Greece Still Short of Reaching Debt Write-Off Goal

 　　Greece is edging closer to its goal of getting the country's private lenders to eliminate $142 billion of the money it owes them, but remained short of the target as a Thursday deadline neared.

　　The Athens government says it needs the banks, pension funds and other financial institutions holding at least two-thirds of the country's private debt to agree to the write-down. But by Wednesday, agreements had only been reached covering 46 percent of the debt.

　　The debt write-down is part of Greece's effort to secure a new $172-billion bailout and avoid a default on its financial obligations.

　　Five small Greek pension funds holding about one percent of the bonds eligible¹ for the write-down have rejected the deal, as have several investment funds and Germany's best-selling newspaper, Bild. Greece says that if it hits the two-thirds threshold for the reduction, it could seek to force the deal on its remaining creditors².

　　One German investment trader, Andreas Lipkow, said he thinks that in the end, Greece will be able to cut enough of its debt.

　　"Yes there would legally be a default if the quota³ [of the Greek bond swap] will not be high enough, but I think that the pressure is high enough so that quota will be reached," said Lipkow. "I don't really see any repercussions⁴ for the international markets by a default by Greece as that is already anticipated by the markets. The ratings agencies have already reacted and downgraded the bonds, interesting for the markets would be mandatory⁵ CDS [Credit Default Swaps⁶ insurance] payoff, as that would become very expensive for some market participants."

1 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

2 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

4 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

6 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。