经济学人34:伦敦金属交易所

 　　Finance and Economics；The London Metal Exchange；Metal cashing；Who wants to buy the LME?

　　财经；伦敦金属交易所；金属兑现；谁会买下LME？

　　The sight of a pack of adults shouting at each other is rarely edifying¹. Unless, that is, the set-to is in the “ring” of the London Metal Exchange (LME), whose old-fashioned system of open-outcry trading does much to set global prices for industrial metals and which is now itself the subject of a bidding battle. Only Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing had publicly said that it would submit an offer for the world’s leading metals exchange by this week’s deadline of May 7th, but CME Group, InterContinental Exchange and NYSE Euronext are also widely reported to be in the frame.

　　那群家伙聚在一起相互吼叫一点用都没有，除非能在伦敦金属交易所（LME）的“擂台”上互殴一顿。LME老式的公开叫价贸易系统对全球工业金属价格有着深远的影响，但是现在LME已沦为竞购的对象。在这周的截止日期之前（5月7日），只有香港交易所公开表示会对这个世界领先的金属交易所提出报价，但芝加哥商业交易所、洲际交易所和纽约泛欧交易所的染指也诸见报端。

　　The member-owned LME, which started business 135 years ago in premises² above a hat shop in the City of London, resolved last year to see what it might be worth to globalising rivals. As one of the world’s few remaining member-owned exchanges it is an inviting³ target, even at an estimated price of 1 billion Euro(1.6 billion dollar). Acquiring it would give all the likely suitors a bigger global footprint, important for any ambitious exchange group, and a ready-made business in non-ferrous metals, demand for which has rocketed on the back of China’s rise.

　　采用会员制的LME在伦敦的一家帽子店开业以来，已经有了135年的历史，在去年引发全球竞争也是理所应当，作为世界上仅剩的几家会员制交易所之一，它自然是一块诱人的大蛋糕，其估价甚至达到了10亿英镑（约合16亿美元）。得到它能够让买家向全球化迈出更大的步伐，这对任何一个有雄心的交易所都是至关重要的，而且，面对中国经济的腾飞，各大竞标机构就更想得到这个现成的有色金属贸易机构。

　　But the bidders⁵ have a tricky⁶ balancing-act to pull off. To satisfy their own shareholders⁷, they must seek out the ample opportunities to boost profits at the LME by shifting to centralised clearing, cutting costs, raising fees and introducing more electronic trading at the expense of open outcry. But this is unlikely to appeal to the LME’s members, which include some of the world’s biggest banks (JPMorgan Chase is its largest shareholder). The exchange makes meagre returns precisely⁸ because it has kept fees so low.

　　为了实现目标，竞标者还要进行一些棘手的协调工作。为了让股东满意，他们必须利用各种机会来提高LME的红利，比如改成中央清算方式、降低成本、提升会费和引进更多的电子交易系统以改变传统的公开叫价方式。但是这些措施不大可能赢得会员的好感，包括世界上最大的几个的银行（摩根大通是最大的股东），而LME的盈利太少恰恰是因为会费太低了。

　　The LME may decide to carry on alone if a potential bidder⁴ cannot reassure⁹ its members over the changes they would introduce. But competition is hotting up. The Shanghai Futures¹⁰ Exchange, set up in 1999, traded around 300m contracts last year, twice as many as the LME, even if those in London are typically far bigger. The Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange is also set to launch a copper¹¹ contract soon. Teaming up with a bigger exchange, which will bring more liquidity¹² and some fresh thinking, is an idea worth shouting about.

　　如果潜在买家带来的改变不能打消会员的疑虑的话，LME可能会决定继续独自运营下去。但是现在的金属交易市场竞争正日益加剧，1999年成立的上海期货交易所在去年有着3亿次的成交量，这是LME的两倍（虽然LME的交易总额更大一些），并且香港商品交易所也开始准备试水铜期货。能够与更大的交易所联手会带来更多的流动资产和更加新颖的思路，而这些才真正值得他们争吵的。

1 edifying   

adj.有教训意味的，教训性的，有益的v.开导，启发( edify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Young students are advised to read edifying books to improve their mind. 建议青年学生们读一些陶冶性情的书籍，以提高自己的心智。 来自辞典例句
• This edifying spectacle was the final event of the Governor's ball. 这个有启发性的表演便是省长的舞会的最后一个节目了。 来自辞典例句

2 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

3 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

4 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder.电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。

5 bidders   

n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Bidders should proceed only if they intend on using a PayPal account to complete payment. Bidders的唯一形式，应继续只当他们在使用贝宝帐户，以完成付款打算。 来自互联网
• The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest. 其他竞标人抱怨说该合同的竞标不公平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

7 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

8 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

9 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

10 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

11 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

12 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。