VOA常速英语2015--欧元区可从美日量化宽松中吸取教训

 

US, Japan Offer Lessons as Eurozone Launches Huge Stimulus 欧元区可从美日量化宽松中吸取教训

LONDON—

The Euro currency has fallen sharply after the European Central Bank announced a bigger-than-expected $67 billion-a-month quantitative¹ easing program Thursday — commonly seen as a form of printing new money.

The European Central Bank’s bold move was prompted by alarming figures showing 0.2 percent deflation in the Eurozone last quarter — raising the prospect² that people would stop spending in the expectation that prices would fall.

欧洲央行之所以做出这样大胆的举动，是因为有令人吃惊的数据显示上个季度欧元区的通货紧缩达到0.2%，这样人们就可能因为预测价格下跌而停止开支。

So will quantitative easing, or QE, rescue Europe’s economy? Unlikely, says Christian³ Odendahl, chief economist⁴ at the Center for European Reform in London.

那么量化宽松(QE)能拯救欧洲经济吗？伦敦欧洲改革中心首席经济学家Odendahl说不可能。

“The problem is that the ECB has waited relatively⁵ long before it’s considering this relatively bold step. And part of QE is changing people’s expectation for the better. And expectations in the eurozone have deteriorated⁶ quite a bit," said Odendahl.

“问题在于，欧洲央行在考虑做出这个相对大胆举动之前已经等了相对来说比较长的事件，部分量化宽松改变了人们良好的预期，人们对欧元区的预期已经有所恶化。”

Even the $1.3 trillion QE program might not be enough to change that, says Kathleen Brooks⁷ of foreign exchange bank Forex.com.

就职于外汇银行Forex.com的凯瑟琳·布鲁克斯说，即使是1.3万亿量化宽松项目也不足以改变现状。

“One thing we have seen, certainly in the U.S.'s example, but also in Japan's example, is that it takes a hell of a lot of money to make QE have an economic impact," said Brooks.

“我们在美国和日本看到的一个例子就是，要花费大量的钱来让量化宽松产生经济效果。”

The United States’ QE program offers other lessons, said Odendahl.

Odendahl说美国的量化宽松项目也留下了其他教训。

“One is it works best if you are bold right from the start. That is the kind of announcement effect, the shock-and-awe effect, that markets truly believe that now a change is coming," he said.

“如果从一开始就大胆，那么效果会最好，这就是震撼效应，市场会真的相信即将发生改变。”

There are added political risks to quantitative easing in the eurozone, said Brooks.

布鲁克斯说，欧元区的量化宽松还会造成政治风险。

“If your central bank is buying up the assets of various member states, then all of a sudden Germany, in particular — they've got the biggest economy in the eurozone — could be liable if those states don't pay back the central bank," he said.

“如果央行购买各个成员国的资产，那么尤其是德国，会突然成为欧元区最大的经济体，如果这些国家无法偿还央行的贷款，那么这是可能的。”

German Chancellor⁸ Angela Merkel gave a lukewarm reception to the ECB’s program at the World Economic Forum⁹ in Davos on Thursday.

德国总理安吉拉·默克尔周四在达沃斯世界经济论坛上对欧洲央行的这个项目不冷不热。

"It is now time to cleanse¹⁰ and consolidate¹¹ the finances, now that the interest rates are low," said Merkel.

“是时候清理并巩固财政了，现在的利率很低。”

Japan suffered a "lost decade" of low inflation and low growth — from which it’s only recently showed signs of emerging. William Saito, senior adviser¹² to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said the comparison has limits.

日本经历了低通胀和低增长的“失去的10年”，最近才表现出走出阴影的迹象。日本首相安倍晋三的高级顾问威廉姆·西户说这种对比有局限性。

“In the case of ECB and Europe, you have a good case of Japan to learn from. From Europe, which I think is fundamentally different from Japan, is that for many, many different countries put together with different ways of thinking," said Saito.

“就欧洲央行和欧洲来说，日本可以从中学到很多。就欧洲来说，我认为欧洲从基本上来说与日本不同，欧洲是很多不同的国家集中起来想出各种方法。”

Those differences could be underlined Sunday in the epicenter of the European financial crisis: Greece. The far left Syriza party has brought thousands of supporters onto the streets during the election campaign, on a platform of opposition¹³ to German-led austerity.

周日，在周日希腊的选举中，这些差异可能会得到强调，有望获胜的极右派左翼联盟已让数千名支持者走上街头反对德国主导下的紧缩政策。

1 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

7 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 cleanse   

vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗

参考例句：

• Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
• Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。

11 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

12 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。