INVESTORS INTERESTED in euro-zone government bonds face peculiar(特殊的，奇怪的) challenges. They have 21 countries to choose from, in addition to(除……之外) the EU’s own debt. Long holidays, including from trading desks, typically mean choppy(波涛汹涌的，动荡的) markets during the summer. And for mysterious reasons(出于神秘的原因), yields on ten-year German bunds(德国国债), the bloc’s benchmark(基准), tend to rise by 0.15 percentage points after August.
对欧元区政府债券感兴趣的投资者面临着特殊的挑战。除了欧盟自身的债务，他们还有21个国家可供选择。漫长的假期（包括交易台的假期）通常意味着夏季市场动荡不安。而且出于神秘的原因，欧元区基准的十年期德国国债收益率在8月之后往往上升0.15个百分点。
This year they started early, and not just in Germany. In recent weeks global bond markets have been febrile(狂热的，动荡的) (see chart 1). Yields have jumped just about everywhere as investors have sold off government debt (whose price falls as yields rise), spooked by rising inflation risk, uncertainty about economic growth and zero appetite for belt-tightening.(随着投资者抛售政府债券，收益率几乎全面飙升，原因是通胀风险上升、经济增长不确定以及不愿紧缩。) On September 1st yields on Japan’s ten-year bonds hit 3% for the first time in 30 years. American 30-year Treasuries(美国国债) are not far off their 19-year high of 5.31% reached in mid-August. Equivalent British gilts(英国国债), which now offer a 5.9% return, have not been this cheap since 1998.
今年这种上升开始得很早，而且不仅限于德国。最近几周，全球债券市场一直动荡不安（见图表1）。随着投资者抛售政府债券（其价格随收益率上升而下跌），世界各地的收益率几乎都在飙升，原因是通胀风险上升、经济增长的不确定性以及对紧缩政策毫无兴趣。9月1日，日本十年期国债收益率30年来首次达到3%。美国30年期国债收益率接近8月中旬创下的5.31%的19年高点。英国同类国债目前的回报率为5.9%，自1998年以来从未如此便宜。
Europe is not quite there yet(尚未达到那种程度). Ten- and 30-year bunds continue to yield considerably(相当大地) less than at the last peak in 2008. Similar French bonds are no higher than back then. Still, European government issuers face peculiar challenges of their own(他们自己特有的).
欧洲尚未完全达到那种程度。十年期和三十年期德国国债的收益率仍远低于2008年上一次峰值时的水平。法国类似债券的收益率也不高于当时。尽管如此，欧洲政府发行人仍面临着自身特有的挑战。
