金融时报选文 05

金融时报选文SURGEINBIOFUELSPUSHESUPFOODPRICES........................................................................................................1生物燃料与人类争食..............................................................................................................................................2ASIANPRAGMATISMPROVESITSVALUE.................................................................................................................3香港退休基金是怎样运作的..................................................................................................................................5Q&AONASADLYPREDICTABLEDEBTCRISIS...........................................................................................................6全球次贷危机七大问题..........................................................................................................................................8GLOBALISATION'SEXILESKEEPTHEHOMEFIRESBURNING..................................................................................10移民汇款养活发展中国家？................................................................................................................................12[1551245206339]SURGEINBIOFUELSPUSHESUPFOODPRICES1SURGEINBIOFUELSPUSHESUPFOODPRICESByJavierBlasandJennyWigginsinLondonTuesday,July17,2007Asurgeintheproductionofbiofuelsderivedfromcorn,wheatandsoyabeansishelpingtopushupfoodpricessosharplythattheWorldFoodProgramme,theUnitedNation'sagencyinchargeoffightingfamine,isfindingitdifficulttofeedasmanyhungrypeopleasithasinthepast.JosetteSheeran,WFP'sexecutivedirector,saidinaninterviewwiththeFinancialTimesthatrisingfoodpriceswere“alreadyhavinganimpactonWFPoperations”andadded:“Thereisarealisationwearefacinganewlevelofchallenge.”FoodcommoditypricesaresurgingbecauseofanumberoffactorsincludingrisingdemandfromChinaandbadweather,butthepotentialconsequencesoftherisingdemandforbiofuelshascaughttheattentionofthoseinthebusinessoffeedingtheworld.MarkSpelman,headoftheAccenture'sglobalenergypractice,saidthebiofuelindustrywasatriskofcreatingapublicbacklashsimilartowindpowergenerationasfoodinflationcontinues.“Windpowerwasaverypopularrenewablesourceofenergyuntilawind-farmwasplannedinsomeone'sbackyard,”hesaid.Still,PaulO'Brien,overseasdirectorforthehumanitarianorganisationConcernWorldwide,saidhigherfoodpricescouldbenefitfarmersinemergingmarketsiffoodaidprogrammesfinditcheapertospendcashdonationsinthecountriestheydistributefoodin,ratherthanintheUSandEurope.“Whatwewouldencourageis[foodaidagencies]tolookmorelocally...andfordonorstogivemoneytotheWFP,”MrO'Briensaid.Some77percentoftheWFP'sfoodpurchasesaremadeindevelopingcountries.Lastyearitspent$460m(�34m,£226m)insuchcountries,makingthelargestcashpurchasesinUganda,EthiopiaandPakistan.TheUnitedNationsorganisationfeedssome90mpeopleannually.MsSheeranalsosaidthatherorganisationandothersweretryingtomakeiteasierforpoorerfarmerstobenefitfromrisingdemandforfood,eitherbyhelpingAfricanfarmersbecomemoreefficientandtappingnewmarketsorbyhelpingsmallfarmersinLatinAmericabenefitfromtherisingdemandforbiofuels.“Inaworldofgrowingpopulation,theAfricanfarmerwillbeneeded,”shesaid.TheriseinfoodpriceshasalsounderlinedthedifficultiestheWFPandotherfoodaidprogrammesfacewhendeterminingwhichtypeofdonationstheyreceivearemoreeffective–cashorcommodities.AbouthalfofthedonationstheWFPreceivesarenowmadeincash,therestincommodities.Whentheorganisationstarted,itbenefitedmainlyfromsurplusfooddonatedbywealthynationsincludingtheUS.Itnowreceivescash[1551245206339]生物燃料与人类争食2frommanycountries,andoften,asisthecasewithUS,mustspendthatmoneyonproductsgrowninthedonorcountry.MarcCohen,researchfellowattheUS'sInternationalFoodPolicyResearchInstitute,saidthattheriseinfoodpriceshadreawakenedquestionsoverthebestwaytodistributefoodaid.Oneideathathasbeendiscussedinthepast,MrCohensaid,isfordonorstocontributetoaglobalreserveorco-ordinatednationalreservesoffoodsothatfoodcanbestockpiled.“Nowthatpricesarehigh,theideamaygetonthetableagain,”hesaid.生物燃料与人类争食作者：英国《金融时报》哈维尔•布拉斯(JavierBlas)、珍妮•威金斯(JennyWiggins)伦敦报道2007年7月17日星期二从玉米、小麦和大豆中提取生物燃料的生产活动大幅增长，大幅推升了食品价格，导致世界粮食计划署(WorldFoodProgramme)发现自己难以向与过去同样多的饥饿人口提供粮食。世界粮食计划署是联合国(UN)抗击饥荒的主管机构。世界粮食计划署执行干事约塞特•施林(JosetteSheeran)在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示，不断上涨的粮食价格“已经对世界粮食计划署的运作造成了影响”，并补充称：“我们认识到，我们正在面临新层次的挑战。”粮食类大宗商品价格的飙升，是由许多因素造成的，其中包括中国需求的不断上升和恶劣的气候等，但生物燃料需求上升的潜在后果，已引起了世界粮食界相关人士的关注。埃森哲(Accenture)全球能源业务负责人马克•斯佩尔曼(MarkSpelman)表示，随着粮食价格的继续攀升，生物燃料行业有可能像风力发电一样，激起公众的强烈反对。他表示：“风力曾是一种非常受欢迎的可再生能源，但是，到有人计划在自己的后院建设风力发电场时，情况就改变了。”尽管如此，人道主义组织关爱世界(ConcernWorldwide)海外事务负责人保罗•欧布莱恩(PaulO'Brien)表示，如果各粮食援助机构发现，将捐赠的现金花在它们援助粮食的国家，比花在欧美更便宜，那么粮价的上涨可能会使新兴市场的农民受益。欧布莱恩表示：“我们将鼓励（粮食援助机构）更多地着眼于本地……并鼓励捐赠者把钱交给世界粮食计划署。”[1551245206339]ASIANPRAGMATISMPROVESITSVALUE3在世界粮食计划署购买的粮食中，大约有77%产自发展中国家。去年，该机构在这些国家花费了4.6亿美元，最大金额的现金购买发生在乌干达、埃塞俄比亚和巴基斯坦。这个联合国机构每年为大约9000万人提供粮食。施林还表示，她所在的机构和其它组织正努力让较为贫穷的农民更容易从粮食需求增长中获益，方法是以下两种办法中的一种：一是帮助非洲农民提高效率，开发新市场；二是帮助拉美小农从生物燃料需求的增长中获益。她表示：“一个人口不断增长的世界，将会需要非洲农民。”粮食价格的上涨，还突显出世界粮食计划署和其它粮食援助机构在要判断哪类捐赠更有效时面临的难题：是接受现金，还是大宗商品。目前，在世界粮食计划署收到的捐赠中，大约有一半是现金，另一半是大宗商品。在创立之初，该组织主