President George W. Bush signed into law an unprecedented $700 billion plan to rescue the U.S. financial system, one of the largest-ever government interventions in the nation's economy -- and almost certainly not the last.
布什总统签署了7,000亿美元的金融救助计划，这是美国政府有史以来规模最大的经济干预──而且几乎可以肯定不是最后一次。
The Treasury Department is expected to move quickly to start buying distressed assets from struggling financial institutions, although any impact might not be felt for some weeks. Many details -- such as who will administer the program and how -- are still to be worked out.
美国财政部预计将迅速采取行动，开始收购陷入困境的金融机构的不良资产，不过可能无法在几个星期之内见效。由什么人来主持这项计划、如何主持等诸多细节还有待确定。
That lingering uncertainty cast a pall over stock and bond markets. Credit markets remained stressed as lenders continued to worry about getting repaid. The three-month Libor rate, a measure of the rate that banks charge to lend to one another, rose to 4.33% Friday from 4.21% the day before.
这种持续的不确定性给股市和债券市场蒙上阴影。由于贷款机构仍然担心还款问题，信贷市场依然承压。三个月期伦敦银行同业拆息(Libor)从上周四的4.21%上升至上周五的4.33%。
Stocks, which had been up more than 300 points before the voting began, ended down 157 points at 10325.38. The decline capped the worst week for the Dow Jones Industrial Average in more than six years, and left the market trading where it was nearly three years ago.
众议院上周五开始投票前股市上涨逾300点，但收盘跌157点，至10325.38点。这番下跌给道琼斯指数6年多来最糟糕的一周划上了句号，令股市下滑到近3年前的水平。
Passage of the bill came amid new evidence from the labor market that the U.S. is tilting further toward recession. Companies shed 159,000 workers in September, the fastest pace in more than five years, the Labor Department reported.
救助计划获得通过之时，就业市场也有新的迹象表明美国正进一步滑向衰退。美国劳工部称，9月份，企业共裁员159,000人，为5年多以来的最快步伐。
The legislation ranks alongside other broad federal attempts to prop up the economy, such as Roosevelt's New Deal and the resolution of the Savings and Loan debacle of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
这一救助计划堪与历史上联邦政府试图支撑经济的其他大规模举措相比肩，比如罗斯福(Roosevelt)的新政和上世纪80年代末及90年代初对存贷款危机的解决方案。
It will likely be followed by other moves. The Federal Reserve could cut interest rates and take further steps to ensure there are enough funds coursing through the financial system. Congress has already beefed up jobless benefits and is expected next year to push for new stimulus efforts, such as spending on infrastructure.
救助计划之后可能还会有其他举措。美国联邦储备委员会(Fed)可能降息，并进一步采取措施确保金融体系中有足够的流动资金。国会已经提高了失业救济，预计明年将推动新的刺激就业措施，如增加基础设施建设支出。
Looking to next year, Democratic lawmakers are planning to revamp financial-system regulations, with hedge funds, private-equity funds and investment banks all likely to come in for tighter scrutiny. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) portrayed the legislation as 'only the beginning' of the legislative response to the faltering economy.
展望明年，民主党议员们计划修订金融体系的监管法规，对冲基金、私人资本运营基金和投资银行都可能受到更严格的监管。众议院议长、加利福尼亚州民主党人佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)说，在以立法手段应对步履艰难的经济方面，救助计划仅仅是个开始。
The process picked up speed on Monday after the House rejected an earlier version, sending markets into a tailspin and highlighting deep public opposition to the president's plan.
这一进程从上周一开始加快了步伐。众议院那一天否决了救助计划早先的版本，导致股市跳水，并凸显出公众对布什提出的这项计划的强烈反对。
President Bush and the leadership of Congress closed ranks and sweetened the bill with tax cuts. The compromise won wide support in the Senate Wednesday and passed the House on the second attempt on Friday by a vote of 263-171. President Bush signed the bill shortly thereafter.
