2019年经济学人 企业丑闻新时代(2)

 

America is no stranger to corporate¹ scandals. In the 19th century abattoirs² sold rotten meat.

美国对企业丑闻并不陌生。在19世纪，屠宰场出售腐烂的肉。

In the 1960s Detroit made cars that were "unsafe at any speed", in the words of Ralph Nader, a consumer-rights crusader.

20世纪60年代，用消费者权益改革者拉尔夫·纳德的话来说，底特律出产的汽车“用哪个速度来开都不安全”。

In the 1990s tobacco and asbestos claims led to legal settlements that have cost shareholders³ over $150bn.

20世纪90年代，烟草和石棉诉讼导致的诉讼和解让股东们的损失超过1500亿美元。

Accounting⁴ scandals erupted at WorldCom, Enron and Tyco in the early 2000s, and by the mid-2000s mortgage fraud was endemic.

21世纪初期，世界通讯公司、安然公司和泰科爆出会计丑闻，21世纪中期，抵押贷款欺诈极为普遍。

Today's crises are diverse but have common elements. The firms tend to be established, with dominant⁵ market positions.

如今的危机虽然变化多样，但都有着共同的要素。这些公司都占市场支配地位。

Outrage⁶ infuses social media and Congress. And yet the financial cost has been limited.

疯狂的注入社交媒体和议会。但财务成本已被限制。

Take a sample of ten big American listed firms involved in controversial episodes:

以涉及争议事件的10家大型美国上市公司为例：

their median share price has lagged behind the stockmarket by a bearable 11% since the event, after adjusting for dividends⁷.

股息调整后，自事件爆发以来，他们的股价中值落后于股票市场11%。

Although Boeing's shares have lost 8% since the crash in Ethiopia, they are above their level in January.

虽然波音的股价自埃塞俄比亚坠机后下跌8%，但仍高于一月水平。

The crises have caused bosses to stand down in only two of the ten cases: Wells Fargo and Equifax.

这些危机导致公司老板离职的情况仅发生在10家公司中的2家：富国银行和Equifax。

Some adjustments to bosses' pay have been made. Goldman says that some ex-executives' share awards

一些公司对老板的薪资做出了调整。高盛投资公司表示一些前高管的股票奖励

could be clawed back depending on the probe into the Malaysia incident. Equifax says cyber-security is now factored into its pay schemes.

可根据对马来西亚事件的调查而被收回。Equifax表示现在会将网络安全作为薪酬方案的考虑因素。

Nonetheless, for the ten firms the total pool of senior executive pay has risen over the four most recent years, to almost $600m, according to Bloomberg.

尽管如此，根据Bloomberg，这10家公司高管的总薪酬在近四年都增加到了近6亿美元。

For critics of capitalism⁸ none of this will be a surprise. They argue that firms controlled by private shareholders are especially unethical.

对资本主义的批评者来说，这并不惊奇。他们认为由私人股东控制的公司都是尤其缺乏职业道德的。

Yet it is easy to poke⁹ holes in this. Volkwagen cheated on emissions¹⁰ tests even though it is part-owned by the German state and has workers on its board.

但很容易在其中找茬。大众汽车在尾气测试中作弊，即便它是一家部分国有的德国公司且其董事会中也有其员工。

Despite Sweden's cuddly¹¹ "stakeholder" capitalism, Swedbank faces a criminal investigation¹² for money-laundering.

虽然瑞典的“股东”资本主义令人羡慕，但瑞典银行面临着洗钱的刑事调查。

An alternative explanation is that American capitalism has got out of kilter. It has always been restless and dynamic.

一种替换解释是，美国资本主义失去了平衡。它总是那么焦躁且充满活力。

Companies test the boundaries of what is possible—and permissible¹³.

公司对可能性的边界和许可范围进行试探。

Tech firms are just the latest to "move fast and break things", to use Facebook's unofficial slogan.

用Facebook的非官方标语来说，科技公司仅仅是最近“快速行动，打破局面”的公司。

But three forces have long constrained¹⁴ corporate conduct: regulation, litigation and competition.

但是长期以来，有三股力量约束着企业的行为：法规、诉讼和竞争。

The aftermath of the financial crisis saw a storm of lawsuits¹⁵ and fines on banks.

金融危机的后果是各种诉讼案和对银行的罚款。

But since then each of the three forces may have weakened, increasing the incentive¹⁶ for firms to take risks.

但自那时起，三股力量都被削弱了，这增加了公司冒险的动机。

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 abattoirs   

n.屠场( abattoir的名词复数 )；（拳击、摔跤、斗牛等的）角斗场

参考例句：

• All that talk about abattoirs turned me right off! 关于屠宰场的那些话让我十分恶心。 来自互联网
• They take more care and have a greater number of staff than more intensive abattoirs. 他们更注意生产，比那些更密集的屠宰场拥有更多的雇员。 来自互联网

3 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

4 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

5 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

6 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

7 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

8 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

9 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

10 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

11 cuddly   

adj.抱着很舒服的，可爱的

参考例句：

• The beautiful crib from Mom and Dad is so cuddly.爸爸妈妈送的漂亮婴儿床真舒服。
• You can't call a hedgehog cuddly.你不能说刺猬逗人喜爱。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 permissible   

adj.可允许的，许可的

参考例句：

• Is smoking permissible in the theatre?在剧院里允许吸烟吗？
• Delay is not permissible,even for a single day.不得延误，即使一日亦不可。

14 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

15 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

16 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。