经济学人25:埃克-巴蒂斯塔 巴蒂斯塔的出击

 　　Business.

　　商业。

　　Eike Batista.

　　埃克-巴蒂斯塔。

　　Batista battered¹.

　　巴蒂斯塔的出击。

　　The dwindling² fortune of a Brazilian magnate.

　　一位巴西商业巨头的财产缩水。

　　INVESTORS⁴ have lost their appetite for Brazil in recent months, as costs have risen and growth has stalled. Suddenly, profiting from the country's bountiful natural wealth and burgeoning⁵ middle class looks harder. For Brazil's best-known businessman, the shift in sentiment has been abrupt⁶. In March Eike Batista (pictured) was seventh in Forbes's ranking of the world's super-rich, with a personal fortune of $30 billion. The firms he founded and listed, most in commodities and infrastructure⁷, were valued at $44 billion.

　　由于成本的增加以及增长的停滞，数月来，投资者已经失去在巴西投资的兴趣。突然间，从这个国家丰富的自然资源和激增的中产阶级两个方面获利看起来更加困难。对巴西最富盛名的商人来说，态度的转变显得很突然。在三月发布的福布斯全球富豪榜上，埃克-巴蒂斯塔列第七位，他拥有300亿美元的个人财产。他创立和名下的公司市值440亿美元，多数在商品和基础设施等行业。

　　The most recent rich list reckons that Mr Batista is now down to his last $14.5 billion-46th globally. His listed firms are worth a mere⁸ $18 billion. Mr Batista listed some of his companies when they were not much more than an idea. With buckets of bravado⁹, he persuaded investors that his firms had boundless¹⁰ potential, and that he was the man to unlock it.

　　最近一期富豪榜预测，巴蒂斯塔的资产目前降低到仅剩145亿美元——列全球第46位。他名下的公司仅价值180亿美元。在他的一些公司仅仅是一个规划时，巴蒂斯塔就使其上市。通过大肆虚张声势，他说服投资者相信他的公司拥有无尽的潜力，而他正是这种释放潜力的人。

　　Then came the crunch¹¹. In June OGX, his oil firm, slashed¹² output targets for two offshore¹³ wells from 20,000 barrels a day each to about 5,000. That knocked 7 billion reais ($3.4 billion) off its shares in a day, and spread panic across the group.

　　随后发生了危机。六月，他的石油公司OGX减少了两座海上油井的产量目标，每个油井从每天的2万桶减少到5千桶。这使得OGX公司的股票在一天内缩水70亿雷亚尔（34亿美元），并使恐慌扩展到整个集团。

　　OGX's wells made up a large part of the revenues of EBX, the holding company for Mr Batista's stakes in his listed firms. The main asset of LLX, another part of EBX, is the port of A?u. This is nicely placed for shipping¹⁴ iron ore from the inland state of Minas Gerais to China and for handling rigs and ships working Brazil's vast oilfields-but it is still being built. MMX digs plenty of iron ore out of the ground-but not at a profit.

　　控股公司EBX集团被巴蒂斯塔用来控制管理名下的公司，而OGX的油井正是EBX集团收入的很大一部分来源。LLX公司是EBX集团的另一部分，它的主要财产是阿苏港。阿苏港的地理位置非常好，它适合于将内陆省份Minas Gerais州的铁矿石装运到中国，同样，适合于处理巴西众多油气田上工作的钻井平台和船舶——但阿苏港仍然在建设中。MMX公司从地下开采出大量的铁矿石——但并没有盈利。

　　The links between EBX's various parts compounded Mr Batista's woes¹⁵. He planned to make money from Brazil's mineral wealth at every stage in the supply chain. One of his ventures generated electricity from coal and gas supplied by another; a third shipped the oil and iron ore owned by a fourth and fifth, and so on. But OGX underpinned¹⁶ the lot.

　　EBX集团中不同部分的联系构成的巴蒂斯塔的困境。他计划从巴西矿产资源供应链的每个环节中获利。他的一家公司通过煤和燃气来发电，而煤和燃气是有另一家公司提供。第三家公司运送石油和铁矿石，这些石油和铁矿石由第四和第五家公司拥有，等等。但OGX公司巩固了自己的份额。

　　One part of Mr Batista's empire, OSX, has ridden out the bearish¹⁷ mood. It looks likely to do lots of business with Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled oil giant, building and maintaining ships and rigs. Petrobras has been out of favour with investors since 2010, when the government diluted¹⁸ minority shareholders¹⁹ in an oil-for-shares deal. But Gra?a Foster, its boss, seems willing to stand up to the government, arguing publicly for a rise in the (government-controlled) price of petrol. And the government is no longer so hostile to private firms building infrastructure (see article). So those keen to buy into commodities and infrastructure may soon have more options-which will hardly help the EBX companies' share prices recover.

