2019年经济学人 如何打破大型科技公司的垄断(1)

 

Business

来源于《商业》版块

Big Tech and antitrust

大型科技公司与反垄断

How to dismantle¹ a monopoly

如何打破垄断

Would it be possible to carve up Big Tech? If so, would it ever happen?

有可能瓜分大型科技公司吗？如果是这样，它会发生吗？

“Father lennon, have you some money? Buy Standard Oil.” That’s what John D. Rockefeller is said to have told his golf partner, a priest, when he heard the news in 1911 that the Supreme² Court had ruled his oil company was to be broken up into 34 smaller firms. It was good advice. Within a few years the value of those firms rose threefold. The net worth of Rockefeller, who owned more than 25% of each, grew from about $300m in 1911to $900m in 1913, around $23bn in current dollars.

“列侬神父，你有钱吗？请买下标准石油公司。”据说1911年，约翰·D.洛克菲勒在听到最高法院裁定他的石油公司将被分拆成34家小公司的消息时，就是这么对他的牧师高尔夫球伙伴说的。这是个好建议。几年内，这些公司的价值增长了三倍。洛克菲勒拥有两家公司25%以上的股份，其净资产从1911年的3亿美元增长到1913年的9亿美元，相当于现在的230亿美元。

A break-up of today’s tech titans—Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple—could also unlock vast value, say some with an eye on the industry. If the most radical³ plan, proposed by Elizabeth Warren, a leading Democratic contender for America’s presidency⁴, were fully⁵ implemented⁶, by some calculations the parts spun⁷ off alone could be worth over $2trn—roughly half the value of the four complete firms today.

一些关注该行业的人士表示，如今的科技巨头（谷歌、亚马逊、Facebook和苹果）的分拆也可能释放出巨大的价值。如果由美国总统的主要民主党竞争者伊丽莎白?沃伦提出的最激进的计划得到全面实施，根据一些计算，仅剥离出来的部分就价值超过2万亿美元，大约是今天四家完整公司价值的一半。

Ms Warren’s two-pronged scheme was presented in March, but it is now coming under closer scrutiny⁸ as her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination⁹ gathers steam. The first part is relatively¹⁰ straightforward¹¹. She intends to unwind tech mergers¹² deemed “anticompetitive” because they were undertaken to neutralise potential competitors. This is mainly aimed at Facebook, which in 2012 bought Instagram, a picture-heavy social network, for $1bn and in 2014 paid $19bn for WhatsApp, an instant-messaging service. Both of these, industry insiders argue, could have become serious rivals to Facebook. But Ms Warren also aims to undo¹³ other deals, such as DoubleClick, an advertising¹⁴ exchange bought by Google, and Whole Foods, a grocery chain acquired by Amazon.

沃伦的双管齐下的计划于今年3月提出，但随着她争取民主党总统候选人提名的活动逐渐升温，该计划目前正受到更密切的关注。第一部分相对简单。她打算撤销被视为“反竞争”的科技企业合并，因为这些合并是为了中和潜在竞争对手。这主要是针对Facebook的。2012年，Facebook斥资10亿美元收购了以图片为主的社交网络Instagram，2014年又斥资190亿美元收购了即时通讯服务WhatsApp。业内人士认为，这两家公司都可能成为Facebook的劲敌。但沃伦还打算撤销其它交易，例如谷歌收购的广告交易所DoubleClick，以及亚马逊收购的杂货连锁店Whole Foods。

1 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

7 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

8 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

9 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

12 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

13 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

14 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。