2017 考博英语 阅读题源经济学人文章每日精析（三十二）
考博英语阅读大部分博士研究生招生院校都使用《经济学人》杂志文章作为题源，考博信息网|http://www.kaoboinfo.com教育考博频道为考博生们将其中的文章进行深度分析，希望能提高大家的考博英语阅读水平，读懂长难句。
导读
企业信用评级作为一个完整的体系，包括信用评级的要素和指标、信用评级的等级和标准、信用评级的方法和模型等方面的内容。其中信用评级指标和信用评级方法是信用评级体系中最核心的两个内容，同时又是信用评价体系中联系最紧密、影响最深刻的两个内容。
China’s corporate debt
中国的企业债务
State of grace
国家的眷顾
With the government on their side, China’s state firms borrow cheaply
有了政府的大力支持，中国国营企业可以低成本借款
Nov 19th 2016 | SHANGHAI | From the print edition
2016年11月19日|上海|印刷版
IN ITS never-ending quest to rein in profligate local officials, China this week ordered itsindebted cities and provinces to draw up detailed repayment plans. But for these rules to work, the central government must prove that it is willing to let the miscreants default. Creditors doubt its resolve and expect it to go on bailing out the spendthrifts. As a result, they systematically give more generous lending terms to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) than to their private peers.
在控制官员贪腐这条永不停歇的奋斗之路上，本周中国政府要求处于负债的城市和省份草拟详细的还款计划。但是，为了让这些措施起作用，中央政府必须证明，他们情愿让欠款方债务违约。债权人质疑政府的决议，同时希望他们继续去拯救那些“败家子”。而结果，与私企相比，政府系统地提供国有企业更慷慨的借贷条件。
Profligate：挥霍的; 放荡的; 浪费的; 行为不检点的。
Indebted：负债的; 感激的; 受惠的。
Miscreant：恶棍，歹徒。
Spendthrift：败家子;花钱无度的人，挥霍者。
The bias is not immediately obvious. Looking at interest costs, China seems to have a level playing field. A 2011 survey, for example, revealed that the median interest rate on bank loans to private firms was 7.8%, just above the 7.5% average at the time. Borrowing rates for both SOEs and private firms have remained in line with each other since then, declining in tandem.
这种偏袒并不是即刻显而易见的。从利息花费看来，中国似乎有一个公平竞争的环境。比如说，一份2011年的调查表示，银行对私企提供贷款的平均利率是7.8%，仅仅比当时平均利率7.5%略高一点。自从那时起，对于国企和私企的借款利率一直保持在同一水平，且同时下降。
in tandem：一前一后地，协力地
But this appearance of parity is superficial. Borrowing costs only tellss the risk of lending to Chinese companies, they price in the assumption tha half the story. The other half is the borrower’s quality. When investors assess the risk of lending to Chinese companies, they price in the assumption that the state will stand behind SOEs. How much is this assumption worth One way to measure this is to compare credit ratings. Rating agencies grade SOEs according to two standards: a stand-alone rating (based on the company’s own balance-sheet) and a state-backed rating (factoring in government support).
但是，这种平等的表象是极其肤浅的。借款费用只道出了其中一半的事实真相，另一半则与借款人的信用相关。当投资者评估借款给中国企业风险的时候，他们会通过国家对国企的支持的估计来进行定价。这种假设能够得到的支持有多少价值一种测量方式就是对比信用评级。评级机构通过两个标准来评估国企：一是独立评级(建立在公司自己的收支平衡)，二是国家支持的评级(考虑国家支持因素)。
Parity: 奇偶性; 平价，价值对等; 同等，平等。
superficial：表面(上)的; 肤浅的，缺乏深度的; 一知半解的。
This chart illustrates the extent to which SOEs benefit. The horizontal axis shows their original rating (based on a blended average from Fitch, Moody’s and S&P, the three big international rating agencies). The vertical axis shows their final rating after state support is added to the equation. The size of the bubble indicates the size of the debt. When ratings are unchanged, as is the case for most private companies, the bubbles incline upwards along a 45-degree angle. But when ratings are boosted, the bubbles migrate above the 45-degree line: virtually all SOEs are in this category.
