CDOs are a form of financial alchemy: special-purpose vehicles that buy the financial equivalent of lead (low-rated mortgaged-backed securities) and finance themselves mostly with the financial equivalent of gold (highly sought-after AAA bonds). This transformation is based on one sound principle and two shaky ones.
债务抵押债券是一种金融魔术： 这种专用融资工具购入铅的等价物（即低评级的抵押担保债券），包装成黄金等价物（备受追捧的AAA级债券）之后再转售出去。 上述转变所遵循的原则有一项合理，另外两项不合理。