663.经济学人-The triumph of big government-1

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663.经济学人-The triumph of big government-1

哪款app可以每天看经济学人、时代周刊这些杂志？

英语学习类公众号推荐？

（Day 2）每日一文：《经济学人·商论》中英双语

一、663.经济学人-The triumph of big government-1

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“Keep your eye on one thing and one thing only: how much government is spending,” Milton Friedman once said.

Today his eyes would be popping.

Governments have spent $17trn on the pandemic, including loans and guarantees, for a combined total of 16% of global GDP.

On current forecasts, government spending will be greater as a share of GDP in 2026 than it was in 2006 in every major advanced economy.

America is about to put $1.8trn into expanding its welfare state; Europe is doling out a €750bn ($850bn) investment fund; and Japan is promising a “new capitalism”, with even more government largesse.

这是《经济学人》2021年11月刊的一篇文章'The triumph of big government'第1段，共5句。

0、

'The triumph of big government'是整篇文章的标题，译作：大政府的胜利

大政府（big government）指奉行干预主义政策的政府，一般被理解为意味着经济管理与社会控制。导源于约翰·梅纳德·凯恩斯的理论，其主张政府积极介入、管制经济是大政府主义者所主张的作法。

1、

“睁大眼睛只盯住一件事情：政府是如何开销的。”米尔顿·弗里德曼​曾经说过。

米尔顿·弗里德曼（Milton Friedmann，1912年7月31日—2006年11月16日），美国著名经济学家，芝加哥大学教授、芝加哥经济学派领军人物、货币学派的代表人物，1976年诺贝尔经济学奖得主、1951年约翰·贝茨·克拉克奖得主。弗里德曼被广泛誉为二十世纪最具影响力的经济学家及学者之一。

2、

如今他的眼睛估计会​掉出来。

​

3、

各国政府已经在疫情中花了17万亿美元了，这其中包括贷款以及担保金，总计占全球GDP的​16%。

4、

根据目前的预测，2026年各主要经济体的政府支出占GDP的份额要比200​6年高。

5、

{'welfare':'福利'}

{'doling':'救济'}

{'largesse':'赠款'}

美国打算投入1.8万亿美元来扩大其福利​；欧洲发放了7500亿欧元（8500亿美元）投资基金​；日本承诺一个有更多政府捐赠的“新资本”​。

​

--总结--

【词汇部分】

{'welfare':'福利'}

{'doling':'救济'}

{'largesse':'赠款'}

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一、哪款app可以每天看经济学人、时代周刊这些杂志？

目前还没有哪个app可以看，可以在网址上搜索：

1. 经济学人（The Economist）杂志 PDF MOBI KINDLE，有很多的分类。

2. 周刊类：

   
   1）经济学人（The Economist）

   
   2）时代周刊（Time）

   
   3）纽约客（The New Yorker）

   
   4）新闻周刊（Newsweek）

   
   5）自然（Nature）

   
   6）科学（Science）

   
   7）彭博商业周刊（Bloomberg Businessweek）

   
   8）新科学家（New Scientist）

   
   9）巴伦周刊（Barron's）

   
   10）纽约时报书评（The New York Times Review of Books）

二、英语学习类公众号推荐？

1. 高斋外刊双语精读： 一周更新经济学人三篇讲解，精彩表达、精读和英语写作，是一位很厉害的学姐Joy在做，这位学姐985/211学校毕业，CATTI二级笔译，还拿了韩素音国际翻译大赛汉译英奖。

2. 高斋翻译学堂 学习翻译和英语小知识的可以看看这个。

外媒报道华为事件有哪些精彩表达？经济学人精彩表达！

这篇文章取自经济学人12月13日的文章“Can Huawei survive an onslaught of bans and restrictions abroad?”Worries in Western countries about national security might reverse its rise

今天的几个精彩表达均来自10月份的经济学人，一起来学习：

1.”寻找聚光灯、兢兢业业、保持低调“英语怎么说？

2. ”保释、电子监控“英语怎么说？

3. ”今年亏损、电子监控“英语怎么说？

4. ”寒冬将会过去“英语怎么说？

5. ”正面交锋“英语怎么说？

6. ”农村包围城市“英语怎么说？

一、”寻找聚光灯、兢兢业业、保持低调“英语怎么说？

这篇文章的开头是这样写的：

Meng Wanzhoudid notseek the spotlight.The daughter of Ren Zhengfei, founder of Huawei, one of China’s biggest technology firms, shestarted as a receptionist and worked her way up over 25 years to becomechief financial officer.In a culture which makes celebrities of businesspeople, she haskept a fairly low profile.

