经济学人86:货币市场基金 伪造面值

 Money-market funds货币市场基金Faking the buck伪造面值America sets new rules for a common short-term investment美国针对常见短期投资设定监管新规IT IS a huge investment class: a 2.8 trillion one, to be exact. And it had long been thought of as a mundane¹ one, just a notch² more adventurous³ than a current account. Yet writing new rules for America's money-market funds, which invest in short-term commercial and government debt, has been “one of the most flawed and controversial” deliberations ever undertaken by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street's main regulator, according to Luis Aguilar, the only one of the five commissioners⁴ in office throughout the process.

货币市场基金是一个巨大的投资产业：准确而言，其资产规模达2.8亿美元。它长期以来都被认为无甚特别，只是比活期账户稍具风险性罢了。然而，据美国证交会办公室五个委员之中唯一参与整个监管新规制定进程的路易斯阿吉拉尔称，美国证券交易委员会目前针对投资于短期商业和政府债务的货币市场基金出台了新规，这份规章是作为华尔街主要监管机构的证交会有史以来“最具缺陷的和争议”的商议之一。

货币市场基金.jpgBy a 3-2 vote on July 23rd, the SEC at last approved two big changes. The first allowed funds to impose fees on redemptions or suspend them for up to ten days to prevent runs. The second requires that the most volatile⁵ funds, which cater⁶ to institutions and invest in corporate⁷ debt, disclose the value of a share to a fraction of a penny.

7月23日，美国证券交易委员会的五名委员以3比2的投票结果批准了两项监管规定的大变革。其一是允许基金在赎回时征收流动性费用或将赎回期暂缓十天，以防止挤兑；其二是要求投资公司债券、面向机构投资者的优质市场基金不再维持每单位1美元的固定股价。

The second change is more important than it sounds. By convention, money-market funds are priced at a steady dollar a share; changes in value are reflected only in the interest they pay. Variations in the value of the underlying⁸ assets are small because they mature in a matter of days, but they do occur. In the past, that has been hidden by tiny amounts of rounding. Though this ruse⁹ will now be banned for some funds, those that cater to individual investors¹⁰ will still be allowed to use it.

第二个变革比听起来更加重要。按照惯例，货币市场基金的价格固定为每单位1美元，价值的变动仅仅反映在支付的利息上。因为数日后即已到期，其资产价值变动很小，然确实有变化。在过去，资产价值的变动一直被微量的四舍五入所隐藏。虽然现在一些资金已禁止进行此类处理，那些面向个人投资者的基金仍被允许继续使用这种手段。

That matters, since the fixed¹¹ value contributed to the impression that money-market funds offered the safety of bank deposits with higher returns. In September 2008 that notion was punctured¹² when the Reserve Fund, which had a little over 1% of its assets invested in debt issued by Lehman Brothers, was forced by the investment bank's collapse¹³ to “break the buck”: reveal a decline in the value of its shares to slightly less than 1. That sparked panicked redemptions at it and other funds.

这很能说明问题，固定价值给人的印象便是货币市场基金拥有可比拟银行存款的安全性，且能提供更高收益。然而就在2008年9月，这一概念被撤下神坛。主要储备基金将其略高于1%的资产投资于雷曼兄弟发行的债券，其后，雷曼投行破产，储备基金的单位资产净值“跌破面值”：每单位价格下降至略低于1美元，引发储备基金和其他基金大规模恐慌性赎回。

The panic, in turn, crunched¹⁴ credit for firms that relied on short-term debt and fanned fears of a systemic meltdown. In response, the Treasury¹⁵ provided temporary guarantees for money-market funds, now lapsed¹⁶. In 2010 and again in 2012 the SEC tightened¹⁷ restrictions¹⁸ on the kinds of securities funds could buy. But it rejected a plan to require funds to hold buffers¹⁹ of capital like banks, for fear it would further dent²⁰ a battered²¹ business.

这股恐慌情绪反过来影响到依靠短期债务的企业信贷，激起人们对系统性崩溃的担忧。对此，美国财政部不得不对货币市场基金提供临时担保。在2010年与2012年，美国证券交易委员会加强了对各类证券资金的购买限制。但它否决了一项要求基金如银行般持有缓冲资本方案，以免其进一步削弱遭受重创的业务。

Mary Jo White, the SEC's chairwoman, says the new rules will “protect investors and the financial system in a crisis.” But the two dissenting²² commissioners fear they may do more harm than good. Allowing funds to suspend redemptions may actually spark runs, as investors rush to pre-empt any curbs²³, argues one of them. The other worries that the changes will divert the gullible²⁴ to even more misleading investments, notably²⁵ “stable value” funds. These cater to much the same niche²⁶ as money-market funds and, despite their name, offer no guarantees. Rather than trying to protect investors from risk, the SEC might do better to ensure that the risks they are running are clearly disclosed.

美国证券交易委员会的女主席玛丽?乔?怀特说，新规则将“于危机中保护投资者和金融体系。”但是存有异议的两个委员担心此举可能弊大于利。其中一人认为，由于投资者遇到困境时总会匆匆先发制人，基金的暂缓赎回实际上可能激发挤兑风潮。另一人则担心这些变革将轻信的人转至更为误导性投资，尤其是“稳定价值”基金上。略去它们的名称，这类基金与货币市场基金面向大致相同的市场，且未提供担保。比起试图保护投资者使他们免于面临风险，美国证券交易委员会最好还是确保对运作中的风险进行明确披露。

1 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

2 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

3 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

4 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

5 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

6 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

7 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。

8 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

9 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。

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 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 punctured   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Some glass on the road punctured my new tyre. 路上的玻璃刺破了我的新轮胎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A nail on the road punctured the tyre. 路上的钉子把车胎戳穿了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 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。

14 crunched   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头，使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命

15 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

16 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

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 buffers   

起缓冲作用的人（或物）( buffer的名词复数 )； 缓冲器； 减震器； 愚蠢老头

参考例句：

• To allocate and schedule the use of buffers. 分配和计划缓冲器的使用。
• Number of times the stream has paused due to insufficient stream buffers. 由于流缓冲区不足导致流程暂停的次数。

20 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

21 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

22 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

23 curbs   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In executing his functions he is not bound by any legal curbs on his power. 在他履行职务时，他的权力是不受任何法律约束的。 来自辞典例句
• Curbs on air travel were being worked out and would shortly be announced. 限制航空旅行的有关规定正在拟定中，不久即将公布。 来自辞典例句

24 gullible   

adj.易受骗的；轻信的

参考例句：

• The swindlers had roped into a number of gullible persons.骗子们已使一些轻信的人上了当。
• The advertisement is aimed at gullible young women worried about their weight.这则广告专门针对担心自己肥胖而易受骗的年轻女士。

25 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

26 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。