易燃定時炸彈
Amid the recent wave of optimism in the United States’ stock markets, there is one major voice of pessimism: chief investment officer of Universa Investments Mark Spitznagel.
在近期美國股市的樂觀浪潮中，有一個主要的悲觀聲音：Universa Investments投資長馬克·斯皮茨納格。
amid(prep.)在…之中、在…的背景下=in the middle of~=in the midst of~optimism(n.)樂觀;樂觀主義pessimism(n.)悲觀情緒;悲觀主義chief investment officer 投資長
Known as “one of Wall Street’s biggest bears,” Spitznagel has been warning of a substantial market crash sometime in the next few years.
被譽為「華爾街的其中一位大空頭」，斯皮茨納格一直在警告未來幾年市場可能發生大崩盤。
In a November interview published by Intelligencer, Spitznagel takes aim at the United States Federal Reserve for creating what he believes to be the “greatest credit bubble in human history.”
在Intelligencer於11月發表的一篇訪談中，斯皮茨納格將矛頭指向了美國聯準會，稱其創造了「人類歷史上最大的信貸泡沫」。
take aim at… 瞄準、將矛頭指向～bubble(n.)(經濟)泡沫a real estate bubble房地產的泡沫
Using the metaphor of a wildfire, Spitznagel accuses the Fed, along with other global central banks, of interventionist monetary policies that are akin to “forest fire suppression.”
斯皮茨納格以野火為隱喻，指責聯準會以及全球其他央行的干預主義貨幣政策無異於「森林火災撲救」。
metaphor(n.)隱喻、暗喻accuse sb. of sth. 指控某人某事interventionist(adj.)干預主義的interventionism(n.)干預主義monetary policies貨幣政策akin to sth.和～類似=similar to sth.suppression(n.)(用武力)鎮壓、壓制、制止
He argues that while such actions may seem to help in the short term, they can actually create an economic “tinderbox time bomb,” which is one spark away from turning into a raging inferno and razing the “entire forest” of an economy’s ecosystem.
他主張，儘管這樣的舉措在短期內似乎有所幫助，但實際上可能創造出一顆經濟的「易燃定時炸彈」，只需星星之火就會變成熊熊烈火，夷平經濟生態系統的「整座森林」。
argue(v.)主張=contendin the short term短期內=in the short runin the long run長期下來tinderbox(n.)火絨盒;易燃物time bomb定時炸彈spark(n.)火花、火星raging(adj.)劇烈的;嚴重的inferno(n.)煉獄、火海a raging inferno肆虐的大火、熊熊大火raze(v.)把(城市、建築物等)夷爲平地;徹底摧毀
To Spitznagel, while “wildfires” are a natural mechanism of market turnover, the “controlled burn” of the Fed’s 11 interest rate hikes since March 2022 will likely come back to bite the US economy.
在斯皮茨納格看來，雖然「野火」是市場更替的自然機制，但美聯準自2022年3月以來11次加息的「控管燒除」很可能會反噬美國經濟。
turnover(n.)員工流動率、更替、營業額、成交量controlled burn控管燒除
The beginnings of these dangerous monetary policies, in Spitznagel’s opinion, can be traced back to the Fed’s actions of setting “artificially low interest rates” and injecting “artificial liquidity in the economy” following the Great Recession of 2008.
斯皮茨納格認為，這些危險的貨幣政策的開端可以追溯到美聯準在2008年經濟大衰退後設置「人為低利率」，以及「人為向經濟注入流動性」的行為。
be traced back to~被追溯至～go back to~回溯到～inject(v.)注射、投入、注入、引入recession(n.)經濟衰退the Great Depression經濟大蕭條(又稱經濟大恐慌)
Although Spitznagel concedes that these interventions may lead to economic growth, he maintains that they actually create a “take victory now for suffering later” type of scenario.
儘管斯皮茨納格承認，這些干預措施可能會帶來經濟增長，但他堅稱，這些干預措施實際上創造了一種「現在勝利，日後受苦」的局面。
concede(v.)承認=admitintervention(n.)干預、干涉maintain(v.)堅稱、斷言insist(v.)堅持
In other words, the economic outlook may look rosy to some, but in Spitznagel’s approximation, the “debt burden today is at a level that cannot be repaid.”
換句話說，在一些人看來，經濟前景可能是美好的，但在斯皮茨納格看來，「今日的債務負擔已經達到無法償還的程度」。
in other words換句話說=that is (to say)rosy(adj.)美好的;樂觀的=optimisticpromising(adj.)(前景)看好的approximation(n.)估計;估算=estimate=estimation=prediction=guesswork
As a result, he firmly believes that the debt bubble is dangerously close to bursting, causing “interest rates to plunge” to extremely low levels in the next few years.
因此，他堅信債務泡沫瀕臨破裂，導致「利率驟降」，在未來幾年降至極低水準。
on the verge of...瀕臨=on the edge of...plunge(v.)驟降;暴跌=plummet=crash=nosedive
Despite this gloomy market prediction, Spitznagel is still urging investors to invest over the long term in stocks, such as the S&P 500 or Berkshire Hathaway.
儘管對市場的預測悲觀，斯皮茨納格仍然呼籲投資者「長期投資股票」，例如標準普爾500指數或波克夏·海瑟威公司。
gloomy(adj.)悲觀的=pessimisticurge sb. to do sth.呼籲某人做某事