美国国家公共电台 NPR 美联储紧急降息救市 但美股还是暴跌了800点（在线收听）

美联储紧急降息救市 但美股还是暴跌了800点

The Federal Reserve is trying to inoculate the U.S. economy from the effects of the coronavirus. The Fed cut its benchmark interest rate today by half a percentage point. That move came after a conference call with central bankers from around the world, all of whom are grappling with the epidemic. But the rate cut failed to calm financial markets. The Dow dropped nearly 800 points today.

NPR's Scott Horsley is here.

Hey, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Mary Louise.

KELLY: Start with timing — was the timing of this rate cut a surprise today?

HORSLEY: A little bit, yes. This is the first time since the financial crisis that the Fed has cut interest rates outside one of its regularly scheduled meetings. And the cut was twice as large as what the Fed ordinarily does. That gives you some idea of just how seriously the central bank is taking the threat posed by the coronavirus.

Speaking to reporters this morning, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that even though you're not seeing a lot of evidence yet in the government's statistics of economic fallout, you are starting to hear anecdotal stories from people whose businesses are feeling the ill effects.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

JEROME POWELL: You are hearing concerns from people, for example, in the travel business or the hotel business and things like that. We expect that will continue. It will probably grow. And that's one of the reasons why we've come to the view that it would be appropriate for us today to move to support the economy. And that's what we've done.

KELLY: That's what they've done. We — but an 800-point drop — how is this supposed to have worked? Cutting interest rates, how is that supposed to help the economy in this specific situation?

HORSLEY: Good question. You know, and the chairman acknowledged that it's really up to health care providers who bear the real responsibility for addressing this outbreak. And the kind of medicine the Fed can offer may not be exactly what the economic doctor ordered. You know, if you're a factory and you can't get the parts you need from China because your supplier's factory is closed, a rate cut is kind of beside the point. Nevertheless, Chairman Powell thinks this will have a positive effect.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

POWELL: We do recognize that a rate cut will not reduce the rate of infection. It won't fix a broken supply chain. We get that. We don't think we have all the answers. But we do believe that our action will provide a meaningful boost to the economy.

HORSLEY: Powell says today's rate cut should help to ensure credit keeps flowing, for example, and he thinks it will shore up confidence.

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KELLY: Well — so then, how should we read the market's reaction today, which was not great?

HORSLEY: No, this was not a Super Tuesday for the stock market.

KELLY: No.

HORSLEY: Investors were initially encouraged by the Fed's move. Right after this announcement was made at 10 Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 300 points. But the more they thought about it, the less investors liked the Fed's move. And as you say, by day's end, the Dow was down nearly 800 points. Some of the people who were dumping stocks turned instead to safe government bonds, and that pushed the yield on the 10-year Treasury to an all-time low — less than 1%.

I talked to the chief economist at Lending Tree, Tendayi Kapfidze. He thinks the Fed missed the mark here when it comes to reassuring people who are nervous about this epidemic.

TENDAYI KAPFIDZE: I don't see that a rate cut makes me want to get on a plane or go to a sports stadium or any other kind of economic activity that increases my risk of infections.

HORSLEY: Kapfidze thinks the Fed has gotten too quick to react to a falling stock market as opposed to an actual slowdown in the economy, and he warns that's just going to have investors expecting this every time there's a slump in the Dow.

KELLY: So what to try next? If lower interest rates isn't the answer, what else can the government do?

HORSLEY: Well, after their conference call this morning, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other finance ministers promised to use all the appropriate tools — and that includes having federal governments pump money into their economies the way they did during the Great Recession. President Trump tweeted last night, lawmakers should consider a payroll tax holiday — something that was done during the recession. So far, though, there's been no follow-up on that idea from the White House and little talk on Capitol Hill.

We also heard today, Mary Louise, that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are not going to hold their annual gatherings here in Washington next month as planned. Instead, those meetings will be virtual.

KELLY: Thank you, Scott.

HORSLEY: You're welcome.

