Asian Markets Higher on US Interest Rate Cuts
投資者擔心或無法防止美經(jīng)濟衰退

　 
Markets posted steady gains in Asia following an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. Earlier this week most Asian stock exchanges plummeted on fears that the U.S. credit crisis is far from over. Investors are still fearful that the Federal Reserve may be running out of options to ward off a U.S. recession.

美國聯(lián)邦儲備委員會宣布降低利率后，亞洲股市呈現(xiàn)平穩(wěn)的漲勢。本星期早些時候，由于擔心美國信貸危機遠遠沒有結(jié)束，大多數(shù)亞洲股市的交易額大幅下滑。目前，投資者仍然擔心美聯(lián)儲可能無法防止美國經(jīng)濟出現(xiàn)衰退。

Japan's Nikkei Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both closed more than two percent higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. Most other Asian markets rose by similar amounts.

美國聯(lián)邦儲備委員會宣布把基準利率降低0.75個百分點之后，日本的日經(jīng)指數(shù)和香港的恒生指數(shù)在星期二收盤時的漲幅都超過了2%。亞洲其他股市也呈現(xiàn)類似的上揚。

Although the cut was less than many investors had expected, it still sparked a rally on Wall Street. Stronger-than-expected earnings from two U.S. investment banks also encouraged investors to buy stocks.

盡管美聯(lián)儲這次降息的幅度小于很多投資者的預期，但仍然刺激華爾街股市大漲。另外，兩家美國投資銀行的收益超過預期，也促使投資者買進股票。

The Fed's rate reduction follows emergency measures in recent days to ease the liquidity crisis in credit markets.

美聯(lián)儲在宣布降息之前，幾天來已經(jīng)采取了一些緊急措施，以緩解信貸市場的資金流動危機。

Michael Spencer is the chief Asia economist for Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. He says concerns are still rampant that the Fed may not be able to do enough to avoid a U.S. recession.

德意志銀行香港分行的首席亞洲經(jīng)濟學家斯賓塞說，人們?nèi)匀环浅�擔心美�?lián)儲或許無法采取足夠的措施來防止美國經(jīng)濟出現(xiàn)衰退。

"But I think it's important to understand that what the Fed is doing at the moment is much less around trying to shore up growth and more trying to take out the … risk for the U.S. economy that would come from a broader systemic crisis within the U.S. financial system," he said.

他說：“我認為有一點很重要，這就是要知道美聯(lián)儲目前采取措施的主要目的并非試圖維持經(jīng)濟增長，而是試圖從美國經(jīng)濟中消除某種危險因素，而這種因素是來自美國金融體系內(nèi)部的一場更廣泛的系統(tǒng)危機。”

Spencer says he expects the Fed to further reduce interest rates by around 25 to 50 basis points. But he says that in addition to the U.S. credit crisis, the Federal Reserve governors are now concerned about other economic challenges.

斯賓塞說，他預計美聯(lián)儲將進一步把基準利率降低0.25到0.5個百分點。但他表示，除了美國信貸危機之外，美聯(lián)儲的主管們目前還為其他經(jīng)濟挑戰(zhàn)感到憂慮。

"It does appear from the statement last night that the Fed is beginning to get a little more worried about inflation and that may lead them to cut rates a little bit less aggressively over the next few meetings than what we ere expecting," he said.

他說：“從昨天晚上的聲明來看，美聯(lián)儲似乎的確開始更擔心出現(xiàn)通貨膨脹，因此他們在舉行下幾次會議的時候，決定降息的幅度就可能比我們預期的要小。”

Low interest rates can worsen inflation because companies and consumers are willing to spend more and take on more debt when rates are low. To counter rising prices, central banks typically raise interest rates, which discourages spending and borrowing, and can help push a weak economy into recession.

The cut in U.S. interest rates helped lift the dollar. It was trading at 99.24 yen in Wednesday afternoon trading, well above a 13-year low earlier this week. Commodity prices also fell on Wednesday, with gold hitting a low of $980.80 an ounce, down from more than $1,030 on Monday, and oil fell one dollar to around $108 a barrel.

美國降低利率加強了美元的地位。在星期三的午后交易中，美國對日元的匯率是99點24日元兌換一美元，大大高于本星期早些時候出現(xiàn)的13年來的最低點。大宗商品價格在星期三也有所下降。黃金價格達到每盎司980美元80美分的低點，而星期一每盎司黃金售價超過1030美元。另外，石油價格下跌一美元，每桶價格為大約108美元。

The banking system woes in the U.S. are largely the result of the sub-prime mortgage collapse. Sub-prime mortgages were made to homebuyers with poor credit records, and many of them now are struggling to pay their debts because interest rates rose and property prices fell.

Despite the steadier financial markets Wednesday, Asia's largest economy, Japan, faced a new challenge. The parliament rejected the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's latest nominee to replace the previous governor of the Bank of Japan, leaving the job vacant.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has been struggling to avoid a vacancy at the BOJ at a time when global markets are in turmoil. But many financial analysts think the stalemate is not likely to significantly affect global markets.