World s worst menu

　　世上最爛賬單

　　Greece has no good options left

　　希臘沒(méi)有好牌可打

　　VIENNAS glories are largely faded but its name is being mentioned with increasing frequencyby the euro areas policymakers. The Vienna initiative was a plan, drawn up in 2009, thathalted the rot of financial contagion spreading through central and eastern Europe. Foreignbanks pledged not to cut their exposures to the region and run. It is now being discussed as apossible model for resolving Greeces sovereign-debt crisis.

　　維也納的榮耀已經(jīng)基本上消磨殆盡，但是它的名字卻在近期被歐元區(qū)的決策者們屢次提起。 維也納倡議是一項(xiàng)于2009年制定的計(jì)劃，這個(gè)計(jì)劃的目的在于阻止金融危機(jī)向歐洲中部及東部蔓延。外資銀行承諾不會(huì)減少在該地區(qū)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)敞口并就此撤離該地區(qū)。現(xiàn)在，這一計(jì)劃可能成為解決希臘主權(quán)債務(wù)危機(jī)的方法。

　　The need to come up with a new plan for Greece is mounting. On May 20th Fitch, a ratingsagency, cut the countrys debt rating by another three notches. Yields on Greek ten-year bondsthis week reached 16.8%, more than twice what they were a year ago. With the markets shyingaway, the country will not be able to borrow afresh next year, as had originally been hopedwhen the country was first bailed out in May 2010. The IMFs latest review is due out in June; itis likely to praise Greece for its progress so far but also to fret about how next years numbersadd up.

　　對(duì)于希臘來(lái)說(shuō)，一個(gè)全新的計(jì)劃亟待上馬。5月 20日，惠譽(yù)國(guó)際信用評(píng)級(jí)有限公司將希臘的債務(wù)評(píng)級(jí)再次降低三級(jí)。本周希臘十年期國(guó)債的收益率達(dá)到16.8%，比起一年前提高了兩倍有余。隨著市場(chǎng)回避，希臘在下一年也不能重新借款，這使得2010年5月希臘首次被金融保釋時(shí)的最初的希望灰飛煙滅。國(guó)際貨幣金融組織最新的報(bào)告于六月新鮮出爐，這份報(bào)告很可能稱贊希臘目前的進(jìn)展情況，同時(shí)也會(huì)對(duì)明年數(shù)字的累加表示憂慮。

　　The Greek government is playing what few cards itstill has. On May 23rd it announced plans to speedup the sale of state-owned assets, including itstelephone company, post office and ports. Underpressure from its neighbours and the fund it hopesto raise ?50 billion from privatisations.Asset sales are an attractive way of cleaning up thepublic balance-sheet without doing anything thatfurther chokes demand. There are, however, doubtsthat Greece can realise its ambitions, partly becausethe absence of a land registry means that thegovernment may not have clear legal title to all of the things it wants to sell, partly because it isnot clear what price they could fetch, and partly because privatisation arouses politicalopposition at home.

　　希臘政府能打的牌已經(jīng)所剩無(wú)幾。5月23日，希臘政府宣布計(jì)劃加速包括電話公司、郵局和港口在內(nèi)的國(guó)有資產(chǎn)的出售。處于鄰國(guó)和本國(guó)資金的雙重壓力下，希臘政府希望通過(guò)私有化募集500億歐元。對(duì)于清理公共的資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表來(lái)說(shuō)，國(guó)有資產(chǎn)出售是一個(gè)極具魅力的方式，因?yàn)樗粫?huì)在遠(yuǎn)期阻礙需求的增長(zhǎng)。然而，仍然有人質(zhì)疑希臘能不能達(dá)成目標(biāo)，一部分原因是由于希臘沒(méi)有地政局，這就意味著政府對(duì)于自己所想賣的一些資產(chǎn)不具備清晰的法律權(quán)利;另一部分原因是由于希臘并沒(méi)有對(duì)出售的資產(chǎn)明碼標(biāo)價(jià);還有一部分原因是由于私有化引起了國(guó)內(nèi)政治反對(duì)派的反對(duì)。

　　In any case, sell-offs will not happen quickly enough to bridge the financing gap in 2023. Thatleaves Europe facing a range of unpalatable options . No European policymakerseems willing to countenance a serious haircut on Greek debt yet, for fear that it underminesconfidence elsewhere. And no European politician wants to be seen giving more taxpayersmoney to the Greeks without getting something back.

