经济学人53:逆势而变 The pendulum swings

 　　Finance and Economics；Wall Street deregulation; The pendulum¹ swings;

　　财经；华尔街的去监管化; 逆势而变（钟摆移位）;

　　The “JOBS” act turns into a battle about America's capital markets.

　　一场由“工作”法案引发的关于美国资本市场的争端。

　　For a brief moment, it appeared that American's fractious politicians and capital markets were all in agreement. House Bill 3606, unofficially referred to as the JOBS act and officially (stretching out the acronym) known as the “Jumpstart Our Business Start-up Act”, sailed through the House of Representatives by 390 votes to 23 on March 8th.

　　在眼下，易怒的美国政治家竟决定要扶持资本市场。3月8号，民间称为就业法案，官方称为“复苏本国商业活动法案”的众议院3606号法案在该院得到390张支持票、23张反对票，顺利通过。

　　It was on its way to a similar endorsement² in the Senate when the unthinkable seems to have happened: someone bothered to read the law. There they found a set of provisions that, depending on your point of view, either open the airways³ of asphyxiated⁴ financial markets or give free rein⁵ to rapacious⁶ companies and banks.

　　人们认为相似的情况也将在参议院上演时，始料未及的事情却发生了：有些人对这项议案感到了厌烦。他们发现依据个人的观点，这一系列的法案既可以解释为为即将窒息的金融市场打开了呼吸通道，又可以解释为将控制权下放给了贪婪的企业和银行。

　　Over the past decade, Congress and aggressive prosecutors—notably New York's former attorney-general, Eliot Spitzer—have responded to various upheavals⁷ on Wall Street, including the dotcom bubble, the collapse⁸ of Enron and the financial crisis, by imposing⁹ extensive regulations. Whether these rules protected investors¹⁰ or improved overall market efficiency is a subject for debate. But they have definitely coincided with a period when the number of public companies in America has dropped in both absolute terms and relative to other countries. Critics charge that the rules have been devastating¹¹ to the ability of entrepreneurial firms to access funding on public markets.

　　过去的几十年中，国会和激进的检察官们——尤其是纽约市前任司法部长，艾略特.斯皮策——都通过执行额外监管条例来应对华尔街的各大变故，包括互联网泡沫，安然公司倒闭以及金融危机。这些条例是否（真正）保护了投资者利益或提高了整体市场效率则只能在辩论中找到答案。但在美国企业数量从绝对指标与相对指标上都落后其他国家时，这些政策显然很合时宜。批评者们却指责道这些政策极大破坏了创新性企业在公共市场上的融资能力。

　　The JOBS act—or the House version of it, at least—is packed with provisions to reverse the regulatory tide. It allows “emerging growth companies” with under $1 billion in revenue, hardly small change, to skip various reporting requirements and internal audits¹². It amends¹³ accounting¹⁴ rules. It loosens compensation constraints¹⁵. And it allows limited online “crowdfunding” by equity¹⁶ investors who are not designated as “sophisticated” (shorthand for being rich). The law also provides protection against often intrusive¹⁷ state regulations and reduces the restrictions¹⁸ on underwriters using public offerings to fund research.

　　工作法案（坊间的版本）——或者至少从众议院的版本看来——囊括了足以扭转当前监管态势的法条。比如允许以10亿美元以下的资金“并购成长型企业”并变革性的免除了各类报告和互联网审计流程。它还恢复会计准则、放宽补偿限制而且有限的允许“经验”（借指财富）不足的资产投资人进行在线“群体投资”。该法案同样提供保护措施，帮助抵御通常被认为有入侵性的国家监管政策，以及减少了针对保险商通过公开上市资助调研的限制。

　　Democrats¹⁹ have belatedly woken up to the act's radicalism²⁰. The proposal's support at first extended to the White House, which has since pulled back and demanded revisions. Opponents have become more vocal²¹: trade unions, professors, regulators and others have lined up to criticise²² it. On March 20th, Harry²³ Reid, the Senate majority leader, voiced scepticism over the link between the JOBS act and job creation. To survive, the bill must pass a vote in the Senate due to take place after The Economist²⁴ had gone to press and then, harder still, win a presidential signature.