KELLY: That is NPR's Scott Horsley.

美联储正试图使美国经济免受冠状病毒的影响。今天，美联储将基准利率下调0.5个百分点。此举公布前，全球央行召开了电话会议，目前全世界央行都在应对这场疫情。但降息未能安抚金融市场。今天，道指下跌近800点。

NPR新闻的斯科特·霍斯利将带来报道。

你好，斯科特。

斯科特·霍斯利连线：很高兴和你连线，玛丽·路易斯。

凯利：先来谈谈时间点，今天的降息时机是否出乎意料？

霍斯利：有点。这是美联储自金融危机以来首次在定期会议之外宣布降息。而且此次降息的幅度是美联储常规降息规模的两倍。这令大家了解到，央行对冠状病毒带来的威胁有多重视。

美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔今早对记者表示，尽管政府的经济影响统计数据中还未显示出太多证据，但人们已经开始听到企业感受到不良影响的小道消息。

（记者会音频）

杰罗姆·鲍威尔：你们听到了旅游业或酒店业等行业从业人员的担忧。我们预计这种情况会持续下去。甚至可能会更加严重。这就是我们认为今天适合采取行动支持经济的原因。我们就是这样做的。

凯利：他们就是这样做的。但道指暴跌了800点，这要怎么起作用？在这种特殊情况下，降息要如何帮助经济？

霍斯利：好问题。美联储主席承认，这其实取决于医疗服务提供者，他们承担着解决这场疫情的实际责任。而美联储可以提供的“药物”也许并不是经济医生要求的。如果你有一家工厂，而你无法从中国得到你所需的零件，因为你方供应商的工厂已经关闭，那降息就有些无关紧要了。不管怎样，鲍威尔主席认为降息将带来积极影响。

（记者会音频）

鲍威尔：我们确实认识到，降息不能降低感染率。也不能修复中断的供应链。我们明白。我们认为我们并没有掌握所有的答案。但我们相信，我们的行动将为经济提供有意义的推动力。

霍斯利：鲍威尔表示，今天采取的降息举措应该有助于确保信贷持续流动，他认为这将提振信心。

凯利：今天市场的反应不太好，我们应该如何解读？

霍斯利：这并不是股市的超级星期二。

凯利：不是。

霍斯利：投资者一开始受到了美联储举措的鼓舞。降息决定在美国东部时间10点宣布之后，道琼斯工业指数大涨300多点。但投资者考虑得越多，他们就越不喜欢美联储的这项举措。如你所说，收盘时道指暴跌近800点。有些人开始抛售股票，转而购买安全的政府债券，这导致10年期美国国债收益率跌破1%，创下历史新低。

我采访了Lending Tree公司的首席经济学家坦达伊·凯普费德泽。他认为就安抚对这场疫情感到紧张的人们来说，美联储错失了目标。

坦达伊·凯普费德泽：我认为降息不会让我想坐飞机、去体育馆或参与其他任何会增加自已感染风险的经济活动。

凯利：凯普费德泽认为，相对经济实际放缓来说，美联储对股市下跌的反应过于迅速，他警告称，这会使投资者在每次出现道指暴跌时都会期待降息。

霍斯利：那下一步应该怎么做？如果降息不是正确答案，那政府还能采取什么举措？

霍斯利：今天上午召开的电话会议结束之后，美国财政部长史蒂文·姆努钦及其他财政官员承诺动用所有适当工具，包括让联邦政府像大萧条时期那样向经济注入资金。特朗普总统昨晚发表推特称，议员应该考虑薪资税假期——这是大萧条时期的举措。不过截至目前，白宫尚未就这一想法采取任何后续行动，国会山也很少谈论这件事。

玛丽·路易斯，我们今天还了解到，世界银行和国际货币基金组织下个月不会按原计划在华盛顿举行年度会议。相反，这些会议将以虚拟形式召开。

凯利：谢谢你，斯科特。

霍斯利：不客气。

凯利：以上是NPR新闻的斯科特·霍斯利带来的报道。