　　無(wú)論如何，再快的開(kāi)始拋售也不能填滿2023年的財(cái)政缺口。這讓歐洲面臨一系列令人不快的選擇。歐洲政策制定者們目前似乎都不鼓勵(lì)大量削減希臘的債務(wù)，他們害怕這回造成其他地方的信心逐漸喪失。同樣的，歐洲政治家們也不想在沒(méi)有得到回報(bào)的情況下付出更多納稅人的金錢給希臘。

　　Another option is a reprofiling, whereby creditors agree to a voluntary extension of thematurity of their bonds. That would not sort out Greeces financesit might reduce the netpresent value of Greek debt by up to 20-25%but it would keep the country away from themarkets for a while. But the ratings agencies have said that such a soft restructuring, or eventhe buyback and cancellation of outstanding bonds , would count as a default and lead to further cuts in Greeces rating. That makes itunacceptable to the European Central Bank , whose opposition to any form of debtrestructuring borders on the pathological.

　　另一個(gè)方法就是重新評(píng)級(jí)，債權(quán)人以此自愿同意延長(zhǎng)債券的到期日。這一方法不會(huì)理清希臘的財(cái)政狀況，這可能減少希臘債務(wù)凈現(xiàn)值的20%到25%，但是它會(huì)使得希臘原理市場(chǎng)一段時(shí)間。然而，評(píng)級(jí)機(jī)構(gòu)已經(jīng)指出：軟重組或者說(shuō)重新購(gòu)回或者取消未償還債券稱之為隱性重組)，會(huì)被算作不履行義務(wù)的表現(xiàn)，并且會(huì)造成希臘評(píng)級(jí)的進(jìn)一步下降。這使得該方案很難被歐洲中央銀行接受，因?yàn)镋CB反對(duì)任何形式的近乎不理智的債務(wù)重組。

　　Hence the interest in a second Vienna initiative, whereby Greeces existing creditors wouldband together and agree to roll over their exposures to Greek debt when they fall due. Thatwould give Greece more time to fix its finances, might keep the ratings agencies at bay, andperhaps even satisfy the ECB. But it would do nothing to reduce Greeces debt burden andwould be hugely difficult to co-ordinate. Bondholders are harder to marshal than bank lenders.And Europe seems unable to get any message straight. At every meeting we say that we haveto get communication right, says a euro-area minister. And then someone talks after themeeting.

　　因此人們對(duì)維也納倡議再次燃起了興趣，希臘現(xiàn)有債權(quán)人會(huì)以此結(jié)合起來(lái)并同意在希臘債券到期時(shí)延緩付款。這會(huì)給希臘在恢復(fù)財(cái)政狀況上以喘息之機(jī)，并且可能使評(píng)級(jí)機(jī)構(gòu)進(jìn)退兩難，甚至可能讓歐洲中央銀行滿意這一結(jié)果。但是這不會(huì)減少希臘的債務(wù)負(fù)擔(dān)，同時(shí)這一計(jì)劃非常難以協(xié)調(diào)。比起銀行領(lǐng)導(dǎo)來(lái)，債券持有人更難匯聚一堂。并且歐洲似乎不能直接得到任何信息。某歐元區(qū)部長(zhǎng)表示：每次會(huì)議我們都說(shuō)要真誠(chéng)交流，然后總有人都在會(huì)后發(fā)言。

　　World s worst menu

　　世上最爛賬單

　　Greece has no good options left

　　希臘沒(méi)有好牌可打

　　VIENNAS glories are largely faded but its name is being mentioned with increasing frequencyby the euro areas policymakers. The Vienna initiative was a plan, drawn up in 2009, thathalted the rot of financial contagion spreading through central and eastern Europe. Foreignbanks pledged not to cut their exposures to the region and run. It is now being discussed as apossible model for resolving Greeces sovereign-debt crisis.

