While the basic risks originated outside the systems – a tsunami for Fukushima, over-investment in real-estate mortgages for financial institutions – design defects and bad luck meant that the system couldn’t contain the damage. In the United States, AIG, Bear Stearns, and Lehman Brothers – all with large derivatives and/or repo investments – failed, freezing up credit markets for a scary few weeks.
当基本风险来自系统之外的时候——正如福岛的海啸以及金融机构对房地产抵押贷款的过度投资——设计缺陷和坏运气意味着系统无法承受其破坏效应。在美国，美国国际集团（AIG），贝尔斯登和雷曼兄弟——手里都握有大笔金融衍生品和再购协议投资——相继垮台，使整个信用市场陷入了持续几周之久的可怕停滞之中。