The Wall Street Journal
What’s News
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2026
7/14/2026 5:15:00 PMShare This Episode
What’s Behind a Red-Hot Quarter for Bank Earnings
銀行決算が絶好調だった四半期、その背景とは
Narrow down/in on
- narrow down ＝ 候補を絞る（目的語を直接絞る）
- narrow in on ＝ 一つの対象に狙いを定めて近づく・特定に迫る
という違いがあります。
今回のニュースでは narrow in on がぴったりです。
narrow down
「数ある候補から絞り込む」
が基本イメージです。
例えば、
- We narrowed down the list to five candidates.
（候補を5人まで絞り込んだ。） - We need to narrow down our options.
（選択肢を絞る必要がある。） - Police have narrowed down the suspects.
（警察は容疑者を絞り込んだ。）
目的語そのもの（list, options, suspects）を減らしていくイメージです。
narrow in on
こちらは
「一点に狙いを定める」「原因・犯人に迫る」
というイメージです。
例えば、
- Police are narrowing in on the killer.
（警察は犯人の特定に迫っている。） - Scientists are narrowing in on the cause.
（科学者たちは原因の特定に近づいている。） - We're narrowing in on a solution.
（解決策が見えてきた。）
「もうかなり特定できてきた」というニュアンスがあります。
今回の文
Health officials in Michigan are narrowing in on a culprit...
ここでは
「原因をだんだん特定しつつある」
という意味になります。
もし narrow down を使うなら、
Health officials have narrowed down the possible culprits.
（考えられる原因をいくつかまで絞り込んだ。）
のように、「候補（possible culprits）」を目的語にするのが自然です。
イメージで覚えると
🟢 narrow down
10個の候補
↓
5個
↓
2個
「候補を減らす」
🟢 narrow in on
🎯
↗
→ 原因
↘
「狙いを定めて、その一点に近づく」
ネイティブは両方使う？
はい、どちらもよく使いますが、意味が少し違います。
例えば捜査なら、
- Police narrowed down the suspect list.
（容疑者リストを絞り込んだ。）
その次の段階で、
- Police are narrowing in on the suspect.
（その容疑者の特定に迫っている。）
このように、narrow down は「候補を減らす段階」、**narrow in on は「ほぼ狙いを定めた段階」**という流れで使い分けられることが多いです。
narrow in on は「もうかなり絞れてきたが、まだ100%確定ではない」という場面で非常によく使われます。
候補が10個ある
↓
候補が3個になる（narrow down）
↓
この1つが一番怪しい！これに狙いを定めて調べている（narrow in on）
↓
確定する（identify / confirm）今回のニュースでは、
Health officials in Michigan are narrowing in on a culprit...
の直後に
They suspect that it's lettuce...
（レタスではないかと疑っている。）
と続いています。
つまり、
- 「原因はほぼレタスだと思っている」
- 「でも、FDAの調査はまだ続いている」
- 「正式に『これが原因です』とは発表していない」
という段階です。
だから narrow in on がぴったりなんです。
「狙いを定める」と「確定する」は違う
例えば刑事ドラマなら、
Police are narrowing in on a suspect.
は
「犯人はこの人物ではないか、とかなり絞れてきた。」
であって、
Police have identified the suspect.
になると
「犯人（容疑者）を特定した。」
になります。
さらに
Police confirmed that he was the killer.
で
「犯人であることが確認された。」
という流れです。
「一つに絞った」のニュアンスは？
厳密には、narrow in on は「一つに絞った」というより、
「最も有力な対象に焦点を合わせている」
というイメージです。
だから、
We're narrowing in on the cause.
と言われても、
「原因はこれだ！」と断定したわけではありません。
「原因はほぼこれっぽい。今、それを重点的に調べている。」
というニュアンスです。
ニュースでよくある流れ
- We're narrowing down the possibilities.
（可能性を絞り込んでいます。）
⬇️
- We're narrowing in on one likely cause.
（有力な原因に狙いを定めています。）
⬇️
- We've identified the cause.
