WHEN the going gets tough, the tough buy Swiss francs. That was true in the 1970s, when the Swiss were forced to impose negative interest rates on foreign depositors. And it has been true in recent years, with Switzerland’s currency rising by 43% against the euro between the start of 2010 and mid-August this year.
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【notes】 1. when the going gets tough, 是一句習語，常用于經濟類報道的開頭，泛指情形變得艱難。此處“情形”可以是歐洲經濟體，也可以指美國、日本、中國等世界各國，going所指也不限于經濟。 2.the tough buy Swiss francs 中the tough（堅定的，不屈不饒的）作為主語，指的是堅定的投資者。瑞郎因其一直以來硬通貨的特性，在相當長的一段時間內被視為“避風港貨幣”、“投資者的庇護神”。 【擴展閱讀】①硬通貨（Hard currency/ strong currency）是指某種在全球范圍交易的貨幣，其可以作為可靠且穩定的貯藏手段。保證一種貨幣足夠“硬”的因素有多種，其中包括政治穩定，低通貨膨脹，穩定的貨幣政策和財政政策，有足夠的貴金屬儲備支持以及同其他貨幣相比長期保持穩定或攀升。而瑞士法郎正具有以上特征，其貨幣依托有40%的黃金儲備。 ②儲蓄負利率（negative interest rates）分為實際負利率和名義負利率兩種。實際負利率是指銀行掛牌的儲蓄存款利率（即名義利率）低于物價上漲率（通脹率）。實際負利率在當今的經濟體中十分常見，自2010年2月開始，我國實際負利率已持續近20個月。而文中是指名義負利率，查詢資料后我們獲悉瑞士政府為限制外資大量涌入本國，曾決定對非本國居民在瑞士的瑞士法郎存款倒收12%的年負利率。（正印證了文中That was true in the 1970s, when the Swiss were forced to impose negative interest rates on foreign depositors.的說法） |
【Para 2】The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has decreed that it will target an exchange rate of SFr1.20 to the euro, a policy that it will apply with “the utmost determination” by being “prepared to purchase foreign exchange in unlimited quantities”. The announcement had its intended result, driving down the franc by 8.2% within minutes to the targeted level (see article ). Central banks have much greater scope to push down their currencies than they do to prop them up; whereas the Bank of England had to deplete its foreign-exchange reserves defending the pound in 1992, the Swiss can create francs without limit.
| 【notes】1. decree vt.頒布（法令）n. 法令 和之后的 a policy that…呼應 其中that引導的是policy的同位語從句，解釋policy（法令）的具體內容 2．Central banks have much greater scope to push down their currencies than they do to prop them up; whereas the Bank of England had to deplete its foreign-exchange reserves defending the pound in 1992, the Swiss can create francs without limit. 前句揭示了一條公理“各國中央銀行都是壓低本國貨幣（即抑制本國貨幣升值）的空間比抬高貨幣（即阻止本國貨幣貶值）的空間要大得多”，而后一句遞進舉了兩個對立的例子：英格蘭銀行在1992年通過耗盡、大幅甩賣外匯儲備來捍衛英鎊，這對應前句中一國中央銀行抬高本國貨幣，而第二個例子，現在瑞士國家銀行可以無限制發行瑞郎來抑制瑞郎通脹，對應前句中一國中央銀行壓低本國貨幣，英國銀行不得不耗盡外匯儲備的艱難和瑞士國家銀行無限制發行貨幣的輕松形成鮮明對比，印證了“Central banks have much greater scope to push down their currencies than they do to prop them up”的結論。 【擴展閱讀】追溯1992年發生的往事: 【1992年索羅斯成功狙擊英鎊】 |