High-yield bonds

　　高利債券

　　An appetite for junk

　　來點垃圾

　　Companies have taken advantage ofinvestors growing willingness to buy speculativebonds

　　公司很好的利用了投資者日益高漲的購買投機性債券的意愿

　　WHEN cash deposits pay virtually zero, investors have an incentive to take risks in searchof higher returns.

　　當存款利率近乎于零，投資者便會冒險尋求更高收益。

　　That has been good news for the high-yield, or junk, bond market, where companies withpoor credit ratings turn for finance.

　　而這對于高利債券、或垃圾債券市場來說，無疑是個好消息，那些信用評級差的公司通常通過這種方式融資。

　　Many companies can now borrow at rates that governments would have been pleased toachieve two decades ago.

　　現在，許多公司可以以各國政府二十年前喜聞樂見的利率獲得投資。

　　Indeed, so low have borrowing costs fallen that some wags have dubbed the market theasset class formerly known as high-yield.

　　誠然，借貸成本降至如此之低，甚至有人將其戲稱為前高利債券。

　　Until the hiatus related to the budget crisis inAmerica, companies were rushing to takeadvantage of this financing opportunity.

　　直到此次美債違約，各家公司紛紛借助這股東風融資。

　　In the first nine months of the year global high-yield-bond issuance reached 378.2 billion,up by 27% on the same period in 2023, according to Dealogic, a financial-data firm. Sprint,

　　據金融數據公司迪羅基稱，今年前九個月發現的高利債券達到了3782億美元，同比增長27%。

　　an American telecoms company, raised 6.5 billion in two simultaneous bond issues, thelargest-ever junk financing.

　　美國電信公司Sprint通過同步發行債券籌集到了65億美元，這也是迄今為止最大的垃圾融資。

　　Low rates will not last forever, so companies are keen to take advantage of what might bean historic opportunity.

　　低利率不會持續太久，公司自然不會錯過這次千載難逢的機會。

　　And investors have been happy to take the extra yields on offer, given the positive returnsachieved since 2009.

　　鑒于2009年后獲得正收益，投資者也樂意出資獲取額外收益。

　　In America, the modern high-yield-bond market dates back to the 1980s. Until then,high-yield bonds were usually fallen angelscompanies which previously had aninvestment-grade credit rating but had seen their finances suffer.

　　美國現代高利債券起源于上世紀八十年代。在那之前，高利率債券通常都是落難天使此前已獲得投資信用評級的公司都遭遇過財務危機。

　　But Michael Milken and his team at Drexel Burnham Lambert, an investment bank,discovered there was a market for high-yield debt from new issuers, often in connection withcompanies making takeover bids.

　　但是，德瑞債券的邁克爾米爾肯為高利債券發行者發現了新的市場，而這通常和公司收購行動密不可分。

　　The market is now huge.

　　現在，這一市場前景廣闊，

　　A study by Russell, a consultancy, estimated its total size at 1.7 trillion.

　　咨詢公司Russell預計其總需求為1.7萬億。

　　Almost half of all the corporate bonds rated by Standard Poor s are classed asspeculative, a polite term for junk.

　　標普公司發布的信用評級中超過半數公司債券均為投機性債券垃圾債券的委婉說法。

　　Part of this is down to fashion; companies have been urged to return spare cash toshareholders and to make their balance-sheets more efficient by taking advantage of thetax deductibility of interest payments.

　　其中，部分債券已經流于形式，股東撤回公司閑錢，如此便可利用付息債券避稅，從而使得資產負債表更加均衡。

　　Another big boost to the market has been the broadening of its base beyondAmerica.

　　高利債券膨脹的另一大原因是除美國市場之外，世界其他地區需求增加。

　　According to Fraser Lundie, a high-yield-bond manager at Hermes,America comprised 89%of the market in 1998; now it forms just 57%.Europehas gone from 3% of the market to27%.