孟晚舟没有主动寻求聚光灯。任正非是中国最大的科技公司之一华为的创始人，她的女儿从华为前台做起，25年来兢兢业业，现在担任首席财务官。身处一个喜欢打造商界名人传奇的社会，她却一直保持着相当低的姿态。

这句里面我们可以学到好几个精彩表达，一个是seek the spotlight寻找聚光灯，也就是我们说的想让公众注意，想出名。在这篇的下一段又使用了这个单词But on December 5th the spotlight found her. 但聚光灯找到了她，孟晚舟突然成为媒体关注的焦点。

二是started as a receptionist and worked her way up over 25 years to become 句型，以后大家可以在翻译和写作中套用。比如我们就可以说she started as a waitressand worked herway up over10 years to become chief executive officer.

第三个就是In a culture which makes celebrities of businesspeople身处一个喜欢打造商界名人传奇的社会

第四个是kept a fairly low profile，反义词就是keepa fairlyhighprofile相当高调。

二、”保释、电子监控“英语怎么说？

这篇文章里面是这样说的：

On December 11th a court in Vancouvergranted her bail, subject to electronic monitoring.

12月11日，温哥华一家法院准许孟晚舟获得保释，但要接受电子监控。

这句里面就跟大家分享下保释和电子监控的说法，比如：

She was released on £2 000 bail. 她以2 000英镑获得保释。

Bail还可以表示动词，（常指通过出资）帮助…脱离困境，比如这篇里面后面又使用了这个单词：

If that happened it could cripple the firm, although the Chinese government would probablybail it outif necessary.

如果发生这种情况，公司可能会瘫痪，尽管中国政府可能会在必要时纾困。

还比如：

Don't expect me tobail you outif it all goes wrong.

如果一切都搞砸了，就别指望我来解救你。

They will discuss how tobail the economy out of its slump.

他们将讨论如何使经济走出低谷。

subject to electronic monitoring在作伴随状语，表示条件。

三、”今年亏损、电子监控“英语怎么说？

在经济学人的这篇文章里，它同时提到了之前的中兴事件：

It expects topost a loss ofup to 7.2bn yuanforthe year,against a profit of4.6bn yuan last year.

中兴通讯在最近的盈利报告中表示，预计今年亏损多达72亿元，去年盈利46亿元。

这里我们可以学到两个不错的表达，一个是post a loss of，这个词组可以表示……亏损，比如金融时报里面有这样一句：

Analysts had expected that the company would post a loss of 13 cents per share.

此前分析师预测，该公司将每股亏损13美分。

还有一个精彩表达是against...，这句话如果回译，有的人可能会翻译为and，但是事实上这里是对比，所以应该是against。

这两个词组组成的这个句型很实用，大家今天可要记住了“预计今年亏损多达72亿元，去年盈利……”“A company expects to posta loss of up to 7.2bn yuan for the year, against a profit of 4.6bn yuan last year.”同时这里的against，也可以是compared to。

四、”寒冬将会过去“英语怎么说？

紧接着这篇文章又写到华为严重依赖美国公司：

Likezte, Huawei relies on American components, such as Google’s Android and chips from Qualcomm. In a recent report, Jefferies, a bank, noted that Huawei would be unable tobuildsmartphones or mobile-phone base stations without these firms.

像中兴通讯一样，华为依赖美国的组件，比如谷歌的Android操作系统和高通公司的芯片。一家银行Jefferies在最近的一份报告中指出，如果没有这些公司，华为将无法制造智能手机，建立移动电话基站。

这句里面没有特别要说的知识点，我们继续看下面的。虽说华为依赖这些国家，“华为”看似很脆弱（Huawei looks vulnerable），但是合作才能互利共赢，因为对这些国家尤其是美国的公司来说，华为为其带来了巨额收入。经济学人这篇里面是这样说的：

Huaweiisa big revenue-generator forWestern firms. In November Huawei held an awards ceremony for its 92 top suppliers, of which 33 are American. Two—Intel andNXP, both chipmakers—got gongsmarkinga decade of working together.Mindful ofthat past co-operation, he is optimistic thatthe current chill will pass.