（原因を特定しました。）
このように、narrow down → narrow in on → identify/confirm の順で、確信度が高まっていくイメージで覚えると理解しやすいですよ。
P.M. Edition for July 14. Big U.S. banks like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America reported soaring profits in the second quarter. But can the party continue? We hear from Gina Heeb, who covers banks for the Journal. Plus, inflation cooled to 3.5% last month. WSJ economics reporter Matt Grossman talks about what’s driving prices lower, and what’s expected later this summer. And ICE is suspending traffic stops after two fatal shootings in the past week. Alex Ossola hosts.
Alex Ossola: Inflation cooled last month, offering some relief to Americans, but don't count on it to last. Plus, big banks raked in soaring profits last quarter.
Jamie Dimon: We're in a very healthy, active, exuberant market with very high prices and very high volumes. We benefit from that. We just don't know how long it will continue.
• exuberant /ɪɡˈzuːbərənt/ 活気に満ちた、熱狂的な
Alex Ossola: And a T. rex named Gus just became the world's most expensive dinosaur. It's Tuesday, July 14th. I'm Alex Ossola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.
New data out today show that consumer prices were up 3.5% last month from a year earlier, beating analyst expectations and giving Americans a bit of a break on inflation. Prices rose somewhat more in May. They were up 4.2% that month. The news came as Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh testified before Congress today, telling lawmakers that the central bank won't tolerate high inflation.
Kevin Warsh: There might be some that look at this morning's data and say, "Oh, mission accomplished. Everything is swell." That is not my view.
• Everything is swell. /ˈɛvriθɪŋ ɪz swɛl/ すべて順調だ、万事うまくいっている（やや古風・くだけた表現）
Alex Ossola: For more on what drove inflation lower and whether we can expect that to stick around, I'm joined now by WSJ economics reporter Matt Grossman. Matt, it seems like lower gas prices because of the de-escalation with the war in Iran are really the thing that led to these lower inflation numbers. Where else did consumers see that slower inflation play out?
Matt Grossman: Prices across the board were pretty cool. In categories like car insurance, hotels, cell phone plans, consumers actually saw price decreases last month as well. And so, overall, even if you exclude food and energy prices, inflation was basically zero month over month in June.
Alex Ossola: Should we expect this cooler inflation to stick around? Oil prices have already risen a lot this week with the Iran war heating up again. Are there other forces that policymakers are watching that could push up prices?
Matt Grossman: The news probably won't be this good throughout the rest of the year. Like you said, oil is already rebounding. We can't expect that airfares, grocery prices, car insurance, used cars, hotels, that those are going to keep getting cheaper month after month.
• month over month /mʌnθ ˌoʊvər ˈmʌnθ/ 前月比で
• month after month /mʌnθ ˈæftər mʌnθ/ 毎月毎月、何か月も続けて
Alex Ossola: That was WSJ economics reporter Matt Grossman. Thank you, Matt.
Matt Grossman: Thank you.
Alex Ossola: The Wall Street boom just keeps going, and it continues to lift profits for the country's biggest banks. You heard Jamie Dimon's note about the, quote, "healthy, active market" from JPMorgan's earnings call earlier in our show. Well, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo all reported second quarter results today. And as a group, their profits came to more than $49 billion. That's a 39% jump from a year ago and beat analyst estimates.
Gina Heeb: We had this really historic IPO being SpaceX, and that was great for these big banks, specifically Goldman. You saw revenue from its equity underwriting business more than double, and that was the bank that led this IPO. We saw a lot of volatility in the market because of the Iran conflict, which is good for traders, and then also M&A activity. We saw some records there. As far as volumes go, in the first half of the year, we saw the highest levels both in the U.S. and globally for M&A activity.
• equity underwriting /ˈɛkwəti ˈʌndərˌraɪtɪŋ/ 株式引受業務
Alex Ossola: That's banking reporter Gina Heeb. She says that the banks' results also suggest that consumers are doing well.
