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纽约富人刮起节俭风
The financial crisis on Wall Street has New York’s well-to-do reeling. The people who fuel the area’s economy with their spending on art, fashion, cars, restaurants, plastic surgery and other luxe goods and services are starting to cut back once-lavish budgets. As a result, those who cater to their every whim — from nanny agencies to jewelers to yacht builders — are seeing clients tighten their belts on expenses from the millions to the thousands.
华尔街的金融危机让纽约的富人们心惊肉跳。他们在艺术、时尚、汽车、餐饮、整形手术和其他奢侈品及服务上的消费推动着纽约经济的发展，而今，他们却一改过去挥霍铺张的消费习惯，开始节俭起来。结果是那些迎合他们消费兴致的商家──从保姆公司、珠宝商到游艇建造商──都已看出这些客户正勒紧裤带，仔细盘算着上至几百万、下到几千块的开销。
At luxury boat builder Northrop & Johnson Yacht and Ship, headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, director Kathleen Mullen says a New York investor called this week trying to put off the purchase of a more than $25 million megayacht. The client’s debating whether to back out of the deal completely. He’ll still have to pay 10%, Ms. Mullen says, since he’d already signed the contract. ‘He’s undecided about what he wants to do,’ she says. ‘People have been very shaken.’
Northrop & Johnson Yacht and Ship是一家总部位于英国维京群岛的豪华游艇制造商。公司负责人凯瑟琳•马伦(Kathleen Mullen)表示，一名纽约投资人本周打来电话说，希望推迟购买一艘价值超过2,500万美元的巨型游艇，而且还在考虑是否彻底毁约。马伦表示，由于已经签了合同，因此如果毁约，这名投资人仍要支付合同金额的10%。“他现在犹豫不决，不知道该怎么办才好，“ 马伦说，“人们都变得胆战心惊。“
On Thursday, a New York mother of two young children asked Carol Solomon, the owner of New York Nanny Center Inc., whether she could find a good nanny willing to work for less than the $1,200 a week sought by a candidate she had found elsewhere.
本周四，一名育有两个年幼子女的纽约母亲向纽约保姆服务中心(New York Nanny Center Inc.)的所有者卡罗尔•所罗门(Carol Solomon)询问能否帮忙找到一个周薪1,200美元以下的好保姆，这个价位是她从别处问到的。
‘Based on everything that’s been going on with the market,’ the mother told Ms. Solomon, ‘I’m concerned about committing to that kind of salary.’ Ms. Solomon suggested another nanny seeking a more modest salary of $750 a week.
这位母亲对所罗门说，“根据市场最近的表现，我担心自己支付不起这么高的工资。“所罗门向她推荐了另一个保姆，这个保姆的周薪开价只有750美元。
Plastic surgeon Z. Paul Lorenc says one patient recently asked him to inject half a syringe of Restylane and save the rest for later to save money. He refused. ‘Every single patient that I have seen today so far has mentioned that there’s uncertainty on Wall Street,’ Dr. Lorenc said this week. ‘Everybody’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.’
整形医师保罗•洛伦克(Z. Paul Lorenc)说，最近一位顾客为了省钱，要求他只注射半管除皱针剂Restylane，余下的等以后再用。他没有答应。“我今天见到的每一个顾客都无一例外地提到了华尔街的动荡，每个人都在提心吊胆地等待最后的结局。“
Expensive jewelry — one of the few bright spots in the luxury-goods industry until now — appears to be a new victim of the financial crisis. Patricia G. Hambrecht, who helps private clients buy and sell high-end jewelry, this week watched a client in the financial-services industry slash his budget for his wife’s wedding anniversary present to $20,000 to $25,000 from $50,000.
昂贵珠宝──奢侈品行业迄今为止的少数亮点之一──似乎成了金融危机的最新牺牲品。帕特丽夏•汉布里特(Patricia G. Hambrecht)的工作是帮助私人客户购买和销售高级珠宝。本周，汉布里特看到一名供职于金融服务业、即将和妻子庆祝结婚纪念日的客户将礼物预算标准从之前的5万美元大幅削减到了2万至2.5万美元。
Jewelry designer Tina Tang said August sales were down 50% year over year and foot traffic was off 75% at her Gold Label by Tina Tang store in Greenwich Village, where she caters to professional women with items that go for as much as $16,000. She expects sales to fall more this month. To clear merchandise and generate cash flow, Ms. Tang is holding her first ever storewide sale, slashing prices on all items by 25%. ‘We’re feeling it,’ she said.
