時代經(jīng)典商業(yè)英語詞匯：企業(yè)
AAA
美國汽車協(xié)會
In Seattle the city's human rights department ruled in June
西雅圖市的人權(quán)部門在6月決議中稱
that the AAA club of Washington had illegally discriminated on the basis of marital status by refusing to grant associate membership to a gay man's domestic partner.
華盛頓州的美國汽車協(xié)會分部在婚姻狀況上違法歧視同性戀，因為它拒絕發(fā)給同性戀男子的“內(nèi)助”眷屬會員的資格。
In the first four days,the price of self-serve,unleaded gas rose 7.1 cents per gal,
起初四天無鉛自助式汽油每加侖漲7.1美分，
according to an American Automobile Association check of 1,400 stations.
這是美國汽車協(xié)會至1400家加油站查價的結(jié)果。
AMEX
美國運通卡
With just 37 million cards in circulation,Amex is a niche player compared with mass marketers VISA(257 million)and MasterCard(163 million).
發(fā)卡僅3700萬張的運通卡比大規(guī)模的維薩卡(2.57億張)與萬事達(dá)卡(1.65億張)，算是利基市場導(dǎo)向。
Nestled in that niche,however,is a big spending consumer.
但是使用這個利基市場的顧客，可都是花大錢的。
On average,American Express customers charge $4,266 per card every year,
平均起來，運通卡顧客每人每年刷掉4266美元，
vs.$1,577 among bankcard holders.
而其他通過銀行發(fā)出的信用卡則只有1577美元。
Robinson's triumph lasted just four days,
Robinson的勝利只維持了四天，
during which Amex stock dropped 13%.
在此期間美國運通卡的股票跌了13%。
AT&T
美國電話電報公司
For the go-getters at MCI Communications,
對于MCI通訊公司那些虎視眈眈的人來說，
the contest was their big chance
這場競賽是他們的大好機(jī)會，
to prove that they could whip their nemesis,American Telephone & Telegraph,at its own game.
以證明他們可以在死敵美國電話電報公司自己所布的棋局里面，來將它擊敗。
What excites AT&T,however,is not NCR's market share
但令美國電話電報公司興奮的不是NCR的市場占有率，
but the potential for linking its own long-distance telephone system to NCR's world network of cash registers and ATMs.
而是AT&T可以將本身的長途電話系統(tǒng)連上NCR遍布全世界的收銀機(jī)與ATMs網(wǎng)絡(luò)。
Big Blue
藍(lán)色巨人
Both Intel,the world's largest supplier of computer chips,and Microsoft,the world's largest supplier of computer software,
世界最大的電腦芯片與軟件供應(yīng)商“英特爾”與“微軟”
have assumed the role long played by Big Blue as the industry's pacesetters.
已經(jīng)接替了藍(lán)色巨人長久以來扮演的角色，也就是電腦產(chǎn)業(yè)世代要替的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。
Some industry observers suggested that IBM may have had ulterior motives for knocking Intel's quality,
有些產(chǎn)業(yè)觀察家暗示IBM可能有暗藏的目的，才會抨擊英特爾產(chǎn)品品質(zhì)，
since Big Blue will begin selling the competing Power PC microprocessor next spring,
因為藍(lán)色巨人自己將在明年春天開始販?zhǔn)鄹偁幃a(chǎn)品“威力芯片”。
but the computer maker insisted it was only trying to protect its customers.
但是IBM堅稱它只是想保障顧客權(quán)益。
Big Three
三巨頭
Next month the chiefs of the Big Three U.S.automakers will accompany President Bush on a trip to East Asia,
下個月美國三大汽車廠的首腦將伴隨布什總統(tǒng)去一趟東亞，
where they are expected to urge Japan to buy more U.S.-made autos to reduce the trade deficit.
希望能夠勸日本多買些美國造汽車以降低貿(mào)易赤字。
Japan's setback provides a moment of respite for America's Big Three,
日本經(jīng)濟(jì)不景氣給美國的三大帶來一絲喘息的機(jī)會，
which have problems of their own.
