The+economist20121208双语精选.doc

经济学人中文网Britains future英国的未来Goodbye Europe别了，欧洲A British exit from the European Union looks increasingly possible. It would be a reckless gamble英国退出欧盟的可能性看上去越来越大。这可能是一场不计后果的赌博。Dec 8th 2012 | from the print edition“BRITAIN does not dream of some cosy, isolated existence on the fringes of the European Community,” asserted Margaret Thatcher in 1988. Now, increasingly, it does. Opinion polls show that most Britons are in favour of leaving the European Union. Baroness Thatchers Conservative Party, which took Britain into Europe four decades ago, is divided between those who long for an arms-length relationship and those who want to walk out. The second camp is swelling.玛格丽特撒切尔在1988年宣称：“英国没有梦想着成为欧共体边缘某种惬意和孤立的存在。”如今，英国每天都在做着这样的梦。民调显示，大多数英国人赞成脱离欧洲联盟。40年前，撒切尔女男爵的保守党将英国带进欧盟，如今它已分裂成两派。一派希望同欧盟保持正常的关系，另一派希望走出欧洲大陆，此派的阵营正在壮大。Even the fiercest British critics of the EU are astonished by the speed at which things are moving. Parliamentary rebellions over Europe are becoming easier and easier to organise. Euroscepticism is hardening in the Conservative Party, in much the same way as social conservatism has gone from being a powerful current in Americas Republican Party to an intolerant orthodoxy. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which wants to leave the EU, has abruptly moved from the political margins to the mainstream. A referendum on Britains membership of the EU now seems a matter of timing.就连对欧盟持最强烈批评态度的英国舆论也对事态的发展速度感到惊讶。组织针对欧洲大陆的议会起义变得越来越容易。就像社会保守主义从美国共和党内的主流变 成狭隘的正统观念一样，保守党内的欧洲怀疑主义也在强硬起来。支持脱欧的英国独立党(UKIP)在一夜之间从政治的边缘变成主流。如今，对英国的欧盟成员 资格进行全民公投似乎成为早晚的事情。Continental Europeans are surprised tooand annoyed. They are bewildered that the British should be talking of leaving a club that many believe has shifted decisively in a free-trading, Anglo-Saxon direction in the past two decades. They also resent the way Britain seems to be using the threat of an exit as a bargaining tool, especially at a time when the euro is in crisis. As they see it, Britain wants to carve out a privileged place for itself in the European club, where it can enjoy free trade without any of the other membership rules. In Berlin and Rome, political leaders argue that Britain needs to make up its mind once and for all: does it want to be in or out?欧洲大陆也感到吃惊和恼怒。让他们困惑的是，欧盟在过去20年间毅然决然地按照自由贸易和盎格鲁-撒克逊模式进行了转型，而英国竟然在探讨离开这个俱 乐部的话题。他们对英国人似乎正在把脱欧的威胁当做谈判砝码的做法尤其是在欧元处于危机时还如此表示不满。在他们看来，英国想要为自己在欧洲俱乐 部内攫取一个特权地位，使她可以在不受其他成员国约束的情况下享受自由贸易。柏林和罗马的领导人认为，英国需要做出永久性的决定：到底是想留还是想走？Oops!天哪！For an economically liberal newspaper that has been sceptical of much that Brussels does, a British exit would be a double tragedy. Britons would suffer far more than they currently realise, as we explain in detail in our briefing this week (see article). Europe would be damaged too. Britain has stood for free trade and low regulation, so without it the union would be more lethargic and left ever further behind by America and the emerging world.