economist經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人文摘(中英雙語)A mixed blessing

1、A mixed blessing 喜憂參半The cheaper euro will be good for some European companiesup to a point 歐元貶值有利于某些歐洲國家，僅限于一定程度May 27th 2010 | From The Economist print editionA FEW years ago even global celebrities bowed down before the almighty euro. Gisele Bndchen, a Brazilian supermodel, insisted on being paid

2、 in the currency. Jay-Z waved 500 notes in a rap video. The Wu-Tang Clan, fellow American rappers, listed the price of one of their CDs in euros rather than dollars on their official website. 幾年前，全球名流紛紛向萬能的歐元頂禮膜拜。巴西超級(jí)名模吉賽爾邦辰堅(jiān)持接受歐元報(bào)酬。說唱歌手Jay-Z在音樂電視里點(diǎn)著一疊500歐元的鈔票。美國說唱團(tuán)體武當(dāng)派在官方網(wǎng)站上出售的專輯以歐元而不是美元標(biāo)價(jià)。Today th

3、e euro has lost much of its glamour, gangsta or otherwise. It has fallen by 15% against the dollar since December. Most analysts think that the decline still has some way to go. Some even talk of parity between the two currencies. This is a severe blow to Europes self-image. But is it such a bad thi

4、ng for business in the euro zone? 時(shí)下，歐元已經(jīng)失去了往日的光輝和威力。從去年12月以來，歐元對(duì)美元匯率貶值了15%。 大多數(shù)分析師認(rèn)為，歐元貶值尚未結(jié)束。有人甚至說兩種貨幣會(huì)達(dá)到等值。這對(duì)歐洲的自我形象是沉重的打擊。可這對(duì)歐元區(qū)企業(yè)而言真的那么糟糕嗎？Exporters had seen the overvalued euro as a heavy cross to bear. For example, Anne Lauvergeon, the boss of Areva, a French nuclear firm, complained loudly t

5、hat her company lost its bid to supply four reactors to Abu Dhabi thanks to the currencys strength. The euros decline, in contrast, should bolster exports for big manufacturers (particularly in northern Europe) and luxury-goods companies (particularly in Italy and France) while boosting tourism acro

6、ss the continent. 出口商一直認(rèn)為，歐元匯率過高讓他們背負(fù)了沉重的十字架。比如說，法國阿?，m能源公司執(zhí)行總裁安娜洛韋容大聲抱怨，由于歐元表現(xiàn)強(qiáng)勁，該公司在阿布扎比4座核反應(yīng)堆的工程中沒有中標(biāo)。相比之下，歐元匯率下降將推動(dòng)大型制造企業(yè)（尤其是北歐國家）和奢侈品企業(yè)（尤其是意大利和法國）的出口，同時(shí)促進(jìn)歐洲大陸的旅游業(yè)。Daimler-Benz expects a billion-euro gain in its operating profits this year. Sales of its Mercedes brand have already surged by 26% i

7、n America in the first four months of this yearand those sales are worth more in euros than they would have been at the beginning of the year. EADS, the parent company of Airbus, has seen its share price rise, despite disappointing earnings, in anticipation of a similar “euro effect”. Rmy Cointreau,

8、 which pays for the production of most of its goods in euros but sells most of them outside the euro zone, could be in for a bonanza. 戴姆勒奔馳公司預(yù)計(jì)，今年?duì)I運(yùn)利潤會(huì)增加10億歐元。今年前4個(gè)月，該公司旗下梅賽德斯品牌在美國的銷售額已經(jīng)增加了26%，銷售額換算成歐元匯率比年初的時(shí)候更多?？湛湍腹練W洲宇航防務(wù)集團(tuán)盡管收益令人失望，由于歐元效應(yīng)預(yù)計(jì)股價(jià)有所上升。法國人頭馬君度集團(tuán)大多數(shù)產(chǎn)品在歐元區(qū)生產(chǎn)，卻在歐元區(qū)外銷售，可能會(huì)財(cái)源滾滾。European expo

9、rters, particularly Germanys mighty car companies, have worked hard to boost productivity during the era of the strong euro. They are now well placed to reap the fruits of their good management. They can also wallow in a little Schadenfreude as American and Asian companies take up the cross of a hig

10、her dollar. The likes of Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive, which are already suffering from weak consumer spending and expensive raw materials, will now have to cope with a mightier dollar as well. 歐洲出口商，尤其是德國的汽車企業(yè)，在歐元表現(xiàn)強(qiáng)勢(shì)期間努力提高生產(chǎn)力?，F(xiàn)在，這些企業(yè)恰好能夠獲得自身管理有方的成果。他們不免有一點(diǎn)幸災(zāi)樂禍，因?yàn)槊绹蛠喼奁髽I(yè)要背負(fù)上美元升值的十字架。寶潔和高露

11、潔等企業(yè)已經(jīng)嘗到了消費(fèi)支出疲軟和原材價(jià)格昂貴的苦頭，如今不得不應(yīng)付美元走強(qiáng)帶來的問題。Yet they are hardly singing the “Ode to Joy” in Europes boardrooms. That is partly because most businesses loathe uncertainty, and European ones are now having to rejig contracts with foreign suppliers and recalibrate investment plans. But it is also partly