布什与国会领导人携手合作，在救助计划中加入了减税方面的内容，令其更具吸引力。达成妥协的救助计划上周三在参议院获得广泛支持，并于上周五再次提交众议院，以263票赞成、171票反对的结果获得通过。布什总统随后立即签署了它。
The bill establishes the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The Treasury will have $700 billion to buy up toxic mortgages, securities and related assets that have undermined the nation's financial architecture.
救助计划法案确立了问题资产救助计划(Troubled Asset Relief Program)。财政部将可动用7,000亿美元收购不良抵押贷款、证券和相关资产。这些不良资产破坏了美国的金融体系。
The bill mandates the government take equity stakes in companies participating in the rescue and would limit compensation for executives, barring 'golden parachutes.' It also says the administration must develop a plan to ease the wave of foreclosures through modifying loans acquired by the government.
救助计划规定，政府应持有参与救助计划公司的股份，并对高管薪酬作出限制，禁止“金色降落伞”计划。还规定政府必须拿出计划，修改由政府所收购贷款的还款条件，从而减轻止赎问题。
Complex Questions
复杂问题
For all of the changes made to the original Treasury plan, lawmakers succeeded little in imposing control over use of the funds. The bill requires Treasury to set up an insurance-based alternative. But the core of what Mr. Paulson requested survived largely unscathed.
尽管这一救助计划已经较财政部的最初方案做出了调整，但议员们仍不能掌控资金的使用。该计划要求财政部建立一个基于保险的替代方案，但鲍尔森所主张的救助计划的核心内容基本上原封未动。
Treasury faces a host of complex questions it must answer before it can roll out the program broadly. Among the biggest issues: which assets to buy, how to buy the assets and whom to buy the assets from.
在全面铺开救助计划之前，摆在财政部面前的是一堆复杂而又必须回答的问题。最大的问题包括：要买哪些资产、怎么买以及从谁手里买。
Treasury doesn't want to buy every mortgage-backed security on the books of every financial institution, according to a person familiar with the matter. Plus, not all mortgage-backed securities are alike and Treasury wants to be careful that it doesn't overpay for the truly worthless assets.
知情人士透露，财政部无意从所有的金融机构手中收购所有的抵押贷款担保证券。此外，抵押贷款担保证券各有不同，财政部想要小心行事，免得为那些不值钱的资产掏出太多真金白银。
After hiring asset managers to run the program, it's likely to start with securities 'where there's enough out there and the market is thick enough so the auction can be done well,' said a person familiar with Treasury's thinking. One example would be all private, subprime loans made during a certain financial quarter.
知情者称，财政部在聘请了资产经理运行该计划后，有可能从那种保有量大、市场投资意愿高的证券入手，因为这样一来拍卖有望顺利进行。举例来说，可能是在某一财季所发放的所有私人次级贷款。
The purchases would likely be made through what's called a reverse auction, in which institutions compete to sell assets. The government would suggest a high price to ensure significant participation, which should then allow Treasury to pick from the lower prices offered until it gets the quantity of securities it wants.
资产的购买有可能通过反向拍卖的形式进行，在这一过程中金融机构竞相拍出手中的资产。政府将开出一个较高的建议价格，以此确保有足够多的受助企业参与其中。然后财政部会从报价最低的受助企业手中收购不良贷款，直至买入的证券规模达到既定目标。
The department plans to hire about two dozen full-time employees to work on the program, including lawyers, accountants and those with financial-market expertise. It's expected to be several weeks before Treasury begins its first auction, according to people familiar with the matter. The department could move more swiftly to buy assets from specific institutions if there's a need.
财政部考虑聘用二十多名全职员工来运行这一救助计划，其中包括律师、会计师以及其他金融专业人员。知情者说，财政部有望在几周后举行首次反向拍卖。如果某些金融机构确有需要，财政部将更快地有所行动。
The bailout bill also allows the Fed to begin paying interest on the reserves that banks leave on deposit with the central bank, something it didn't do before. Paying interest on reserves makes it easier for the Fed to flood the financial system with additional cash.