　　愛馬仕高利債券經理弗雷澤倫迪表示，1998年美國國內發行的高利債券占全世界的89%，現在降至57%，而歐洲則由當初的3%增至27%。

　　The rise of high-yield bonds has been handy for European companies in the wake of thefinancial crisis, as many banks have been seeking to shrink their balance-sheets, and havebeen less willing to offer loans.

　　隨著金融危機的爆發，高利債券發行量的增長對歐洲公司來說也極為便利，因為銀行都減少貸款，平衡資產負債表。

　　Historically, European companies have been much more dependent on bank finance thantheir American counterparts.

　　從歷史觀點上說，相對于美國公司，歐洲公司對銀行的依賴更強。

　　They also used to be warier of seeing their bonds classed as junk.

　　過去，歐洲公司甚至害怕其債券被評為垃圾級。

　　Low rates have been good for the market in another way.

　　從另一個層面來說，低利率對市場有利。

　　They have enabled companies to refinance their debt cheaply, and so pushed back thenettlesome day when their finances will be squeezed by higher borrowing costs.

　　因為這樣公司可以以低成本獲得再融資，當初借貸成本高不說，還很難獲得通過，簡直苦不堪言。

　　A few years ago there was a worry that a lot of debt would need to be refinanced in 2023 and2023; now the refinancing hump will not come until 2023 and 2023.

　　幾年前，人們擔心過多債務會導致2023年、2023年時需要再融資;現在，在2023年、2023年之前再融資峰值是不會出現的。

　　A long period of cheap finance makes it less likely that issuers will be forced to default in theshort term, and the reduced likelihood of default makes it more attractive for investors tohold bonds.

　　長期的低成本融資讓債券發行方短期內違約的可能性大大降低，違約可能性的降低又會吸引更多投資者持有債券。

　　In the wake of Lehman s collapse, the spread on junk bonds rose so far that it implieddefault on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

　　隨著雷曼兄弟的破產，垃圾債券的差額大幅增長，這也就導致了大蕭條后前所危機的違約浪潮。

　　But after a brief spike to 13.7% in 2009, the default rate on global high-yield bondsdropped steadily and was just 2.8% in September, according to Moody s, another ratingsagency.

　　但是，據評級公司穆迪稱，2009年13.7%的違約高峰很快便平息;今年九月，全球高利率債券違約率僅為2.8%。

　　But not all is sunny in the high-yield world.

　　但是，高利債券市場并非總是風平浪靜。

　　Although the market has doubled or tripled in size since 2008, liquidity has diminished.

　　盡管自2008年后高利債券市場規模已經增至原來的兩至三倍，債券的流動性卻降低了。

　　Regulatory restrictions mean that banks no longer hold as much inventory in the form ofbonds; since 2002, there has been a decline of almost three-quarters.

　　監管限制讓銀行無法繼續像以前那樣持有太多債券形式的存貨。自2002年來，銀行所持債券已經減少了75%。

　　PIMCO, a huge bond-fund manager, said in a recent report, We see reduced liquidity as animportant secular trend. It is an unintended consequence of the deleveraging andre-regulation of banks globally. It will result in higher volatility in times of stress.

　　近期，太平洋投資管理公司發布的一篇報道稱，我們認為流動性的降低將會是一個重要的長期趨勢，這是全球銀行重新平衡、管理的副作用。

　　In other words, if investors ever lose their current enthusiasm for high-yield bonds, theywill find it much harder, and probably costlier, to offload them.

　　換句話說，如果投資者對高利債券的熱情降低，他們便會發現想要拋售這些債券將會更加困難、或許還會付出更高代價。

　　Meanwhile, the growing enthusiasm for high-yield bonds is likely to diminish the returnsthey offer.

　　與此同時，隨著人們對高利債券愈發熱衷，其回報率也會相應降低。

　　In the past investors typically bought junk bonds at a discount to their face value; theyhoped that the profits on bonds that were repaid at maturity would offset the losses on thefew issuers that defaulted.

　　過去，投資者都是以折扣價買入垃圾債券，他們希望債券到期的收益能夠抵消部分違約發行者帶來的損失。

　　Yet in May this year the average price of a high-yield bond reached 6% above face value,according to Mr Lundie.

