Small US Businesses Feel Pinch of Tightened Credit
信贷紧缩影响小企业生意

　
As the U.S. Federal Reserve System announced measures to ease the credit crisis Tuesday, small business owners around the United States say the tight credit market is hurting them. The financial crisis is affecting nearly all businesses, including car dealers, fast-food restaurants, and retail stores.

就在美国政府采取更多的措施缓解信贷危机的同时，全美各地的很多小企业主都说，信贷紧缩影响了他们的生意。这种影响在汽车销售、餐饮、零售等各行各业都有体现。

Alfred Minas, an Armenian immigrant, runs a Los Angeles shoe repair shop, and he says business is terrible. "Seems like people are panicking. People with money, they're holding back. People with no money, still they don't have money. Business is just going down day by day," he said.

来自亚美尼亚的移民阿尔弗莱德.梅纳斯在洛杉矶经营一家修鞋店。他说，现在生意很不好做。梅纳斯说：“现在人们看起来都在恐慌。手里有钱的不敢花钱。没钱的照样没钱。我们的生意一天比一天难做。”

Economist Eduardo Martinez of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation says some businesses are feeling the squeeze at both ends, with banks reluctant to lend and few customers willing to spend any money. "Especially car dealers, people who are dealing in furniture, they've been hit pretty hard by the downturn in consumer spending, not having that many customers go to their showrooms, but now, they're having a hard time getting the funds to be able to order products to fill their showrooms."

洛杉矶县经济开发局的经济学家艾多拉多.马丁内兹说，一些企业现在面临双重困境。一方面，银行不愿意放贷；另一方面，顾客不愿意花钱。马丁内兹说：“特别是汽车经销商、家具商这些人。消费者支出的下降对他们打击很大。现在没有太多顾客光顾他们的销售大厅。而且，由于贷款不容易，他们也很难再进新货了。”

He says the downturn is hurting franchise businesses like McDonald's, which have been investing in new equipment to offer high end coffees. Banks are reluctant to lend to franchise owners for the upgrade.

马丁内兹说，经济不景气对麦当劳这类特许经营的店铺也产生影响。很多店铺最近都在投资购买新设备，用于销售高档咖啡。但是银行却不愿意为店主的设备更新提供贷款。

Martinez says the uncertainty in European credit markets is also hurting local business because major British, German, French and Dutch firms have Los Angeles operations in entertainment, banking, finance, and manufacturing.

马丁内兹还表示，欧洲信贷市场的动荡也伤害了洛杉矶当地的商业活动，因为英国、德国、法国、荷兰在娱乐、银行、金融和制造业等方面的大公司在洛杉矶设有分号。

Some business owners hope to ride out the storm. Brothers Peter and Charlie Woo, immigrants from Hong Kong, founded Megatoys 20 years ago. The company manufactures toys in Asia, imports them to the United States and exports them to Latin America. Chief executive Charlie Woo says the company foresaw a downturn and took preventive action by securing its line of credit.

一些企业主希望能够安全渡过这场风暴。彼得.吴和查里.吴是一对来自香港的移民。他们在20年前创立了MEGATOYS玩具公司。这家公司在亚洲制造玩具，把玩具运到美国，再出口到拉美。担任首席执行官的查里.吴说，他的公司早就料到了低迷时期会来临，因此预先就采取措施确保贷款的来源。

"And also, we've got a very widespread customer base. We sell to large retailers such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart, and we also sell to the small mom-and-pops [family-owned stores] as well as export to Central and South America. In general, everybody's quite pessimistic, but we've got a pretty big customer base."

他说：“此外，我们的客户范围很广。我们的客户即包括沃尔玛、K-MART这些大型零售商，同时也包括家庭经营的小商店。而且我们还向中美和拉美出口。总的来说，大家都挺悲观的。但是我们的客户基础很广泛。”

He adds that a weak U.S. dollar hurts the import businesses.

查里.吴补充说，美元走软给进口业务增加了困难。

Iranian immigrant Farhad Besharati offers tours to Europe through his business called Atlantic Tour and Travel. He says the credit crisis means empty seats on airlines. "When people cannot apply for a loan or credit, definitely it affects all businesses. Because before, they used to get home equity [loan] or credit card or something and then they could travel and they paid slowly, but now it's impossible."

来自伊朗的移民法赫德.巴沙拉蒂创办的大西洋旅游公司专门经营欧洲旅游线路。他说，信贷危机意味着坐飞机的人数减少了。巴沙拉蒂说：“当人们申请不到贷款的时候，所有的行业都受到影响。以前，人们可以利用房屋净值贷款或者信用卡来旅游消费，然后再慢慢还清。现在这是不可能的。”

Economist Eduardo Martinez says most businesses need to borrow to stay in business. And with banks reluctant to lend, even businesses with low overhead expenses are faced with customers reluctant to part with their money.

经济学家马丁内兹说，大多数企业都需要贷款维持经营。由于银行不愿意贷款，再加上顾客不愿意消费，就连那些日常开支很低的企业也遇到了困难。