12、 because many big companies have worked hard to protect themselves from the opposite problem to the one they are now confronting. Some have locked themselves into hedging arrangements that will prevent them from taking advantage of the lower euro until next year or even the year after. PPR, a French

13、 holding company which owns Gucci and several retail chains, has already declared that it will be adversely affected by its hedging policy, for example. 然而歐洲企業(yè)的董事會(huì)絕不會(huì)高唱?dú)g樂頌。一方面因?yàn)榇蟛糠制髽I(yè)對(duì)不確定因素深惡痛絕，歐洲企業(yè)現(xiàn)在不得不調(diào)整和外國供應(yīng)商的合同，重新安排投資計(jì)劃。另一方面因?yàn)楹芏啻笃髽I(yè)努力自保，免受和當(dāng)前截然相反的問題的損害。有些公司受困于風(fēng)險(xiǎn)規(guī)避方案，這些方案防止利用歐元貶值持續(xù)到明年乃至后年。比如說，擁有古奇和

14、幾家零售連鎖店的法國PPR集團(tuán)已經(jīng)宣布，將會(huì)受到自身風(fēng)險(xiǎn)規(guī)避政策的不利影響。Some of Europes most successful exporters operate in markets where price is far from being the primary consideration. Europes export powerhouse, Germany, is more focused on industrial goods than consumer ones. It is also dominated by highly specialised companies

15、many of them smallthat produce bespoke goods for individual customers. Georg Tacke, of Simon-Kucher & Partners, a consultancy, points out that even those companies that are enjoying windfall profits are reluctant to treat the euros decline as an opportunity to gain market share, through cut-throat p

16、ricing, since they are well aware that what goes down can also go up. 歐洲幾家最為成功的出口商所運(yùn)營的市場，價(jià)格并不是首要因素。歐洲出口大國德國更關(guān)注工業(yè)產(chǎn)品而不是消費(fèi)產(chǎn)品。工業(yè)產(chǎn)品由高度專業(yè)化的企業(yè)所把持，這些企業(yè)多半規(guī)模小，為個(gè)人客戶生產(chǎn)定制產(chǎn)品。SKP管理咨詢公司的喬格泰克指出，即使這些利潤豐厚的企業(yè)也不愿意把歐元貶值當(dāng)做良機(jī)，通過競相壓價(jià)來增加市場份額，因?yàn)檫@些企業(yè)非常清楚，有跌就有漲。Some of Europes great success stories in recent years have been dr

17、iven by the overvalued euro. A swathe of European companiesthink of Spains Santander or Italys Banca Intesahave used the currencys strength to buy companies in Britain, the United States and Latin America relatively cheaply. Arturo Bris, of IMD, a Swiss business school, points out that the lower eur

18、o is likely to put an end to this acquisitions frenzyor, at the very least, shift it to those countries in eastern Europe whose currencies are pegged to the euro. 近年來，歐洲最出色的成功案例都是由歐元高估所推動(dòng)。有幾家歐洲企業(yè)，比如西班牙桑坦德銀行和意大利聯(lián)合商業(yè)銀行，利用歐元強(qiáng)勢(shì)來收購英國、美國和拉丁美洲相對(duì)便宜的企業(yè)。瑞士國際管理發(fā)展學(xué)院教授阿圖羅布里斯指出，歐元貶值可能停止這波并購熱潮，至少會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)向貨幣和歐元掛鉤的幾個(gè)東歐國家。

19、Heads I win, tails you lose 正面我贏，反面你輸European companies are also grappling with the iron law of currency movements: that what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts. European companies will find it more expensive to raise capital internationally. They will also have to pay more for commo

20、dities such as oil which are priced in dollars. This means that the huge number of European companies that export mainly within the euro zone are seeing the costs of their raw materials rise without any accompanying benefits. Even Germany does more trade with France than any other country. 歐洲企業(yè)還要應(yīng)對(duì)貨

21、幣走勢(shì)的鐵律：有所得也可能有所失。歐洲企業(yè)會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，跨國籌集資金的代價(jià)會(huì)更昂貴。他們要為石油等以美元定價(jià)的商品支付更多錢。這意味著，大量主要在歐元區(qū)內(nèi)出口的歐洲企業(yè)，要面臨原材料成本上漲卻毫無利潤可言的局面。即使德國與法國的貿(mào)易比其他國家更多。The biggest worry for European business, however, is not so much the decline of the euro itself but rather what it says about the European economy. European governments will have

22、to reduce public spending dramatically to allay the markets fears. Spain has already announced that it is cutting public-sector wages by 7% and Greece by 16%. This will inevitably remove spending power from the European economy and so dent its short-term prospects. 歐洲企業(yè)最大的擔(dān)憂與其說是歐元匯率下滑，還不說是擔(dān)心歐洲經(jīng)濟(jì)究竟如何。歐洲各國政府必須大幅削減公共支出，來減輕市場的恐慌情緒。西班牙已經(jīng)宣布把公共部門薪酬減少7%，希臘則降低了16%。此舉不免會(huì)降低歐洲經(jīng)濟(jì)的購買力，影響短期經(jīng)濟(jì)前景。The euros slide als