经济学人:爱意渐失 中国公司成美国市场的最新情人(上)

 　　Bussiness 商业

　　Schumpeter:They’ve lost that loving feeling 熊彼特：爱意已褪

　　Foreign firms were lukewarm on America long before Donald Trump¹. 特朗普上台前，外国公司对美国早已丧失热情。

　　Which is it? 以下两者哪个才是美国？

　　The home of free speech, the rule of law and the rich world’s most dynamic economy? 言论自由、法治之地、富裕世界中最具活力的经济体？

　　Or a land of social decay, septic politics and the rich world’s worst roads and schools? 还是社会堕落、政治腐败、富裕世界里道路和学校最糟糕的国家？

　　America divides foreign observers. 外国观察家对美国看法不一。

　　It divides foreign firms, too. 外国公司同样如此。

　　Some bosses fall head over heels for its insatiable consumers and dazzling technology. 有些公司老板为美国庞大的消费群体和炫目的科技倾倒。

　　Other executives are put off by its insufferable lawyers and hypocritical protectionism. 也有高管因美国那些令人讨厌的律师和虚伪的保护主义而却步。

　　Donald Trump promises to give foreign firms a rude awakening² when he reaches the White House: last month he beat up Toyota for making cars in Mexico and selling them north of the border. 特朗普承诺入主白宫后给外国公司猛敲一记警钟：上月，他便因丰田公司在墨西哥制造汽车并销往美国而向其开炮。

　　But in truth many foreign firms fell out of love with America years ago. 但实际上，许多外国公司在多年前便已不再钟情美国。

　　The conventional view is that foreign companies are irresistibly³ attracted to the place. 一般看法认为，外国公司难以抗拒美国的魅力。

　　If one affair ends in tears, there is always a new paramour in the wings. 假如一段情缘悲剧收场，总会有新的情人伺机而动。

　　In the 1970s British buccaneers, led by Sir James Goldsmith, picked up neglected firms. 上世纪70年代，以詹姆斯·戈德史密斯爵士（Sir James Goldsmith）为首的英国“海盗”把受冷落的美国公司收入囊中。

　　In the 1980s Japanese firms lost their financial virginity by paying too much for Hollywood studios and Californian skyscrapers⁴. 80年代，日本公司首度大举投资，高价收购好莱坞的电影公司和加州的摩天大楼。

　　A decade later continental⁵ European firms rushed across the pond, culminating in Daimler’s doomed⁶ tryst⁷ with Chrysler, a rival carmaker. 十年后，欧洲大陆的公司竞相跨越大西洋涌入美国，随着戴姆勒与对手克莱斯勒发生一场注定难有善终的幽会，这一风潮达到顶峰。

　　By this account, Chinese firms are the latest to get the love bug⁸,  这样看来，中国公司是美国市场的最新情人。

　　with China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, in the role of the besotted tycoon⁹, having paid a blockbuster $4bn to assemble a chain of mature American cinemas since 2012. 中国首富王健林就扮演了一位为美国疯狂的大亨，自2012年来，他已投入惊人的40亿美元来整合一系列成熟的美国院线。

　　But this narrative¹⁰ is hopelessly out of date. 不过这样的故事已经完全过时了。

　　The most accurate metaphor¹¹ for foreign firms in America today is of disappointed hopes. 对于如今在美的外国公司，最准确的形容是“美梦破灭”。

　　Their share of private output has been flat at about 6% since 2000. 自2000年以来，它们在私营部门产出中所占份额一直停留在6%左右。

　　The share of sales that European firms make in America has declined from 20% in 2003 to 17% now, according to Morgan Stanley, a bank. 据摩根士丹利的数据，欧洲公司在美国的销售份额已从2003年的20%下降至如今的17%。

　　Foreign firms’ profits in America fell from $134bn in 2006 to $123bn in 2014, the latest year for which figures are available. 外国公司在美利润从2006年的1340亿美元降至2014年的1230亿美元（可获得数据的最近一年）。

　　Their return on equity¹² fell to 6%, compared with 11% in 2006. 其股本回报率下降到6%，而2006年为11%。

　　American multinationals¹³ make 12% on their home turf. 美国跨国公司在自家主场的股本回报率则为12%。

　　This souring romance reflects three deep shifts in America’s economy. 花残月缺，浪漫不再——这反映出美国经济的三个深刻转变。

　　First, technology has a greater importance than it used to. 首先，科技的重要性更胜从前。

　　At the same time the gap between Silicon¹⁴ Valley’s giants and their peers abroad has grown wider. 同时，硅谷巨头与其海外同行之间的差距也已拉大。

　　A generation ago Europe and Japan had real contenders in the technology industry, such as Nokia and Sony. 二三十年前，欧洲和日本在科技行业还拥有可与美国企业实力匹敌的公司，如诺基亚和索尼。

　　Now they have no answer to the likes of Apple, Google and Uber. 而现在，它们并没有能挑战苹果、谷歌、优步等美国巨头的企业。

　　Second, waves of mergers¹⁵ and acquisitions have made the economy more concentrated. 第二，并购浪潮令美国经济更为集中。

　　That has raised the barriers to entry for outsiders. 这提高了外来者进入美国市场的门槛。

　　If you split the world’s companies into 68 industries, American firms are the largest in two-thirds of them. 如果将全世界的公司分为68个行业，其中有三分之二都由美国公司称霸。

　　Foreign companies in America are often subscale and too small to buy the leading firms in their sector¹⁶. 在美国的外国公司通常规模较小，无法收购所在行业的领先企业。

　　So they try to grow organically or buy weaklings instead. 所以它们试图内生扩展或转而收购较弱小的公司。

　　In 2013 SoftBank, a Japanese technology group, paid $22bn to buy a struggling mobile-phone operator, Sprint¹⁷, which is now losing a billion dollars a year. 2013年，日本科技企业软银斥资220亿美元收购苦苦挣扎的美国手机运营商Sprint，而现在Sprint年亏损十亿美元。

　　The most profitable investment in living memory by a foreign firm in America was not a gutsy triumph but a passive stake in a domestic oligopoly:  记忆中，外国公司在美国投资获利最丰厚的并非是大胆行动获取的胜利，而是来自对美国国内寡头的被动投资：

　　Vodafone’s 45% share of Verizon Wireless¹⁸, which it sold for $130bn in 2014. 2014年，沃达丰以1300亿美元出售其拥有的威讯无线（Verizon Wireless）45%的股份。

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

3 irresistibly   

adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地

参考例句：

• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside. 她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was irresistibly attracted by her charm. 他不能自已地被她的魅力所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

5 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

6 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

7 tryst   

n.约会；v.与…幽会

参考例句：

• It has been said that art is a tryst,for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet.有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。
• Poor Mr. Sanford didn't stand a chance of keeping his tryst secret.可怜的桑福德根本不可能会守住自己幽会的秘密。

8 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

9 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

10 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

11 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

12 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

13 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

14 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

15 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

16 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

17 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

18 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。