　　然而，據倫迪數據顯示今年五月高利債券的平均價格超過了其面值的6%。

　　Holding a bond until maturity will thus result in a capital loss, although investors may stillprofit from interest.

　　盡管投資者仍可從利息中獲利，但持有高利債券直至到期將會造成一定資本損失。

　　Worse, many bondsperhaps two-thirds or three-quarters of the markethave a call optionattached to them that allows the issuer to repay the debt if it reaches a certain price.

　　更糟糕的是許多債券可能2/3或3/4的現行債券都有看漲期權，如果債券達到一定價格，發行方可以償還債務。

　　That allows issuers to take advantage of growing optimism about their prospects toreissue bonds at lower interest.

　　這也就使得發行方可以利用投資者不斷高漲的樂觀情緒，以更低的利率發行債券。

　　Such call options skew the risk-reward trade-off.

　　看漲期權讓風險報酬交易失去了平衡。

　　If a bond gets close to the callable price, it is unlikely to rise much further: who would bid110 cents for a bond that can be redeemed at 104?

　　如果某個債券接近可贖回價格，其價格也就不大可能會繼續漲了：誰會愿意花110美分購買104美分就可以贖回的債券呢?

　　On the other hand, if the company hits hard times, the bond could fall quite sharply in price.So investors face a limited upside and a big downside.

　　另一方面，如果市場蕭條，債券價格便會一落千丈。因此，對投資者來說此事弊大于利。

　　That has tended to push investors towards ever riskier assets, such as CCC-rated bondsthelowest category excluding those issuers that have already defaulted.

　　這回讓投資者轉向風險更大的債券，比如除違約債券以外的最低評級債券，CCC級債券。

　　David Newman of Rogge Global Partners, a fund-management firm, reckons that such bondsare now probably overpriced, given the risks involved.

　　來自資金管理公司Rogge Global Partners的大衛紐曼認為考慮到風險因素，這類債券目前可能定價過高。

　　It is in the nature of the bond markets that, when conditions are good, investors get morerelaxed about credit quality.

　　債券市場的特性是當市場環境良好，投資者便會對信用質量更加放心。

　　Some observers think that the risks of high-yield bonds are being systematicallyunderestimated.

　　部分觀察人士認為，高利債券的風險被普遍低估。

　　The spreads paid by high-yield issuers are low relative to the historical average, althoughthey are more than sufficient to compensate investors given the low level of defaults.

　　盡管，考慮到低違約率，債券發行方更加確信可以讓投資者收到回報;但是，同歷史平均水平相比，現在高利債券發行方所付的利率更低。

　　If central banks start raising interest rates to deal with a resurgence of inflation, or if theglobal economy slips back into recession, junk-bond investors may suffer a nasty shock.But for the moment they are enjoying the ride.

　　如果央行為了規避通脹而開始提高利率，或者全球經濟再度陷入蕭條，垃圾債券投資者或許會損失慘重。但是，現在他們正享。

　　詞語解釋

　　1.in search of 尋找

　　In search of more useful forecasts, I went to themet office website.

　　為了尋找更多有用的預測，我登陸了英國氣象局網站。

　　Mr zhao is also prepared to be flexible in search ofreturns.

　　趙先生也做好為尋求收益而制定靈活政策的準備。

　　2.please to 高興做

　　Please to place it here.

　　請把它放在這兒。

　　Please to hear the success of the exhibition.

　　很高興聽到展覽會很成功的消息。

　　3.rush to 急速去;奔;奔赴

　　Nor did governments rush to proclaim their educational duty.

　　但是政府并不急于表明他們的教育責任。

　　Some worry that graduates would rush to declare bankruptcy, handing losses to taxpayers.

　　有人擔心，畢業生會匆忙宣告破產，讓納稅人來承擔損失。

　　4.keen to 熱衷于

　　I was keen to develop so-called masculine skills.

　　我熱衷于開發所謂的男性的技能。

　　Western companies are keen to tap this growth.