对于西方企业来说，华为为其带来了巨额收入。11月，华为为92家顶级供应商举行了颁奖仪式，其中33家是美国的。英特尔和恩智浦（NXP)，这两家芯片制造商都获得了十年合作奖。考虑到过去的合作，他乐观地认为“目前的寒冬将会过去”。

Mark：是一个小词，但是很实用，本意是标志着，但经常表示庆祝……或是……的纪念日之类的。今天这里就表示十周年纪念颁奖，颁发了十年合作奖。

Mindful of就是考虑到的意思，同义表达有take sth into account/consideration。这句由于主语都是he is，Mindful of前面可以省去主语，直接形容词短语做状语。还比如：

Mindful of the danger of tropical storms, I decided not to go out.

想到热带风暴的危险，我决定不出门。

Mindfuloftheneedsofitsstudents,the university hasinvestedheavilyinprovidingnewandimprovedresidences.

考虑到学生的需要，该大学投入了巨资兴建和改善学生宿舍。

五、”正面交锋“英语怎么说？

Huawei is becoming an increasingly powerful global player,capable of going head-to-head withthe best in intensely competitive markets. It follows Haier, which is already the leadingwhite-goods-maker;

华为正在成为越来越强大的全球竞争者，可以在竞争激烈的市场中和顶尖企业正面交锋。在华为之前，还有海尔公司——它已经是全球领先的大件家电生产商。

capable of going head-to-head with the best in intensely competitive markets也是形容词段落做状语。

going head-to-head with就是与……正面交锋的意思。

六、”农村包围城市“英语怎么说？

作为一个创业公司，刚起步很难，华为亦是如此，在创立之处，也是举步维艰，但是任正非最后采取了“农村包围城市”的战略。经济学人里面是这样说的：

His company followedMao’s strategy of using the countryside to encircle and capture the cities,and it has moved on to win foreign markets too. The company is now a $32-billion business empire with 140,000 employees, and customers in 140 countries. It commands respect bydelivering high-quality telecoms equipment at low prices.

华为遵循了毛泽东“农村包围城市”的战略，并且现在已经开始攻占海外市场。如今，华为已经俨然是一家商业帝国，雇佣14万员工，营业额达320亿美元，在140个国家拥有客户。它以质优价廉的电信设备赢得了市场赞誉。

看了这段，大家可以学会Mao’s strategy of using the countryside to encircle and capture the cities毛泽东“农村包围城市”的战略了。

同时“质优价廉”可以说provide/deliver high-quality sth at low prices.

今天公主号“高斋外刊双语精读”雒老师Joy给大家分享经济学人精读！适合MTI,CATTI和考研英语备考学习。

经济学人精读：过度旅游

英文原文和译文取自经济学人

Ever sincethe fall ofthe Venetian Republicin 1797, locals have complained thatVenice, its former capital, is beingoverrunby visitors. Having spent decades trying to attract tourists, the city council is now rethinking its approach. In May it erected pedestrian gates across the historic neighbourhood’s main entrances. When crowds get too thick, the police will close them,limiting access tolocals who possess a special pass. Although this will restrict the number of visitors, the idea of ticketed entry has upset some locals. “It’s the last step to becoming Disneyland,” sighs one of the city’s urban planners.capital, is being overrun by visitors.

自1797年威尼斯共和国灭亡起，其前首都威尼斯的居民就抱怨这座城市游客过多。几十年来，该市议会一直在努力吸引游客，不过现在正在反思自己的做法。5月，它在这座古城的主要出入口设置了闸门。当游人变得太过拥挤时，警察便会关闭闸门，只有持有特殊通行证的当地人才能进出。尽管此举会限制游客的数量，但这种凭票入内的做法还是引发了一部分当地人的不满。“走到这一步，就离变成迪土尼乐园不远了。”一名城市规划者叹道。

第一句：Ever sincethe fall of the Venetian Republicin 1797,localshave complained thatVenice, its former capital, is being overrun by visitors.

