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Leaders
來源于《社論》版塊
Masters of the universe
宇宙主宰者
Forget Gordon Gekko. Computers increasingly call the shots in financial markets
忘記葛登·蓋柯。越來越多在金融市場上發號施令的是計算機
The job of capital markets is to process information so that savings flow to the best projects and firms. That makes high finance sound simple; in reality it is dynamic and intoxicating. It reflects a changing world. Today’s markets, for instance, are grappling with a trade war and low interest rates. But it also reflects changes within finance, which constantly reinvents itself in a perpetual struggle to gain a competitive edge. As our Briefing reports, the latest revolution is in full swing. Machines are taking control of investing—not just the humdrum buying and selling of securities, but also the commanding heights of monitoring the economy and allocating capital.
資本市場的工作是處理信息，使儲蓄流向最好的項目和公司。這使得高級金融聽起來很簡單；實際上，它是動態的、令人陶醉的。它反映了一個不斷變化的世界。例如，如今的市場正努力應對貿易戰和低利率。但它也反映了金融內部的變化，在不斷的競爭中不斷重塑自己，以獲得競爭優勢。正如簡報所述，最新的革命正在全面展開。機器正在控制投資——不僅僅是單調的證券買賣，也是監管經濟和資本配置的制高點。
Funds run by computers that follow rules set by humans account for 35% of America’s stockmarket, 60% of institutional equity assets and 60% of trading activity. New artificial-intelligence programs are also writing their own investing rules, in ways their human masters only partly understand. Industries from pizza-delivery to Hollywood are being changed by technology, but finance is unique because it can exert voting power over firms, redistribute wealth and cause mayhem in the economy.
由遵循人類規則的計算機運行的基金占美國股市的35%，占機構股票資產的60%，占交易活動的60%。新的人工智能程序也在以人類主人只能部分理解的方式，編寫自己的投資規則。從披薩外賣到好萊塢電影業的各個行業都在被技術所改變，但在金融業是獨一無二的，因為它可以對企業施加投票權、重新分配財富，并在經濟中造成混亂。
Because it deals in huge sums, finance has always had the cash to adopt breakthroughs early. The first transatlantic cable, completed in 1866, carried cotton prices between Liverpool and New York. Wall Street analysts were early devotees of spreadsheet software, such as Excel, in the 1980s. Since then, computers have conquered swathes of the financial industry. First to go was the chore of “executing” buy and sell orders. Visit a trading floor today and you will hear the hum of servers, not the roar of traders. High-frequency trading exploits tiny differences in the prices of similar securities, using a barrage of transactions.
由于涉及巨額交易，金融業總是有足夠的資金盡早實現突破。第一條橫跨大西洋的光纜于1866年建成，用來在利物浦和紐約之間傳輸棉花價格。上世紀80年代，華爾街分析師是Excel等電子表格軟件的早期擁護者。從那以后，計算機征服了金融業的大片領域。首先要做的是“執行”買賣訂單。今天去交易大廳，你會聽到服務器的嗡嗡聲，而不是交易員的吼叫聲。高頻交易利用類似證券價格的微小差異，進行大量交易。
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