这个表格解释了国企获益的程度。横轴表明，他们的原始评级(取决于Fitch，Moody’s 和S&P这三家大型国际评级机构的平均值);纵轴表明，国家支持加入这个这个等式后得出的最终评级;这个气泡的大小表明了债务的多少。对于大多数私企来说，当评级不变时，气泡会向上倾斜45度角。但是，当评级增加的时候，气泡会向上迁移高于这条45度线，实际上所有的国企都在这个范畴之内。
Take, for instance, Beijing Infrastructure Investment Co Ltd, which operates the city’s urban rail system. With a hefty debt load, its initial credit rating would be BB-, a risky junk bond, according to S&P. But thanks to government support, S&P gives it a final rating of A+, eight notches higher, a solid investment-grade bond. By contrast, JD.com, a leading e-commerce company, earns a BBB-rating from S&P, just one notch above junk status. As a private company, it receives no ratings uplift.
用北京市基础设施投资有限公司来举个例子，这是一家运营北京城轨系统的公司。根据S&P机构得出，由于背负着巨额贷款，这家公司的最初信用评级是BB-，这是极具风险的垃圾债券。但是，有了政府的支持，S&P机构给它的最终评级上升了八个等级，达到了A+，成为了可靠的投资等级债券。相反，S&P机构给著名电商企业京东的评级是BBB-，只比垃圾债券高一级。作为一个私企，它没有得到评级上升。
Notch：等级;刻痕
The impact of the rating changes is big. In the onshore Chinese bond market, if the stand-alone ratings applied, SOEs would face annual interest rates of more than 10% instead of the roughly 5% they are used to. Even in the Hong Kong bond market, average annual borrowing rates for SOEs should be 3.5%, based on their stand-alone profiles; that, however, falls to roughly 2% after state support is included. That amounts to a two-fifths discount on interest costs—quite the subsidy.
评级改变的影响是巨大的。在中国国内的债券市场，如果独立评级适用，国企将面对超过10%的年利率，而不是他们所习惯的大约5%。甚至在香港债券市场，独立经营的国企平均年借款利率应该是3.5%;然而，把国家支持算入内的话，会降到约2%左右。这相当于减免了五分之二的花费—这真是巨额的补助!
amounts to：意味着; 等于; 总计; 相当于; 总计为
Creditors are, of course, not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, but rather in the belief that the state will prop up SOEs if necessary. This guarantee, though, is not ironclad. As the economy slows, the government has let a few smaller SOEs default this year. With the announcement this week, it seems to be setting the stage for more delinquency. The task for rating agencies and investors, then, is to try to gauge the extent of state backing for different SOEs.
当然，债权人不是因为心地善良而做这些的，相反他们是相信国家在有需要的时候会对国企伸出援助之手，即使这个保证并非坚不可摧的。随着经济增长放缓，中国政府今天已经让一些小型国企可以延期还款。
prop up：撑; 支持，资助。
Ironclad：牢不可破的。
Gauge：测量; 确定容量，体积或内容; 评估
If an SOE is controlled by the central government, the presumption of support is still strong. But as Ivan Chung of Moody’s says, the calculations are more nuanced for SOEs controlled by provinces or cities. First, analysts examine company finances. Next, they look at the balance-sheet of the government that theoretically stands behind it. Finally, they consider the company’s strategic importance: a water utility fares better than a property developer. It is a lot to weigh—and as SOE debts pile up, these nuanced judgments will become only weightier.
如果一家国企被中央政府掌控，其所获得支持的假设依然是极其乐观的。但是，正如Moody’s机构的Ivan Chung所说的，对于有省份或者城市掌控的国企来说，计算方法是更微妙的。首先，分析员会调查公司的财政。然后，他们会查阅理论上支持这家公司的政府的收支平衡表。最后，他们考虑公司的战略重要性：一家自来水公司发展优于一个地产开发商。有许多方面需要去权衡，因为随着国企债台高筑，这些细微的评判标准将只会变得更重要。
Nuanced：有细微差别的;微妙的