经济学人30:陨落之星 Falling star

 　　Finance and Economics；Light Squared；Falling star；

　　财经；Light Squared;陨落之星；

　　Philip Falcone's largest investment has filed for bankruptcy¹;

　　菲利普·法尔科恩（Philip Falcone）的最大投资已申请破产保护;

　　“Buying 100% of companies, that's where I think a great opportunity is.” So said Philip Falcone, a hedge-fund manager, at an industry bash on May 9th. His opinions will count for less now. On May 14th LightSquared, a wireless² venture 96%-owned by Harbinger Capital Partners, his fund, filed for bankruptcy.

　　“全资拥有一家子公司，我才能看到巨大的商机。”在3月9日的产业盛会上，对冲基金经理人菲利普·法尔科恩（Philip Falcone）如此说道。然而现在他的理念已变得毫无意义。3月14日，先驱资本合作公司持有96%股份的无线网络运营商LightSquared申请破产保护。

　　Mr Falcone made his billions betting against subprime mortgages; in 2007, his fund was up by around 115%. In 2010 he took control of LightSquared, a firm with big plans to build a wireless-broadband network. The Federal Communications Commission initially³ gave the go-ahead, only to change its mind in February after tests showed LightSquared's technology interfered⁴ with existing global-positioning satellites. With creditors⁵ pushing him to step aside, Mr Falcone put LightSquared into bankruptcy, hoping to buy a few months to come up with a new plan.

　　法尔科恩将他数十亿的资产都押注在了房地产市场；在2007年，他的基金价值提升了将近115%。2010年，他掌控了LightSquared，一家计划在将来建立无线宽带网络的公司。最初联邦通讯委员会给予了一定支持，然而在2月的时候，却因为LightSquared技术被检测出干扰目前GPS全球定位系统而改变了主意。在债权人执意要求法尔科恩下台的情况下，他提出让LightSquared自愿申请破产保护，希望可以拖上几个月以实施新的计划。

　　The future looks dark. Mr Falcone has ploughed around 2.9 billion dollar into LightSquared, and it now accounts for around 40% of his fund. At its peak in 2008 Harbinger Capital managed 26 billion dollar, but that figure has plunged⁷ to 3 billion dollar due to losses and investor⁸ withdrawals⁹.

　　然而前景看起来并不是那么乐观。法尔科恩先期已尝试性在LightSquared投入290亿美元，这笔投资额几乎占了他旗下基金的40%。在2008年，先驱资本（Harbinger Capital）所管理的基金达到了一个巅峰——260亿美元，然而由于后期的亏损以及投资者的陆续撤资，这个数字很快缩水成30亿美元。

　　Getting cash out of the fund has not been easy. When investors¹⁰ pulled money after 2008, Mr Falcone first invoked¹¹ “gating” clauses restricting redemptions and then agreed to pay them “in kind” with LightSquared shares as he sold other assets. In December he told them they could no longer withdraw anything.

　　从该基金中获利已经变得异常艰难。在2008年后当投资者们投入资金以后，法尔科恩开始对资本赎回设置了限制门槛，并许诺以同样的方式支付，即LightSquared持有的他销售的营业外资产一样。在12月，他告诉这些投资者，他们将无法赎回任何资金。

　　That same month the Securities and Exchange Commission notified him that they may file civil charges against him. The SEC is examining whether he properly disclosed to investors that he took a 113m dollar loan in 2009 to pay his personal taxes (he has since paid this back), whether he engaged in market manipulation and an additional undisclosed matter. Mr Falcone denies wrongdoing and has not been charged.

　　在同一时期，证券交易委员（SEC）会通知他们将针对向市民收费这一问题提出诉讼。SEC审查了法尔科恩是否向投资者透露了其在2009年贷款1.13亿美元以支付他的个人税负（该债务已偿还）的内幕，是否对市场进行了非法操纵,以及其他一些不为人知的秘密。法尔科恩否认存在这些违反道德法规的行为，以及收费问题。

　　Most agree he was reckless to plunge⁶ into such a long-term, illiquid investment. Mr Falcone has admitted his “asset-liability mismatch” and wants to raise more “permanent capital” instead. But who would write him a cheque? Critics predict LightSquared's bankruptcy will spell the end for Mr Falcone. Precedent¹² would suggest otherwise. John Meriwether, the former boss of Long-Term Capital Management, is now running his third fund. Nicholas Maounis, once of Amaranth Advisors¹³, another famous blow-up, now manages a 250m dollar fund. For a hard-nosed industry, the hedge-fund world is curiously¹⁴ forgiving.

　　大部分人都认为他参与这个长期、非流动性的投资是冒进的。法尔科恩亦承认了他的资产和负债是不平衡的，因此想要以提高永久资产来替代当前的失衡状态。但是谁会给予他支持？评论家们预言LightSquared的破产申请保护将意味着法尔科恩职业生涯的结束。第一个尝试的人总是会给予他人一些警示。长期资本管理的老板约翰·梅里韦瑟（John Meriwether），正运营着他的第三只基金。Amaranth曾经的顾问尼古拉斯·马奥尼斯（Nicholas Maounis），另一位后起之秀，正运营着一只2.5亿美金的基金。对于一个注重实际的产业，对冲基金将出乎意料地被原谅。

1 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

2 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。

3 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

4 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

7 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

8 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。

9 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

10 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

11 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

13 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

14 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。