但他們也有自己的問題。
Exxon
艾克森石油
Says Robert Spies,chief scientist for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council:
艾克森瓦第茲漏油事件管理人委員會的首席科學(xué)研究員Robert Spies指出：
"There is ample evidence that overzealous cleanup can be harmful."
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“充分證據(jù)顯示，過度急切的清除行動可能造成傷害。”
The chemical detergents,high-pressure sprays and brushes used to clean beaches and rocks after a spill destroy microorganisms
化學(xué)清潔劑、高壓水柱以及刷子在漏油后被拿來清洗海灘與石塊，
that are an important part of the seaside's ecology.
卻會殺死海岸生態(tài)中重要一環(huán)的微生物。
A battle is raging over how best to spend the settement money from the Exxon Valdez disaster.
對于如何最佳利用艾克森瓦第茲災(zāi)難事件的補(bǔ)償款項，一場激烈的爭辯正在進(jìn)行著。
Lloyd's of London
勞埃德
Members of Lloyd's of London,the insurer that has lost $8 billion in the past three years,
勞埃德保險集團(tuán)過去3年虧損80億美元。
voted to profoundly revamp the way business is done at the 300-year-old institution.
它的會員投票決定大幅改進(jìn)這家300年老店處理生意的方法。
Lloyd's of London has always been synonymous with insurance-underwriting expertise and the sober assessment of risk.
勞埃德一向是專業(yè)保險承保與精確評估風(fēng)險的同義詞。
Merrill Lynch
美林證券
Soon financial giants such as Merrill Lynch and John Hancock,
很快的，像美林證券與John Hancock這類的金融巨人，
as well as smaller finance companies like Access Capital,
以及小型融資公司Access Capital等等，
went after the bank's last domain of business borrowers.
都開始進(jìn)軍銀行的最后一塊領(lǐng)土——中小企業(yè)貸款。
Morgan Stanley
摩根斯坦利
Rising interest rates by definition mean lower bond prices.
在定義上，提高利率代表債券價格下跌。
And falling bond prices pull down stock prices too.
而下跌的債券會把股價也拉下水。
"The economy is doing well,and the market is doing terribly,"
“經(jīng)濟(jì)表現(xiàn)好，股市就完蛋。”
sums up Byron Wein,chief U.S.market strategist for the investment firm Morgan Stanley.
Byron Wein是摩根斯坦利投資公司美國投資策略的首席分析師，他歸納說。
The Finanical Times
《金融時報》
London,the world's third largest stock market,is still lagging behind Tokyo and New York,despite a 28% gain for the year on the 100-stock Finanical Times index,better known as Footsie.
雖然包含100種股票的金融時報股價指數(shù)在今年已上漲28%，但是倫敦這個世界第三大股市仍落在東京與紐約之后。
All told,the Maxwell companies probably carry debts of $3.9 billion,
當(dāng)一切明朗化后，Maxwell家庭的企業(yè)可能已欠下39億美元的債務(wù)，
according to Lodon's Finanical Times,That figure was about 50% higher than many investors had assumed.
這是倫敦《金融時報》的預(yù)測。這個數(shù)字比許多投資人推測的要高50%。
A Car?A Watch?A Swatchmobile!
車乎?表乎?斯沃琪車!
1.Most Americans think of the Swatch as a trendy timepiece
大多數(shù)美國人會將Swatch視為一種時髦的手表，
that was embraced by everyone from K Mart shoppers to the owners of SoHo galleries.
從K Mart平價百貨到蘇活區(qū)的美術(shù)館都受到人們的歡迎。
But in its country of origin,Switzerland,
但在它的原產(chǎn)地瑞士，
the Swatch represents nothing less than an amazing instrument of industrial rejuvenation.