　　西方藥企熱衷于培育這一增長。

　　High-yield bonds

　　高利債券

　　An appetite for junk

　　來點垃圾

　　Companies have taken advantage ofinvestors growing willingness to buy speculativebonds

　　公司很好的利用了投資者日益高漲的購買投機性債券的意愿

　　WHEN cash deposits pay virtually zero, investors have an incentive to take risks in searchof higher returns.

　　當存款利率近乎于零，投資者便會冒險尋求更高收益。

　　That has been good news for the high-yield, or junk, bond market, where companies withpoor credit ratings turn for finance.

　　而這對于高利債券、或垃圾債券市場來說，無疑是個好消息，那些信用評級差的公司通常通過這種方式融資。

　　Many companies can now borrow at rates that governments would have been pleased toachieve two decades ago.

　　現在，許多公司可以以各國政府二十年前喜聞樂見的利率獲得投資。

　　Indeed, so low have borrowing costs fallen that some wags have dubbed the market theasset class formerly known as high-yield.

　　誠然，借貸成本降至如此之低，甚至有人將其戲稱為前高利債券。

　　Until the hiatus related to the budget crisis inAmerica, companies were rushing to takeadvantage of this financing opportunity.

　　直到此次美債違約，各家公司紛紛借助這股東風融資。

　　In the first nine months of the year global high-yield-bond issuance reached 378.2 billion,up by 27% on the same period in 2023, according to Dealogic, a financial-data firm. Sprint,

　　據金融數據公司迪羅基稱，今年前九個月發現的高利債券達到了3782億美元，同比增長27%。

　　an American telecoms company, raised 6.5 billion in two simultaneous bond issues, thelargest-ever junk financing.

　　美國電信公司Sprint通過同步發行債券籌集到了65億美元，這也是迄今為止最大的垃圾融資。

　　Low rates will not last forever, so companies are keen to take advantage of what might bean historic opportunity.

　　低利率不會持續太久，公司自然不會錯過這次千載難逢的機會。

　　And investors have been happy to take the extra yields on offer, given the positive returnsachieved since 2009.

　　鑒于2009年后獲得正收益，投資者也樂意出資獲取額外收益。

　　In America, the modern high-yield-bond market dates back to the 1980s. Until then,high-yield bonds were usually fallen angelscompanies which previously had aninvestment-grade credit rating but had seen their finances suffer.

　　美國現代高利債券起源于上世紀八十年代。在那之前，高利率債券通常都是落難天使此前已獲得投資信用評級的公司都遭遇過財務危機。

　　But Michael Milken and his team at Drexel Burnham Lambert, an investment bank,discovered there was a market for high-yield debt from new issuers, often in connection withcompanies making takeover bids.

　　但是，德瑞債券的邁克爾米爾肯為高利債券發行者發現了新的市場，而這通常和公司收購行動密不可分。

　　The market is now huge.

　　現在，這一市場前景廣闊，

　　A study by Russell, a consultancy, estimated its total size at 1.7 trillion.

　　咨詢公司Russell預計其總需求為1.7萬億。

　　Almost half of all the corporate bonds rated by Standard Poor s are classed asspeculative, a polite term for junk.

　　標普公司發布的信用評級中超過半數公司債券均為投機性債券垃圾債券的委婉說法。

　　Part of this is down to fashion; companies have been urged to return spare cash toshareholders and to make their balance-sheets more efficient by taking advantage of thetax deductibility of interest payments.

　　其中，部分債券已經流于形式，股東撤回公司閑錢，如此便可利用付息債券避稅，從而使得資產負債表更加均衡。

　　Another big boost to the market has been the broadening of its base beyondAmerica.

　　高利債券膨脹的另一大原因是除美國市場之外，世界其他地區需求增加。

　　According to Fraser Lundie, a high-yield-bond manager at Hermes,America comprised 89%of the market in 1998; now it forms just 57%.Europehas gone from 3% of the market to27%.