　　維也納的榮耀已經(jīng)基本上消磨殆盡，但是它的名字卻在近期被歐元區(qū)的決策者們屢次提起。 維也納倡議是一項(xiàng)于2009年制定的計(jì)劃，這個(gè)計(jì)劃的目的在于阻止金融危機(jī)向歐洲中部及東部蔓延。外資銀行承諾不會(huì)減少在該地區(qū)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)敞口并就此撤離該地區(qū)。現(xiàn)在，這一計(jì)劃可能成為解決希臘主權(quán)債務(wù)危機(jī)的方法。

　　The need to come up with a new plan for Greece is mounting. On May 20th Fitch, a ratingsagency, cut the countrys debt rating by another three notches. Yields on Greek ten-year bondsthis week reached 16.8%, more than twice what they were a year ago. With the markets shyingaway, the country will not be able to borrow afresh next year, as had originally been hopedwhen the country was first bailed out in May 2010. The IMFs latest review is due out in June; itis likely to praise Greece for its progress so far but also to fret about how next years numbersadd up.

　　對(duì)于希臘來(lái)說(shuō)，一個(gè)全新的計(jì)劃亟待上馬。5月 20日，惠譽(yù)國(guó)際信用評(píng)級(jí)有限公司將希臘的債務(wù)評(píng)級(jí)再次降低三級(jí)。本周希臘十年期國(guó)債的收益率達(dá)到16.8%，比起一年前提高了兩倍有余。隨著市場(chǎng)回避，希臘在下一年也不能重新借款，這使得2010年5月希臘首次被金融保釋時(shí)的最初的希望灰飛煙滅。國(guó)際貨幣金融組織最新的報(bào)告于六月新鮮出爐，這份報(bào)告很可能稱贊希臘目前的進(jìn)展情況，同時(shí)也會(huì)對(duì)明年數(shù)字的累加表示憂慮。

　　The Greek government is playing what few cards itstill has. On May 23rd it announced plans to speedup the sale of state-owned assets, including itstelephone company, post office and ports. Underpressure from its neighbours and the fund it hopesto raise ?50 billion from privatisations.Asset sales are an attractive way of cleaning up thepublic balance-sheet without doing anything thatfurther chokes demand. There are, however, doubtsthat Greece can realise its ambitions, partly becausethe absence of a land registry means that thegovernment may not have clear legal title to all of the things it wants to sell, partly because it isnot clear what price they could fetch, and partly because privatisation arouses politicalopposition at home.

　　希臘政府能打的牌已經(jīng)所剩無(wú)幾。5月23日，希臘政府宣布計(jì)劃加速包括電話公司、郵局和港口在內(nèi)的國(guó)有資產(chǎn)的出售。處于鄰國(guó)和本國(guó)資金的雙重壓力下，希臘政府希望通過(guò)私有化募集500億歐元。對(duì)于清理公共的資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表來(lái)說(shuō)，國(guó)有資產(chǎn)出售是一個(gè)極具魅力的方式，因?yàn)樗粫?huì)在遠(yuǎn)期阻礙需求的增長(zhǎng)。然而，仍然有人質(zhì)疑希臘能不能達(dá)成目標(biāo)，一部分原因是由于希臘沒(méi)有地政局，這就意味著政府對(duì)于自己所想賣的一些資產(chǎn)不具備清晰的法律權(quán)利;另一部分原因是由于希臘并沒(méi)有對(duì)出售的資產(chǎn)明碼標(biāo)價(jià);還有一部分原因是由于私有化引起了國(guó)內(nèi)政治反對(duì)派的反對(duì)。

　　In any case, sell-offs will not happen quickly enough to bridge the financing gap in 2023. Thatleaves Europe facing a range of unpalatable options . No European policymakerseems willing to countenance a serious haircut on Greek debt yet, for fear that it underminesconfidence elsewhere. And no European politician wants to be seen giving more taxpayersmoney to the Greeks without getting something back.