在一家对布鲁塞尔的大多数政策持怀疑态度的经济自由派报纸看来，英国脱欧可能是一个双重悲剧。如同本周精粹栏目所详细叙述的那样，英国人为此所遭受的痛苦 远远大于他们现在能够意识到的。欧洲也会遭遇打击。英国一直是自由贸易和放松监管的表率，失去她的欧盟会更加了无生气，并且会被美国和新兴国家落得更远。The speediest way for Britain to tumble out would be an “In or Out” referendum called by a prime minister frightened by rising anti-Europe feeling in Parliament and the country as a whole. David Cameron, Britains prime minister, has tried to resist this, hinting instead that Britons would be given a choice between the status quo and a more detached relationship. But few are satisfied with that. Conservative MPs look over their right shoulders at UKIP and clamour for a sharper choice.英国仓促出走的最快方式是由已被议会和国内反欧情绪高涨搞得六神无主的首相下令进行一次“留还是走”的全民公决。英国首相戴维卡梅伦一直在努力抵制公民公决。他反而暗示说，英国人应当在现状和更超脱的关系之间做出选择。但是几乎无人对此感到满意。保守党议员向独立党看齐，并且为更明确的选择而四处呼吁。Another route out involves a diplomatic slip. The cleverer Eurosceptics, including Mr Cameron, do not want Britain to leave; they just want to bring back some powers from Brussels. But their efforts to do so are making things worse. Last year almost all other EU members lined up against Mr Cameron, who was trying to block a fiscal compact to help resolve the euro crisis. The British now hope that tightening euro-zone integration provides a chance for Mr Cameron to negotiate looser ties. They could be wrong. Other countries are tiring of British demands. Many, including Germany, would prefer to avoid a British exit, but they are not so desperate to keep Mr Cameron in that they are prepared to concede much in the way of social and labour-market regulation. And some, such as France, might positively welcome the departure of the clubs most awkward member. Bad-tempered negotiations would increase the likelihood of an “out” vote in a British referendum.另一条出走的道路涉及外交方面的一些麻烦。包括卡梅伦在内的较明智的欧洲怀疑派不准备让英国脱离欧盟；他们只是想从布鲁塞尔讨回一些权力。但是，他们为此 所做的努力正在使事情变得更糟糕。去年，当卡梅伦试图阻止一项有助于解决欧元危机的财政契约获得通过时，除英国之外的几乎所有欧盟成员国都联合起来反对 他。如今，英国希望对欧元区一体化的强化能为卡梅伦提供一个通过谈判减少合作的机会。他们可能打错了算盘。其他国家对英国的要求感到厌倦。虽然包括德国在 内的多个国家倾向于防止英国脱欧，但是他们还没有迫切到为了让英国留在欧盟而准备在社会和劳动力市场的监管方式上做出大幅让步的程度。同时，包括法国在内的一些国家可能对俱乐部中处境最尴尬成员的离去表示明确欢迎。恶劣心情下的谈判可能会增加英国全民公决中投“离开”票的可能性。Little sovereignty, large cost不菲的代价，少量的主权And what if Britain left? It could grab a few benefits quickly. The nation would save about 8 billion ($13 billion) a year in net budget contributions. Freed of the common agricultural policy, its food could become cheaper. If it pulled out of the single market, it could do away with annoying labour directives. The City would not have to worry so much about a financial-transaction tax and creeping European finance rules.那么，英国脱欧影响几何呢？眼前的好处有以下几个：国家每年能节省80亿英镑（130亿美元）的净预算分摊额。从欧洲统一农业政策中解放出来后，英国的食品会更加便宜。如果脱离统一市场的话，英国能摆脱恼人的劳工指令。伦敦金融城不必为繁重的金融交易税和恼人的欧洲金融法规而担忧。