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Corporate spending
企业支出
If they build it
如果他们建造了它
Capital expenditure around the world has been disappointing
世界各地的资本支出一直令人失望
WHEN companies spend money on new plant and equipment, jobs and economic growth are the result. One of the aims of central banks' efforts to suppress interest rates is to encourage more such spending. But the latest survey from Standard & Poor's, a rating agency, indicates that a boom is yet to materialise: in real terms, capital expenditure fell 1% in 2013, and is expected to decline again this year.
当公司把钱花在新工厂和新设备上时，就业和经济就会上涨。中央银行努力压低利率，其中一个目的就是鼓励更多这样的支出。但是从标准普尔，一家评级机构，最近的调查显示，这种繁荣还未成为现实：实际上，在2013年资本支出下降1%，预计今年还将再次下降。
Perhaps surprisingly, capex is falling in emerging markets, generally seen as the engine of the global economy. The emerging markets' share of global capex fell from 34% in 2011 to 27% last year.
新兴市场中的资本支出通常本看作是全球经济的引擎，也许令人惊讶的是，这种资本支出正在下降。新兴市场的资本支出占全球资本支出的比例从2011年的34%下降到去年的27%。
The big investors have traditionally been mining and energy firms, accounting for 42% of global capex in 2013. But spending in both industries has slowed sharply and is expected to fall this year. Companies may be losing the leeway to spend: capex has been higher than free cashflow in three of the last five years. In addition, the investment boom of the past decade may mean that the supply of minerals has caught up with demand.
大型投资者通常是矿产和能源公司，2013年这类公司的资本支出占全球资本支出的42%。但在这两个行业的的支出却大幅放缓，且预计今年还会下降。公司也许会失去花钱的余地：在过去的5年中，已经有3年的资本支出比自由现金流高 。此外，过去10年间的投资热潮也许意味着矿产的供给已经赶上需求。
Spending on research and development has been more robust than capex, rising 4.7% in real terms in both 2011 and 2012. But momentum appears to be slowing, despite an improving economy: R&D grew just 2.6% last year.
研发支出比资本支出更加强健，在2011年和2012年都实际增长4.7%。尽管经济形势有所好转，但这一势头似乎正在放缓：去年研发支出仅增长2.6%。
Why haven't companies taken advantage of cheap finance and spent more? An obvious reason is that corporate revenue has not been growing very fast. Given that constraint, capex does not look so meagre. For global non-financial companies, the ratio of capex to revenues is close to its highest level in a decade. But that also means companies are unlikely to boost spending by much more. A survey of British firms suggests that uncertainty about demand and the risk of weak returns are the main deterrents for executives deciding whether to increase capex.
为什么没有公司利用廉价融资而增加支出？一个显而易见的原因就是企业的收入没有迅速增长。考虑到这一约束，资本支出看起来并没有那么贫弱。对于全球非金融企业，资本支出与收入的比率接近10年来的最高水平。但这也意味着公司不太可能更多的刺激消费。对英国公司的调查表明，需求的不确定性和薄弱的风险回报是影响高管决定是否增加资本支出的主要妨碍。
It seems like a chicken-and-egg problem. Without a strong global recovery, companies will not spend more. But if they do not spend more, there will not be a strong recovery.
这似乎是一个“鸡生蛋，还是蛋生鸡”的问题。没有强劲的全球经济复苏，企业将不会增加支出。但是如果他们不增加支出，就不会产生强劲的全球经济复苏。
