As an alternative to short selling, you can buy a credit default swap, which is a form of insurance on debt-not necessarily your own debt.

作为卖空交易的替代选择，你还可以购买信贷违约掉期。这是债务保险的一种形式，担保的未必是你自己的债务。

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For a start, the price of credit default swaps, a form of insurance against companies defaulting on debt, went through the roof as investors took cover.

一开始，随着投资者寻求避险，信用违约互换(CDS)——一种规避企业债务违约的保险形式——价格暴涨。

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Spreads on credit default swaps (CDS), a form of insurance against default, have risen from around 400 basis points in August 2008 to over 3, 500 today.

信贷违约掉期（一种防范违约的保险产品）的溢价已经从去年8月份的400个基点（4%）涨至目前的3500基点。

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At the same time, the nation's biggest insurance company, American International Group, had gotten into trouble selling credit default swaps.

VOA: special.2009.01.02

Assuming the feds had done right and let AIG go under (its error one of failing to hedge its exposure to CDSs), those in need of credit default insurance could have simply taken their business to other financial companies ready and willing to provide what AIG no longer could.

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Spreads on both investment-grade credit-default swaps (insurance against bond default) and on high-yield indices have increased sharply.

ECONOMIST: Testing times

For now, credit default swaps are essentially insurance contracts between two parties.

FORBES: Magazine Article