　　作为巴蒂斯塔商业帝国的一部分，OSX公司承受住了萧条环境的考验。它很有可能与Petrobras公司进行大量的交易，集中在建设和维护船舶和钻井平台等方面。Petrobras公司是巴西国有控股的石油巨头，自2010年以来，它就不再受投资者青眯，那时，政府通过石油换股权交易减少了少数股东。但公司的老板Gra?a Foster似乎愿意勇敢的面对政府，他公开要求提高（政府控制的）石油价格。而且针对私有的基础设施建设公司，政府不再怀有那么大的敌意。因此，渴望进入商品和基础设施行业的私有公司可能很快会有更多的选择——这将不可避免的促进EBX所属公司的股票的复苏。

　　Mr Batista claims not to be worried. "Since I haven't sold a single share, I've lost nothing," he tweeted. Investors are probably less sanguine²⁰, though many old Brazil hands, used to rocky rides, are waiting out the worst. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, a Canadian pension fund that is LLX's largest investor³ after Mr Batista himself, seems serene²¹. It wants to join Mr Batista in his plans to take the firm private again.

　　巴蒂斯塔宣称不需要担忧。他在推特上说道："因为我没有卖出任何股票，我没有损失任何东西。"投资者可能不会这样乐观，尽管很多有在巴西投资经营的人正等待着走出困境。安大略教师养老基金表现得很平静，它是一家加拿大养老基金，并是LLX公司除巴蒂斯塔以外的最大股东。它愿意加入巴蒂斯塔的计划，促进Petrobras公司再次私有化。

　　Presumably Mr Batista thinks that LLX is now undervalued-and that a show of self-confidence would not be misplaced. "If the markets don't want me, I still want me," he recently told Exame, a Brazilian business magazine. Like other great salesmen, Mr Batista sold not the sausage, but the sizzle. Now investors are balking²² at the idea of a long wait before mouth-watering returns materialise.

　　我们可以推断，巴蒂斯塔认为LLX公司的市值目前是被低估的，而且自信心的展示没有不合时宜。他最近对一家巴西商业杂志Exame说："如果市场不需要我，那么我仍然需要我自己。像其他伟大的推销员一样，巴蒂斯塔销售的不是香肠，而是激情。在诱人的前景转化为现实之前，投资者正在回避漫长的等待。

1 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

2 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

3 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

4 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

5 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

6 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

9 bravado   

n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能

参考例句：

• Their behaviour was just sheer bravado. 他们的行为完全是虚张声势。
• He flourished the weapon in an attempt at bravado. 他挥舞武器意在虚张声势。

10 boundless   

adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的

参考例句：

• The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
• His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。

11 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

12 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

14 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

15 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

16 underpinned   

v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的过去式和过去分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• The report is underpinned by extensive research. 这份报告以广泛的研究为基础。
• The statue of Diana was underpinned with charred piles. Diana雕像是建造在炭化了的木桩上的。 来自辞典例句

17 bearish   

adj.(行情)看跌的，卖空的

参考例句：

• It is foolish not to invest in stocks,so I will show her how to be bearish without them too,if she chooses.不投资股票是愚蠢的，因此如果她选择股票，我会向她展示怎样在没有长期潜力的情况下进行卖空。
• I think a bearish market must be a good time for bargain-hunters to invest.我觉得熊市对于想买低的人可是个投资的大好机会。

18 diluted   

无力的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

19 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

20 sanguine   

adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的

参考例句：

• He has a sanguine attitude to life.他对于人生有乐观的看法。
• He is not very sanguine about our chances of success.他对我们成功的机会不太乐观。

21 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

22 balking   

n.慢行，阻行v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的现在分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He picked up a stone and let fly at the balking dog. 他捡起一块石头朝那狂吠的狗扔去。 来自互联网
• Democrats won't pass the plan without votes from rank-and-file Republicans andof-and-file Republicans were reportedly balking. 没有普通共和党议员的支持，民主党人无法通过这项方案——到周四晚间，据悉那些普通共和党人在阻挡（该计划）。 来自互联网