　　無(wú)論如何，再快的開(kāi)始拋售也不能填滿2023年的財(cái)政缺口。這讓歐洲面臨一系列令人不快的選擇。歐洲政策制定者們目前似乎都不鼓勵(lì)大量削減希臘的債務(wù)，他們害怕這回造成其他地方的信心逐漸喪失。同樣的，歐洲政治家們也不想在沒(méi)有得到回報(bào)的情況下付出更多納稅人的金錢給希臘。

　　Another option is a reprofiling, whereby creditors agree to a voluntary extension of thematurity of their bonds. That would not sort out Greeces financesit might reduce the netpresent value of Greek debt by up to 20-25%but it would keep the country away from themarkets for a while. But the ratings agencies have said that such a soft restructuring, or eventhe buyback and cancellation of outstanding bonds , would count as a default and lead to further cuts in Greeces rating. That makes itunacceptable to the European Central Bank , whose opposition to any form of debtrestructuring borders on the pathological.

　　另一個(gè)方法就是重新評(píng)級(jí)，債權(quán)人以此自愿同意延長(zhǎng)債券的到期日。這一方法不會(huì)理清希臘的財(cái)政狀況，這可能減少希臘債務(wù)凈現(xiàn)值的20%到25%，但是它會(huì)使得希臘原理市場(chǎng)一段時(shí)間。然而，評(píng)級(jí)機(jī)構(gòu)已經(jīng)指出：軟重組或者說(shuō)重新購(gòu)回或者取消未償還債券稱之為隱性重組)，會(huì)被算作不履行義務(wù)的表現(xiàn)，并且會(huì)造成希臘評(píng)級(jí)的進(jìn)一步下降。這使得該方案很難被歐洲中央銀行接受，因?yàn)镋CB反對(duì)任何形式的近乎不理智的債務(wù)重組。

　　Hence the interest in a second Vienna initiative, whereby Greeces existing creditors wouldband together and agree to roll over their exposures to Greek debt when they fall due. Thatwould give Greece more time to fix its finances, might keep the ratings agencies at bay, andperhaps even satisfy the ECB. But it would do nothing to reduce Greeces debt burden andwould be hugely difficult to co-ordinate. Bondholders are harder to marshal than bank lenders.And Europe seems unable to get any message straight. At every meeting we say that we haveto get communication right, says a euro-area minister. And then someone talks after themeeting.

　　因此人們對(duì)維也納倡議再次燃起了興趣，希臘現(xiàn)有債權(quán)人會(huì)以此結(jié)合起來(lái)并同意在希臘債券到期時(shí)延緩付款。這會(huì)給希臘在恢復(fù)財(cái)政狀況上以喘息之機(jī)，并且可能使評(píng)級(jí)機(jī)構(gòu)進(jìn)退兩難，甚至可能讓歐洲中央銀行滿意這一結(jié)果。但是這不會(huì)減少希臘的債務(wù)負(fù)擔(dān)，同時(shí)這一計(jì)劃非常難以協(xié)調(diào)。比起銀行領(lǐng)導(dǎo)來(lái)，債券持有人更難匯聚一堂。并且歐洲似乎不能直接得到任何信息。某歐元區(qū)部長(zhǎng)表示：每次會(huì)議我們都說(shuō)要真誠(chéng)交流，然后總有人都在會(huì)后發(fā)言。