希臘償債能力遭質疑 全球市場重挫

Stock prices plunged on many global markets Monday as investors worried that Greece might not be able to repay the loans used to rescue its troubled economy.

由於投資人擔心希臘可能無力償還爲了挽救經濟困境而欠下的貸款，星期一全世界許多股票市場暴跌。

While Greece is not a particularly large economy, it has borrowed such large sums that a default might send a wave of damage through banks in many other nations.

儘管希臘本身並不是一個特別大型的經濟體，它所借貸的款額卻是龐大，一旦違約，可能波及許多國家的銀行，造成一波巨大的損失。

The turmoil on world markets grows out of fear that Greece might be unable to pay back some large loans, and those worries grew after a German official said a default could not be ruled out.

世界股票市場的不安，原因出自投資人擔心希臘無法償還一些鉅額貸款。這股憂慮在德國政府官員說希臘的債務違約並非不可能之後，更爲升高。

Foreign banks that have made billions of dollars worth of loans to Greece could be badly hurt by a default, and many of those banks are in France. French bank and government officials tried to reassure markets that they have sufficient money to cover any expected losses.

向希臘政府放貸數十億計鉅款的外國銀行，可能因爲發生違約受害嚴重。這些銀行多半在法國。法國銀行界和政府的官員一再設法向市場擔保，他們有足夠的資金來補救任何預計的損失。

But investors are apparently still worried that a Greek default might hurt French banks so badly that the French institutions would struggle to repay loans they hold from banks around the world, including the United States. A report that a key rating agency might downgrade some French banks further heightened the concerns.

但是，投資人顯然還在憂慮，如果希臘違約，可能嚴重傷害法國的銀行，以至這些法國金融機構在償還包括美國的銀行在內的世界其它地區銀行的貸款方面有一定困難。有一項報導指出，一家主要債信評級機構可能將法國銀行的信用下調。這項報導更助長了市場的擔憂。

One economic expert, New York University Professor Neil Barofsky, says the markets may be in turmoil for a while.

紐約大學教授、經濟問題專家巴洛夫斯基說，市場可能會有一陣的動盪不安。

"You will continue to see this real crisis of confidence, continued concern. In a way it is a little bit like 2008, nobody is sure exactly what is going to happen if these dominoes start to fall. And I think it is kind of a scary place right now," Barofsky said.

他在彭博金融電視的金融新聞節目上說：“你將繼續看見這種真正的信心危機，和繼續不斷的憂慮。在某方面，它有點像2008年的情況，如果多米諾骨牌開始倒下，沒有人確實知道下一步會發生什麼。我覺得現在人們已經處於恐懼之中了。”

Barofsky spoke on the Bloomberg financial news ce, Germany, France and 14 other nations share the euro currency, and that ties their economies, strengths and problems all together.

希臘、德國、法國和其它14個國家同屬歐元體系。這把他們的經濟、實力以及遭遇的困難，都緊緊地綁在一起。

That is one reason Greek problems are raising concern about the financial soundness of the eurozone's third and fourth-largest economies, Italy and Spain.

這就是希臘的問題引起各方關切歐元地區第三和第四大經濟體意大利和西班牙的財務結構是否健全的一個原因。

The head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, urged Greece to meet its obligations and ease the crisis.

歐洲中央銀行總裁特里謝呼籲希臘履行它的義務，並緩和這次危機。

He also tried to reassure investors that the global economy is not headed back into recession.

他同時設法向投資人重申保證，全球經濟不會再度衰退。

"We do not see a recession, in the cards, not at all. But we see a slowing down in comparison with what had been observed in the recent period," Trichet said.

特里謝說：“我們並不認爲會出現衰退，完全不可能。但是我們看到目前的經濟與不久前的時期比，有趨於遲緩的現象。”

Trichet spoke Monday, after meeting with central bankers from around the world. He said central banks are ready to take further actions to bolster the economy.

特里謝在與世界各國中央銀行負責人會談之後，發表上述談話。他說，各國中央銀行都準備好以更進一步的行動，來振興經濟。