3月18日，美股因標普500指數盤中跌超7%，再次觸發熔斷機制，暫停交易15分鐘，為美股史上第五次熔斷。
點擊圖片瞭解熔斷機制以及股市詞彙⊿
從第一次的震驚，到10天內第四次熔斷，網友們已經心態平穩開啟了段子接龍：
3月8日，巴菲特：我活了89歲，只見過一次美股熔斷。
3月9日，巴菲特：我活了89歲，只見過兩次美股熔斷。
3月12日，巴菲特：我活了89歲，只見過三次美股熔斷。
3月16日，巴菲特：我活了89歲，只見過四次美股熔斷，我太年輕了…
3月18日，我…“
巴菲特說一輩子就看見五次熔斷，我10天就實現了四次，看來我要比股神厲害。”
股市是如何運作的？又是誰決定了股票的價格？
TEDe用動畫的方式，科學地講解了股市如何運作，短短几分鐘，讓你收穫的不僅僅是英語的提升，還有知識層面的擴充——
動畫視頻⊿
中英雙語
In the 1600s the Dutch East India Company employed hundreds of ships to trade gold, porcelain, spices, and silks around the globe. But running this massive operation wasn’t cheap. In order to fund their expensive voyages, the company turned to private citizens– individuals who could invest money to support the trip in exchange for a share of the ship’s profits. This practice allowed the company to afford even grander voyages, increasing profits for both themselves and their savvy investors.
17世紀初，荷蘭東印度公司僱傭了上百隻商船 在全球進行黃金，陶瓷，香料，絲綢等貿易。這是一筆不小的開銷。為了獲得足夠的資金來供養 這些昂貴的航行， 荷蘭東印度公司將目光轉向了大眾每一位能夠為出海貿易出資的人，將會得到貿易利潤的一部分作為交換。這一做法使公司有能力負擔 規模更大的航行，同時帶給精明的出資人和公司更高的利潤。
Selling these shares in coffee houses and shipping ports across the continent, the Dutch East India Company unknowingly invented the world’s first stock market. Since then, companies have been collecting funds from willing investors to support all kinds of businesses. And today, the stock market has schools, careers, and even whole television channels dedicated to understanding it. But the modern stock market is significantly more complicated than its original incarnation. So how do companies and investors use the market today?
這些股份在歐洲各地的咖啡廳和港口被售賣，就這樣，荷蘭東印度公司在不知不覺中發明了世界第一個股票市場。自那以後，各個公司紛紛效仿，向有意的投資者們募款，用來做各種各樣的生意。如今，很多學校，職業，甚至專門的電視頻道致力於教人們理解股票市場的運作。但現代股票市場要比當年複雜得多。所以，如今的公司和投資人該怎樣運用這個市場？
Let’s imagine a new coffee company that decides to launch on the market. First, the company will advertise itself to big investors. If they think the company is a good idea, they get the first crack at investing, and then sponsor the company’s initial public offering, or IPO. This launches the company onto the official public market, where any company or individual who believes the business could be profitable might buy a stock. Buying stocks makes those investors partial owners in the business.
讓我們來想象一個決定進入市場的新咖啡公司。首先,這家公司會向大型投資人推銷自己。如果投資者認為，這是個好點子，他們將取得投資的先機，並且將資助該公司的首次公開募股（IPO）。這使得這家咖啡公司進入正式的公開市場。在這裡，任何相信它會盈利的個人投資者或公司，都可以購買股票。股票這一方式，使投資人變成公司的股東。
Their investment helps the company to grow, and as it becomes more successful, more buyers may see potential and start buying stocks. As demand for those stocks increases, so does their price, increasing the cost for prospective buyers, and raising the value of the company's stocks people already own. For the company, this increased interest helps fund new initiatives, and also boosts its overall market value by showing how many people are willing to invest in their idea.
他們的投資會幫助該公司成長，在這個過程中，更多人會看到它的潛力，併購買更多的股票。當對該股票的需求不斷增長，股票的價格也水漲船高，對於手中持有股票的人來說，他們的股票價值也會有所上升。於公司而言，新增加的利益不僅會資助新的企劃，並且通過許多人對公司的的投資意願，抬高了公司整體市場價值。
However, if for some reason a company starts to seem less profitable the reverse can also happen. If investors think their stock value is going to decline, they’ll sell their stocks with the hopes of making a profit before the company loses more value. As stocks are sold and demand for the stock goes down, the stock price falls, and with it, the company’s market value. This can leave investors with big losses– unless the company starts to look profitable again.
然而，出於某些原因，這家公司不那麼盈利時，與之前截然相反的情況就有可能發生。如果投資者認為他們所擁有的股票價值會下降，他們將賣掉手中的股票，並希望能在公司掉價前獲得利潤。這使得該股票需求持續減少，股票價格下跌，公司的市場價值也隨之下降。除非公司的盈利情況開始好轉，否則投資者將會面臨很大的虧損。
This see-saw of supply and demand is influenced by many factors. Companies are under the unavoidable influence of market forces– such as the fluctuating price of materials, changes in production technology, and the shifting costs of labor. Investors may be worried about changes in leadership, bad publicity, or larger factors like new laws and trade policies. And of course, plenty of investors are simply ready to sell valuable stocks and pursue personal interests. All these variables cause day-to-day noise in the market, which can make companies appear more or less successful. And in the stock market, appearing to lose value often leads to losing investors, and in turn, losing actual value.
很多因素會影響到這樣的供求平衡。首先,市場力量是所有公司都無法避免的，這包括原料價格的波動，生產設備和技術的變化，以及勞動力成本的改變。投資者還可能會擔心領導的變動，不好的宣傳或者是像新法和貿易政策一類更大的原因。當然，許多投資者也會隨時賣掉昂貴的股票去追求個人利益. 這些變量都會干擾市場，並影響公司的成功與否。在股票市場，市場價值下降會導致失去投資者，也會使股票真正失去價值。
Human confidence in the market has the power to trigger everything from economic booms to financial crises. And this difficult-to-track variable is why most professionals promote reliable long term investing over trying to make quick cash. However, experts are constantly building tools in efforts to increase their chances of success in this highly unpredictable system.
人們對市場的信心作用很大，它可以促使經濟繁榮，也可以造成經濟危機。這個難以掌控的變量是許多專家推薦可靠的長期投資而不是賺快錢的原因。然而，專家們在不斷尋找新的工具來加大他們在這個不可測的系統中成功的幾率。
But the stock market is not just for the rich and powerful. With the dawn of the Internet, everyday investors can buy stocks in many of the exact same ways a large investor would. And as more people educate themselves about this complex system they too can trade stocks, support the businesses they believe in, and pursue their financial goals. The first step is getting invested.
但股票市場不是專門為那些有權有勢的人準備的。在互聯網時代，每一天都有很多投資人用像大投資方一樣的方式購買股票。有更多的人自學這複雜市場的運作原理，他們也可以進行股票交易，支持他們相信的企業，並追求他們自己的理財目標。第一步，就是投入進去。
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