译文：自1797年威尼斯共和国灭亡起，其前首都威尼斯的居民就抱怨这座城市游客过多。

1.背景知识：威尼斯共和国是意大利北部威尼斯人的城邦，以威尼斯为中心。它的存在年期由9世纪直至18世纪。威尼斯早先是东罗马帝国的一个附属国，于8世纪获得自治权。中世纪时期，威尼斯由于控制了贸易路线而变得非常富裕，并开始往亚得里亚海方向扩张，曾统治爱琴海内的很多岛屿。15世纪奥斯曼帝国崛起后逐渐衰落，1797年被拿破仑灭亡，成为奥地利帝国的一部分。

2.句子结构分析：ever since...in 1797是时间状语，locals是主语，have complained是谓语，that引导的是宾语从句，its former capital做的是Venice的同位语，起补充解释说明的作用，Venice是宾语从句中的主语，is being overrun是宾语从句中的谓语，by visitors做宾从中的补语。

3.ever since自...之后；从...起。ever since引导时间状语从句，主句要用现在完成时态。

4.locals意为当地居民，不加定冠词the时，做的是主语，后面直接跟谓语动词。local为形容词，意为当地的，本地的，加上s时做名词，表示当地人。我们在表示当地居民时，还可以说localresidents/people，表示特指时，可在前面加定冠词the，一般是the locals who...

如：

FromLong Island,Queens,andBrooklyn,thelocalswhoconvergedon theGreenAcresMallhad plentyoftheirownworries.

从长岛市、皇后区和布鲁克林区汇聚到绿田购物中心的当地人，他们的担心不是多余的。

local的同义词有：native，aboriginal。

①native指人在某处出生长大的，只作定语；也指动植物原产于某地的，常后接介词 to。例：These elephants are native to Africa.这些大象原产于非洲。

②aboriginal指与澳大利亚土著居民有关的，首字母可大写；也可形容最早在某地生活的人或动物。例：He introduced the history of the issue of Aboriginal land rights.他介绍了澳大利亚土著人土地权问题的历史。

③local指与某人所居住或所提到的地区有关的，通常作定语。例：She works at the local science institute.她在当地科研机构工作。

5.overrun vt.蹂躏;超过（范围）;（尤指坏事或不欲之事）泛滥;蔓延。原句中，表示游客泛滥则为游客人数过多。

比如我们说“花坛里杂草横生”时，可以这样说The flower beds were overrun with grasses.

overrun还有“超时”的意思，我们上学的时候经常会遇到老师拖堂的情况，可以说：

You've overrun your time by 10 minutes.你超时10分钟了。

当然也有不拖堂的情况，此时，我们可以说：

Her lectures never overrun.

她讲课从不拖堂。

第二句：Having spent decades trying to attract tourists, the citycouncil is now rethinking its approach.

译文：几十年来，该市议会一直在努力吸引游客，不过现在正在反思自己的做法。

1.句子结构分析：Having spent decades trying to attract tourists非谓语动词做状语，因其主语与主句相同，可省略，the city council做主语，is rethinking its approach现在进行时做谓语成分。

2.having done在句子中作状语，起到补充说明的作用。在原文中，“spent decades花费数十年的时间”显然是在主句谓语动词“rethinking反思”之前的。这里要注意的是，having 所接的动词发生的时间在主句中谓语动词发生的时间之前。比如：Having driven all day,we feel so tired. 这个例子中，having driven表示“我们”的状态，“开了一天的车”，并且，drive 的动作发生在 feel tired的之前。

三、（Day 2）每日一文：《经济学人·商论》中英双语

 THIS WAS supposed to be the quarter that Kraft Heinz showed America's huge, struggling food companies a new model for success. A merger in 2015 had joined two of the world's most iconic food makers. Backed by 3G Capital, a private-equity firm, the new group slashed costs at a pace that made rivals shudder and investors swoon. After a failed bid in 2017 for Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch giant, Kraft Heinz set out to prove it could not just cut fat but boost sales on its own. Bernardo Hees, the company's boss, pointed cheerfully to new products, including Heinz Mayochup and something called Just Crack an Egg. The company was on the path to "sustainable, profitable growth", he declared in November. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

 On February 21st Kraft Heinz announced a staggering $15bn impairment, a dividend cut of more than 3o% and an inquiry into its procurement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Earnings calls are often sleepy affairs. This one was a nightmare. Some of 3G's long-time critics are now clucking with satisfaction. Others fear 3G is tarnishing American treasures such as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Warren Buffett, who partnered with 3G to combine Heinz and Kraft and last year lost nearly $3bn on the deal. Yet dramatic as Kraft Heinz's decline may seem, 3G's impact and the food industry's problems extend far beyond it.