Swatch則為象征產(chǎn)業(yè)重生的一種奇跡產(chǎn)品。
Before it came along,
在Swatch問世前，
the Japanese had more or less usurped the Swiss as the heavyweight champions of the watch business by substituting their cheap and reliable digital technology for Switzerland's legendary craftsmanship.
日本以便宜可靠的數(shù)位科技取代了瑞士的傳奇手藝，而或多或少自瑞士手中搶下了鐘表業(yè)龍頭的地位。
The question now is whether that industrial formula can work for-of all things-automobiles.
現(xiàn)在的問題是Swatch的產(chǎn)業(yè)策略是否對“汽車制造”也同樣有效?
2.Make way for the Swatchmobile,a sassy two-seater
讓路給Swatchmobile!這是一部俏麗的二人座小車，
that looks like a cross between a Volkswagen Beetle and a Rambler.
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長得有點像福斯金龜車與Rambler的混血兒。
In fact,it is the product of an odd corporate marriage sealed last week
其實，它是上星期定案的一樁不尋常企業(yè)合作的產(chǎn)品。
between Mercedes-Benz,the maker of luxury cars,and Nicolas Hayek,
一方是豪華制造車廠奔馳;另一方是Nicolas Hayek，
the man who put almost 150 million Swatches on wrists all over the world.
那個在全世界賣掉幾乎1.5億只Swatch表的人。
So far,the two companies have worked on separate prototypes,
目前兩家公司分別在發(fā)展原形車，
which they plan to merge into a single model produced by a joint company(Hayek's stake is 49%,Mercedes'51%)for the 1997 market.
然后在一家合資企業(yè)融合成單一的模型，準(zhǔn)備在1997年上市。
3.The car still exists mostly in the minds of several dozen young engineers
這輛車大部分還只是在數(shù)十名年輕工程師的構(gòu)想之中。
in jeans and sweatshirts who have spent three years working around the clock inside a secret garage in the Jura Mountain town of Biel.
這些穿著運動衫、牛仔褲的年輕人已經(jīng)花了三年時間，不眠不休地在Jura山的山城Biel中一個秘密的車廠里工作。
f the team realizes its vision,
如果他們能實現(xiàn)這個夢想，
the Swatchmobile will combine the crash resistance of a Mercedes with the spunkiness of the famous wristwatch.
Swatchmobile將混合奔馳車的耐沖撞性與這著名手表的沖勁。
Plans call for the Swatchmobile to be 20% smaller than a typical subcompact,
計劃中Swatchmobile比標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的超小型汽車還要小20%，
able to wheel into a parking space sideways,
能橫向駛?cè)胪＼囄唬?/p>
cost about $10,000 and reach 90 miles an hour.
價格約在1萬美元上下，并能跑到每小時90英里。
The car's designers hope it will travel at least 80 miles on a gallon of fuel,
設(shè)計得希望它每加侖燃燒至少可跑80英里，
thanks to an engine one-tenth the weight of any existing engine with equal power.
這得歸功于一個只有任何現(xiàn)存引擎1/10重量的小引擎，但卻擁有同樣的動力。
Models will run on gasoline,electric power or a combination of both.
不同的車型可使用汽油、電力或混合使用。
4.For Mercedes and Hayek's company,the Swiss Corp.for Microelectronics and Watchmaking Industries(SMH),
對奔馳及Hayek的“瑞士微電子制表工業(yè)公司”來說，
the project is not just a technological challenge but also a huge marketing risk.
此計劃不僅是科技的挑戰(zhàn)，也冒了極大的行銷風(fēng)險。
After all,business-school casebooks are full of stories about fashionable companies that,in search of diversification,stretched their brand names past the breaking point.
畢竟在商學(xué)院的個案搜集資料中，有諸多的案例證明時髦的企業(yè)在尋求多角化的過程中，把自己的品牌延伸過了頭。
Swatch tried to extend its name to telephones,pager watches and sunglasses
Swatch曾嘗試延伸品牌至電話、呼叫器手表和太陽眼鏡，
without great success.
