拿什么拯救花旗 - 金融英语速读训练

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每天一篇《金融时报》

在全球化日益激烈的金融行业中，能迅速地阅读英文的专业文献，把握全球金融趋势，和海外的金融业者交流，已经成为每个金融业者必备的技能。如果你能坚持每天阅读一篇《金融时报》精选的文章，并不断提高阅读速读和理解准确率，你的专业水平和英文水平，必将令人刮目相看。

准备好了吗？开始吧。

为什么要每天阅读《金融时报》？
- 对于全球的金融业从业人员来说，阅读《金融时报》是每天必须进行的修炼。要想把握金融业的趋势，提高自己的“金融智慧”，和全球的金融业者站在同一高度，《金融时报》是你的首选。
为什么要训练阅读速度？
- 在信息爆炸的今天，能够迅速地阅读和理解大量资料，已成为金融业者必不可少的技能。著名的投资家股神巴菲特曾表示，他每天都会阅读大量报刊和年报，这也是他多年来始终能做出正确的投资决策的基础。
训练阅读速度的小工具
- 自动滚屏助你提高速度。点击该按钮后，屏幕就开始滚动，迫使你改掉向回看的习惯，加快速度。默认为每分钟140字（朗读速度）。随着你的技能提升，你可以挑战更高的速度，直到达到1000。

速度：+ -

阅读以下文章

<b>Citigroup bail-out is smart but not risk-free</b>

By Frank Partnoy

Published: November 27 2008 19:07 | Last updated: November 27 2008 19:07

<img src=http://media.ft.com/cms/6f575c32-bcaa-11dd-af5a-0000779fd18c.gif border=0 style="float:left;margin-right:5px;">The linchpin of this financial crisis has been “super-senior” investments backed by subprime mortgage securities and derivatives. These securities were labelled “super-senior” because they were viewed as ultra-safe and secure, protected by so much extra collateral that it would be an understatement to call them merely “senior”.

With the latest bail-out of Citigroup this week, the US government has embraced the “super-senior” methodology for its own balance sheet. It will now proudly hold a “super-senior” position in Citigroup’s most troubled assets. Commentators have praised the government’s new approach and financial stocks rallied along with expectations of similar deals from other banks.

The details of the new arrangement are straightforward. Citigroup has $306bn (€236bn, ￡199bn) of troubled assets. Before the deal, the bank was at risk of losing that entire amount, which was one reason why market participants were skittish about the bank’s future. After the deal, Citigroup will be at risk of losing the first $29bn. If the assets fall by more than $29bn, the government will bear 90 per cent of any additional loss.

Thus, Citigroup has a subordinate claim to the government’s senior position. Citigroup’s more junior claim provides a 10 per cent cushion to protect the government from losses, much as other junior claims – now largely worthless – once protected Citigroup from declines in the value of underlying subprime mortgages. Indeed, the government’s seniority is not as “super” as Citigroup’s initially was. Back then, subordinated claims gave Citigroup a cushion of more than 50 per cent. That was not enough.

The government’s maximum potential exposure on its new “super-senior” position is a quarter of a trillion dollars. But unless Citigroup’s assets fall by 10 per cent, the government will not lose any money and the bail-out will be free. “Super-senior” positions were toxic to major banks, but regulators hope they will be anodyne for the government. Can anyone imagine Citigroup’s troubled assets declining by $29bn?

Citigroup in effect has paid the government an insurance premium, in the form of dividends on newly issued preferred stock, in exchange for an agreement that the government will cover the losses on its troubled assets if they fall by more than 10 per cent.

Option selling strategies are not new and are profitable most of the time. Many well-known investors and traders have sold options, often cloaked with complex financial engineering, to generate large positive returns. One recent proponent is Warren Buffett, whose holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, sold $37bn of long-term put options on stocks. Now, the government has entered the option-selling fray and most experts believe its new short put position in Citigroup’s assets will perform better than those of Mr Buffett and certainly better than Citigroup’s own “super-senior” trades. Citigroup’s earlier option sales ultimately lost billions and Berkshire Hathaway is nursing a multi-billion-dollar mark-to-market loss.

There are strong arguments that the government is following a smart strategy and that it should act as “asset purchaser of last resort” during times of market crisis. Yet it is important to recognise the risks and realities of the government’s new “super-senior” position. The government’s and Berkshire Hathaway’s positions will perform well only if markets eventually recover. The US Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are taking on risk associated with $306bn of Citigroup’s assets. On Wall Street, this bail-out would be described as a $306bn deal. It is unclear whether Congress authorised a deal of that size. Instead, administration officials characterise the deal as smaller and without significant liabilities, just as banks initially characterised their “super-senior” deals as off-balance sheet and low risk.