 While its founders are Brazilian, 3G's buyout business is based in Manhattan.(Its most famous founder, Jorge Paulo Lemann, lives in Switzerland.) Unlike many big private-equity firms, 3G's main investors are not pension funds but family offices and individuals, including its partners. It does not have a wide portfolio, but backs just two companies: Kraft Heinz and Restaurant Brands International (RBI). Blackstone, a private-equity firm based a few blocks away, has nearly 2,5oo staff.3G's New York office has fewer than two dozen. Yet 3G's leaders have rocked the consumer industry like few investors in history.

 All buyout firms are thirsty for deals, but 3G is uniquely parched. Before starting 3G, the firm's founders went on a beer-buying spree that culminated in 2o16 with Anheuser-Busch InBev's purchase of SAB Miller for more than $100bn. AB InBev, in which 3G's partners have a large stake, now brews more than one in four of the world's beers. Kraft Heinz counts Kraft cheese, Heinz Ketchup, Jell-0, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Oscar Mayer among its holdings. RBI includes Burger King, Popeyes, a fried-chicken restaurant, and Tim Hortons, a popular Canadian chain.

The way 3G runs companies is as notable as its appetite for buying them. In a practice called zero-based budgeting, managers must justify their expenses anew each year. The idea is to expand margins continuously. Overseeing this are managers chosen for their talent and work ethic, rather than mere experience. Daniel Schwartz, a 3G partner, became the chief executive of Burger King at 32. Mr Hees, a 3G partner who spent more than a decade working for a Latin American railroad, became Kraft Heinz's boss at 45. David Knopf, its chief financial officer, assumed his position in 2017 at 29.

 To 3G's detractors, this all seems a bit mad. The company's strategy can be caricatured as follows: buy a big business, cut costs, repeat. This is not entirely fair. RBI has invested in marketing Burger King, winning prizes for its ads. AB InBev is working to boost its sales, for instance by pushing  higher-priced beers and deploying best practices across its vast geography.

 But buying big companies and slashing costs remain 3G's speciality. The risks of that strategy have become clear. RBI struggled to integrate franchisees at Tim Hortons. AB InBev last year said it would slash its dividend by half.

 Nowhere has 3G's approach played out more tumultuously than at Kraft Heinz. America's food industry seemed the perfect target, with flabby companies and powerful brands. Rare is the American who has not slurped Kool-Aid or downed an Oscar Mayer hot dog smothered in Heinz Ketchup.3G reckoned the brands were strong enough to withstand large cuts. As it turns out, they were not.

 This was not the same for AB InBev, which despite abysmal results in America, has little beer competition from in-store brands, is rarely sold online and faces ample growth abroad. Kraft Heinz's business, by comparison, is concentrated in America, where the food industry is being turned on its head. Its brands may be familiar, but that does not make them popular. Small firms are offering healthier options, taking advantage of cheap digital marketing and nimble contract manufacturers. The smallest 20,000 packaged goods players account for about half the industry's growth, according to Nielsen, a research firm.

 Meanwhile, the rise of e-commerce and European discount grocers has put pressure on food retailers, which are in turn squeezing food companies. Stores led by Walmart are using extensive data to launch their own, increasingly sophisticated, low-cost private label goods, all the while pushing companies to lower their prices.

 Things started well for Kraft Heinz. Its operating profit margin surged from 15% in 2014 to 24% in 2017. The first big setback came that year when Paul Polman, then Unilever's boss, rebuffed the company's $143bn courtship.(Unilever, wisely, has devoted growing attention not to food but to beauty and household products.) Without his megadeal, Mr Hees turned to the basic work of lifting sales by pouring more money into advertising, product innovation and Kraft Heinz's sales force, but that ate into profits.

 Equally striking is the company's new $15bn impairment, a recognition that the value of giant brands has shrivelled. Mr Buffett says that he misjudged the worth of Kraft's stable of products. "The management team entered into this merger with the assumption they could cut the spending needed to maintain brands, let alone help them grow," says Robert Moskow of Credit Suisse, a bank. "The world changed on them-retailers changed and consumers changed."

