经济学人 公司对冲愈难

WARREN BUFFETT, one of the world’s most famous investors, once called derivatives “financial weapons of mass destruction”. Central bankers worry that those sold “over the counter”, meaning outside exchanges, threaten the stability of the whole financial system. Yet firms that rely on derivatives to limit their exposure to swings in commodity prices, interest rates or exchange rates cannot get enough of them—literally.
世界上最著名的投资家之一，WARREN BUFFETT（沃伦·巴菲特）曾经把衍生品叫“金融大规模杀伤性武器”。 央行官员担心这些衍生品的“柜台销售”， 意指他们是在所外交易，会威胁整个金融系统的稳定。 然而，有的公司靠衍生品来减低大宗商品的价格， 利率， 或汇率大幅波动的影响，这些公司对这些衍生品是如饥似渴却又求之不得。  

Several firms using derivatives in an attempt to manage such risks have suffered huge losses of late, on paper at any rate. Among the hardest hit have been airlines, many of which paid to protect themselves from higher fuel prices last year when the oil price peaked at $147 a barrel. Because oil now costs much less, many have had to write down the value of those contracts, even if they are not due to be settled for years. The losers included Cathay Pacific Airways, which made paper losses of close to $1 billion, Ryanair, Air France-KLM and Southwest.
几家公司想用衍生品来对付上述风险， 近来蒙受巨大损失。 各个公司账面的损失各有不同。损失最惨重的当属航空公司了，很多航空企业在去年原油价格升至每桶147美元的时候买入了衍生品以期对冲未来可能进一步升高的油价。 但是因为现在油价大跌，尽管这些合同还要好几年才会到期，很多公司也不得不因为这些浮亏而记提账面损失。亏失的公司有 Cathay Pacific Airways (国泰航空)， 它账面损失近十亿； 还有Ryanair （瑞安航空），Air France-KLM （法国航空- KLM） 和 Southwest （西南）.

Nonetheless, firms seem as keen to hedge as ever. According to a study by Greenwich Associates, a consultancy, big American, European and Asian firms hedged 55% of their exposure to fuels last year, up from 45% the year before. Even some of the airlines that posted large losses on derivatives tied to the oil price are buying more of them. Ryanair recently said that it has entered contracts to fix the price of 90% of its fuel for the first nine months of this year, almost twice the proportion it had hedged in January. Cathay Pacific, meanwhile, is buying instruments that will protect it from falling as well as rising fuel prices.
然而， 这些公司却“冲”情有加，前所不及。 据咨询公司Greenwich Associates （格林威治联营公司） 的一个研究，美洲， 欧洲， 和亚洲的大公司去年对冲了55%的燃油，比去年的45%高。 有些航空公司账面有大量的油价衍生品损失， 他们却还在购买更多的衍生品。 Ryanair （瑞安航空）最近说， 它已签了合同，固定了今年头九个月90%的燃油的价格。这个比例接近今年一月时的两倍。而Cathay Pacific (国泰航空)购买的金融和约则既能对冲燃油价格升值，亦能对冲其下跌的风险。