卻不甚成功。
But Mercedes,whose sales have fallen 11% in the past three years,
但奔馳在過去三年銷售滑落11%的情況下，
is eager to reach out to buyers who cannnot afford its traditional cars.
極須去接觸那些買不起它傳統(tǒng)車型的消費者。
Already the company has unveiled plans to produce in 1997 the compact four-seat Vision A with a sale price of about $18,000.
奔馳已經(jīng)公布了在1997年制造的小型、四人座Vision A車種，只賣1.8萬美元。
5.Hayek may overestimate his reach-"I am the creator of products,kingdoms and empires,"he says-
“我制造產(chǎn)品、王國、甚至帝國”，口出狂言的Hayek也許高估了自己的能力范圍，
but he does have expertise at taking a luxury product downscale while preserving its cachet.
但他的確有其專業(yè)本領(lǐng)，將昂貴的商品變便宜但仍保存其高貴血統(tǒng)。
It was he who came up with the strategy that saved the prestigious Swiss watchmaking industry
他想出來的策略，拯救了瑞士名震遐邇的制表業(yè)，
from succumbing to the Japanese hegemony in the quartz-watch business.
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免于在石英表業(yè)中向日本的霸權(quán)屈服。
In 1983,when he was approached for advice by a group of Swiss banks,
1983年，一群瑞士銀行家來找他咨詢。
the country had seen its share of the global watch market drop from 43% in 1974 to less than 15%.
當(dāng)時瑞士在世界手表市場占有率已自1974年的43%跌落至15%以下。
More than half the Swiss manufacturers had gone under,
超過一半的表廠已倒閉，
and creditor banks had taken over the country's two largest watchmaking groups.
而握有債權(quán)的銀行接收了國內(nèi)最大的兩個制表集團(tuán)。
"They were ready to colse them down and sell the brand names off to the Japanese,"Hayek recalls.
Hayek回憶說：“它們準(zhǔn)備把廠關(guān)了，然后將品牌賣給日本。
"I proved to the banks that we could revive the industry,
我向銀行證明我們可以讓產(chǎn)業(yè)起死回生，
then I went on national television and told to Swiss people,
然后我上全國電視網(wǎng)向瑞士民眾說
‘We can be No.1 again,’Nobody dared believe it."
我們可以重拾第一。沒有人敢相信我。”
6.Hayek put up $102 million-mostly his own money-
Hayek籌足1.02億美元，
and led a group of investors in buying the two companies from the banks.
然后帶領(lǐng)一群投資人自銀行手中買下那兩家公司。
He then merged them,effetively taking control of one-third of the Swiss watch industry,
接著他將兩者合并，有效控制了瑞士1/3的制表工業(yè)，
including such famous brands as Omega,Longines,Blancpain,Tissot,Rado and Hamilton.
包括如歐米茄、浪琴、Blancpain、天梭、雷達(dá)與漢密爾敦等名牌。
But his big coup was figuring out that a product invented before his arrival could be the high-quality,low-price,plastic quartz watch
但是他最大的收獲，在于看出來他收購公司前發(fā)展出來的某一型手表，可以成為高品質(zhì)、低單價的塑料質(zhì)石英表，
that would challenge the Japanese at the lower end of the market.
在低價市場挑戰(zhàn)日本。
The $35-to-$40 Swatch,which reduced by half the usual number of parts by building them directly into the casing on automated assembly lines,was an instant success,
在自動化的裝配線上把一半的零件直接植入表殼中、一支只賣35-40美元的Swatch一夕成名。
enabling the Swiss watchmaking industry to command 53% of the world market.
它使得瑞士制表業(yè)重新斬獲53%的世界市場。
The company has kept demand for the watches high by staying on the cutting edge of new designs,turning out some 140 new models each year plus limited-edition designer collections.
