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The federal reserve had plenty to fret about as it prepared to discuss policy interest rates on September 17th and 18th.
當美聯儲準備在9月17日和18日討論政策利率時，它有很多事情要擔心。
Trade tensions and wilting global growth have seen businesses cut back investment in the second quarter of the year.
貿易緊張和萎靡的全球經濟增長導致企業削減了今年第二季度的投資。
In manufacturing, production and capacity utilisation have been falling since the end of 2018.
自2018年底以來， 制造業的生產和設備使用率一直在下降。
Though the Fed has described jobs growth as "solid", some analysts worry that the labour market is wobbling.
雖然美聯儲稱就業增長“穩健”，但一些分析家擔心勞動力市場動蕩不安。
As expected, these concerns prompted the central bank to lower rates for the second time this year,
果然，這些擔憂促使中央銀行今年第二次降息
by 0.25 percentage points, to a target of 1.75-2%. But the meeting was overshadowed by turmoil in money markets.
0.25個百分點至1.75-2%的目標。但貨幣市場的動蕩給這次會議蒙上了陰影。
On September 17th, for the first time in a decade, the Fed injected cash into the short-term money market.
9月17日，美聯儲十年內首次向短期貨幣市場注入資金。
The intervention was needed after the federal funds rate, at which banks can borrow from each other, climbed above the Fed's target.
在聯邦基金利率（銀行間拆借利率）攀升至美聯儲目標之上后，干預是有必要的。
It rose as the "repo" rate—the price at which high-quality securities
隨著“回購”率—高質量證券
such as American government bonds can be temporarily swapped for cash—hit an intra-day peak of over 10%.
如美國政府債券暫時可換取現金的價格—超過單日高點的10%時，利率上漲。
On September 17th the Fed offered $75bn-worth of overnight funding, of which banks took up $53bn.
9月17日，美聯儲提供了750億美元的隔夜資金，其中銀行拿走了530億美元。
The following two days it again offered $75bn-worth. Banks gobbled it up.
接下來的兩天，美聯儲再次提供了750億美元。銀行將其吞入。
That sent shivers down spines. A spiking repo rate was an early warning sign before the financial crisis.
這讓人毛骨悚然。回購利率飆升是金融危機前的一個早期預警信號。
In 2007, as market participants began to doubt the quality of collateral backed by mortgage lending, repo rates jumped as lenders hoarded cash.
2007年，由于市場參與者開始懷疑由抵押貸款支持的抵押品的質量，回購利率隨著銀行囤積現金而飆升。
The latest jump was unlikely to have been caused by such doubts.
最近一次暴漲不太可能是由這些疑慮引起的。
Most collateral is now high-quality American Treasury bonds or bills. Even so, there are reasons to worry.
現在大多數抵押品都是高質量的美國國債或票據。即便如此，還是有理由擔憂。
America's banks and companies seem to be short of cash. And during the turmoil the repo rate stopped tracking the federal funds rate.
美國銀行和公司似乎缺錢。并且在市場動蕩期間，回購利率不再跟隨聯邦基金利率。
This link is the main way monetary policy influences the economy.
這種聯系是貨幣政策影響經濟的主要方式。
A gap opening between the two deprives the Fed of its most important policy tool.
兩者之間的差距剝奪了美聯儲最重要的政策工具。
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