2015考研英语阅读英文原刊《经济学人》：花旗集团 付讫前行

　　2015考研英语复习正是强化复习阶段，考研英语阅读在考研英语中占了40分，所以考研英语阅读是英语科目中重要的一项。新东方名师范猛老师曾建议过考研生需要坚持每天泛读10-15分钟的英文原刊。强烈推荐了杂志《经济学人》.杂志中的文章也是考研英语的主要材料来源.希望考研考生认真阅读，快速提高考研英语阅读水平。

　　Citigroup

　　花旗集团

　　Paying up and moving on

　　付讫，前行

　　The perennial basket-case of American banking atlast shows signs of life

　　数年崩溃下美国银行业终于显现生机

　　THERE were many reasons why Citigroup's earningsfor the second quarter, released on July 14th, might have elicited familiar groans. Revenuesfrom its North American retail operations plunged by 26%, thanks in part to an abrupt dropin the refinancing of mortgages due to rising interest rates. Worse, the bank agreed to a $7billion settlement with prosecutors over its dealings in mortgage-backed securities beforethe financial crisis, twice what analysts had initially expected and 20 times what Citi had firstoffered. Yet in the wake of all this bad news, Citi's shares rose.

　　7月14日，花旗集团发布其第二季度盈利，这可能又会引发一片熟悉的呻吟声，之所以会如此，原因众多。花旗的北美零售业务收入锐减26%，部分原因是由于利率上升，抵押贷款再融资急剧下降。更糟的是，该银行同意就其在金融危机之前的抵押贷款支持证券交易支付70亿美元，与检方达成和解。这个金额是分析师此前初步预计值的两倍，更是花旗最初愿意支付金额的20倍。但是，紧随所有的这些坏消息之后，花旗的股价上涨。

　　In part, that is because Citi's troubles are, for the most part, reassuringly typical ofAmerican banks. Wells Fargo, America's biggest bank by valuation, had previouslyannounced its first decline in earnings per share since the financial crisis thanks largely tothe refinancing drought. By the same token, Citi's income from trading bonds, currenciesand derivatives fell no more dramatically than that of its rivals.

　　某种程度上，这是因为花旗的麻烦在很大程度上使众多典型的美国银行放下了心。受金融危机影响，美国市值最高的富国银行此前首次宣布每股收益下降，很大程度上要归结于再融资的干涸。同样的道理，花旗买卖债券、货币和衍生品的收入下降，其竞争对手也没讨到什么好。

　　Even the settlement may have cheered investors. Although the accompanying statement offacts fingered the bank for giving misleading information about the quality of themortgages that underpinned securities it sold, there was little to fuel private lawsuitsseeking compensation. The most incriminating element was an e-mail from an unnamedtrader saying, “I would not be surprised if half of these loans went down.” No employees havebeen charged with any sort of fraud related to the sales. Moreover, a provision of thesettlement protects Citi from prosecution on similar grounds for its sales from 2005 to 2007of another sort of toxic financial instrument, collateralised debt obligations.

　　和解协议可能会使投资者们感到振奋。尽管随附的声明已指出银行故意歪曲抵押贷款质量，提供误导性资料而出售支持证券，但几乎没有激起要求赔偿的私人诉讼。大部分控诉材料来自于一位不愿透露姓名的交易员，他发电子邮件称“这些贷款即使有一半贬值，我也不会感到惊讶。”没有员工被指控犯有任何形式的与销售相关的欺诈行为。此外，和解协议中的一项条款将花旗从类似起诉中解救出来，花旗被控自2005年到2007年间销售债务抵押债券(另一类有毒金融资产)。

　　Attention is now shifting to Citi's future. Michael Corbat, its boss since 2012, hasconcentrated on cutting costs and selling unprofitable businesses. But there are also hintsof growth: lending rose by 4%, thanks to strong demand from European and Americancompanies. Profits from advising on mergers and underwriting stocks and bonds were uptoo—possibly a sign of bigger banking opportunities ahead.

　　现在，众人都将注意力转至花旗的未来上。2012年以来，花旗CEO迈克尔?考伯特一直专注于削减成本以及出售无利可图的业务。然而集团业务也有增长的迹象：得益于欧、美公司的强劲需求，银行贷款上升了4%。而为兼并和承销股票及债券提供咨询服务产生的利润亦同比增长—这可能标志着银行业更大的机会即将到来。

　　Citi's market capitalisation remains far lower than its accounting value, suggesting concernsremain about hidden problems. But the disparity has begun to shrink, as has the premium itpays to borrow. As one fund manager puts it, the debate over Citi's prospects has shiftedfrom whether it might die to how it might survive.

　　花旗集团的市值仍远远低于其账面价值，意味着仍需关注其潜在问题。但因为它为保证金支付的借款，两数值之间的差距已经开始缩小。正如一位基金经理所说的那样，花旗的前景之争已然从它是否会就此消亡转至它该如何存活下去。

　　词语解释

　　1.in part 在某种程度上，部分地; 一半

　　We'll take your car in part exchange.

　　我们收下你的旧汽车，以抵付购买新车的部分款额。

　　It is selling very well, in part because the packagingis so attractive.

　　这个卖得非常好，部分原因是包装非常吸引人。

　　2.due to 由于;因为

　　Council members are due to have informal discussions later on today.

　　委员会成员定于今日晚些时候进行非正式讨论。

　　He is due to face a court-martial on drugs charges.

　　他将因毒品交易的指控受到军法审判。

　　3.thanks to 因为;由于;多亏

　　The delegation was carrying a message of thanks to President Mubarak.

　　代表团向穆巴拉克总统转达了谢意。

　　Thanks to that job I became an avid reader.

　　多亏了那份工作我才成了一个喜欢阅读的人。

　　4.relate to 涉及; 同…有关系

　　Other recommendations relate to the details of how such data is stored.

　　其他建议涉及此类信息储存方面的一些细节。

　　Afternoon groups relate to the specific addictions and problems therein.

　　下午的小组谈到具体的上瘾病例以及其中的问题。

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