米国債格下げ 市場の動揺防ぐ財政再建策を

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Aug. 8, 2011)
U.S. must rebuild finances to stem global market unrest
米国債格下げ　市場の動揺防ぐ財政再建策を（8月7日付・読売社説）

The credit rating of U.S. government bonds, once among the world's highest, has been downgraded for the first time in history.
　世界で最上級だった米国債の格付けが、史上初めて引き下げられた。

In the aftermath of the downgrade, stock prices may plunge around the world from Monday, and the depreciation of the dollar could accelerate.
　“格下げショック”を受け、週明け以降、世界同時株安や、ドル安に拍車がかかりかねない。

To stem the unrest in global financial markets, it is imperative for the United States to chart out a package of measures to steadily rebuild government finances.
市場の動揺を食い止めるには、米国の着実な財政再建策が不可欠である。

U.S. credit rating agency Standard & Poor's on Friday lowered the long-term U.S. credit rating by one level from the top-tier AAA rating to AA-plus.
　米格付け会社のスタンダード・アンド・プアーズ（Ｓ＆Ｐ）は５日、米国の長期国債格付けを最上級の「ＡＡＡ（トリプルＡ）」から、「ＡＡ（ダブルＡ）プラス」に１段階引き下げた。

As a reason for the downgrade, S&P said the accord reached between Congress and the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama "falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics."
　Ｓ＆Ｐは国債格下げの理由として、「中期的な財政安定化が不十分」と指摘している。

Obama and the Democratic and Republican parties recently agreed on an increase in the government's statutory borrowing limit and a set of fiscal consolidation measures.
In the wake of that agreement, the Budget Control Act of 2011 was enacted Tuesday, centering on a goal of reducing the federal deficit by 2.4 trillion dollars over 10 years.
　オバマ大統領と与野党は、政府の借金枠である債務上限の引き上げと財政再建で合意し、１０年間で２・４兆ドルの赤字削減を柱にした予算管理法が２日に成立した。

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Deficit cut not sufficient

However, there is still a gulf in views about specific steps to reduce government debt, and the deficit cut agreed upon on Tuesday is substantially smaller than Obama's initial plan to reduce government debt by 3 trillion dollars to 4 trillion dollars.
　しかし、具体的な赤字削減策を巡る主張の隔たりは大きく、削減幅も大統領の当初案だった３兆～４兆ドルに比べて小さい。

S&P is believed to have decided on the downgrade in light of these circumstances.
Ｓ＆Ｐはこうした状況を評価し、格下げを決めたと言えよう。

The U.S. government has criticized S&P's reduction in the credit rating, but what is seriously being questioned now is the effectiveness of the Budget Control Act.
　米国政府は格下げに反論したが、予算管理法の実効性が厳しく問われている。

The president and the political parties should accelerate their discussions on a range of issues, including spending cuts and tax increases, to hammer out reliable measures that will gain markets' confidence.
　大統領と与野党は歳出カットと増税を含めた協議を加速し、市場の信認を得られるような財政再建の方策を打ち出すべきだ。

Meanwhile, we cannot help but feel anxious over the adverse impact the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating could have on the world's financial markets.
　一方、今回の格下げが、世界の金融市場に与える悪影響を懸念せざるを得ない。

Reflecting the slowdown in the U.S. and European economies, the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted more than 500 points Thursday, and the index fluctuated erratically the following day.
　米欧経済の減速をきっかけに、ニューヨーク株式市場の平均株価は４日、５００ドル超も急落し、５日も乱高下した。
Stock prices declined across the board in European, Japanese and other Asian markets.
欧州や日本などアジア市場でも、軒並み、株価が全面安となった。

On the foreign exchange front, the hyper-appreciation of the yen slowed somewhat because of the yen-selling intervention by the government and the Bank of Japan. However, pressure has resurged to weaken the dollar against the Japanese currency.
　外国為替市場では、政府・日銀の円売り介入で超円高にいったんブレーキがかかったが、再び、ドル安圧力が強まっている。

If the trustworthiness of the dollar erodes further following the cut in the U.S. credit rating, the credit markets of the world would unavoidably be thrown into confusion.
　国債格下げでドルに対する信認がさらに揺らぐと、債券市場を含めた混乱は避けられまい。

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Fed moves crucial

Japan is the world's second-largest holder, next to China, of U.S. government bonds.
　日本は中国に次ぐ世界２位の米国債の保有国だ。

Due attention should be paid to what repercussions there would be from declines in U.S. government bond prices.
国債下落の影響にも注意する必要がある。

Attention is being focused at present on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, in a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, will opt for additional quantitative monetary easing to stimulate the economy.
　当面の焦点は、米連邦準備制度理事会（ＦＲＢ）が９日開く会合で、景気てこ入れのため、追加緩和策に踏み切るかどうかだ。

Given that the U.S. government, shackled by huge fiscal deficits, has found it hard to adopt any measures to stimulate business activity, expectations have been rising for the Fed to adopt fresh monetary easing.
　財政赤字を抱えた政府は景気刺激策に動きにくく、ＦＲＢに期待する声は強い。

Additional monetary easing by the U.S. central bank could lead to further acceleration of the yen's appreciation and the dollar's depreciation, something very damaging to this country.
ただ、追加緩和策は円高ドル安を誘導し、日本には厳しい展開も予想される。

The world economy has been expanding since the global financial crisis was brought to an end thanks to unity among major economies.
　世界経済は、主要国の結束で金融危機を克服した後、景気拡大を続けてきた。

A new round of coordinated efforts among major economies is needed to prevent another financial crisis.
危機の再燃を防ぐ連携が改めて求められよう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 7, 2011)
（2011年8月7日01時17分 読売新聞）