金融動蕩 不安情緒籠罩達沃斯
瑞士達沃斯——在這座權貴云集的山谷里，擔憂的情緒又回來了。
Financial instability is again a prime source ofanxiety for participants at the World EconomicForum after receding last year. Russia and Ukraine,cheap oil, volatile currency markets, deflation,terrorism and even Switzerland are unsettling theglobal economy and sowing nervousness amongthe people attending the forum, many of thembankers or investors.
在今年的世界經濟論壇(World Economic Forum)上，金融動蕩再次成為令與會者心焦的一個主要原因，而去年的時候，這種擔憂一度消散。俄烏關系、低油價、動蕩的貨幣市場、通貨緊縮、恐怖主義乃至瑞士都在擾亂全球經濟，并在出席本次論壇的人們心中植入了不安。與會者中，有不少是銀行業(yè)高管或投資人。
The sense of being blindsided by events was summed up by David M. Rubenstein, co-chiefexecutive of the private equity firm Carlyle Group. He told the audience at a panel onWednesday that they should take everything he said with a grain of salt because his predictionslast year were way off.
私募公司凱雷投資集團(Carlyle Group)的聯(lián)席首席執(zhí)行官戴維·D·魯賓斯坦(David M. Rubenstein)對這種猝不及防的感覺進行了總結。在周三的一場討論會上，他告訴觀眾，自己講的話不可全信，因為他去年的預測就錯得離譜。
“I wouldn’t have predicted oil prices would go down,” Mr. Rubenstein said. “I wouldn’t havepredicted U.S. growth would be as strong as it has been, I wouldn’t have predicted theslowdown in some of the emerging markets, I certainly wouldn’t have predicted deflation inEurope.”
“我沒有料到油價會下行，”魯賓斯坦說。“我沒有料到美國的增長會如此強勁，我沒有料到一些新興市場增速放緩，我也絕沒有料到歐洲會出現(xiàn)通縮。”
The sense of nervousness has been heightened by the terrorist attacks in Paris earlier thismonth. Security at the World Economic Forum, which every year turns the town into a virtualmilitary protectorate, was tightened even further. In a new practice, the Swiss police shinedflashlights into the shuttle vans that bring participants to hotels and events, requiringpassengers to show their credentials.
本月早些時候巴黎爆發(fā)的恐怖襲擊令這種惴惴不安的感覺進一步加深。世界經濟論壇每年都會讓這座小城變得形同軍事堡壘，而這次的安保工作又更上一層樓。瑞士警察采取了一種新措施，會向運送與會者在酒店和活動場館之間穿梭的巴士閃燈，提示乘客展示自己的證件。
“It’s that fear factor,” Anne Richards, chief investment officer of Aberdeen Asset Management,said in an interview. “What is going to hit now?”
“就是這種擔憂因素，”安本資產管理(Aberdeen Asset Management)的首席投資官安妮·理查茲(AnneRichards)接受采訪時說。“現(xiàn)在又會出現(xiàn)哪種沖擊呢?”
Even recent economic events that are mostly positive create instability, panelists said. Theplunge in oil prices is great for consumers, but has undercut the Russian economy, withrepercussions for Europe. Mr. Rubenstein said that Russian companies had borrowed $650billion from Western countries, mostly European banks.
參會者表示，就連看來最正面的一些近期經濟事件也帶來了動蕩。油價暴跌對消費者來說是件好事，但它削弱了俄羅斯經濟，從而間接影響到歐洲。魯賓斯坦稱，俄羅斯企業(yè)從歐洲國家借走了6500億美元(約合4萬億元人民幣)，而主要的出借方是歐洲的銀行。
“If the Russian companies, because of their economies, can’t service that debt, that’s going tobe a problem,” he said.
“假如俄羅斯的公司，因為他們國家的經濟困難而沒有能力償債，那么就會構成問題，”他說。
Douglas Flint, chairman of HSBC Holdings, noted that when regulators tested the resiliency ofbanks this year, none considered situations in which oil was $50 a barrel. “The last several yearshave taught us to expect the unexpected and to prepare for the worst,” Mr. Flint said at adifferent panel discussion.
匯豐控股有限公司(HSBC Holdings)的董事長范智廉(Douglas Flint)指出，當監(jiān)管機構上次對各大銀行進行壓力測試時，沒有任何人考慮到油價為每桶50美元的情景。“這幾年給我們的教訓是，準備迎接意外，做最壞的打算，”范智廉在另一場討論會上表示。
The discussions came a day before the European Central Bank was expected to announce thatit would begin broad-based bond purchases to try to stimulate the European economy. Butthere was pessimism that central banks could continue to rescue global economies.