Yet these gains would be greatly outweighed by the costs of a British exit, which would dent trade with a market that accounts for half of Britains exports. The carmakers that use Britain as their European operations base would gradually drift away, along with large parts of the financial-services industry. Britain would have to renegotiate dozens of bilateral trade deals from a much weaker position than it enjoyed as a member of the EU. It would cut a greatly diminished figure on the world stage. It would have bought some sovereignty, but at an extraordinary cost to Britainand its partners.不过，这些好处同脱欧的代价受影响的市场占英国出口量的一半相比简直是九牛一毛。把英国当做其欧洲业务基地的汽车厂商和大部分金融服务产业会逐步 撤离。同保持欧盟成员国相比，英国不得不站在一个弱者的地位上重新进行一连串双边贸易谈判。脱欧会大大消弱英国在世界舞台上的形象，脱欧可能会换回一部分主权，但是对英国及其伙伴来说可能会及其昂贵。Among those who want out, there is talk of finding an accommodation by which Britain would leave the EU but still trade freely with it (the equivalent of eating in a restaurant but not paying the cover charge). Some Eurosceptics suggest Britain could join Norway in the European Economic Area. That would leave it bound by EU regulations that it would be almost powerless to shapea situation many Britons, especially Eurosceptics, would find intolerable. Others hope Britain might get the same deal as Switzerland, which is a little further removed but gets good access to the single market. It wouldnt: the EU already regrets giving Switzerland the Swiss option, so it is scarcely likely to give bigger, more troublesome Britain the same deal. Again, disappointment and a referendum beckon.想要脱欧的人们正在探讨一种可以让英国在脱欧的同时仍然可以自由地同其进行贸易的通融办法（这同在饭店吃饭却不付小费有 点类似）。一些疑欧派人士提议，英国可以像挪威一样加入欧洲经济区，使英国处于几乎无力形成的欧盟监管的约束这是多数英国人，尤其是欧洲怀疑人士无法 容忍的情况。有人希望英国能够达成类似于瑞士的那种协议，也就是说以更多的让步换取进入统一市场的便利。不过，这是不可能实现的：欧盟早就在为给予瑞士自主选择后悔不已，因此几乎不可能同影响力更大而且更难管理的英国达成类似协议。再次失望之余，全民公决在召唤英国人。Can anything be done to prevent this slow-motion disaster? Quite possibly, it can. Oddly, Mr Cameron should try emulating Baroness Thatcher. She is remembered today as a handbag-swinger who commanded Brussels to retreat, but she also knew how to make common cause with other European leaders. Unfortunately, the quality of British EU diplomacy has deteriorated in recent years. Obsessed with repatriating powers and with appearing tough to their domestic audience, Britains current leaders seem to have forgotten the art of dealmaking. Mr Cameron has a good case to make, especially when he argues for extending the single market to promote growth. He also has powerful sympathisers in Europe, including Germanys Angela Merkel, but they seldom become useful allies because Britain is seen as a blackmailing zealot.有什么办法可以阻止这种慢镜头回放式的灾难吗？当然有。奇怪的是，卡梅伦应当努力效仿撒切尔女男爵。虽说她留在当今人们记忆中的形象是一位挥舞着手提包命 令布鲁塞尔撤退的人，但是她还了解如何同其他欧洲领导人进行合作。不幸的是，英国对欧盟外交的质量近些年来一直在下滑。由于忙于收回权力并且对国内民众显 得更加强硬，当前的英国领导人似乎已经忘记了做交易的技巧。卡梅伦拥有做交易的有力条件，尤其是他对扩大统一市场以提高增长的意见表示赞同的时候。虽说他 在欧洲还拥有不少如德国总理默克尔这样的有影响力的同情者，但是，由于英国被视为一个善于讨价还价的狂热分子，他们基本不可能成为可以依赖的盟友。