忘记葛登·盖柯。越来越多在金融市场上发号施令的是计算机

The job of capital markets is to process information so that savings¹ flow to the best projects and firms. That makes high finance sound simple; in reality it is dynamic and intoxicating². It reflects a changing world. Today’s markets, for instance, are grappling with a trade war and low interest rates. But it also reflects changes within finance, which constantly reinvents itself in a perpetual struggle to gain a competitive edge. As our Briefing reports, the latest revolution is in full swing. Machines are taking control of investing—not just the humdrum³ buying and selling of securities, but also the commanding heights of monitoring the economy and allocating⁴ capital.

资本市场的工作是处理信息，使储蓄流向最好的项目和公司。这使得高级金融听起来很简单；实际上，它是动态的、令人陶醉的。它反映了一个不断变化的世界。例如，如今的市场正努力应对贸易战和低利率。但它也反映了金融内部的变化，在不断的竞争中不断重塑自己，以获得竞争优势。正如简报所述，最新的革命正在全面展开。机器正在控制投资——不仅仅是单调的证券买卖，也是监管经济和资本配置的制高点。

Funds run by computers that follow rules set by humans account for 35% of America’s stockmarket, 60% of institutional equity⁵ assets and 60% of trading activity. New artificial-intelligence programs are also writing their own investing rules, in ways their human masters only partly understand. Industries from pizza-delivery to Hollywood are being changed by technology, but finance is unique because it can exert voting power over firms, redistribute wealth and cause mayhem in the economy.

由遵循人类规则的计算机运行的基金占美国股市的35%，占机构股票资产的60%，占交易活动的60%。新的人工智能程序也在以人类主人只能部分理解的方式，编写自己的投资规则。从披萨外卖到好莱坞电影业的各个行业都在被技术所改变，但在金融业是独一无二的，因为它可以对企业施加投票权、重新分配财富，并在经济中造成混乱。

Because it deals in huge sums, finance has always had the cash to adopt breakthroughs early. The first transatlantic cable, completed in 1866, carried cotton prices between Liverpool and New York. Wall Street analysts⁶ were early devotees of spreadsheet software, such as Excel, in the 1980s. Since then, computers have conquered swathes of the financial industry. First to go was the chore of “executing” buy and sell orders. Visit a trading floor today and you will hear the hum of servers, not the roar of traders. High-frequency trading exploits tiny differences in the prices of similar securities, using a barrage⁷ of transactions.

由于涉及巨额交易，金融业总是有足够的资金尽早实现突破。第一条横跨大西洋的光缆于1866年建成，用来在利物浦和纽约之间传输棉花价格。上世纪80年代，华尔街分析师是Excel等电子表格软件的早期拥护者。从那以后，计算机征服了金融业的大片领域。首先要做的是“执行”买卖订单。今天去交易大厅，你会听到服务器的嗡嗡声，而不是交易员的吼叫声。高频交易利用类似证券价格的微小差异，进行大量交易。

1 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

2 intoxicating   

a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的

参考例句：

• Power can be intoxicating. 权力能让人得意忘形。
• On summer evenings the flowers gave forth an almost intoxicating scent. 夏日的傍晚，鲜花散发出醉人的芳香。

3 humdrum   

adj.单调的，乏味的

参考例句：

• Their lives consist of the humdrum activities of everyday existence.他们的生活由日常生存的平凡活动所构成。
• The accountant said it was the most humdrum day that she had ever passed.会计师说这是她所度过的最无聊的一天。

4 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。

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。

6 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。

7 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。