美国国家公共电台 NPR--As Elon Musk prepares to take over Twitter, the SEC closely monitors

As Elon Musk¹ prepares to take over Twitter, the SEC closely monitors

Transcript²

Elon Musk hasn't hidden his distaste for the Securities and Exchange Commission. The agency he scorns is now scrutinizing³ his bid to buy Twitter.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Elon Musk has publicly scorned the federal agency that polices financial markets. Now the Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing his proposed takeover of Twitter. NPR's David Gura Reports.

DAVID GURA, BYLINE⁴: When Elon Musk started buying up Twitter stock, by law, he was supposed to file a disclosure with the SEC, announcing he owned more than 5% of the company's shares. Musk did submit that paperwork but 11 days late.

JOE GRUNDFEST: As a practical matter, it seems to me that this is about as closest to a slam-dunk case as you're going to find.

GURA: Joe Grundfest, who used to be an SEC commissioner⁵, says the agency's got grounds to charge Musk with a disclosure violation⁶. But he's not convinced that would do that much. A disclosure violation usually carries a fine of about a hundred thousand dollars.

GRUNDFEST: To a guy like Elon Musk, that's pocket lint⁷. That's chump change. It's bupkis.

GURA: The CEO of Tesla is the world's richest man, and his net worth is about $200 billion. Mark Cuban is another billionaire who's tangled⁸ with the SEC. And Cuban told Yahoo! Finance he doesn't think the agency's penalties are that effective.

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MARK CUBAN: There's no disincentive based off of the findings from the SEC or the rulings that they have or the court rulings they have. It goes into the ether, and nobody remembers it unless you're in the securities industry.

GURA: Former SEC officials wonder if the agency is equipped to police a world that's changed a lot since Congress created the Securities and Exchange Commission almost a century ago to protect investors⁹ after many Americans lost money during the 1929 stock market crash.

Christine Chung used to work as a lawyer in the SEC's enforcement division, and she compares the SEC to one of the first passenger cars.

CHRISTINE CHUNG: The SEC is sort of driving the Model T when everybody else is out there in their sports cars.

GURA: The SEC was meant to be a powerful organization. It's both a regulator and a law enforcement agency. But in the face of market manipulation and other malfeasance, its options are limited. It can't bring criminal charges, and Chung says it's a debate worth having whether its teeth are sharp enough.

CHUNG: Do we think that the SEC is carrying out its mission in a way that is fair and equitable¹⁰, regardless of how wealthy and powerful you are?

GURA: If there's a perception that fines and other penalties don't matter much to the country's rich and powerful or they're not much more than a nuisance, well, that could have far-reaching consequences.

CHUNG: If people feel that markets are rigged or that markets are fundamentally unfair and that your wealth and power can dictate¹¹ what happens to you, they may be less likely to trust what the market is telling us about the value of companies like Twitter.

GURA: The SEC sent a letter to Musk saying it's investigating that late filing, and it has some questions. But even if the agency doesn't bring charges, lawyer Marc Fagel says Musk is pushing boundaries and testing norms. Fagel used to run the SEC's San Francisco regional office, and he points to a recent back-and-forth on Twitter between Musk and Twitter's CEO. What started out as a substantive¹² exchange ended with Musk posting a poop emoji.

MARC FAGEL: We have blunt tools in the securities laws that are designed to penalize¹³ fraud. But if somebody sends a poop emoji and investors decide that they're going to buy or sell stock on it, the securities laws aren't really designed to protect them at that point.

GURA: That tweet with the poop emoji didn't lead to a dramatic move in Twitter's stock price, but plenty of Musk's tweets have. And what he seems to have figured out, Fagel says, is that in this new world, with the social media platform he's trying to buy, you can mess with markets and it doesn't really rise to the level of fraud. Sure, that can hurt investors, but under law, there's not much the SEC can do.

David Gura, NPR News, New York.

1 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 scrutinizing   

v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His grandfather's stern eyes were scrutinizing him, and Chueh-hui felt his face reddening. 祖父的严厉的眼光射在他的脸上。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• The machine hushed, extraction and injection nozzles poised, scrutinizing its targets. 机器“嘘”地一声静了下来，输入输出管道各就各位，检查着它的目标。 来自互联网

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 lint   

n.线头；绷带用麻布，皮棉

参考例句：

• Flicked the lint off the coat.把大衣上的棉绒弹掉。
• There are a few problems of air pollution by chemicals,lint,etc.,but these are minor.化学品、棉花等也造成一些空气污染问题，但这是次要的。

8 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

11 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

12 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

13 penalize   

vt.对…处以刑罚，宣告…有罪；处罚

参考例句：

• It would be unfair to penalize those without a job.失业人员待遇低下是不公平的。
• The association decided not to penalize you for the race.赛马协会决定对你不予处罚。