The other priority should be educating Britons about what exactly a British exit would really involve. Big business and the City, whose interests lie solidly inside the EU, need to take a stand. The Labour Party, which has been playing a cynical and dangerous game, also needs to change its line. In October Labour MPs voted with anti-European Tories over the EU budget, handing the government its first major defeat. By strengthening those who want to leave Europe, Labour is making it more likely that a Conservative government will have to promise an in-or-out referendum. If it does, Labour may be bounced into promising the same.另外一个要优先考虑的事项应该是，把脱欧的真相告诉英国人。其利益与留在欧盟密切相关的金融产业和金融城必须做出表态。一直在玩弄悲观和危险把戏的工党也 必须改变立场。今年10月，工党议员联合保守党中的反欧议员否决了欧盟预算案，让政府遭遇首次重大失败。通过强化同脱欧议员的联系，工党令保守党政府不得 不保证进行一次“留还是走”的全民公决可能性得以提高。如果真得进行全民公决的话，工党可能会被迫做出同样的保证。Most of the heavy lifting, at home as well as in Brussels, will have to be done by Mr Cameron and his chancellor, George Osborne. They need to remind Britons of the victories that have been won within the EU and of the dangers of falling out of it. And above all, they need to rediscover the virtues of muddling along and keeping options open. The referendum is a good example. Rushing to hold a simple in-or-out vote sounds clear and decisive. But stalling for time is wiser. The government should resist demands for a vote at least until it becomes clear what sort of Europe Britain would be voting to remain in or leave. This sort of wait-and-see approach may feel unsatisfactory, but it is what kept Britain out of the euro.不管是在国内还是在布鲁塞尔，还有许多困难在等着卡梅伦和财政大臣乔治奥斯本去解决。他们有必要提醒英国人，即要记住已在欧盟取得的胜利，也不要忘记脱 盟的危险。同时，更重要的是，他们有必要重新发掘出“和稀泥”和保留各种选项的长处。全民公决就是一个绝好的例子。单就“留还是走”进行一次仓促的投票听 起来意义非凡，但是暂时搁置才是更明智的做法。政府至少应当对投票的要求进行抵制，直到英国对为什么样的欧洲进行留还是走的投票了解清楚为止。此类观望手 段或许无法令人满意，但它正是让英国远离欧元的办法。Britains position in Europe may become untenable, if the resolution of the economic crisis binds the countries of the euro zone ever closer and all other EU countries join. But that is not a certainty, and nor is Britains steady marginalisation. Difficult and often humiliating as it may be, the best course is to stick close to Europe, and try to bend it towards Britain.如果对经济危机的解决将欧元区国家更加紧密地团结起来，并且让其他欧盟国家也加入进来，那么英国在欧洲的立场可能会站不住脚。但是，这既不是板上钉钉的事 情，也不能说英国肯定会被边缘化。这也许是困难的，也许还经常令人难堪，但最佳的选择就是紧紧地同欧洲联结在一起，并努力使这种联结有利于英国。/thread-174710-1-1.html译者fszGerman newspapers德国报业So farewell then, FTD那么 FTD，就此别过Is this curtains, or see you on the world wide web?是彻底落幕，还是借助网络重生？Dec 8th 2012 | BERLIN | from the print edition TRUE to form, the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) will not go quietly. On December 7th the daily newspaper launched in 2000 is due to print its last edition, celebrating its biggest scoops, outlining the stories it would have loved to write, and inviting its star columnists to forecast the future. Memorabilia, including a sofa in salmon-pink FTD livery, are being auctioned; the proceeds will go to Reporters Without Borders, an NGO that defends press freedom.一如其往常作风，德国金融时报不会愿意悄悄离去。自2000年出版发行以来，这份日报在12月7日迎来最后一期的告别之作。报纸上刊登了它对最大的新闻头条“停刊”的“庆典”，列出了它喜欢报道的故事类型，并邀请著名专栏作家预测未来。包括带有报刊浅橙色专门标志沙发在内的许多珍贵纪念品都在拍卖当中，拍卖所得将捐给一家捍卫新闻自由的非政府组织无国界记者组织。