珠宝设计师Tina Tang说，8月份的销售额比去年同期下降了一半，旗下Gold Label by Tina Tang店面的客流量则锐减了75%。这家店位于纽约的格林威治村(Greenwich Village)，面向职业女性消费者，某些珠宝的售价高达1.6万美元。她预计本月的销售额将出现更大幅度的下滑。为清理库存和创造现金流，Tina Tang首次在全店范围内开展了打折促销，所有商品一律降价25%。她说，“我们能够感受到市场的危机。“
Despite Sotheby’s record-breaking auction of Damien Hirst’s artworks in London this week, many galleries fear fallout from the crisis on Wall Street. Chelsea art gallery owner Nick Robinson says he expects the work of popular artists who command prices of more than $250,000 in his gallery will still sell well, because people will consider the art an investment. But mid-career artists with lower-priced pieces may suffer because the value of their work is less certain, he says.
尽管达明安•赫斯特(Damien Hirst)的作品本周在伦敦苏富比(Sotheby’s)创下了成交价纪录，但许多画廊对于华尔街危机带来的后果仍然心忡忡。切尔西画廊(Chelsea art gallery)的所有者尼克•罗宾逊(Nick Robinson)说，他预计售价在25万美元以上的当红艺术家作品仍将大有销路，因为人们会将其视为一种投资。不过，他表示，事业不上不下、作品售价较低的艺术家或许会受到不利影响，因为人们对他们作品的价值没有把握。
The full impact of the financial crisis on those who sell to the wealthy won’t be known for months since much of the big spending by folks on Wall Street is fueled by the bonuses they receive between December and February. The prospect of smaller bonuses this year has realtors, retailers and renters of villas in the Caribbean on edge.
金融危机对奢侈品消费的全面影响还要几个月才能显现出来，这是因为华尔街精英们的多数大手笔消费都是在他们每年12月至2月间发完奖金后进行的。今年奖金缩水的前景让房地产经纪人、零售商和加勒比海别墅的租赁人们紧张不已。
Glenn Ormiston, a reservations agent at Wimco Luxury Villa Vacations and Hotels, in Newport, R.I., says her company’s villas on the island of St. Barts are all booked for Christmas but notes that clients have until mid-October to pay in full, cancel or trade down to a smaller property.
美国罗得岛新港(Newport) Wimco Luxury Villa Vacations and Hotels的预定员格伦•奥米斯顿(Glenn Ormiston)说，圣诞节期间，该公司在圣巴特斯岛(St.Barts)的别墅都已预订一空，不过表示，客户们直到10月中旬才会决定是否支付全款、取消订单或者改订稍小的住处。
At Roundabout New and Resale Couture, a consignment shop on the Upper East Side, manager Kristjansen Villanueva says a woman came into the store for the first time on Wednesday saying the ‘resale’ sign in the window caught her eye.
在纽约上东区的二手服装店Roundabout New and Resale Couture，经理克里斯强森•维兰纽瓦(Kristjansen Villanueva)说，周三的时候，有一个女人第一次来到商店，说是因为橱窗的’Resale’（二手货）标牌吸引了她。
Mr. Villanueva says the customer told him she’s watching her spending because her husband works at Lehman Brothers and their finances were ‘a little bit shaky.’ He says she bought an Armani pinstripe suit for $499 — when buying it at a boutique would have cost her $2,500.
维兰纽瓦说，这位顾客告诉他，她的丈夫在雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)工作，最近他们的财务情况有点儿不牢靠，所以她在控制自己的开销。维兰纽瓦说，这名顾客花499美元买下了阿玛尼(Armani)的条纹套装──而在专卖店她要为这件衣服花上2,500美元。
都经济危机了…当然富人们缩水严重啊 没办法的…