经济学人下载:企业丑闻新时代(2)

America is no stranger to corporate scandals. In the 19th century abattoirs sold rotten meat.
美国对企业丑闻并不陌生。在19世纪，屠宰场出售腐烂的肉。

In the 1960s Detroit made cars that were "unsafe at any speed", in the words of Ralph Nader, a consumer-rights crusader.
20世纪60年代，用消费者权益改革者拉尔夫·纳德的话来说，底特律出产的汽车“用哪个速度来开都不安全”。

In the 1990s tobacco and asbestos claims led to legal settlements that have cost shareholders over $150bn.
20世纪90年代，烟草和石棉诉讼导致的诉讼和解让股东们的损失超过1500亿美元。

Accounting scandals erupted at WorldCom, Enron and Tyco in the early 2000s, and by the mid-2000s mortgage fraud was endemic.
21世纪初期，世界通讯公司、安然公司和泰科爆出会计丑闻，21世纪中期，抵押贷款欺诈极为普遍。

Today's crises are diverse but have common elements. The firms tend to be established, with dominant market positions.
如今的危机虽然变化多样，但都有着共同的要素。这些公司都占市场支配地位。

Outrage infuses social media and Congress. And yet the financial cost has been limited.
疯狂的注入社交媒体和议会。但财务成本已被限制。

Take a sample of ten big American listed firms involved in controversial episodes:
以涉及争议事件的10家大型美国上市公司为例：

their median share price has lagged behind the stockmarket by a bearable 11% since the event, after adjusting for dividends.
股息调整后，自事件爆发以来，他们的股价中值落后于股票市场11%。

Although Boeing's shares have lost 8% since the crash in Ethiopia, they are above their level in January.
虽然波音的股价自埃塞俄比亚坠机后下跌8%，但仍高于一月水平。

The crises have caused bosses to stand down in only two of the ten cases: Wells Fargo and Equifax.
这些危机导致公司老板离职的情况仅发生在10家公司中的2家：富国银行和Equifax。

Some adjustments to bosses' pay have been made. Goldman says that some ex-executives' share awards
一些公司对老板的薪资做出了调整。高盛投资公司表示一些前高管的股票奖励

could be clawed back depending on the probe into the Malaysia incident. Equifax says cyber-security is now factored into its pay schemes.
可根据对马来西亚事件的调查而被收回。Equifax表示现在会将网络安全作为薪酬方案的考虑因素。

Nonetheless, for the ten firms the total pool of senior executive pay has risen over the four most recent years, to almost $600m, according to Bloomberg.
尽管如此，根据Bloomberg，这10家公司高管的总薪酬在近四年都增加到了近6亿美元。

For critics of capitalism none of this will be a surprise. They argue that firms controlled by private shareholders are especially unethical.
对资本主义的批评者来说，这并不惊奇。他们认为由私人股东控制的公司都是尤其缺乏职业道德的。

Yet it is easy to poke holes in this. Volkwagen cheated on emissions tests even though it is part-owned by the German state and has workers on its board.
但很容易在其中找茬。大众汽车在尾气测试中作弊，即便它是一家部分国有的德国公司且其董事会中也有其员工。

Despite Sweden's cuddly "stakeholder" capitalism, Swedbank faces a criminal investigation for money-laundering.
虽然瑞典的“股东”资本主义令人羡慕，但瑞典银行面临着洗钱的刑事调查。

An alternative explanation is that American capitalism has got out of kilter. It has always been restless and dynamic.
一种替换解释是，美国资本主义失去了平衡。它总是那么焦躁且充满活力。

Companies test the boundaries of what is possible—and permissible.
公司对可能性的边界和许可范围进行试探。

Tech firms are just the latest to "move fast and break things", to use Facebook's unofficial slogan.
用Facebook的非官方标语来说，科技公司仅仅是最近“快速行动，打破局面”的公司。

But three forces have long constrained corporate conduct: regulation, litigation and competition.
但是长期以来，有三股力量约束着企业的行为：法规、诉讼和竞争。

The aftermath of the financial crisis saw a storm of lawsuits and fines on banks.
金融危机的后果是各种诉讼案和对银行的罚款。

But since then each of the three forces may have weakened, increasing the incentive for firms to take risks.
但自那时起，三股力量都被削弱了，这增加了公司冒险的动机。