2019年经济学人 波多黎各的破产(1)

 

"Are you and your client here just to defend the integrity of the Constitution?"

“你和你的委托人只是为了维护宪法的完整性吗？”

asked Samuel Alito, an associate justice of the America's Supreme¹ Court, on October 15th.

10月15日，美国最高法院的大法官塞缪尔·阿利托问道。

"Or would one be excessively cynical² to think that something else is involved here, involving money?"

“或者人们会不会极度怀疑，认为有其他东西涉及其中，比如钱？”

The court had heard arguments from Donald Verrilli, for the board overseeing Puerto Rico's bankruptcy³;

法院听取了波多黎各破产监督委员会的唐纳德.维瑞利；

Jeffrey Wall, for the federal government; and Theodore Olson, to whom the judge's remarks were addressed.

联邦政府的杰弗里·沃尔以及希尔多·奥尔森为各自的辩论，法官的这句话是对希尔多·奥尔森说的。

His client is Aurelius Capital Management, a hedge fund that invests in distressed⁴ debt. At stake are $125bn of creditor⁵ claims.

他的委托人是Aurelius Capital Management，一家投资不良债务的对冲基金公司。1250亿美元的债权人债权岌岌可危。

Aurelius was founded in 2006 by Mark Brodsky, formerly⁶ of Elliott Management.

Aurelius由马克·布罗斯基成立于2006年，他曾供职于Elliott Management。

Both funds were involved in a fight with Argentina about its bonds in 2014,

这两家基金公司都曾在2014年与阿根廷就其债券发生纷争，

during which Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, then the president, dubbed⁷ them "vultures".

当时的总统克里斯蒂娜·费尔南德斯·德基什内尔称他们是“秃鹰”。

They were among six funds that held out for full repayment⁸. In 2016 they settled favourably⁹ and were paid $9.3bn.

他们是六家坚持全额还款的基金之一。2006年，他们达成了令人满意的和解协议，获得了93亿美元的报酬。

Aurelius now aims to get the Supreme Court to declare the Puerto Rico oversight¹⁰ board unconstitutional,

Aurelius现在的目标是让最高法院宣布波多黎各监督委员会违宪，

in the hope of improving on its offer to the territory's creditors¹¹ of 35-45 cents on the dollar.

希望以此来改善其向该领地债权人提供的每1美元35-45美分的赔偿。

In 2014 rating agencies downgraded Puerto Rico's debt. It ended up defaulting.

2014年，评级机构下调了波多黎各的债务评级。它最终违约了。

In 2016 Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA)

2016年，议会通过了《波多黎各监督管理与经济稳定法案》（简称PROMESA）

to approve the island's budget and supervise its debts.

以批准波多黎各的预算并监督其债务。

The president, then Barack Obama, was to appoint the board members,

时任总统巴拉克·奥巴马将任命委员会成员，

with no requirement to seek the Senate's approval—which the constitution says is needed for "officers of the United States".

且没有寻求参议院的批准—宪法规定“美国官员”需寻求参议员批准。

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

3 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

4 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

5 creditor   

n.债仅人，债主，贷方

参考例句：

• The boss assigned his car to his creditor.那工头把自己的小汽车让与了债权人。
• I had to run away from my creditor whom I made a usurious loan.我借了高利贷不得不四处躲债。

6 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

7 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

9 favourably   

adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably

参考例句：

• The play has been favourably commented by the audience. 本剧得到了观众的好评。
• The open approach contrasts favourably with the exclusivity of some universities. 这种开放式的方法与一些大学的封闭排外形成了有利的对比。

10 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

11 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》