If the latest Citigroup deal is a template for bank bail-outs to come, the government might soon become involved in the mother of all “super-senior” transactions and the largest option sales in history. Super-senior deals, including both Citigroup’s initial mortgage trades and this week’s bail-out, appear to be prudent ways to earn incremental income with zero risk. Until they aren’t.

The writer is a law professor at the University of San Diego and is the author, most recently, of The Match King: The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals, to be published in early 2009 from Profile Books/PublicAffairs

选择正确答案

Which of the following best descripts the authors' attitude towards the Citi bail-out?

Obvious.

Cautiously Optimistic
Scornful
Concerned
Indifferent

选择正确答案

Why did the author think there are risks involving the Citi bail-out?

Check out: "Yet it is important to recognise the risks and realities of the government’s new “super-senior” position. The government’s and Berkshire Hathaway’s positions will perform well only if markets eventually recover. "

Citi group may file for bankcrupcy in the future.
The financial markets may not recover eventually.
The government might need the money for emergency.
The government might find its exposure more than it thought, just like those "super senior" investments before.

选择正确答案

What does the government need to pay if Citigroup lose $25bn of its troubled assets, according to its bail-out deal?

If you can't figure this out, you need to read the article again.

Zero
$29bn
$25bn
$2.5bn

选择正确答案

According to the author, the Citigroup bail-out is in effect which of the following?

Check out: "Citigroup in effect has paid the government an insurance premium, in the form of dividends on newly issued preferred stock, in exchange for an agreement that the government will cover the losses on its troubled assets if they fall by more than 10 per cent."

US government selling insurance to Citigroup.
US government taking over Citigroup.
US government helping Citigroup sell put options.
US government helping Citigroup sell insurance.

放松与总结

今天的训练暂告一段落，FT中文网还将陆续推出更多的训练项目，欢迎您来信建议。(电子邮件：customer.service@ftchinese.com)

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您的正确率太低，在目前这个阶段，对你来说最重要的是提高英文水平和金融专业水平，而不是速度。请您点击后退仔细查看您答错的题目，并和原文对照。对原文中所有不懂的句子和知识点，也请一一查明。建议您：
1. 在进行下一次训练的时候，将滚屏速度保持在100以下。
2. 您可以找一些有声读物，如《经济学人》的audio edition，帮助你提高英文水平。

看得出你是非常认真来进行这次训练的，如果你坚持的话，你会获得非常大的提高。目前你的阅读速度偏低，可能是因为英文不是你的母语。不过，请不要放慢阅读速度。研究表明，阅读速度越快的人，其理解的正确率反而越高。因此，您可以同时提高您的阅读速度和理解能力。给你一点建议：
1. 一定要改掉默念的习惯
2. 不要一个词一个词的看，要学会把一个语义群当作一个整体来看。比如“an emergency $180bn injection of dollar”这个语义群，你要学会把他当作一个整体来看。
3. 看DVD的时候，切换到英文字幕。

用正常语速来朗读一篇文章，平均速度是每分钟140词。这说明你的阅读速度比朗读还要慢。建议您：1. 每一段的第一句话往往是最重要的。
2. “速读”最忌讳的就是“读”，不要一边看一边默念。
3. 在下一个训练中将滚屏速度设为140，迫使自己不能回头去看已经读过的部分。

您的阅读速度已经超过了正常语速，说明你已经开始有些速读的感觉了。美国大学生的最低阅读速度为每分钟250词，加把劲你就可以赶上了。建议您：
1. 养成习惯，读过的部分不要回头去看，这样会影响速读。
2. 加强“扫描”的训练，让自己的眼睛能“一目一行”。

您的阅读速度已经达到了美国大学生的水平，可喜可贺。不过作为金融从业人员，每天需要阅读数不清的中英文研究报告、公司年报、报刊杂志等，您还需要向每分钟350字进军。建议您：
1. 加强“扫描”的训练，让自己的眼睛能“一目两行”。
2. 对中英文的数字，尤其是大数字(million, billion)的转换进行总结和练习。

厉害，您的阅读速度已经超过了美国大学生的水平。不过，要成为巴菲特那样的金融专家，您需要锻炼出“一目十行”的火眼金睛。建议您在每次的训练中注意三个要点：
1. 您已经学会了将文章分成语义群，而非词来阅读，现在，你需要扩大每一个语义群中的词数。
2. 加快阅读每个语义群的速度。
3. 看过的内容尽量不要回看。

这就是传说中的“一目十行”吗？难以置信！

世界纪录才每分钟416,250字，居然被你破了！无语...