In its short life the paper shook up German journalism with fearless, well-informed reportingand pushed its big rivals, Handelsblatt and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), to shape up. But it failed to pinch market share and is said to have accumulated losses of 250m ($327m). Gruner + Jahr, a German publisher, which had started the FTD as a joint venture with the Financial Times (part-owner of The Economist), took full control in 2008 and last month said it would shut it down.虽然发行时间不长，德国金融时报以其言论大胆、内容广博的新闻报道，给德国报业带去不少新气象，并促使其最大的对手德国商报和法兰克福汇报完善自身以应对竞争。 但是，德国金融时报的市场份额不断流失，据称已经累计亏损2.5亿欧元（即3.27亿美元）。德国金融时报最初由德国出版商Gruner + Jahr与金融时报（经济学家杂志的所有者之一）联合创立，是一家合资企业。2008年，Gruner + Jahr成为该报唯一所有者。上个月，Gruner + Jahr宣布德国金融时报即将关闭。It is not the only casualty in Europes biggest newspaper market, in which 18.4m papers are sold daily and read, allegedly, by two out of three people over 14. On November 13th M. DuMont Schauberg, another German publisher, declared the Frankfurter Rundschau (FR) insolvent. The paper will close unless a buyer is found.德国拥有欧洲最庞大的报刊市场，每天报纸销售量达1840万份，据说14岁以上的人群里，2/3的人有读报的习惯。然而，德国金融时报并不是德国唯一遭受重创的报刊。11月13日，另一位德国出版商DuMont Schauberg宣称法兰克福评论报资不抵债，如果无人收购，等待它的只有倒闭的命运。Most German dailies are local monopolies. But more and more people, especially the young, are getting their news online, mostly for nothing. Print advertising is dwindling, and online ads are failing to make up the difference.大多数的德国日报在地方占据垄断地位。但是，随着越来越多人（尤其是青年人）选择在网上浏览大都免费的新闻，报纸广告收入不断缩减，即便是发放的网络广告也无力弥补这一损失。In Frankfurt and Berlin several dailies have been slugging it out. The FAZ is a national paper but competes with the FR. In the capital the Berliner Zeitung, Berliner Morgenpost andTagesspiegel battle for the same readers and advertisers. TheBerliner Zeitung shares some of its editorial team with FR. If it folds or is sold, the Berliner Zeitung will have to make do with fewer staff.在法兰克福和柏林，好几家日报为市场份额争得你死我活。法兰克福汇报是一家全国性报刊，如今却在与FR苦苦相争。在首都柏林，柏林报、柏林晨报和每日镜报都在争夺柏林的读者和广告商市场。柏林报与FR共用部分编辑队伍，因此，如果FR倒闭或者被人收购，柏林报就不得不能靠着为数不多的职员勉强度日。Some hope that the FTD team will resurface online. A possible model is Mediapart in France, which started five years ago as a provider of investigative journalism with no advertising. It now has 60,000 paying subscribers and makes an annual profit of more than 500,000. But France, where big industrial firms control large parts of the press, is an easier place in which to excel than more competitive Germany.一些人希望德国金融时报重整戎装上线。这方面，成立于五年前的法国Mediapart就是个很好的例子，它专门提供调查性新闻，没有任何广告。如今，它已经拥有6万名付费订阅者，年利润达50多万欧元。不过Mediapart的成功还应当归结于法国优越的市场环境：在法国，行业巨头控制了大部分的报刊，相较于竞争更为激烈的德国来说，法国的报刊业的确更容易获得成功。译者注：12月7日，在德国汉堡，格鲁纳+雅尔出版公司员工抗议德国金融时报停刊。抗议者手上拿着最后一期德国金融时报。报纸英文名 “Financial Times”中的几个字母被省去，变成“Final Times”，意为“最后的时报”。当天的头版为暗色，头条为“末用暗色”。报纸英文名“Financial Times”中的几个字母被省去，变成“Final Times”，意为“最后的时报”。德国媒体报道，德国金融时报自2000年发行以来，已经累计亏损2.5亿欧元(约合3.25亿美元)。出版商格鲁 纳-雅尔早些时候决定关闭德国金融时报，预计大约330名员工失业。