周三的這些討論發(fā)生在歐洲央行(European Central Bank)展開行動的頭一天。外界估計，該行會宣布啟動一項覆蓋面甚廣的債券購買計劃，嘗試以此刺激歐洲經濟。然而，對于各大央行能否持續(xù)拯救全球經濟，會上存在悲觀情緒。
“We are looking forward to the E.C.B. announcement tomorrow,” said Min Zhu, deputymanaging director of the International Monetary Fund.
“我們在期待歐洲央行明天的聲明，”國際貨幣基金組織(International Monetary Fund)副總裁朱民稱。
But he said that the eurozone economy required policies to stimulate demand, like spending onpublic infrastructure or changes in laws that restrict hiring and firing. “Interest rates are zeroalready. What do they do?” Mr. Zhu said of central banks. “We need supply-side policies.”
不過，他表示歐元區(qū)經濟還需要刺激需求的政策，比如增加公共基礎設施建設方面的開支，或是改革限制雇傭與解聘的法規(guī)。“利率已經是零了。我們還能做什么?”談到各大央行時，朱民問道。“我們需要供給經濟學方面的政策。”
Even a month ago, no one would have predicted that Switzerland, one of the wealthiest andmost stable countries in the world, would become a subject of concern. But the country facesan economic crisis after the Swiss National Bank last week abandoned attempts to check therise of the Swiss franc against the euro. The franc has risen 20 percent against the euro sincethen, an increase that made the stay in Davos even more costly than usual and, moreimportant, threatened the competitiveness of Swiss industry.
就在一個月前，還無人能料到，身處世界上最富裕、最穩(wěn)定國家之列的瑞士會成為大家擔憂的對象。可是上周，瑞士國家銀行(Swiss National Bank)放棄了控制瑞士法郎兌歐元匯率的做法，一場經濟危機隨即擺在了該國面前。自那以后，瑞郎對歐元升值了20%。這樣的漲幅讓奔赴達沃斯參會的花銷更勝以往，但更重要的是，它威脅到了瑞士各大行業(yè)的競爭力。
Axel Weber, chairman of the Swiss bank UBS, said the Swiss central bank “did the right thing”in acknowledging that it could no longer keep a cap on the franc. He predicted that the Swisscurrency would retreat from current levels.
瑞銀(UBS)董事長埃克塞爾·韋伯(Axel Weber)認為，瑞士央行承認已無力承擔對瑞郎設限“是正確之舉”。他預測，瑞郎將會從當前的水平上貶值。
“There are challenges and pressures, but I think they are manageable,” said Mr. Weber, theformer president of the Bundesbank, the German central bank.
“當前存在一些挑戰(zhàn)和壓力，但我認為是可控的，”韋伯說。他曾擔任德國央行德國聯(lián)邦銀行(Bundesbank)的行長。
But he was pessimistic about Europe. Noting that he had appeared at a panel called, “IsEurope Back?” last year at the forum, he said this time around, “Europe’s not back,” adding, “The problems are back.”
不過，他對歐洲持總體悲觀的態(tài)度。韋伯指出，他去年曾在達沃斯出席一場名為《歐洲是否已經回歸?》的討論會，而到了今年，“歐洲并沒有回歸，問題卻回歸了。”
A hint of geopolitical tension, in the otherwise convivial atmosphere at the gathering, emergedat a panel sponsored by The Wall Street Journal that examined why economies and financialmarkets have become more volatile. Arkady Dvorkovich, deputy prime minister of Russia, wascritical of the United States.
世界經濟論壇通常氛圍輕松，但在《華爾街日報》(The Wall Street Journal)資助的一場討論會上，地緣政治沖突初現(xiàn)端倪。會議關注的是各大經濟體與金融市場為何變得更為動蕩。俄羅斯副總理阿爾卡季·德沃爾科維奇(Arkady Dvorkovich)對美國展開了批評。
“The problem with American growth, it is more at the expense of other countries sometimes,”said Mr. Dvorkovich, who also called sanctions imposed on Russia in retaliation for its behaviorin Ukraine “stupid.”
“美國經濟增長的問題在于，有時候更多地以別國為代價，”德沃爾科維奇說。對于為了報復俄羅斯在烏克蘭所作所為而施加的制裁，他也直呼“愚蠢”。
Still, some experts said the gloom was overdone. “The rest of the world will recover over time,”Kenneth Rogoff, an economics professor at Harvard University, said on the same panel. “Thesethings don’t last forever.”
雖說如此，還是有專家認為目前的陰郁情緒過了頭。“隨著時間的推移，世界其他地方也會復蘇，”哈佛大學(Harvard University)經濟學教授肯尼斯·羅格夫(Kenneth Rogoff)在同一場討論會上說。“這些事情不會沒完沒了。”
