又中又英 | The TACO Trade | 褚简宁

　　Mexican restaurants are popular in the US, but not so popular in Asia. I rarely eat Mexican food because it doesn't agree with me. If a type of food doesn't agree with you, it means the food makes you unwell. Most Mexican dishes include beans, which make my stomach uncomfortable.  But I like nachos and tacos. A nachos dish has a base of corn chips with a choice of toppings such as cheese, tomatoes, and minced beef. A taco is a thin flat bread made with corn flour which is topped with chicken, beef, or other things, then folded. They can be soft or crispy.

　　Wall Street stock investors trying to keep up with US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff war have nicknamed him TACO to mock him. It stands for Trump Always Chickens Out. A Financial Times columnist invented Trump's TACO nickname which quickly went viral on the internet. A chicken is a type of bird but as a slang word it means a cowardly, timid, or fearful person. To chicken out means to decide not to do something because of cowardice, fear, or lack of courage.

　　Wall Street investors have learned how to use Trump’s unpredictable trade war to play the stock market. They buy when Trump raises tariffs, which causes a market crash that lowers prices. They know the market crash will make Trump chicken out and lower tariffs again. The market will rise when he lowers tariffs. Investors then sell their stocks, which they bought at low prices, for higher prices. They call this the TACO Trade. Trump, who craves a tough guy image, was enraged when a reporter asked him about chickening out.

　　墨西哥餐厅在美国很受欢迎，在亚洲则不尽然。我很少吃墨西哥菜，因为它doesn't agree with me—若一样食物doesn't agree with you，它的意思是那种食物令你不适。大部分的墨西哥菜都有豆，令我的肠胃不舒服。但我喜欢吃nachos和tacos。Nachos是墨西哥粟米片，上面可以选择铺上各式各样的配料例如芝士、番茄和牛肉碎。A taco则是用粟米粉造成的薄饼，上面配以鸡肉、牛肉或其他食物，然后卷起来。它们可以是软的，也可以是脆的。

　　华尔街的股票投资者，都在尽力跟上美国总统特朗普那场不能预估的关税战，他们给他起了个绰号TACO去讥笑他。它代表Trump Always Chickens Out，「特朗普总是胆怯」。一个《金融时报》的专栏作者给特朗普起了TACO这个绰号，迅即在网上爆红。Chicken是鸡肉，但作为俚语它的意思是胆小、易受惊、怕这怕那的；to chicken out是指因为胆怯、害怕又或缺乏信心而临阵退缩。

　　华尔街的投资者都已学懂怎样去利用特朗普不能预测的关税战去炒股。他们在特朗普加关税时买入，因为加关税会导致股市暴跌，股价下降。他们知道当股市暴跌时，会令特朗普退缩（chicken out）而又再减关税。当他减关税时股市会上扬，投资者此时就会高价卖出他们于低价买入的股票。他们叫这做「TACO交易」。特朗普总渴望建立一个硬汉的形象，因此当一名记者问他退缩却步（chickening out）的事时，他不禁恼羞成怒。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