2019年经济学人 Wirecard:迁怒于人 (2)

 

Investors¹ in Wirecard remained spooked until BaFin intervened on February 18th.

Wirecard的投资者惊魂未定，直到2月18日德国联邦金融监管局介入。

The regulator cited Wirecard's "importance for the economy" and the "serious threat to market confidence" following the collapse² in its share price.

监管者引用称Wirecard具有“经济重要性”并且公司股价暴跌将“对市场信心造成严重威胁”。

Wirecard processes payments for 250,000 merchants, including Aldi and Lidl, two of Germany's biggest retailers³, and numerous airlines.

Wirecard为250,000家公司处理支付业务，其中包括阿尔迪和利德连锁超市（这两个德国最大的零售商）以及很多航空公司。

The value of Wirecard rose by 16% after the regulator took action.

监管者采取行动后，Wirecard市值上涨16%。

The ban may have been a risky⁴ move. The regulator is meant to act in the public interest.

禁令可能存在风险。监管者本意是为公众利益采取行动。

This is the first time BaFin has used the measure to protect a single company.

这是德国联邦金融监管局首次采取措施保护一家公司。

(In 2008, with the financial crisis in full swing, they restricted short-selling of 11 bank stocks.)

（2008年，随着金融危机全面展开，他们限制了11家银行股票的卖空。）

Crispin Odey, a hedge-fund manager with short positions in Wirecard, has claimed that BaFin has opened the door to potential lawsuits⁵.

在Wirecard拥有空头的对冲基金经理Crispin Odey声称德国联邦金融监管局为潜在的诉讼敞开了大门。

In his view, according to reports by Bloomberg, the regulator should have ensured that Wirecard's employees did not engage in any wrongdoing before it took action.

根据《彭博》的报道，在他看来，监管者本应在采取行动前确保Wirecard的员工没有参与任何违规行为。

Action might be justified⁶ if markets have been manipulated. Prosecutors⁷ in Munich say they are looking into possible violations⁸ of securities regulations.

如果市场受到操控，那么采取行动是正当行为。慕尼黑的检察官称他们正在调查可能违反证券监管法的行为。

But the Financial Times has rejected allegations of unethical reporting or market manipulation as "baseless and false".

但是《金融时报》否认了不道德报道或操纵市场的指控，并称这些指控是“毫无根据且虚假的”。

Despite their unpopularity, short-sellers perform useful functions in markets.

虽然不受欢迎，但是卖空者在市场中发挥着有益的功能。

They help prevent bubbles from forming and are adept⁹ at rooting out malfeasance.

他们帮助防止泡沫的形成，也很擅长根除违法行为。

Studies find that in the months before financial fraud at a company is revealed, short-selling of its stock tends to spike¹⁰.

研究发现在该公司金融欺诈被披露前的几个月内，其股票的卖空有急剧升值趋势。

Jim Chanos, a well-known short-seller, famously predicted the demise¹¹ of Enron, an energy-trading firm that went bust¹² in 2001.

知名卖空者Jim Chanos曾预测了安然公司的终结，该能源交易公司在2001年破产。

BaFin claims Wirecard had been the target of repeated "short attacks."

德国联邦金融监管局宣称Wirecard是“卖空攻击”的目标。

But shortselling a company that is suspected of false accounting¹³ does not undermine markets— rather, it is a sign they are working.

但是做空一家涉嫌伪造账目的公司不会破坏市场—更确切地说这是卖空者在起作用的迹象。

Making Mr Chanos give up his short position would not have saved Enron from bankruptcy¹⁴, after all. He was the messenger, not the problem.

毕竟让Chanos放弃他的空头不能使安然公司免于破产。他不过是传信人，而非问题所在。

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 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

4 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

5 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

6 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

7 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

9 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

10 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

11 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

12 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

13 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

14 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。