Stock volatility continued on Wall Street Wednesday as markets turned their attention once more to the weak global economy. After an impressive rally Tuesday, fears about high levels of public debt in the U.S. and Europe have erased all the gains and then some. There is growing concern that the global economy may be heading toward another painful recession.
Despite the U.S. Federal Reserve's assurances that it will keep interest rates near record lows for the next two years, all the gains made this week evaporated even before the opening bell.
尽管美联储承诺要把超低利率再保持两年，但华尔街股市这个星期却犹如过山车大起大落。
On closer examination, New York trader Keith Bliss says many now see the Fed announcement as an admission that the world's most powerful central bank is out of ammunition.
纽约证交所交易商布里斯说，美联储的声明实际上就是承认，世界上最强有力的中央银行现在已经无计可施。
"The Fed is basically out of bullets. It's similar to those Hollywood movies where you see the guy fire all his bullets and now the only thing he has left to do is throw his gun," Bliss said.
布里斯说：“美联储基本上已经弹尽粮绝。这就像那些好莱坞大片描绘的情景，一个家伙打完了子弹，剩下唯一能做的事情就是把枪丢掉。”
But Bliss says the slowing U.S. economy is not the only issue roiling the markets.
不过，布里斯说，搅乱市场的问题并不只是美国经济走软。
"And this is how skittish and temperamental the market is. It reacts not only to factual aspects and fundamental aspects, but also rumors. So there was a rumor that S & P (ratings agency Standard & Poors) was going to downgrade France's debt, there's rumors that there are French and German banks in trouble because they're holding a lot of sovereign debt over in Europe," Bliss said.
布里斯说：“市场就是这样焦躁不安，变化无常。影响市场的不光是实实在在的数据和基本面的东西。传言也能够搅乱市场。传言说标准普尔评级公司准备下调法国的债务评级，说法国和德国的银行也陷入困境，它们持有大量的欧洲国家的主权债务。”
Some see the combination of a weak U.S. outlook and the prospects of another debt crisis in Europe as a recipe for a double dip recession. Financial expert Jon Henes tells VOA even the remedy is fraught with peril.
有些人认为，美国经济前景疲软和欧洲再次发生债务危机的可能性加在一起为世界经济再次陷入衰退开好了配方。金融专家赫内斯对美国之音说，即使是解救的办法也同样充满危险。
"We have a debt problem in the United States and we have a debt problem in Europe. And to get out of a debt problem you have to reduce debt and when you reduce debt you end up having slow economic growth," Henes said.
赫内斯说：“美国有债务问题，欧洲也有债务问题。要解决债务问题就要减少债务。减少债务的结果是放缓经济增长。”
It is a tough pill to swallow for many Americans, who have seen the financial market's losses eat into their retirement savings.
对于许多美国人来说，解决债务问题的措施是一粒很难下咽的药丸。金融市场的滑坡给许多美国人的退休金帐户造成了不小的损失。
"To see my 401K (tax-deferred retirement fund) drop 40 percent over the last year or two, even more so in the past couple of days -- that's devastating," one man said.
"We just need to have faith and roll with the punches and do the best we can whatever happens, but it is looking scary," one woman said.
“我们需要有信念，需要勇往直前，无论发生什么，我们都要尽自己最大的努力。但现在的形势真是可怕。”
On Wall Street, fear of high risk and heavy losses helped fuel another major sell-off. Some broad market indices have now fallen more than 20 percent since April. Unless there's a turnaround soon, analysts say the decline could signal the unofficial start of a bear market.
人们对高风险和严重损失的恐惧在华尔街推动了新一轮抛售高潮。一些主要的市场指数从四月到现在已经下跌了20%以上。分析师们说，除非形势很快得到扭转，否则股市的下滑就标志着熊市已经非正式开始了。 |