Swatch每年出品140種新款式及限量制造的設(shè)計師收藏表，以新設(shè)計保持競爭優(yōu)勢與高市場需求。
7.But the neatest trick is the company's ability to keep labor costs low in one of the world's most high-priced countries-
但是最厲害的一招，是該公司躋身全球最高生活水準(zhǔn)國家之中，卻能保持低人工成本的本領(lǐng)。
proving that moving the factory to cheap markets abroad is not always the best cost-saving solution.
這證明將工廠外移到人工低廉的市場并非絕對的節(jié)流妙方。
Thanks to an extremely high degree of automation,
歸功于極高度的自動化，
SMH keeps direct labor charges under 10% of total manufacturing expenses,
SMH讓直接人工成本保持低于生產(chǎn)總成本的10%，
in contrast to about 30% for most watchmaking operations.
而一般制表業(yè)的比例在30%左右。
8.So far,SMH has sunk about $18.9 million into the project,
到目前為止，SMH對此合作案已投下了1890萬美元，
betting that advanced microtechnologies developed in the watch industry can be translated into innovative designs for a car's propulsion and electrical systems.
并看好制表業(yè)發(fā)展的先進(jìn)微科技可以轉(zhuǎn)換應(yīng)用在汽車的推進(jìn)與電子系統(tǒng)的創(chuàng)新設(shè)計中。
"We're not trying to build some little gadget here,"Hayek said on a private tour of the garage last December.
Hayek在去年12月的一次私人參觀車廠活動中說明：“我們可不是在這里弄一些小發(fā)明。
"We want to have a consumer product that you can produce and use in the millions."
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我們要制造一種消費性產(chǎn)品，可以大量制造并擁有大量的顧客。”
9.Although Hayek has landed a blue-chip partner,
雖然Hayek找到了一流的合作伙伴，
he continues to inspire skepticism.
但他仍引起許多人懷疑。
A short-lived joint venture with Volkswagen broke down last year.
他與福斯集團(tuán)短命的合資計劃在去年泡湯。
"I have trouble believing in this project,"says Paris-based market analyst Antoine Nodet.
巴黎的市場分析家Antoine Nodet說：“我無法信任這個計劃，
"Jumping from watches to cars lacks credibility."
從手表跳到汽車業(yè)實在欠缺可靠性。”
Jean-Marc Buchet,who follows the auto industry for the French brokerage firm Leven,
Jean-Marc Buchet是法國Leven證券公司的汽車產(chǎn)業(yè)分析師，
says that:"there is clearly a market for a small city car,"
他說：“小型城市車的市場的確存在”，
but wonders if people will pay $10,000 for "a two-seater with no trunk space."
但是他懷疑人們會愿意花1萬美元來買“一輛二人座且沒有行李廂的車”。
10.Others are more sanguine.
其他人則比較樂觀。
General Motors president Jack Smith,
通用汽車總裁Jack Smith
who had lunch with Hayek in Biel in December,calls the Swatchmobile "interesting" and says of Hayek:
在12月與Hayek在Biel吃過午飯，他稱Swatchmobile“有意思”，而且以此形容Hayek：
"He's for real."
“他是來真的。”
Roland Leutenegger,an analyst at the Zurich-based Bank Julius Maer,argues that Mercedes' automaking know-how and Hayek's marketing genius will make a winning combination.
蘇黎世Julius Maer銀行的分析師Roland Leutenegger說奔馳的造車技術(shù)與Hayek的行銷天才是夢幻組合。
The right partners have found each other,"he says.
他說：“最恰當(dāng)?shù)幕锇榻K于結(jié)合了。”
For Hayek,predictably,the future of the Swatchmobile is assured.
可預(yù)料的是Hayek對Swatchmobile的未來充滿自信。
"I'm not a dreamer.
“我不是夢想家。
I've proved all my life that I'm a down-to-earth guy.
我的一生就證明了我是個務(wù)實的人。
We can make this car.Believe me."
我們可以做出這部車。相信我。”
Some people apparently do:he has already received 35,000 orders.
某些人很明顯相信他：他已經(jīng)得到3.5萬份的訂單了。
