倫敦金融城像女王一樣長壽
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who was born 90 years ago today, is celebrated as a symbol of continuity in a rapidly changing world. In her lifetime, for example, split-second trading in securities by computers has replaced open outcry dealing by bowler-hatted humans. But it is surprising how much a modern City of London type would recognise if taken back in time.
英國伊麗莎白女王(Queen Elizabeth)今天90大壽。在這個迅速變化的世界中，她被頌爲持續不變的象徵。比如，在她的一生中，電腦執行的瞬時交易取代了頭戴常禮帽的人們在公開嘶吼間完成的交易。然而，如果把當代倫敦金融城(City)的一名典型從業者帶到過去，這個人會驚訝地發現如此多東西都跟今天一樣。
On April 21 1926, financial types were worried by trade barriers, the weakness of the UK steel industry and executive pay. That all sounds familiar, albeit that a controversial bonus pool at the Dunlop Rubber Company amounted to just ￡18,000. Investors might not have had a contentious referendum on EU membership to contend with. But a general strike broke out the following month.
1926年4月21日，金融業人士擔心的是貿易壁壘、英國鋼鐵業的衰弱及高管的薪酬問題。所有這些聽起來都如此熟悉，儘管那時鄧洛普橡膠公司(Dunlop Rubber Company)有爭議的獎金池總共也只有1.8萬英鎊。投資者也許沒有爲了是否留在歐盟(EU)的有爭議公投爭論不休。然而之後一個月就爆發了一場全面罷工。
Contemporary accounts give the lie to the notion that London’s Square Mile was any more representative of British business in the past than it is now. There was hectic trading in foreign securities, ranging from sovereign bonds to corporate equity. The difference was that overseas companies were often colonial in character, as suggested by names such as Glenshiel Rubber Estates.
當時的記載顯示，過去的倫敦金融城並不能比現在更好地代表英國事務。那時候這裏也在繁忙地交易外國證券，從主權債券到公司股權。不同之處在於，當時的海外企業往往是殖民性質的，這從格倫希爾橡膠園(Glenshiel Rubber Estates)之類的名稱上就可以看出來。
A Financial Times from April 21 1926 shows which business franchises have the longest shelf lives. Banks stand out. Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds were all on a list of big lenders, alongside many that have disappeared through amalgamation and name changes. Optimism is needed to imagine that the trio are now under serious pressure from challenger banks, as politicians hope.
從一份1926年4月21日的英國《金融時報》報紙中，可以看出哪些商業名號最經久不衰。銀行表現突出。巴克萊銀行(Barclays)、匯豐(HSBC)和勞埃德銀行(Lloyds)都在大銀行名單上，還有許多銀行已經因爲合併和更名而消失。要認定這三大行的競爭對手們正如政治人士期望的那樣對它們構成強大壓力，得需要不小的想象力。
Like Her Majesty, big natural resource companies have also withstood the test of time. Oil company Royal Dutch is listed alongside miners such as Anglo American and Rio Tinto. Addictive substances bestow enduring market power too. British American Tobacco and Imperial have outlived many of their customers.
與女王陛下類似，大型自然資源企業也經受住了時間的考驗。荷蘭皇家(Royal Dutch)石油公司赫然在列，一同在列的還有英美資源集團(Anglo American)和力拓(Rio Tinto)等礦商。致癮類物質也會帶來持久的市場影響力。英美菸草(British American Tobacco)和帝國菸草(Imperial)都比它們的許多客戶活得長。
Outside banking, natural resources and tobacco, only a smattering of names are recognisable. They include media group Daily Mail Trust, soap company Lever Brothers (which became Unilever) and engineer Rolls-Royce.
在銀行業、自然資源和菸草業以外，可以認出的企業名字只有寥寥幾個。其中包括媒體集團每日郵報信託(Daily Mail Trust)、後來成爲聯合利華(Unilever)的肥皂企業利華兄弟(Lever Brothers)以及工程公司羅爾斯•羅伊斯(Rolls-Royce)。
The dominant investment banks would have been familiar to a Victorian and would remain so for another 60 to 70 years. They included Barings, Cazenove and Hambros, brands that now belong to other organisations. Schroders lives on as a large, independent fund manager. Rothschild and Lazard continue to plough their furrows today.
當時佔統治地位的那些投資銀行應該是維多利亞時代人們熟悉的名字，這種熟悉感應該會繼續維持60到70年。這些投行包括巴林(Barings)、嘉誠(Cazenove)和漢布羅(Hambros)，如今這些品牌已歸其他機構所有。施羅德(Schroders)變身爲大型、獨立的基金管理公司存活至今。羅斯柴爾德(Rothschild)和拉扎德(Lazard)如今仍獨立存在。
The City milieu of the 1920s was little changed from Victorian times. Automation, in the form of typewriters and adding machines, had yet to penetrate most counting houses. Calculation and documentation was mostly manual.
比起維多利亞時代，上世紀20年代倫敦金融城的環境幾乎沒什麼變化。打字機和加減機形式的自動化仍未進入多數會計室。計算和文件管理主要還是手工完成。
Women were entering the workforce in increasing numbers as typists, according to historian David Kynaston. But critics would say their progress into senior roles since then has been lamentably slow.
根據歷史學家戴維•基納斯頓(David Kynaston)的說法，當時越來越多的婦女以打字員的身份加入了勞動者大軍。不過，批評者會說，可悲的是，自那以來她們向高級職位的前進步伐一直非常緩慢。
The Queen opened London Stock Exchange buildings in 1972 and 2004, and in 2008 memorably asked why economists failed to predict the credit crunch during a visit to the London School of Economics. But her relations with the City have been dutiful rather than close.
女王分別在1972年和2004年主持過倫敦證券交易所(London Stock Exchange)大樓的揭幕式。在2008年參觀倫敦政治經濟學院(London School of Economics)時，女王還曾令人難忘地問道爲什麼經濟學家未能預測到信貸緊縮。不過，她對倫敦金融城一直是例行公事，並不親近。
It cuts both ways. When she was born, the FT recorded the news in two sentences. One of these, by way of establishing newsworthiness, pointed out that her uncle was a stockbroker.
反過來也是如此。女王出生時，英國《金融時報》以兩句話記載了這條新聞。其中一句爲了證明這條新聞值得報道，指出她的舅舅曾是一名股票經紀人。
