经济学人:全球增长放缓 美国成为异类(1)

 　　It has been a nervy few days for financial markets. 金融市场经历了紧张不安的几天。

　　A sell-off in bond markets, prompted by monetary¹ tightening² in America, this week infected global stock markets, too. 由美国货币紧缩所引起的债券市场跌价，本周也影响到了全球股票市场。

　　The S&P 500 share-price index fell by over 3% on October 10th, its worst day in eight months. 10月10日，标准普尔500股价指数下跌超过3%，这是8个月中最糟糕的一天，

　　Markets in Shanghai hit their lowest level for nearly four years the next day; those in Japan and Hong Kong closed around 3.5% lower. 第二天上海股票市场跌至近四年来最低水平；日本和香港股票市场收盘价下跌约为3.5%。

　　At first glance, the sell-off seems odd. The world economy is still growing briskly enough: 乍看之下，此次证券跌价似乎很奇怪。全球经济仍在迅速增长：

　　this week the IMF only slightly trimmed its forecast for world GDP growth for 2018, from 3.9% to 3.7%. But investors³ are right to fret⁴. 本周国际货币基金组织（IMF）仅对2018年世界GDP增长预测进行了微调，从3.9%降至3.7%。但是投资者的焦虑是正确的。

　　Whereas acceleration⁵ was synchronised across much of the world in 2017, the global economy's expansion now looks increasingly unbalanced. 2017年全球经济加速基本同步，但如今全球经济扩张看似愈发不平衡了。

　　Two divides stand out. The first is between emerging markets, which are suffering from particularly volatile⁶ financial conditions, and advanced economies. 有两点重大差异引人注目。第一个是在新兴市场之间，新兴市场正在遭遇尤为反复无常的金融形势，但其经济体系却很发达。

　　The cause of this divergence⁷ is a strong dollar, which is making emerging markets' debts that are denominated in the currency costlier⁸ to service. 出现这种差异的原因是因为一种强势货币，使得新兴市场中以货币为面值的债务成本高于服务。

　　The latest casualty is Pakistan. On October 8th it announced that it would seek an IMF bail-out, which is expected to amount to $12bn. 最近一位受害者是巴基斯坦。10月8日，巴基斯坦宣布将寻求IMF救市，救市金额有望达到120亿美元。

　　It joins the ranks of other emerging markets in distress⁹, notably¹⁰ Argentina, which has negotiated a record $57bn credit line from the IMF, and Turkey. 该国成为了其他遇难新兴市场中的一员，其中受灾最为严重的是阿根廷（该国从IMF谈来了高达570美元的信用额度）以及土耳其。

　　Sustained falls in emerging-market currencies and stocks have been painful for investors. Several countries have raised interest rates to stem capital outflows. 新兴市场货币和股价的持续下跌一直是投资者的痛处。一些国家提高了利息以阻止资本流出。

　　Yet the damage to the real economy has for the most part been confined to those with large current-account deficits¹¹, such as Argentina. 但是对实体经济的破坏大部分仅限于那些拥有大量往来账户赤字的国家，比如阿根廷。

　　From a global perspective, the bigger worry is China. 从全球角度来看，中国更让人担心。

　　Authorities there are trying to reduce leverage¹² in the financial system at the same time as American tariffs¹³ are squeezing their exports. 中国当局正试图降低金融体系中的杠杆率，与此同时美国关税也在挤压他们的出口。

　　The currency is under pressure; growth expectations are being lowered. 货币面临压力；增长预期被降低。

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

3 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

4 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.

5 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

6 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。

7 divergence   

n.分歧，岔开

参考例句：

• There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
• In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。

8 costlier   

adj.昂贵的( costly的比较级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather. 鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。 来自互联网
• Disagreements among creditors can be costlier still. 债权人之间的分歧会加大重组的费用。 来自互联网

9 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

10 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。

11 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

12 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

13 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。