今年全球债券发行量创新高

A borrowing binge by companies and governments pushed debt to a fresh high this year, providing bumper fees for Wall Street but raising questions ahead of a year of expected monetary tightening by the most important ­central banks . 企业和政府的举债热潮推动今年债券发行量升至新高，为华尔街带来丰厚收费，但在全球最重要的几家央行预计明年将收紧货币政策之前，这种局面引发了一些疑问。

Blue-chip corporates such as AT&T AT&T和微软(Microsoft)等蓝筹股公司一马当先，根据Dealogic的数据，在2017年通过银行组织的债券发行所筹集的6.8万亿美元资金中，企业占到了55%以上。

and Microsoft led the way, as companies accounted for more than 55 per cent of the $6.8tn raised in 2017 through bond sales organised by banks, according to data provider Dealogic. 从阿根廷到沙特阿拉伯，很多国家也利用了发达经济体利率处于历史低位的机会，这迫使投资者追逐新兴市场政府及企业的债券的回报率。

Countries from Argentina to Saudi Arabia also took advantage of historically low interest rates in developed economies, which forced investors to chase returns in bonds of emerging market governments and their companies. Columbia Threadneedle投资组合经理热内•坦纳佐(Gene Tannuzzo)表示：“如果你是一个主权国家或一家公司，在利率处于当前水平之际，你应该现在举债。”

Gene Tannuzzo, a portfolio manager with Columbia Threadneedle, said: “If you are a sovereign or corporate, with ­interest rates where they are, you are supposed to borrow now.” 今年的债券发行总额在本周一超过了2016年创下的全年纪录，发行人包括房利美(Fannie Mae)和房地美(Freddie Mac)等由政府支持的房贷机构，以及欧洲投资银行(European Investment Bank)等机构。6.8万亿美元这个数字包括抵押贷款和资产支持证券以及担保债券的发售，但不包括通过拍卖出售的主权债券(如美国国债和英国金边债券)或市政债券。

The tally for this year, which includes sales by government-backed housing lenders such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and institutions such as the European Investment Bank, surpassed 2016’s record late on Monday. The $6.8tn figure includes sales of mortgage- and asset-backed securities and covered bonds, but does not cover sovereign debt sold at auction, such as US Treasuries and UK gilts, or municipal securities. 投资者面临的问题是这个新的基准是否代表着举债达到危险水平，目前，欧洲央行(ECB)正要加入美联储(Fed)的行列，撤销危机时期的紧急刺激措施。

The question facing investors is whether the new benchmark represents a dangerous level of borrowing as the European Central Bank joins the US Federal Reserve in unwinding crisis-era emergency stimulus measures. 预计美联储明年将加息3次，但或许更让投资者担心的是，就在欧洲央行即将结束债券购买之际，美联储将要减持其持有的债券。这两项债券购买计划是对金融危机以及2010年欧元区危机做出的回应的基石，在政策制定者试图刺激举债之际将利率保持在低位近10年。

The Fed is expected to raise interest rates three times next year but, perhaps more worryingly for investors, it is cutting the amount of bonds it holds just as the ECB is set to end its bond-buying. The twin programmes were a cornerstone of the response to the financial crisis and 2010 eurozone crisis, holding rates low for nearly a decade as policymakers tried to stimulate borrowing. 对于作为债券发行顾问的银行而言，固定收益证券承销业务对其盈利变得愈发重要。汤森路透(Thomson Reuters)的数据显示，创纪录的银团发行(由一组银行发行的债券)已将投行的收费收入提高至金融危机以来的最高水平，抵消了并购和债券交易收入的下降。

For the banks advising on the sales, fixed-income underwriting has become increasingly significant to their bottom lines. The record for syndicated sales — bonds issued by a group of banks — lifted the fees generated by investment banks to their highest since the financial crisis, offsetting a drop in income from mergers and acquisitions and revenues from bond trading, separate Thomson Reuters data showed.