　　民主党人没能第一时间认识到这项法案的激进性。白宫曾经加入过这项提案的支持者阵营，但后来却倒戈、要求对这项法案进行修订。反对者们则更有发言权：工会，专家，监管者和其他人都在这一阵营之内。三月二十号，参议院多数党领导人哈里·里德就质疑工作法案是否真能创造工作岗位。在经济学人杂志进行相关报道后，该法案现在必须经由参议院投票，更困难的是，还需通过总统的签署才能生效。

　　The bill is not perfect. A weakening of rules that require the broad dissemination²⁵ of corporate²⁶ information, rather than merely to the wealthy and connected, is its biggest flaw. But the pendulum of capital-markets regulation in America has swung in one direction for so long that when it started to reverse course, it was bound to do so with a vengeance²⁷.

　　这项法案也不完美。条例中的一项弱点：将企业信息公开的范围要求的过大，甚至超过利益相关人的范围，成为了最大的瑕疵。但是美国资本市场监管者已经犹如钟摆般在一端停留太久，当他想要摆向另一端时，甚至不惜过犹不及（……停留太久，甚至准备好了“报复性”地反向运动）。

1 pendulum   

n.摆，钟摆

参考例句：

• The pendulum swung slowly to and fro.钟摆在慢慢地来回摆动。
• He accidentally found that the desk clock did not swing its pendulum.他无意中发现座钟不摇摆了。

2 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

3 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

4 asphyxiated   

v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的过去式和过去分词 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人

参考例句：

• The men trapped in the mine were asphyxiated by gas. 那些困在矿井中的人因瓦斯中毒窒息死亡。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The men in the coal-mine were asphyxiated by the bad gas. 煤矿坑里的工人们为毒气所窒息。 来自辞典例句

5 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

6 rapacious   

adj.贪婪的，强夺的

参考例句：

• He had a rapacious appetite for bird's nest soup.他吃燕窝汤吃个没够。
• Rapacious soldiers looted the houses in the defeated city.贪婪的士兵洗劫了被打败的城市。

7 upheavals   

突然的巨变( upheaval的名词复数 )； 大动荡； 大变动； 胀起

参考例句：

• the latest upheavals in the education system 最近教育制度上的种种变更
• These political upheavals might well destroy the whole framework of society. 这些政治动乱很可能会破坏整个社会结构。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

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 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

12 audits   

n.审计，查账( audit的名词复数 )v.审计，查账( audit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Requires that use of all bond funds is subject to independent audits. 需要使用的所有债券基金是受独立审计。 来自互联网
• Support the locations during customer-visits, audits and quality-improvement programs. 支持客户参观，稽核和提高品质等项目。 来自互联网

13 amends   

n. 赔偿

参考例句：

• He made amends for his rudeness by giving her some flowers. 他送给她一些花，为他自己的鲁莽赔罪。
• This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。

14 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

15 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

16 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。

17 intrusive   

adj.打搅的；侵扰的

参考例句：

• The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。
• Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

18 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

19 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 radicalism   

n. 急进主义, 根本的改革主义

参考例句：

• His radicalism and refusal to compromise isolated him. 他的激进主义与拒绝妥协使他受到孤立。
• Education produced intellectual ferment and the temptations of radicalism. 教育带来知识界的骚动，促使激进主义具有了吸引力。

21 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

22 criticise   

v.批评，评论；非难

参考例句：

• Right and left have much cause to criticise government.左翼和右翼有很多理由批评政府。
• It is not your place to criticise or suggest improvements!提出批评或给予改进建议并不是你的责任！

23 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

24 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。

25 dissemination   

传播,宣传,传染(病毒)

参考例句：

• The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传，误人不浅。
• He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。

26 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

27 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。