The world may be coming together on what needs to be done to pull the economy out of crisis. There is much common ground, if not a consensus, in many areas. This is not a sufficient condition for eventual recovery. But it is a first and necessary one.
關于需要做些什么才能讓經濟擺脫危機，全世界或許正在走到一起。在許多領域，即使沒有達成共識，人們的立場也是大致相同的。這并非經濟最終復蘇的充分條件，但卻是先決和必要條件之一。

Take financial regulation. The de Larosière report, the UK's Turner review and early drafts of the G20 communiqué suggest much the same. In the future, the financial sector will be safer and duller. Banks will probably be smaller, regulation tougher and required capital higher. Lower profitability will take care of the bonus issue by itself. Whether such changes would be “good” or “bad” is a separate question. The important point is that international agreement is relatively uniform. As a result, no country's banking system will enjoy advantages over another.
以金融監(jiān)管為例。法國前央行行長拉羅西埃爾(Jacques de Larosière)的報告，英國金融服務管理局主席特納(Adair Turner)的評論，以及20國集團(G20)會議公報的初稿，意思都大同小異。將來，金融業(yè)將更加安全，更加索然無味。銀行規(guī)模可能會縮小，監(jiān)管將更加嚴厲，資本要求將更高。收益率下降將自然而然地解決獎金問題。這些變化是“好”是“壞”則是另一碼事。要點在于，國際協(xié)定是相對一致的。因此，沒有一個國家的銀行體系會相對于另一個國家具有優(yōu)勢。

The same is true of monetary policy. The world's major central banks have all cut interest rates to zero, or close. Many are now engaged in quantitative easing. This is risky if done alone as it can weaken the currency and give rise to criticism of “beggar-thy-neighbour” devaluations. But if everyone does it, the world can gain from the extra monetary boost.
貨幣政策亦是如此。全球各主要央行均已將利率降至零或近零的水平。許多央行都采用了定量寬松政策。如果某個國家獨自使用這種政策，將是危險的，因為它會使貨幣走弱，引發(fā)對“以鄰為壑”貶值政策的批評。但如果各國都在使用，世界可能會從額外的貨幣刺激中獲益。

Finally, there is fiscal policy. Countries are opening their wallets. Even Germany's stimulus is only slightly smaller than the US's as a percentage of output. Europe's biggest tightwad is, in fact, France. And as even the International Monetary Fund now believes that countries should spend more – and the IMF's director is a Frenchman – Paris may well come round too.
最后還有財政政策。各國正打開錢包。以占產出的比例計算，即使是德國的刺激力度也僅略小于美國。歐洲最吝嗇的其實是法國。鑒于就連國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)如今也認為各國應增加開支——IMF總干事是一位法國人——巴黎很可能也會改變主意。　

There is still a long haul ahead. There will be setbacks, and the world is headed for a stiff recession, at least. Whatever happens, the required deleveraging will take years. But there are also grounds for hope.
未來仍然任重而道遠。其間將會有波折，至少，世界正走向一場嚴重的衰退。不管發(fā)生什么，所需的去杠桿化過程將需要數(shù)年時間。但希望之光依然存在。