Flawed though 3G's approach may seem, few food companies offer a successful alternative. Companies have tried to evolve by buying smaller firms, often at lofty prices and with mixed results. For instance Campbell Soup bought Bolthouse Farms, a maker of fruity drinks, in 2o12, but is now trying to sell it. Last year it bought Snyder's-Lance, a pretzel and popcorn company, to boost its snacks business. Its debt level has risen accordingly. Indeed, shopping sprees at Campbell, ConAgra and General Mills have made those companies more levered than Kraft Heinz, according to Sanford C Bernstein, a research firm.

 Kraft Heinz now wants to shrink to grow: it plans divestments over the next 18 months to improve its balance sheet so it can make other, big deals. But the SEC's subpoena suggests that some internal processes might be unravelling as managers struggle to meet bold goals. The notion that big deals will save American food firms looks increasingly dubious. In 2014, before Heinz bought Kraft, the combined gross operating profits of the companies were about $6.5bn. Now, due in part to some problems beyond its control, Kraft Heinz expects its 2019 profits to be about the same.

卡夫亨氏《Kraft Heinz）本应在这个季度向美国规模巨大但陷入困境的食品公司展示一种通往成功的新模式。2015年，两家全球最具标志性的食品制造商合二为一。在私募股权公司G资本的支持下，新集团以令竞争对手战栗、令投资者狂喜的速度削减成本。2017年收购英荷巨头联合利华失败后，卡夫亨氏开始想办法证明自己不但会减肥，还能凭自身提高销焦额。公司老板贝尔纳多·希斯（Bernardo Hees）兴高采烈地搬出新产品作例证，包括亨氏的蛋黄番茄酱（Mayochup）和一种叫“打个蛋”（just Crack an Egg）的食品。去年11月他查布公司正走在遇往可持续、有盈利的增长“的道路上。遗憾的是，并没有。

上月21日，卡夫亨氏披露了150亿美元的巨额减记、削减超过30%的股息，以及美国证券交易委员会（SEC）调查其采购部门的事宜。财报电话会议通常让人昏昏欲题，这一次却是一场露梦。一些长期批评3G资本的人现在难掩得意之情。另一些人则担心，3G资本正在玷污像卡夫亨氏通心粉和巴菲特这样的美国瑰宝。之前正是巴非特与3G资本联手促成了亨氏和卡夫的合井，去年他因这笔交易亏损近30亿美元。不过，尽管卡夫亨氏的业绩下滑看起来很惊人，3G资本的影响和食品行业的问题却远不止于此。

3G资本的几位创始人都是巴西人，但收购业务的总部设在曼哈顿。（公司最知名的创始人豪尔赫·保罗·雷曼[Jorge Paulo Lemann]住在瑞士。）与许多大型私募股权公司不同，3G资本的主要投资者不是养老基金，而是家族办公空和个人，包括它的合伙人。它的投资组合并不广泛，只支持两家公司：卡夫亨氏和国际餐饮品牌公司（Restaurant Brands International，RBJ）。私募股权公司需石（Blackstone）的总卸离3G资本只有几个街区，有近2500名员工，而3G资本纽约办事处的员工还不到24人。不过，3G贸本的领导者却震憾了整个消费行业，极少有投资者曾做到这一点。

所有的投资收购公司都渴望达成交易，但3G资本在这方面的热望独一无二。在成立3G资本之前，该公司的创始人掀起了一场啤酒业收购狂湖，在2016年百威英博（Anheuser-Busch InBev）以逾1000亿美元收购SAB米勒（SAB Miller）时达到顶峰。如今，由G资本的合伙人大量持股的百威英博酿造了超过全球四分之一的啤酒。卡夫亨氏的产品包括卡夫奶酪、亨氏番茄、Jell-O果冻、菲力奶油奶酪和Oscar Mayer肉制品。RBI旗下有汉堡王、炸鸡店Popeyes和颇受欢迎的加拿大连锁店Tim Hortons。

3G资本运营所持有公司的方式和收购它们的劲头一样引人注目。它采用一种“零基预算法”的做法，经理们每年都要重新证明他们的支出是合理的。此举是为了持续扩大利润率。而监督这一操作的管理层是因他们的才能和职业道德而不仅仅是经验被选定的。3G资本的合伙人之一丹尼尔·施瓦茨（Daniel Schwartz）出任汉堡王的首席执行官时才32岁。另一位合伙人希斯在一家拉美铁路公司工作了十多年，45岁时成为卡夫亨氏的老板。首席财务官戴维·克诺夫（David Knopf）2017年上任时才29岁。

