美国国家公共电台 NPR--Steep sell-offs in U.S. stocks have started to spread worldwide

Steep sell-offs in U.S. stocks have started to spread worldwide

Transcript¹

The volatility² in U.S. markets is rocking stock, bond and currency trading in other countries. Many blame the Federal Reserve for the wild swings.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The U.S. stock market has been seeing some wild swings. It's up. It's down - mostly, it's down. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have all fallen by more than 20% from their peaks, putting them into bear market territory. But this extreme and painful volatility is not just confined to stocks or to the U.S. it's playing out worldwide. NPR's David Gura joins us now to explain. Hi, David.

DAVID GURA, BYLINE³: Hey, Leila.

FADEL: So David, tell us more about what's going on in markets around the world here.

GURA: So the fear and the panic that we've seen driving steep sell-offs in U.S. stocks has started to spread to the bond market, where there also have been steep sell-offs and where yields on U.S. Treasuries⁵ are at levels we haven't seen in more than a decade. It's also spread to commodities. Oil prices have fallen so much. They're almost back to where they were at the start of the year. And there's fear and panic in the currencies market - the British pound trading at a record low against the U.S. dollar this week, China's currency also weakening considerably⁶ and Japan intervening to try to prop⁷ up the yen⁸. As one professional investor⁹ told me, Leila, everything is starting to take a big hit.

FADEL: So what's driving all this volatility?

GURA: There is so much going on affecting markets - of course, high inflation...

FADEL: Right.

GURA: ...Which is a problem globally. Then there's the war in Ukraine and problems with supply chains. But those are issues we've heard about for a while now. What's new is how investors¹⁰ are pointing their fingers squarely at the Federal Reserve and other central banks. Many of them are hiking interest rates, which is increasing borrowing costs around the world and spooking markets. And that's a big change, according to investor and economist¹¹ Mohamed El-Erian, who's with the firm Allianz. Here's how he explained it on CNBC.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MOHAMED EL-ERIAN: This is about governments and central banks being sources of volatility rather than volatility suppressors.

GURA: You know, in general, central banks do everything they can to keep markets calm. But right now, that is not their main focus. They want to get inflation under control. So the Fed, this institution that we count on to keep the economy on track or to put it back on track, is now getting blamed for all this topsy-turvyness (ph). And, Leila, it's also being hurt by this volatility.

FADEL: Can you explain that? How's the Fed getting hurt?

GURA: So it first predicted this bout⁴ of inflation would not last long, it would be short-lived, a symptom of the global pandemic. But it's become long-lasting and really insidious¹². And what Wall Street wants is clear guidance from the Fed and from other central banks about where they think the economy is headed and what their plans are. And they're struggling to give it. Daragh Maher is the head of research for the Americas at the bank HSBC.

DARAGH MAHER: It's very difficult for central banks to offer guidance because everything hinges on the data. And, you know, what's driving the data? Energy prices, food prices - all of these things are really difficult to call, as we found out.

FADEL: So other central banks around the world are also playing a big role.

GURA: Yeah. So they're all locked in this fight against high inflation. Sweden just raised interest rates, so did Norway. Brazil hiked rates 12 times, then decided¹³ to take a break. This week, after the pound hit that record low against the dollar, the United Kingdom Central Bank first stayed the course. Then today, the Bank of England announced it plans to intervene. It's going to buy government bonds at an urgent pace to try to stabilize¹⁴ the bond market, which has taken a hit. The fallout from the weakening pound could pose a risk to financial stability in the U.K., the bank said in a statement.

FADEL: OK. So while the pound weakened, the U.S. dollar strengthened. What effect does such a strong dollar have worldwide?

GURA: The consequences are huge and really wide-ranging. And Fed policies, these rising rates, have really pushed up the value of the dollar relative to other currencies. Now, a strong dollar is good for U.S. importers, for American travelers. But it also causes a lot of pain. I talked about this with Edmond Shing, who's the chief investment officer at the bank BNP Paribas.

EDMOND SHING: We're at a point where the U.S. dollar is acting¹⁵ like a wrecking¹⁶ ball and hitting all financial markets very, very hard.

GURA: That's because it really impacts trade. So many transactions are done in dollars. And imports in many countries are going to be more expensive because their currencies have weakened. And this is hurting multinational¹⁷ companies based in the U.S. that do business elsewhere. When they convert the money they've made in other currencies into dollars, they'll take a hit.

FADEL: Will we see any of this calm down any time soon?

GURA: That seems unlikely. The volatility is not going anywhere. The Fed and many other central banks plan to keep raising interest rates. The dollar shows no signs of weakening. And the uncertainty¹⁸ remains¹⁹. Professional investors tell me, keep an eye on what companies say. Many of them are reporting quarterly results in the coming weeks. We'll see how they've weathered this challenging economy. And, Leila, they'll update their outlooks for the months to come.

FADEL: NPR's David Gura. Thank you for your reporting.

GURA: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

5 treasuries   

n.（政府的）财政部( treasury的名词复数 )；国库，金库

参考例句：

• Yields on Treasuries, Bunds and gilts can remain at historically low levels. 美国国债、德国国债和英国国债的收益率仍然可以维持在历史低位。 来自互联网
• Treasuries and gold rose in response but the dollar fell sharply. 接着，国债和黄金的价格上涨，而美元价格则猛跌。 来自互联网

6 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

7 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

8 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

9 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

10 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

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

15 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

16 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

17 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

18 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。