VOA标准英语2014--美联储结束量化宽松但维持低利率

Fed Ends Bond-buying Program, Keeps Rates Low 美联储结束量化宽松但维持低利率

The U.S. Federal Reserve says it is ending its bond-buying program this week, but it assured investors¹ that short-term interest rates would remain near zero for some time.

美联储表示，本周停止被称为量化宽松的债券购买计划，但向投资人保证在一段时期内将短期利率维持在近于零的水平。

The announcement came amid growing worries about the global economy and recent market volatility².

在这一决定宣布之际，有越来越多的人对全球经济和最近的股市动荡感到担忧。

The bond program was a 37-month, $1.6 trillion experiment aimed at kick-starting the U.S. economy and stimulating³ job creation. Economists⁴ said it provided consumers and businesses with cheap capital and kept interest rates near record lows.

这像是一个经济时代的结束：长达37个月、耗资1.6万亿美元的量化宽松尝试计划旨在重振美国经济和刺激就业。经济学家认为，量化宽松的实施给消费者和企业提供了廉价资本并把利率维持在几乎是历史最低的水平。

The decision, announced as the Fed wrapped up a two-day policy meeting, is validation⁵ that the U.S. economy is improving, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth⁶ Financial.

随着美联储结束为期两天的政策会议，它宣布结束这一庞大的债券购买计划。Commonwealth Financial的首席投资官布拉德?麦克米伦：

“The Fed is actually explicitly⁷ saying for about the first time that we’re starting to plan for more accelerated growth than what we’ve seen in the past," McMillan said. "They’re saying we’ve made substantial improvement, and they’re starting to actually act on that. And I think that’s a significant step forward.”

“美联储基本上第一次明确地说，根据最近一段时期的经济表现，要针对经济增长加快的状况调整计划。美联储是说，经济已经有了很大的改善，它要因此进行调整。我认为向前迈出的重大一步。”

On Wall Street, the reaction was less enthusiastic. Major indexes saw a minor⁸ sell-off as investors pondered the Fed’s willingness to raise interest rates. That might have been due to the Fed's modification⁹ of the time frame for rate hikes from “a considerable time” in the future to sooner, depending on economic data. That’s taking a somewhat more assertive¹⁰ tone, said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst¹¹.

但华尔街的反应却并不那么积极。各大股指反应出少量抛售，原因是投资人考虑美联储可能会提高利率。这或许是因为美联储把提升利率的时间范围从“相当长的一段时间后”改为更快但取决于经济表现。

“I think the statement actually read a little bit more hawkish¹² than expected, more so than last month, meaning that there’s more affirmation of the economy doing well and I think more of an emphasis on the fact that eventually they’re going to have to focus on moving interest rates up,” McBride said.

Bankrate.com的高级金融分析师格雷格?麦克布赖德说：“我认为美联储的决定比人们预期的要更激进一些，比上个月更大胆，意味着进一步肯定美国经济表现良好。我认为，这也意味着美联储将会把精力放在是否提高利率上。”

Most analysts¹³ think rate hikes won’t happen until at least the middle of next year. Less clear is the impact on the global economy as the U.S. central bank applies the brakes on monetary¹⁴ stimulus¹⁵.

大多数分析人士认为，美联储至少要等到明年中期才会提高利率。但美联储终止货币刺激政策会给全球经济带来什么样的影响现在还不明朗。

Speaking at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, investment guru Mohamed El-Erian said more volatility should be expected, especially in foreign exchange markets, "because we’re going from a world of multispeed central banking¹⁶ to multitrack central banking."

彼得森国际经济研究所的投资专家埃里安表示，人们要为更多市场动荡做好准备，特别是外汇市场。“我们看到世界各地的央行正在从以不同速度的调控转变为不同轨道的调控。”

"In the old days," El-Erian said, "everyone was doing the same thing, just different magnitudes. Now, we have two central banks that are lifting their foot off the accelerator — the Bank of England and the Fed — and we have two other central banks that are putting their foot more on the accelerator — the ECB (European Central Bank) and the Bank of Japan."

“过去，所有央行都做同样的事，只是程度不同。现在有两个国家的央行停止刺激措施，分别是英格兰银行和美联储，而另外还有两大央行在加大刺激力度，分别是欧洲央行和日本央行。”

Experts say rising rates could lead to more investment dollars flowing into the U.S., further slowing growth in emerging markets. But, they add, a higher-valued dollar would also make U.S. exports more expensive.

专家表示，利率提升会导致更多资金流向美国，从而造成新兴市场国家的增长进一步放缓。但他们还说，美元升值会使美国出口成本上升。

1 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

2 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

3 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 validation   

n.确认

参考例句：

• If the countdown timer ever hits zero, do your validation processing. 处理这种情况的方法是在输入的同时使用递减计时器，每次击键重新计时。如果递减计时器变为零，就开始验证。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Although the validation control is a very widespread idiom, most such controls can be improved. 虽然确认控件是非常广泛的习惯用法，但还有很多有待改进的地方。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

7 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

9 modification   

n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻

参考例句：

• The law,in its present form,is unjust;it needs modification.现行的法律是不公正的，它需要修改。
• The design requires considerable modification.这个设计需要作大的修改。

10 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 hawkish   

adj. 鹰派的, 强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 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。

15 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

16 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。