对于3G资本的抨击者来说，这一切似乎有点疯狂。夸张一点说，该公司的战略就是：收购一家大企业，削减成本，然后再重复。但这么说并不完全公平。RBI在汉堡王的营销上投资，赢得了广告大奖。百威英博正努力提振销售，比如推销价格更高的啤酒，并在公司广阔的版图上应用最佳实践。

但收购大公司和削减成本仍是3G资本的专长。这种策略的风险已经变得很明显。整合Tim Hortons的加盟商让RBI不堪重负。百威英博去年表示将把股息削减一半。

3G资本的这套做法用在卡夫亨氏上时表现得最为混乱。美国的食品产业看起来是个完美的目标，因为该行业里企业臃肿但品牌强大。很少有美国人没喝过速溶饮料Kool-Aid，或是没吃过涂满亨氏番茄酱的Oscar Mayer热狗。3G资本认为这些品牌足够强大，能承受大幅成本削减。事实证明它们并不能。

百威英博的情况就不一样了。尽管在美国的业绩糟糕透顶，但百威英博几乎没有遇到过来自商店自有品牌啤酒的竞争，很少在网上销售，而且海外增长强劲。相比之下，卡夫亨氏的业务集中在美国，而美国的食品行业正在发生翻天覆地的变化。它的各个品牌可能为人熟知，但这并不能让它们大卖。小公司正利用便宜的数字营销和灵活的承包生产商带来的优势，提供给消费者更健康的选择。根据研究公司尼尔森的数据，规模最小的两万家包装食品公司占了整个行业增长的一半左右。

与此同时，电子商务和欧洲折扣杂货商的崛起给食品零售商带来了压力，它们继而又向食品公司施压。以沃尔玛为首的商店正在利用大量数据推出越来越精致且价格低廉的自有品牌商品，并始终在促使食品公司降价。

卡夫亨氏的开局不错。营业利润率从2014年的15%飙升至2017年的24%。2017年，卡夫亨氏遭遇了第一次重大挫折，时任联合利华老板的保罗.波尔曼（Paul Polman）拒绝了该公司1430亿美元的求购。（联合利华明智地将注意力越来越多地放在美容和家用品而非食品上。）巨额收购计划落空，希斯转而专注于提高销售额这项基础工作，将更多资金投在广告、产品创新和卡夫亨氏的销售队伍上，但这侵蚀了利润。

同样惹人注目的是该公司150亿美元的新一轮减记，这等于承认公司各大品牌价值缩水。巴菲特表示他错误地判断了卡夫众多产品的价值。“管理团队设想的是，合并之后他们可以削减品牌维护所必需的开支，更不用说帮助品牌成长了，”瑞信银行的罗伯特·莫斯可（Robert Moskow）说道，“世界在他们那里发生了变化——零售商变了，消费者也变了。”

3G资本的方法似乎存在缺陷，但极少有食品公司能拿出一个成功的替代方案。各大公司尝试通过收购规模较小的公司来自我进化，这些收购交易的价格往往很高，而收效不一。例如，金宝汤（Campbell Soup）于2012年收购了果汁饮料生产商Bolthouse Farms，但现在又想把它卖掉。去年它收购了一家椒盐脆饼和爆米花公司Snyder's-Lance，以扩大零食业务。它的债务水平也相应上升。研究公司盛博称，实际上，金宝汤、康尼格拉（ConAgra）和通用磨坊（General Mills）的疯狂收购使得这些公司的杠杆率比卡夫亨氏还高。

卡夫亨氏现在希望通过收缩规模来实现增长：它计划在未来18个月剥离资产以改善资产负债表，以便能实现其他大规模交易。但美国证交会的传票显示，由于管理层难以达到大胆的目标，一些内部流程可能正在瓦解。大型交易能拯救美国食品公司的想法看起来越来越不可靠了。2014年在亨氏收购卡夫之前，两家公司的总营业利润约为65亿美元。现在，一定程度上由于公司自身无法控制的一些问题，卡夫亨氏预计2019年的利润将与合并前大致相同。