或许很多人看过司汤达的长篇小说《红与黑》（The Red and the Black），讲的是一位木匠的儿子于连......呼~本文不讲故事，但书名《红与黑》的来历可以浅提一下，“红”是象征法国大革命时期的热血和革命；而“黑”则意指僧袍，象征教会势力猖獗的封建复辟王朝。在金融领域中，“红”与“黑”也各有所指。

 

阅读下文前，你可以先猜一下，红与黑两种颜色，哪一种颜色在金融领域表达积极的含义呢？

 

In many places in the world, colors can be viewed as a type of language that each convey a particular type of feeling or emotion. Some colors are believed to evoke calm and tranquillity, while others, such as red, are regarded as more loud and powerful.

在世界上许多地方，颜色可以看作是一种语言，每种语言都传达一种特殊的感觉或情绪。有些颜色被认为能唤起平静和安宁，而另一些颜色，如红色，则被认为更鲜艳更有感染力。

 

Red

In finance, the color red has several negative connotations that generally revolve around losing money. "Red" can denote a negative balance on a company's financial statement or an individual’s bank account. It can also signify unfruitful investments, as well as unfavorable regulations governing businesses.

在金融领域，红色有几个负面含义，通常是围绕着赔钱。“红色”可以表示公司财务报表或个人银行账户上的负余额。红色还可能意味着投资无果，以及监管企业的不利法规。

 

On Wall Street, and other financial markets around the world, the word "red" primarily appears in the following two business expressions:

在华尔街和世界各地的其他金融市场上，“红色”一词主要出现在以下两种商业用语中:

 

Bleeding red ink: Meaning to have severe financial problems and consistently lose money.

亏损:意味着出现严重的财务问题，并持续亏损。

In the red: Companies that have not been profitable within their last accounting period or individuals who have more liabilities than assets and are struggling to pay off debts.

赤字:上一会计期间未盈利的公司或负债超过资产且难以偿还债务的个人。

 

When red is used with numbers, it generally implies that a company, government, or other entity is in financial difficulty, spending more money than it is bringing in. That line of thinking can be traced back to the old accounting custom of utilizing red ink to enter a negative figure on a company's financial statement.

红色的数字，通常意味着公司、政府或其他实体陷入财务困境，入不敷出。这种用法可以追溯到古老的会计习惯，即利用红笔在公司的财务报表上写下负数。

 

Today, most financial and operational ledgers are maintained electronically. That said, it is still fairly common for software to respect past accounting practices, using red to illustrate a loss and black to signify that a number is positive or profitable.

如今，大多数财务和业务分类账都以电子方式保存。尽管如此，软件仍然相当普遍地尊重过去的会计惯例，用红色表示亏损，用黑色表示数字是正数或盈利。

 

 

The negative connotations of the color red in finance aren’t just limited to a company’s balance sheet, either. For example, regulations governing businesses that are deemed burdensome and unnecessary are often referred to negatively as "red tape." Investors may also describe a security position losing money as being “in the red.”

红色在金融领域的负面影响不仅仅限于公司的资产负债表。例如，管理业务的法规被认为是繁重和不必要的，通常被负面地称为“繁文缛节”。投资者也可以将亏损的证券头寸称为“赤字”。

 

Black

 

The expression "in the black" is used to refer to a company's profitability and current financial health. A company is said to be in the black if it is profitable or, more specifically, if the company produces positive earnings after accounting for all expenses.

“In the black”一词指一家公司的盈利能力和目前的财务健康状况。如果一家公司盈利，或者更具体地说，如果该公司在扣除所有费用后实现了正收益，则该公司被称为处于盈利状态。

 

The term has roots in accounting history when accountants updated financial data in their books by hand before computers and software came into use. Accountants used different colored ink—both black and red—to denote a company's profitability. Unlike a company in the black, one with negative earnings or that is unprofitable is said to be in the red.

该术语源于会计历史，当时会计人员在计算机和软件开始使用之前用手写的方式更新账簿中的财务数据。会计师用不同的颜色——黑色和红色——来表示一家公司的盈利能力。与盈利的公司不同，盈利为负或无利可图的公司称为亏损公司。

 

The term can also apply to individuals. Anyone who has more assets than liabilities and is able to pay off their debts without any problem is said to be in the black.

该术语也适用于个人。如果一个人的资产比负债多，而且能够毫无问题地偿还债务，那他就in the black。

 

The expression "in the black" is commonly heard in the financial world and refers to a company's most recent financial status, generally its last accounting period. When a company is in the black, it is said to be profitable, financially solvent, and not overburdened by debt (manageable debt is not an issue). As such, the future of the company is certain, so instead of the likelihood of going bankrupt, the company is able to continue its normal operations.

“In the black”这种说法在金融界很常见，通常是指最近的一个会计期间，一家公司最近的财务状况。当一家公司in the black，人们会说它能盈利，有财务偿付能力，而且不会因为债务而负担过重(可控债务不是问题)。因此，公司的未来是确定的，公司能够继续正常运营，而不是可能破产。

 

The phrase is derived from the color of ink used by accountants to enter a positive figure on a company's financial statements. Obviously, it is better to consistently be in the black than in the red as this indicates solid business performance.

该短语来源于会计师在公司的财务报表上输入正数时所用的墨迹颜色。显然，始终处于盈余状态比处于亏损状态要好，因为这表明业绩稳定。

 

Although computers have replaced the old ink-based system, the terms black and red are still used. Instead of different colored ink, negative earnings and other related figures are contained in parentheses on financial statements.

尽管计算机已经取代了基于墨水的旧系统，但术语in the black和in the red仍然被使用。财务报表的括号中包含的是负收益和其他相关数字，而不是其他彩色墨水。

 

Red vs. Black

In finance, black is the opposite of red. Accountants elected to use the color black to highlight a gain. As is the case for the color red, that custom has stuck.

在金融领域，黑与红，意思相反。会计师们选择使用黑色来强调收益。正如红色强调亏损，这个习惯延续了下来。

 

It’s common for people to describe a healthy business or investment as “in the black.” This particular expression means the subject is profitable, making money, and not overburdened by debt.

人们通常把一个健康的企业或投资描述为"in the black"。这种特殊的表达方式意味着主体是有利可图的，在赚钱，而且没有过重的债务负担。

 

If a company is consistently in the red, though, it may raise a red flag. Companies that constantly report a loss may lose shareholders, fail to attract new ones, cannot secure any financing, and may end up on the path to bankruptcy.

但是，如果一个公司持续“in the red”，可能会引起人们的警惕。不断报告亏损的公司可能会失去股东，无法吸引新的股东，无法获得任何融资，并可能最终走上破产的道路。

 

英文来源：

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/red.asp

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/black.asp

 

翻译：王碌碌