　　愛馬仕高利債券經理弗雷澤倫迪表示，1998年美國國內發行的高利債券占全世界的89%，現在降至57%，而歐洲則由當初的3%增至27%。

　　The rise of high-yield bonds has been handy for European companies in the wake of thefinancial crisis, as many banks have been seeking to shrink their balance-sheets, and havebeen less willing to offer loans.

　　隨著金融危機的爆發，高利債券發行量的增長對歐洲公司來說也極為便利，因為銀行都減少貸款，平衡資產負債表。

　　Historically, European companies have been much more dependent on bank finance thantheir American counterparts.

　　從歷史觀點上說，相對于美國公司，歐洲公司對銀行的依賴更強。

　　They also used to be warier of seeing their bonds classed as junk.

　　過去，歐洲公司甚至害怕其債券被評為垃圾級。

　　Low rates have been good for the market in another way.

　　從另一個層面來說，低利率對市場有利。

　　They have enabled companies to refinance their debt cheaply, and so pushed back thenettlesome day when their finances will be squeezed by higher borrowing costs.

　　因為這樣公司可以以低成本獲得再融資，當初借貸成本高不說，還很難獲得通過，簡直苦不堪言。

　　A few years ago there was a worry that a lot of debt would need to be refinanced in 2023 and2023; now the refinancing hump will not come until 2023 and 2023.

　　幾年前，人們擔心過多債務會導致2023年、2023年時需要再融資;現在，在2023年、2023年之前再融資峰值是不會出現的。

　　A long period of cheap finance makes it less likely that issuers will be forced to default in theshort term, and the reduced likelihood of default makes it more attractive for investors tohold bonds.

　　長期的低成本融資讓債券發行方短期內違約的可能性大大降低，違約可能性的降低又會吸引更多投資者持有債券。

　　In the wake of Lehman s collapse, the spread on junk bonds rose so far that it implieddefault on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

　　隨著雷曼兄弟的破產，垃圾債券的差額大幅增長，這也就導致了大蕭條后前所危機的違約浪潮。

　　But after a brief spike to 13.7% in 2009, the default rate on global high-yield bondsdropped steadily and was just 2.8% in September, according to Moody s, another ratingsagency.

　　但是，據評級公司穆迪稱，2009年13.7%的違約高峰很快便平息;今年九月，全球高利率債券違約率僅為2.8%。

　　But not all is sunny in the high-yield world.

　　但是，高利債券市場并非總是風平浪靜。

　　Although the market has doubled or tripled in size since 2008, liquidity has diminished.

　　盡管自2008年后高利債券市場規模已經增至原來的兩至三倍，債券的流動性卻降低了。

　　Regulatory restrictions mean that banks no longer hold as much inventory in the form ofbonds; since 2002, there has been a decline of almost three-quarters.

　　監管限制讓銀行無法繼續像以前那樣持有太多債券形式的存貨。自2002年來，銀行所持債券已經減少了75%。

　　PIMCO, a huge bond-fund manager, said in a recent report, We see reduced liquidity as animportant secular trend. It is an unintended consequence of the deleveraging andre-regulation of banks globally. It will result in higher volatility in times of stress.

　　近期，太平洋投資管理公司發布的一篇報道稱，我們認為流動性的降低將會是一個重要的長期趨勢，這是全球銀行重新平衡、管理的副作用。

　　In other words, if investors ever lose their current enthusiasm for high-yield bonds, theywill find it much harder, and probably costlier, to offload them.

　　換句話說，如果投資者對高利債券的熱情降低，他們便會發現想要拋售這些債券將會更加困難、或許還會付出更高代價。

　　Meanwhile, the growing enthusiasm for high-yield bonds is likely to diminish the returnsthey offer.

　　與此同時，隨著人們對高利債券愈發熱衷，其回報率也會相應降低。

　　In the past investors typically bought junk bonds at a discount to their face value; theyhoped that the profits on bonds that were repaid at maturity would offset the losses on thefew issuers that defaulted.

　　過去，投資者都是以折扣價買入垃圾債券，他們希望債券到期的收益能夠抵消部分違約發行者帶來的損失。

　　Yet in May this year the average price of a high-yield bond reached 6% above face value,according to Mr Lundie.

