Into the land of the unknown
前途未卜

Global market turmoil continues after the rejection of the mortgage-rescue plan in America
美国救市计划遭拒后全球市场继续混乱

Reuters
HOW many votes in Congress will the latest financial upheaval change? That is the calculus underway in Washington, DC, after the House of Representatives defeated the proposed $700 billion mortgage-rescue plan by 228 to 205 on Monday September 29th. Democrats backed it by 140 votes to 95, while Republicans opposed it by 133 to 65.

最近的金融巨变将改变多少国会的选票?这是继9月29日周一众议院以228票反对：205票支持挫败7000亿美元救市计划之后，华盛顿正在进行的计算。对此项救市计划，民主党140票支持：95票反对，而共和党则是133票反对：65票支持。

Bankers had been under no illusions that the tweaked Paulson plan would cure all the financial system’s ills. But most had seen it as a step in the right direction, and had expected it to pass. Its rejection sent stockmarkets into freefall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down by 7%, and suffered its biggest-ever points loss. Perhaps fittingly in an economy that is in danger of sliding into depression, the only stock among the 500 in the S&P index that finished higher was Campbell’s Soup. The S&P closed 29% below its peak. Reflecting fears that consumer demand will wilt, shares of Apple Computer, creator of the iPhone, fell by 18%. The rout continued in Asia and Europe on Tuesday morning.

银行家们对妥协后的鲍尔森的救市计划会治愈金融系统的疾患不抱幻想。但是他们中的大多数认为该救市计划是往正确的方向前进，并希望它能够得以通过。救市计划遭拒引起股市重挫。道琼斯工业平均指数下跌7%，创历史最大点数跌幅。或许，对一个有着滑向萧条之危险的经济体来说，标准普尔500指数股票里收盘唯一上涨的一只股票是 美国汤品生产商金宝汤（Campbell’s Soup）就是再平常不过的事情了。标准普尔500指数比其历史峰值跌29%收盘。iPhone开发者苹果公司的股票下跌18%,反映出市场对消费者需求 将会萎缩的恐慌。美国股市收盘后,亚洲股市还在下挫，欧洲股市的下挫则延续到周二早晨。

Worse, credit markets, already dysfunctional, were brought close to breaking point. Banks grew even less willing to lend to each other on Monday, and money-market funds fled anything with a whiff of risk. Some corporations are struggling to roll-over commercial paper, short-term debt issued to finance working capital, payroll payments and the like. In an effort to keep money markets from drying up, the Federal Reserve has doubled the size of a vital lending facility for banks, to $300 billion, and expanded agreements with other central banks that funnel dollars to lenders abroad.

更糟的是，已经运转不良的信贷市场濒临崩溃。周一，银行更为不愿互相拆借，一有风 吹草动，货币基金就出逃任何投资项目。一些公司苦苦挣扎于结转商业票据，发行短期债券来筹措流动资金，支付工资和其他费用。在维持货币市场流动性的努力 中，美联储把一项对银行的关键贷款供应规模翻番，达到3000亿美元，并且延伸了与其他央行关于它们为在海外经营的美国的银行注资的协议。

These unprecedented injections are aimed at easing concerns that weak participants in the interbank market will fail to honour their debts. But many banks are now assumed to be not only illiquid but insolvent. Last week Washington Mutual, a thrift saddled with rotten mortgages, became the largest-ever American lender to fail. And on Monday Citigroup agreed to buy most of the assets of Wachovia, an even bigger American bank, in a deal brokered by regulators. The pain has suddenly grown much more intense in Europe, too.

这些空前的注资举措目的在于缓解忧虑，这种忧虑是：孱弱的参与者在同业拆借市场上 无能力偿还其所欠债务。但是现在许多银行被认为不仅仅是流动性差，而且是无偿付能力。上周，不堪承受大量不良抵押的一家储蓄银行——华盛顿互惠银行 （Washington Mutual）破产，成为美国有史以来最大的倒闭银行。周一花旗集团同意购买大部分美联（Wachovia）资产，美联是一家比华盛顿互惠银行规模更大的 银行，此项交易由监管方撮合。金融危机的痛楚在欧洲也急剧增强。