Gina Heeb: There were some concerns that higher gas prices would pressure consumers, but they've been pretty resilient. We saw consumers continue to spend on cards, and we also saw delinquencies actually improve from a year ago at these big banks, and JPMorgan actually dismissed this idea of the K-shaped economy that a lot of executives have been talking about the past year plus, and this is the idea that the bottom half of the income spectrum has been doing a lot worse or certain pockets of it have been. JPM actually said, across income segments, it saw continued spending, low loan delinquencies. So that was a very good sign.
the past year plus=この1年以上 plus は「さらに少し」
Alex Ossola: But the bank executives also talked about risks.
Gina Heeb: All of them had this acknowledgment that the good times don't always last, and this was a very strong quarter, but we still have this conflict going on in the background. It's very uncertain. The Bank of America CEO noted that that could weigh on market perception on IPOs. Jamie Dimon pointed to deficits and other risks in addition to inflation, and then you do have businesses and executives and clients who are still exercising some caution out there because of all of these uncertainties despite these strong surface-level numbers.
• weigh on ... /weɪ ɑːn/ ～に重くのしかかる、悪影響を与える
• market perception /ˈmɑːrkɪt pərˈsɛpʃən/ 市場の見方、投資家心理
Alex Ossola: An update on the war with Iran. The U.S. military says a naval blockade of Iranian ports is going back into effect today, but President Trump has abruptly reversed course on another part of his plans for the Strait of Hormuz. The president backed off charging a 20% fee on shipping cargo through the strait. He says that different countries called him to say that they would rather invest in the U.S. than pay shipping fees.
• back off /bæk ɔːf/ ～を取りやめる、撤回する、引き下がる
President Trump: You have Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Alex Ossola: That was Trump at the White House during a meeting with the Iraqi prime minister today. Instead of the 20% fee, Trump says he'll do, quote, "trade and investment deals" with countries in the Gulf.
President Trump: They would love to invest more money in the United States at record amounts, and that would be very acceptable. And this way, there's no fee. I don't like the concept of a fee, but at the same time, it's not fair that we're protecting this strait for the entire world.
Alex Ossola: It wasn't clear how the administration would have put shipping tolls in place, and some top U.S. officials have said in the past that they disagreed with a fee like that.
U.S. indexes mostly rose today after the big banks' strong results kicked off earnings season. The Nasdaq led the gains and closed up 0.9%. The S&P also rose while the Dow was flat, but IBM sank 25%, its biggest decline on record after a profit warning, and oil prices pared their gains after President Trump walked back the plan for a shipping fee on the Strait of Hormuz.
Coming up, why Supreme Court justices testified in front of Congress for the first time in seven years, and ICE is suspending traffic stops. Those stories and more after the break.
Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testified before Congress today. It's the first time the court has sent justices before lawmakers since 2019. So why are they on Capitol Hill? Congress is looking at the court's budget request. For the coming fiscal year, the court is asking for $228 million. That includes more than $14 million for increased security for the justices and their families. Barrett told Congress that after the court overturned Roe v. Wade, her security detail sent her home with a bulletproof vest.
• security detail /sɪˈkjʊrəti dɪˌteɪl/ 警護チーム、警護担当者
• bulletproof vest /ˈbʊlɪtpruːf vɛst/ 防弾チョッキ
Amy Coney Barrett: Maybe I lack imagination, but I didn't expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one.
Alex Ossola: The U.S. Marshals Service says that the number of threats against judges has risen drastically in recent years. Current and former ICE officials tell the Journal that the agency has suspended traffic stops. The decision comes a day after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a man in Maine. It was the second fatal shooting by an immigration officer in a week. Traffic stops are one of the most common ways that immigration officers have to arrest immigrants. If they're not using them, it would likely make it difficult for the administration to meet its internal arrest quotas.
