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  3. (1)New York and London may rule the roost, but other financial hubs in Ameri

(1)New York and London may rule the roost, but other financial hubs in Ameri

游客2023-12-03  51
问题     (1)New York and London may rule the roost, but other financial hubs in America and Europe have managed to carve out useful specialist niches for themselves. Chicago, for instance, consolidated its position as the world’s derivatives center earlier this year with the merger of CME(formerly the Chicago Mercantile Exchange)and the Chicago Board of Trade(CBOT). Now known as the CME Group, the former cross-town rivals trade everything from Treasury bond futures to pork bellies. But in recent years the colorful open-outcry trading floors have gradually ceded business to electronic transactions.
    (2)Houston, the largest city in Texas, is home to America’s biggest energy firms, which have spawned an active cluster of energy traders and hedge funds. And Boston, with plenty of serious wealth, has become a center for asset management and private equity.
    (3)Europe has developed a diverse set of financial centers ranging from big cities to island havens such as Jersey and niche markets such as Luxembourg and Dublin. Edinburgh, an established banking centre, is now touting itself as a low-cost alternative for financial operations.
    (4)Among the larger hubs, Frankfurt is an important center for banking and derivatives trading through Eu-rex, a German-Swiss exchange, with significantly lower costs than London. It is also home to the European Central Bank. Fifteen years ago Frankfurt aspired to become a global financial center, but these days German financial giants such as Deutsche Bank and Allianz do much more business in London than in Frankfurt. The exchange has had a difficult few years, including a couple of failed forays abroad.
    (5)Switzerland’s twin financial centers, Geneva and Zurich, have done well in their specialties of private banking, wealth management and, in Zurich, insurance. About 40% of the banks operating there are foreign. Hedge funds, private equity and traders in structured products are also moving in. The main attractions are low taxes, stability and a reputation for discretion. Urs Roth, of the Swiss Bankers Association, says that given its tiny domestic market, Switzerland has had to fight for open markets on an international scale. But it is now facing competition from places such as Singapore.
    (6)Paris has long lagged far behind London, dogged by a reputation for excessive regulation and high taxes. The new government of Nicolas Sarkozy is aware that some of France’s best financial brains have crossed the Channel for more lucrative careers in the City. Yet Paris has many advantages: a large number of international banks, from BNP-Paribas to Credit Agricole; more international companies than Frankfurt; and easy access to regulators. It also has the largest market in Europe for trading in mutual funds. Few would dispute that it offers an attractive quality of life, and it has good transport links. But its labor market is not as international as London’s.
    (7)What makes Paris a place to watch just now is the NYSE’s recent merger with Euronext. The combined group will base its international equities business in the French capital. Euronext, which operates exchanges in five European countries, also illustrates the importance of a common language. Although senior European executives at the merged exchange are based in Paris, it has adopted English as its official language. But several financiers lament that French government ministers tend to stick to French in public. One honorable exception to this French rule is Christine Lagarde, the new finance minister. She spent some years in Chicago and sprinkles her speeches with English phrases.
    (8)Financial executives around the world increasingly view Europe as a single market. On November 1st a new European rule called MiFID(Markets in Financial Instruments Directive)is due to be implemented. This aims to increase competition among and transparency within financial markets. Financiers in other parts of the world are wondering how to achieve a similar degree of cross-border financial integration. [br] All of the following are advantages of Switzerland’s financial centers EXCEPT its _____.
选项 A、low taxation
B、stable political environment
C、reputation for prudence
D、broad domestic market
答案 D
解析 第5段倒数第2句提到，“……国内市场微小，瑞士不得不……”，D“广阔的国内市场”与文意相反，故为答案。第5段第4句提到，瑞士金融中心的优点包括低税收、稳定的政治格局和银行业谨慎的经营作风，A、B、C均符合文意，故不选。C中的prudence对应文中的discretion。
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