经济学人:委内瑞拉国债 时间所剩无几

 　　Finance and economics: Venezuelan government debt: Running out of time

　　财经：委内瑞拉国债：时间所剩无几

　　A devastating¹ spiral continues.

　　一场持续性灾难。

　　To most investors², Venezuela looks less like a market than a mess.

　　对于大多说投资者来说，委内瑞拉不能称为市场，只能说是一片混乱。

　　The IMF expects output to shrink by 10% this year and inflation to exceed 700%.

　　国际基金货币组织预计本年度该国年产量将缩水10%，通货膨胀率超过700%。

　　As the bolivar’s value has plunged³, multinational⁴ firms have announced billions of dollars of write-downs.

　　因委内瑞拉币值大幅贬值，跨国公司宣称数以十亿资产缩水。

　　For much of this year, however, some strong-stomached investors have scented⁵ an opportunity.

　　然而一些胆大的投资者在今年大半年的时间里都嗅到了都投资机会。

　　They rushed to buy bonds issued by the government and by the state-owned oil company, PDVSA.

　　他们将政府和委内瑞拉国家石油公司（PDVSA）发行的债券抢售一空。

　　They have been rewarded handsomely.

　　如今他们都收获颇丰。

　　Venezuelan government bonds have outperformed other emerging-market sovereign bonds tracked by JP Morgan.

　　据摩根银行的跟踪调查，委内瑞拉政府债券比较其他新兴市场的主权债券在市场上的表现还要好。

　　The government, led by Nicolas Maduro, boasts it has never missed a debt payment.

　　由马杜罗领导的委内瑞拉政府表示国家从未拖欠债务。

　　Indeed he has given priority to debt service over other urgent needs, such as importing food.

　　事实上，相比进口食物等紧急需求，马杜罗确实将债务放到了第一位。

　　Mr Maduro is keen not to scare off the foreign creditors⁶ sorely needed by PDVSA.

　　委内瑞拉石油公司急需外资，马杜罗不希望因债务吓跑国外债权人。

　　However, Venezuela looks increasingly stretched.

　　然而委内瑞拉的债务偿还起来也是日益捉襟见肘。

　　Two big PDVSA payments, of $1 billion and $2 billion, are due on October 28th and November 2nd.

　　委内瑞拉石油公司的两大笔款项（一笔10亿美元，另一笔20亿美元）将分别在10月28日和11月2日到期。

　　Last month the company proposed a bond swap⁷ to ease a looming⁸ payments crunch⁹: investors holding PDVSA bonds maturing in 2017 (which are not backed by a full sovereign guarantee) , would exchange them for bonds maturing in 2020.

　　上月该公司提议用债券互换来缓解即将到来的支付危机：持有2017年即将到期债券（且没有完整的主权担保的）持有人可以将其换成2020年到期的新债券。

　　This would buy Venezuela time, perhaps in the hope that oil prices rise.

　　这一举措将给委内瑞拉赢得一些时间，或许此举寄希望于未来油价上涨。

　　Not so fast.

　　不过，事情进展没有那么快。

　　Even sweetened terms for the swap have failed to lure¹⁰ investors.

　　优惠政策也未能吸引投资者。

　　PDVSA has four times delayed the deadline for the exchange, most recently to October 21st.

　　委内瑞拉国有石油公司已经四次延缓交易截止日期了，最后一次是延缓到11月21日。

　　PDVSA warned in a press release on October 17th that if its offer is not accepted, “it could be difficult” to make its scheduled payments.

　　10月17日该公司对媒体表示倘若没人愿意投资，他们可能很难按期付款。

　　Francisco Velasco of Exotix, a brokerage specialising in frontier markets, says investors face a prisoner’s dilemma¹¹.

　　Exotic是一家专营前沿市场的经纪公司，该工司的Francisco Velasco表示投资者陷入了囚徒困境。

　　They could agree to a swap, with terms that are less than ideal, in the hope that others investors will do the same.

　　他们会同意一次掉期交易，条件没那么理想，希望其他的投资者也一样做。

　　Or they could decline PDVSA’s offer. But that would make default ever more likely.

　　也许他们会减少PDVSA的开价。但是那样的话拖欠更可能发生。

　　1.run out of 用完；耗尽

　　例句:They have run out of ideas

　　他们已经想不出任何办法了。

　　2.write-downs 资产缩水

　　例句:Total write-downs for 2008 for Commerzbank came to around 1 billion euros.

　　德国商业银行2008年总计冲销了大约10亿欧元的资产。

　　3.scare off 吓跑

　　例句:The new Democratic Party is not likely to scare off voters.

　　新成立的民主党不太可能吓跑选民。

　　4.oil price 油价

　　例句:The oil companies have lost their power over oil price and oil production.

　　石油公司已经失去了对油价和石油产量的控制。

1 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。

2 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

3 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

4 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。

5 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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》

7 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

8 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

9 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

10 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

11 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。