And billionaire Ken Griffin, the founder of investing giant Citadel, has poured roughly $40 million into helping Republicans win the midterms, and that number could easily double before November. He's particularly focused on Senate races. The Journal understands that he thinks that's where his money can have the greatest long-term impact. Analysts say that Republicans have a better chance of keeping control of the Senate in the midterms while the House is more up in the air. Griffin's single biggest gift this year was $10 million to the Senate Leadership Fund. That's a group aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
If you're eating a salad right now, you may want to take a short breather. Health officials in Michigan are narrowing in on a culprit behind the foodborne illness that has sickened thousands across the U.S. They suspect that it's lettuce with bagged, prewashed salad kits posing a particular risk. The FDA says lettuce is one of several produce items under investigation. The CDC says that, so far, 34 states have reported cases of cyclosporiasis. It can cause explosive diarrhea and vomiting. More than 140 people have been hospitalized. Michigan has been hit hardest with more than 3,300 cases, but cases are also climbing in Ohio, Texas, and Illinois. And finally-
• narrow in on ... /ˈnæroʊ ɪn ɑːn/ ～に狙いを絞る、原因を特定しつつある
• culprit /ˈkʌlprɪt/ 犯人、原因
• foodborne illness /ˈfuːdbɔːrn ˈɪlnəs/ 食品由来感染症、食中毒
• bagged, prewashed salad kit /bæɡd priːˈwɑːʃt ˈsæləd kɪt/ 袋入り洗浄済みサラダキット
• cyclosporiasis /ˌsaɪkloʊspəˈraɪəsɪs/ サイクロスポラ症
• explosive diarrhea /ɪkˈsploʊsɪv ˌdaɪəˈriːə/ 激しい下痢
• vomiting /ˈvɑːmətɪŋ/ 嘔吐
Speaker 8: Sold.
Alex Ossola: ... a 38-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex named Gus has sold for $50.1 million at Sotheby's. It's an auction record for a dinosaur skeleton. The buyer won a 10-minute bidding war and remains anonymous. The fossil market has been on the rise, but the U.S. is the only country where fossils taken from private land can be sold, and it's a whole matter of debate whether dinosaur skeletons should be privately owned at all. Many buyers do loan their dinosaurs to museums for the public to enjoy, like the previous dinosaur record holder, Apex the Stegosaurus. Ken Griffin, the Citadel founder we just told you about, spent $44.6 million on Apex in 2024, and that dinosaur is now on display at New York's Museum of Natural History. So what makes Gus a $50 million dinosaur?
• fossil market /ˈfɑːsəl ˈmɑːrkɪt/ 化石市場
• a matter of debate /ə ˈmætər əv dɪˈbeɪt/ 議論の対象
Julie Davich: It's one of the largest T. rexes ever discovered. Also, its percentage of completeness. No dinosaur is ever going to be 100% complete, because it is 67 million years old. So it's 61% complete by bone count, 75 to 80% complete by bone mass, which is extraordinary, especially considering the size. That's what makes it so special.
• bone count /boʊn kaʊnt/ 骨の本数
• bone mass /boʊn mæs/ 骨の総質量
• extraordinary /ɪkˈstrɔːrdnˌɛri/ 並外れた、驚異的な
Alex Ossola: That's Journal contributor Julie Davich. She says Gus got its name from where it was found.
Julie Davich: It was named for Gary Licking. Gus was his nickname. He owned the ranch in South Dakota where Gus, the T. rex, was found and excavated. He sadly passed away about a year into the excavation process. And so, they decided to name it after him and use his nickname, and is actually Gus Rex.
Alex Ossola: And that's What's News for this Tuesday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Danny Lewis and Anthony Bansie with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Ossola for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.
WSJ:20260715
make a dent
＝「少しでも前進する」「少しでも効果を出す」
• coveted /ˈkʌvɪtɪd/ 切望されている、垂涎の
• dismal /ˈdɪzməl/ 低迷した、悲惨な
• rowdy /ˈraʊdi/ 統制が難しい、騒がしい
• delinquency /dɪˈlɪŋkwənsi/ 延滞
• reckon with ... /ˈrɛkən wɪð/ ～に対処する、～を受け入れざるを得ない
We have to reckon with rising costs.（コスト上昇に対処しなければならない。）
• pull way ahead of ... /pʊl weɪ əˈhɛd əv/ ～を大きく引き離す