救助计划还允许Fed向银行此前上存的准备金付息，这是一种前所未有的做法。向准备金付息使得Fed可以更容易地向金融系统注入大量资金。
This comes on top of other steps the Fed has taken in recent weeks to provide financial institutions with the cash they need to keep operating.
在之前的几周中，Fed已采取过若干措施向金融机构提供其保持运营必不可少的资金。
But so far, it hasn't been successful in unfreezing credit markets. Short-term money markets -- where companies raise money to finance their operations -- remain distressed. Financial firms went to the Fed for $409.5 billion in emergency overnight loans by midweek, a record.
但迄今为止，信贷市场仍处于冻结之中。公司赖以融资的短期货币市场依旧一片低迷。截至到上周三，金融公司求助Fed办理紧急隔夜贷款的规模达到了创纪录的4,095亿美元。
Political Risks
政治风险
That congressional leaders turned around the vote in less than a week underscores the widening unease among lawmakers about the state of the economy. The political impact could be immediate, especially for vulnerable candidates in conservative districts who ended up supporting the bill. On Friday, 26 Republicans and 33 Democrats switched from no to yes.
国会领袖在不到一周的时间里就改变了自己的投票，凸现出议员们对美国经济现状普遍感到的不安。其政治影响可能是立竿见影的，特别是对于那些来自保守地区、易受影响的议员们，这些议员最后都对救助计划表示了支持。上周五，共有26名共和党议员和33名民主党议员从反对转为赞成。
Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the fourth-ranking House Democrat, suggested rank-and-file lawmakers didn't feel a sense of urgency until after Monday's 777-point stock-market decline. 'Monday was the political system looking over the abyss,' he said.
众议院民主党党团会议主席、伊利诺伊州议员伊曼纽尔(Rahm Emanuel)说，普通议员并没有感到迫切需要通过救市计划，直到美股上周一大跌777点后才转变了看法。他说，周一时美国的政治体系忽视了当前的深渊。
Throughout Friday morning, a steady stream of lawmakers strode to the floor to announce they were changing their minds. The turn of sentiment came after members went back to their districts and heard voters sharing stories about their shrunken retirement nest eggs and how the credit crisis is squeezing Main Street.
若干议员上周五上午声称自己改变了主意。风向的改变是在议员们回到自己的选区并聆听当地选民表示自己的养老储蓄如何缩水、以及信贷危机如何影响普通民众之后。
Some cited the Senate's proposal to temporarily raise federal deposit insurance limits to $250,000 from $100,000. Some pointed to a provision that would press for the overturn of so-called mark-to-market accounting rules, which critics say contributed to the downward spiral of markets. For others, it was a package of tax breaks.
有些人说到参议院提出的将联邦存款保险上限从10万美元临时上调至25万美元。有些人则谈到了将有助于取消所谓按市价核算的会计准则这一条款，批评人士说这种会计准则从某种程度上加剧了市场的螺旋式下滑。对其他人来说，这则是一揽子的减税措施。
Though 'it may be politically damaging,' Rep. Howard Coble (R., NC) said he would support the bill after voting against it Monday. He pointed to the raised deposit-insurance limits and the tax changes.
北卡罗来纳州共和党议员霍华德·柯博(Howard Coble)说，虽然法案在政治上可能造成损害，但他还是会支持的；他在上周一众议院投票中投了反对票。他说这是因为修改后的法案上调了存款保险上限，在税收上也有所变化。
Rep. Zach Wamp (R., Tenn.) said the accounting rule changes will help business. He opposed the bill Monday but now supports it, arguing broad action is needed to stem the decline in credit markets.
