Fears that unco-ordinated financial regulation could undermine the fragile economic recovery sparked a crisis of confidence among investors.

　　有關金融監管不協調可能破壞脆弱經濟復蘇的擔憂，引發了投資者的信心危機。

　　US, European and Asian stocks tumbled, while some eurozone government bond markets seized, prompted in part by unilateral moves by Germany to ban naked short selling and the politicised debate over the US financial regulation bill.

　　美國、歐洲和亞洲股市暴跌，同時一些歐元區國債市場陷入凍結，部分原因是德國單方面實施裸賣空禁令和有關美國金融監管法案的政治化辯論。

　　A worse-than-expected report on weekly US jobless claims and Greek protests over wage cuts also sent investors scurrying for safety, away from the euro and into US Treasuries, German bonds and UK gilts.

　　美國周失業報告糟于預期，以及希臘民眾抗議減薪，也讓急于尋找安全投資的投資者遠離歐元，進入美國、德國和英國的國債市場。

　　David Owen, chief European financial economist at Jefferies, said: “The lack of clarity from the politicians has shattered confidence to the extent that stocks are selling off and the eurozone government bond markets are at a standstill.”

　　Jefferies首席歐洲金融經濟學家戴維•歐文(David Owen)表示：“政治家的含糊其辭已經打擊了投資者信心，以致股市暴跌，歐元區國債市場陷入停滯。”

　　Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, fanned the growing fear of political intervention in the markets with her comments at the opening of a high-level conference on financial market regulation in Berlin yesterday.

　　德國總理安格拉•默克爾(Angela Merkel)昨日在柏林召開的高層金融市場監管會議上的講話，讓人們越來越擔心市場中的政治干預。

　　“We need the financial industry to be honest with us,” she said. “If we don't get honesty, then we might not do the right thing technically but we will do the right thing politically.”

　　她表示：“我們需要金融業對我們坦誠相見。如果它們做不到這一點，那么我們可能不會實施技術上正確的舉措，而是會實施政治上正確的舉措。”

　　David Cameron, Britain's new prime minister, is expected to stress the need for international co-ordination when he meets Ms Merkel tomorrow. The unilateral ban on naked short selling was described by one British official as “crackers”.

　　預計英國新首相戴維•卡梅倫(David Cameron)明日會晤默克爾時，將會強調國際協同的必要性。一位英國官員將德國單方面禁止裸賣空描述為“發瘋了”。

　　The pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 index dipped close to eight-month lows, the FTSE 100 was just above lows of the year, while the S&P 500 and the Nikkei 225 Average dropped through the 1,100 and 10,000 marks respectively.

　　泛歐富時Eurofirst 300指數跌至近8個月低點，富時100指數僅略高于年內低點，而標普500指數和日經225平均指數分別跌破1100點和1萬點關口。

　　The sharp rise in risk aversion saw the Vix, the Wall Street “fear gauge” and best guide to market volatility, jump to 13-month highs. Market makers in eurozone government bonds said the market was no longer functioning for the weaker economies of Portugal, Spain and Greece.

　　避險情緒大幅上升，推動Vix指數上漲至13個月高點。Vix指數是華爾街的“恐懼指標”，也是反映市場波動的最佳指引。歐元區國債市場的做市商表示，葡萄牙、西班牙和希臘等歐元區較弱經濟體的國債市場已不再運轉。