curtains：death or ruin; the end 死亡; 毁灭; 终结The livery of a particular company is the special design or set of colours associated with it that is put on its products and possessions. (公司的)徽记或专色/thread-174874-1-1.html译者小本子The Big Four auditors四大审计Accountable问责Two controversies ensnare the Big Four四大会计事务所为双重纠纷所困Dec 8th 2012 | NEW YORK AND SHANGHAI | from the print editionBUYING Autonomy, a British software company, once seemed like a good idea to Hewlett-Packard (HP). Western investors were once eager to buy into Chinese companies that had secured listings on American exchanges. Neither idea seems so hot now. Both these changes in sentiment raise awkward questions for the Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PwC and KPMG.收购英国软件公司Autonomy对惠普（Hewlett-Packard）来说曾经似乎是个不错的主意。西方投资者过去对获准在美国证券交易所上市交易 的中国企业趋之若鹜。这两个观点在现在看来都并不那么诱人了。这些观点的转变给四大会计事务所德勤（Deloitte）、安永（Ernst & Young）、普华永道（PwC）和毕马威（KPMG）带来了不少难题。HP first. The computer giant announced last month that it was writing down the value of Autonomy by $8.8 billion, in part because of “accounting improprieties, misrepresentations and disclosure failures ”. (Mike Lynch , Autonomys former boss, denies the charges and has set up a website demanding that HP detail its accusations.) With so few global auditors to choose from, a saga like this ends up sucking them all in. Deloitte was Autonomys auditor; Ernst & Young is Hewlett-Packards. KPMG provided advice on the deal. PwC has been hired by HP to sort through the mess.先说惠普。电脑巨头上月宣布对Autonomy 的价值减记88亿美元，此举部分是因为Autonomy“财务违规、不实陈述和披露不到位”所致。（Autonomy前老板麦克林奇（Mike Lynch）否认了这些指控并开设了一家网站要求惠普公布对其指控的细节。）由于可供选择的全球性审计公司屈指可数，四大最终统统陷入这一漩涡之中。德勤曾为Autonomy提供审计服务；安永是惠普的审计事务所。毕马威为该收购交易提供咨询服务。普华永道受雇于惠普来处理善后清理工作。If HPs claims are true, Deloitte, Autonomys auditor, will be the one in the cross-hairs . If they are false, Ernst & Young, which will sign off HPs huge write-down of Autonomy, will have a lot of explaining to do. HP says the third of the Big Four, KPMG, “audited” the deal; KPMG says it provided only a “limited set of non-audit-related services”.如果惠普的指控属实，Autonomy的审计事务所德勤将会成为众矢之的。若不属实，签名同意惠普减记Autonomy价值的安永会百口莫辩其咎。惠普表示四大中的第三家事务所的毕马威“审计”了该收购协议；毕马威则认为自己所提供的只是“有限的一系列非审计相关服务。”Deloitte has most reason to be nervous. As well as auditing Autonomy, it provided $6.7m in non-audit services over seven years, prompting critics to raise familiar questions about conflicts between accountants auditing duties and their consulting work. Deloitte advised Autonomy on executive pay , for example, something that would be forbidden under Americas Sarbanes-Oxley law, but was permitted in Britain. Moreover, Deloitte Luxembourg last year announced a close partnership with Autonomy to roll out a piece of Autonomy software.德勤绝对有理由对此感到紧张。德勤为Autonomy提供审计服务，还在过去的7年里为它提供了价值670万美元的非审计服务，这一事实激起了批评者采用类似的问题向德勤发难：如何解决会计师的审计职责和咨询业务之间的利益冲突。比如说，德勤就高管的薪酬向Autonomy提供建议，这一业务为美国的萨班斯-奥克斯利（Sarbanes-Oxley law）法案所不允，可是在英国却是受到许可的。不仅如此，德勤在卢森堡的合伙公司去年宣布与Autonomy开展紧密的合作，推出一款Autonomy开发的软件。The HP-Autonomy saga points to another feature of the Big Fours busines