US Downgrade Raises Anxiety

The real danger from the downgrade of the US government debt by Standard & Poor's (S&P) isn't higher interest rates. It's the hit to the nation's fragile economic psyche and rattled financial markets. S&P's decision to strip the US of its sterling AAA credit rating and move it down one notch to AA+ deals a blow to the confidence of consumers and businesses at a dangerous time.

Usually, a downgrade in a country's sovereign debt rating would force its government to pay higher interest rates to convince investors to keep buying its debt. If that happened, it would drive up the rates that consumers pay on mortgages and auto loans, which are often tied to the government's interest rate. The United States is a special case, though. Treasury debt is considered the safest investment in the world even after the downgrade.

政府债务信用评等的真正危机不是导致利率上扬，而是信评调降严重打击该国经济的脆弱心理以及人心惶惶的金融市场。标准普尔决定将美国的信评从优等的 AAA 调降 1 个等级至 AA+，在这个景气堪虞的时候打击了消费者与企业的信心。

　　国家的主权债评等遭调降 1 个等级，通常会迫使该政府付更高的利率来说服投资者继续买该国公债。果真如此，那么消费者的抵押贷款和汽车贷款的利率将被迫上升，因为这 2 种利率和政府的利率息息相关，但美国是个特例。即使信评遭调降，美国国债仍被视为世界上最安全的投资产品。

Fifteen Minutes of Daily Exercise

Lowers Risk of Death

Just 15 minutes of daily physical activity increases life expectancy by 14 percent. In a large observational study, over 400,000 Taiwanese men and women aged 20 and older participated in a 12-year standard medical screening program. Based on self reports of weekly activity, participants were placed into five categories inactive, low, medium, high, and very high.

Compared with the inactive group, low-activity participants who exercised for an average of 15 minutes per day had a three-year increased life expectancy. What's more, every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise beyond the daily minimum further reduced the risk of death by four percent. There's nothing new about the fact that exercise contributes to longer life, but the need for just 15 minutes a day may help motivate even the most rooted of couch potatoes.

每天运动 15分钟，延年又益寿

　　每天只要做 15 分钟的运动，就能延长百分之十四的寿命。在这项大规模的观察研究中，有 40 多万名 20 岁（含）以上的台湾男女参加，接受为期 12 年的标准医疗普查计划。受访者根据自己填写的每周运动量，被分成不运动、低运动量、中运动量、高运动量和非常高运动量等 5 类。

　　比起不运动的人，每天平均运动 15 分钟的低运动量者，平均寿命可延长 3年。此外，每天最少有运动 15 分钟的人，运动量每增加 15 分钟，就可再减少百分之四的死亡率。运动能延年益寿已经是老生常谈了，但每天只要运动 15 分钟的事实应该可以打动那些死赖在沙发上看电视的马铃薯族。