田纳西州共和党议员扎克·瓦姆普(Zach Wamp)说，会计准则的调整将对企业有帮助。上周一他投了反对票，不过现在改变了主意，他说这是因为需要采取广泛的措施来遏制信贷市场的下滑。
'Monday, I cast a blue-collar vote,' he said. 'Today, I'm going to cast a red, white and blue vote for my country.'
他说，上周一我是出于蓝领阶层的立场投的票；今天，我要为我的祖国、出于所有人的立场投上一票。
At least 11 of the 26 new GOP votes in favor of the bill came from the conservative Republican Study Committee, which had voted 4-to-1 against Monday's legislation.
共和党新增了26票赞成票，其中至少有11票来自于由保守人士组成的共和党研究委员会(Republican Study Committee)。在上周一的投票中，该委员会中反对票和赞成票的比例为4:1。
One vulnerable Republican, Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska, said improvements to the bill had convinced him to vote in favor, but he lamented that 'those greedy pigs on Wall Street don't deserve help from hard-working Americans.'
内布拉斯加州共和党议员李·特里(Lee Terry)说，议案的修改让他投了赞成票，但是他也悲伤地说，“华尔街上那些贪婪的猪不值得勤劳的美国公众伸出援手。”
A large part of the new Democratic support came from members of the Congressional Black Caucus, where 13 of 21 representatives who opposed the original bill switched.
民主党新增赞成票大部分来自美国国会黑人议员同盟(Congressional Black Caucus)的成员，其中周一投了反对票的21人中有13人回心转意了。
Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee said she was glad her opposition had slowed the package long enough for some improvements. The budget crisis in her home state of California demonstrated the need for urgent action.
加州民主党议员芭芭拉·李(Barbara Lee)说，她很高兴自己的反对赢得了一些时间，使得议案有了一些改进。加州的财政预算危机显示出采取行动刻不容缓。
Despite complaints from fiscally conservative Democrats about the addition of $150 billion in tax breaks, support from the moderate Blue Dog caucus held strong. Of its 47 members, all 25 who voted yes on Monday maintained their approval, and six members provided support for the first time.
虽然民主党财政保守派对增加的1,500亿美元减税颇有怨言，但是温和派的“蓝狗联盟”却表示强烈支持。在“蓝狗联盟”的47名成员中，25名上周一投赞成票的人维持原有立场，另有6名周一投了反对票的成员也改投赞成票。
Phone calls and emails flooded Capitol Hill. The Club for Growth, a conservative group, opposed the bailout. So did Democrats.com, a liberal group, which denounced the Senate's decision to add tax cuts. 'They didn't just put lipstick on the pig, they added pearls,' the group said.
电话和电子邮件几乎湮没了国会山。保守派团体增长俱乐部(Club for Growth)反对救助计划。自由派团体Democrats.com也表示反对，并指责参议院加入减税条款的决定。该团体称，“他们不仅给猪涂口红，还戴上了珍珠首饰。”
The effort was countered by the business community, which jumped into the fray alongside the Bush White House and the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, John McCain and Barack Obama, in support of the plan.
工商业界对此类团体的做法表示反对，他们与布什政府、共和党总统候选人麦凯恩(John McCain)以及民主党总统候选人奥巴马(Barack Obama)一起加入到争论中来，对救助计划表示支持。
Congressional leaders are planning bills next year that would toughen oversight of the financial-services sector.
国会领袖们正计划明年出台一系列法案，收紧对金融服务业的监管。
'We will be back next year to do some serious surgery,' said House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.). Mr. Frank wants legislation to rewrite housing finance -- including the roles of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- and overhaul regulation of financial services.
众议院金融服务委员会(House Financial Services)主席、马萨诸塞州民主党议员巴尼·弗兰克(Barney Frank)说，我们明年会回来进行一些“大手术”。 弗兰克希望能修改房屋融资方面的立法，包括调整抵押贷款巨头“两房”所扮演的角色，并改革对金融服务业的监管。
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