　　然而，據倫迪數據顯示今年五月高利債券的平均價格超過了其面值的6%。

　　Holding a bond until maturity will thus result in a capital loss, although investors may stillprofit from interest.

　　盡管投資者仍可從利息中獲利，但持有高利債券直至到期將會造成一定資本損失。

　　Worse, many bondsperhaps two-thirds or three-quarters of the markethave a call optionattached to them that allows the issuer to repay the debt if it reaches a certain price.

　　更糟糕的是許多債券可能2/3或3/4的現行債券都有看漲期權，如果債券達到一定價格，發行方可以償還債務。

　　That allows issuers to take advantage of growing optimism about their prospects toreissue bonds at lower interest.

　　這也就使得發行方可以利用投資者不斷高漲的樂觀情緒，以更低的利率發行債券。

　　Such call options skew the risk-reward trade-off.

　　看漲期權讓風險報酬交易失去了平衡。

　　If a bond gets close to the callable price, it is unlikely to rise much further: who would bid110 cents for a bond that can be redeemed at 104?

　　如果某個債券接近可贖回價格，其價格也就不大可能會繼續漲了：誰會愿意花110美分購買104美分就可以贖回的債券呢?

　　On the other hand, if the company hits hard times, the bond could fall quite sharply in price.So investors face a limited upside and a big downside.

　　另一方面，如果市場蕭條，債券價格便會一落千丈。因此，對投資者來說此事弊大于利。

　　That has tended to push investors towards ever riskier assets, such as CCC-rated bondsthelowest category excluding those issuers that have already defaulted.

　　這回讓投資者轉向風險更大的債券，比如除違約債券以外的最低評級債券，CCC級債券。

　　David Newman of Rogge Global Partners, a fund-management firm, reckons that such bondsare now probably overpriced, given the risks involved.

　　來自資金管理公司Rogge Global Partners的大衛紐曼認為考慮到風險因素，這類債券目前可能定價過高。

　　It is in the nature of the bond markets that, when conditions are good, investors get morerelaxed about credit quality.

　　債券市場的特性是當市場環境良好，投資者便會對信用質量更加放心。

　　Some observers think that the risks of high-yield bonds are being systematicallyunderestimated.

　　部分觀察人士認為，高利債券的風險被普遍低估。

　　The spreads paid by high-yield issuers are low relative to the historical average, althoughthey are more than sufficient to compensate investors given the low level of defaults.

　　盡管，考慮到低違約率，債券發行方更加確信可以讓投資者收到回報;但是，同歷史平均水平相比，現在高利債券發行方所付的利率更低。

　　If central banks start raising interest rates to deal with a resurgence of inflation, or if theglobal economy slips back into recession, junk-bond investors may suffer a nasty shock.But for the moment they are enjoying the ride.

　　如果央行為了規避通脹而開始提高利率，或者全球經濟再度陷入蕭條，垃圾債券投資者或許會損失慘重。但是，現在他們正享。

　　詞語解釋

　　1.in search of 尋找

　　In search of more useful forecasts, I went to themet office website.

　　為了尋找更多有用的預測，我登陸了英國氣象局網站。

　　Mr zhao is also prepared to be flexible in search ofreturns.

　　趙先生也做好為尋求收益而制定靈活政策的準備。

　　2.please to 高興做

　　Please to place it here.

　　請把它放在這兒。

　　Please to hear the success of the exhibition.

　　很高興聽到展覽會很成功的消息。

　　3.rush to 急速去;奔;奔赴

　　Nor did governments rush to proclaim their educational duty.

　　但是政府并不急于表明他們的教育責任。

　　Some worry that graduates would rush to declare bankruptcy, handing losses to taxpayers.

　　有人擔心，畢業生會匆忙宣告破產，讓納稅人來承擔損失。

　　4.keen to 熱衷于

　　I was keen to develop so-called masculine skills.

　　我熱衷于開發所謂的男性的技能。

　　Western companies are keen to tap this growth.

　　西方藥企熱衷于培育這一增長。