リーマン４年 世界経済の再生へ試練は続く

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 19, 2012)
Challenges lie ahead in revival of global economy
リーマン４年　世界経済の再生へ試練は続く（9月18日付・読売社説）

Sept. 15 marked the fourth anniversary of the so-called Lehman shock, but the global economy remains mired in the doldrums.
　リーマン・ショックから１５日で４年過ぎたが、世界経済は低迷から抜け出せない。

Will additional measures recently decided by the U.S. and European central banks open the door to an economic recovery?
　米欧の中央銀行が決めた追加策で活路を開けるだろうか。

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board has introduced a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, to inject a massive amount of funds into financial markets. This follows the first and second rounds in 2008 and 2010, respectively. Under QE3, the Fed will purchase 40 billion dollars (about 3.1 trillion yen) of mortgage-backed securities per month.
　米連邦準備制度理事会（ＦＲＢ）は、２００８年と１０年に続き、金融市場に資金を大量に供給する量的緩和策第３弾（ＱＥ３）を導入した。
　住宅ローンを担保にした証券を月額４００億ドル（約３・１兆円）購入する内容だ。

The Fed also decided to extend its virtually zero-interest rate policy, which it previously planned to maintain until late 2014, until mid-2015.
　「２０１４年終盤まで」としていた事実上のゼロ金利政策についても、「１５年半ばまで」に延長する方針を打ち出した。

The Fed took this bold step--dubbed by some as a trump card--with the aim of buoying the economy to help increase employment. A strong sense of crisis apparently prompted the Fed to take this step.
　「切り札」とされる大胆な策に踏み込み、雇用増につながる景気浮揚を狙ったものだ。強い危機感に背中を押されたのだろう。

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U.S. in a tight spot

The deterioration in U.S. economic indicators has been striking in recent months. The growth rate of the real gross domestic product fell to an annualized 1.7 percent in the April-June quarter. The unemployment rate remains stubbornly high at the 8 percent level.
　このところ、米国の経済指標の悪化が目立つ。４～６月期の実質国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）の伸び率は年率１・７％増に鈍化し、失業率は８％台に高止まりする。

The U.S. economy briefly picked up due to the all-out implementation of fiscal and monetary policies after the Lehman shock. However, the employment situation remains miserable and the economy has yet to get on a recovery track.
　リーマン・ショック後、財政と金融政策が総動員された結果、米国経済はいったん持ち直した。だが、雇用悪化が止まらず、景気回復軌道に乗り切れない。

One difference from four years ago is that the U.S. government is saddled with an immense budget deficit, which makes it very difficult to launch fiscal policies now. The United States has no choice but to depend on a monetary policy, but it is uncertain how effective this will be in improving the jobs situation. The U.S. government will face difficult challenges in steering the economy.
　政府が巨額の財政赤字を抱え、今は財政政策を発動しにくいことが４年前との違いだ。金融政策に頼るしかないが、雇用改善にどれだけ効果があるかは不透明だ。難しい舵(かじ)取りを迫られよう。

Even more disconcerting than the economic situation in the United States is the European sovereign debt crisis, which shows no sign of drawing to a close.
　米国以上に懸念されるのが、出口が見えない欧州債務危機だ。

The European Central Bank has finally decided to purchase unlimited amounts of government bonds of Spain and other countries plagued by credit uncertainty due to the deterioration in their state finances.
　欧州中央銀行（ＥＣＢ）は、財政悪化で信用不安に陥ったスペインなどの国債を無制限に購入する対策をようやく決めた。

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Eurozone's need for speed

This is one step toward containing the crisis, but Europe, which has been too tardy in dealing with the problem, needs to act speedily.
　危機封じ込めへ、一歩前進だが、対応が後手に回ってきた欧州に求められるのはスピードだ。

We urge eurozone nations to quickly and fully activate the European Stability Mechanism, which will buy government bonds of countries affected by credit uneasiness in cooperation with the ECB. Spain should quickly seek assistance, and Germany and France must stand united with their support.
　信用不安国の国債をＥＣＢと協調して買い取るユーロ圏の欧州安定メカニズム（ＥＳＭ）の本格稼働を急いでもらいたい。スペインは速やかに支援を求め、独仏両国などが結束する必要がある。

However, assistance from the ECB and the ESM is a mere stopgap measure. It is indispensable that nations such as Spain and Greece, the epicenter of the European financial crisis, embark on economic structural reform such as drastic fiscal reconstruction.
　ただし、ＥＣＢやＥＳＭの支援は当面の猶予策に過ぎない。スペインや欧州危機の震源地であるギリシャなどは、抜本的な財政再建といった経済構造改革に取り組むことが不可欠である。

There also has been much hand-wringing over the rapid slowdowns in emerging economies, including China and Brazil, that had served as driving forces of the global economy after the Lehman shock. The superstrong yen is damaging Japan's export industries and the country's economic recovery remains at a standstill. The government must be vigilant against further appreciation of the yen.
　リーマン・ショック後、世界経済を牽引(けんいん)した中国、ブラジルなど新興国の景気が急減速していることも不安材料だ。超円高は輸出産業に打撃を与え、日本の景気回復も足踏みしている。一段の円高を警戒しなければならない。

The revival of the global economy has only been half completed. Developed and emerging nations must do more to strengthen cooperation to finish the job.
　世界経済の再生は道半ばだ。先進国と新興国が連携を強化する一層の努力が求められよう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 18, 2012)
（2012年9月18日01時24分  読売新聞）