全球商業領袖對英國經濟表示焦慮

The world's top business leaders are using their visit to the London Olympics to raise tough questions about the coalition's management of Britain's stagnant economy and the country's vulnerability to a euro break-up.

全世界頂級商業領袖正利用他們前往倫敦觀看奧運會的機會，提出兩方面的尖銳問題，一是英國聯合政府對陷入停滯的英國經濟的管理，二是英國在歐元區解體情況下的脆弱性。

While David Cameron, prime minister, is trying to use the games as a showcase to boost UK trade and investment, chief executives from the US and Asia – many of them big investors in Britain – are privately voicing anxiety at the state of the economy.

儘管英國首相戴維•卡梅倫(David Cameron)試圖將本屆奧運會打造爲一個展示英國的機會，以此促進英國的投資與貿易，但在私下場合，美國及亞洲企業的首席執行官們——其中很多企業都是英國的重要投資者——對英國經濟狀況表示焦慮。

"Cameron is giving us a big sales pitch, but we are not taking any notice of that," said the head of an Asian multinational. "We want to know what's happening to the economy and what are the prospects for us."

一家亞洲跨國公司的負責人表示，"卡梅倫對我們作了一大通推銷演講，但我們一句也不想聽。我們想知道的是，英國經濟目前形勢如何，我們的前景如何。"

One US corporate chief called bluntly for the government to change course after last week's official figures showed that the UK economy shrank 0.7 per cent between April and June.

一家美國企業的高管直白地呼籲英國政府調整策略，就在上週，官方數據顯示，英國經濟第二季度收縮了0.7%。

"You need a short-term fiscal policy to boost demand and a credible long-term plan to address welfare, taxes and the labour market. If you do that, the bond market will be fine," he said.

他指出，"你需要一項短期財政政策來提振需求，以及一項可信的長期政策來解決福利、稅收以及勞動力市場的問題。如果你們做到了，債券市場將平安無事。"

As business leaders gathered to watch the games, the chatter in corporate hospitality suites was less about sport, and more about London's competitiveness as a financial centre.

在商業領袖們來到倫敦觀看奧運會之際，他們之間的談話內容並沒有多少是涉及體育本身的，更多的是涉及倫敦作爲金融中心的競爭力。

One financier, referring to the forced resignation of Bob Diamond, the former Barclayschief executive, said: "What's going on in London? You are killing your bankers."

一位金融家在談到巴克萊前首席執行官鮑博•戴蒙德(Bob Diamond)被迫離職一事時說："倫敦到底發生了什麼？你們在謀殺你們的銀行家。"

Another high-profile executive added: "Bob got shot by the regulators," expressing concern about pressure exerted by the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority for Mr Diamond to quit. "There are big implications for London from all of this. When you're abroad you get a lot of people saying, ‘Who would ever want to work for a British bank?' "

另一位知名高管補充說："是監管者害了鮑博。"這名高管對英國央行(BoE)以及英國金融服務管理局(FSA)施壓迫使戴蒙德辭職的做法表示擔憂。"這件事對倫敦是有重大影響的。當你在海外時，你會聽到很多人說，‘有誰還願意爲一家英國銀行做事？'"

Some of the concerns surfaced publicly at last Thursday's global investment conference at Lancaster House in London, where Mr Cameron faced awkward questions about airport expansion and immigration in front of 200 business leaders and policy makers.

上週四在倫敦Lancaster House舉行的全球投資大會上，一些發言者公開表達了他們的擔憂。會上，面對200名商業領袖和政策制定者，卡梅倫遭遇了有關機場擴建以及移民的尷尬問題。