Donald Trump’s plan to gut the Biden administration’s sweeping climate legislation would be like “stabbing ourselves” and give China the advantage in a global cleantech race, the US energy secretary has said. 

美国能源部长表示，唐纳德•特朗普计划废除拜登政府的全面气候立法无异于“自寻死路”，会让中国在全球清洁技术竞赛中占据优势。

Jennifer Granholm told the Financial Times the Inflation Reduction Act had spurred a “tsunami of investment” worth $500bn and was rebuilding a US manufacturing sector capable of competing with China. 

詹妮弗•格兰霍姆(Jennifer Granholm)告诉英国《金融时报》，《降低通胀法》(IRA)已经引发了价值5000亿美元的“投资海啸”，并且正在重建一个能够与中国竞争的美国制造业部门。

But Trump’s plan to scrap the IRA and its vast cleantech subsidies if he is elected president in November would threaten progress made in reshoring factories in the US and threaten American energy independence, she said. 

但她说，如果特朗普在11月当选总统，他计划取消《降低通胀法》及其巨额清洁技术补贴，这将威胁到美国在工厂回流方面取得的进展，并威胁到美国的能源独立。

——本文2024年9月24日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Donald Trump’s plan to gut climate law would be self-harm, US energy chief says

Since arriving from Australia in August, I’ve found the debate about higher education in the UK to be reminiscent of the parable involving three blind men and an elephant. Stumbling through the jungle, they encounter a large obstacle. The first, finding its trunk, thinks it is a water hose. The second, feeling its large, flat ears, thinks they are fans. The third, climbing the vast torso, thinks he has ascended a throne.

8月从澳大利亚到英国后，我发现围绕英国高等教育的辩论让人想起三个盲人和一头大象的寓言。三人在丛林中跌跌撞撞地行走时遇到一个巨大的障碍物。第一个人摸到大象的鼻子，以为那是一根水管。第二个人摸到大象又大又扁的耳朵，以为那是扇子。第三个人爬上大象的巨大躯干，以为自己登上了国王的宝座。

Much like these blind men, we seem to be grasping at different parts of a complex system, each seeing only a fragment of the whole. This parable came to mind after attending my first conference held by Universities UK, our umbrella body, in Reading this month. The mood was a mixture of gloom and faint hope — amid all the unhappiness around higher education, the new government has at least tried to steady the ship by stopping the hostile rhetoric and seeking partnerships with universities rather than picking fights.

就像这些盲人一样，我们似乎在抓住一套复杂系统的不同部分，每个人只看到整体的一小部分。本月在雷丁第一次参加由我们的伞状组织——英国大学联合会(Universities UK)举办的会议后，我想到了这则寓言。会上，人们的情绪既悲观又充满希望：在围绕高等教育的种种不满中，英国新政府至少试图通过制止敌意言论、寻求与大学合作而不是挑起争端来稳定局面。

——本文2024年9月24日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Lessons for UK universities from the Australian experience

EU antitrust policy has long been lauded for protecting against abuses of market dominance and monopolistic price-gouging. But is it stifling the creation of European world-beaters? Sometimes it may be, according to the recent report on reviving EU competitiveness from former European Central Bank governor Mario Draghi. Spain’s Teresa Ribera, nominated as the EU’s new competition chief, has been told to develop an approach “more supportive of companies scaling up in global markets”. It is surely right to ensure EU antitrust regulations are keeping pace with dizzying changes in technology and the global economy. But the aim should be for evolution, not revolution.

长期以来，欧盟反垄断政策一直被称赞是抵御市场主导地位滥用和垄断性价格操纵的手段。但它是否扼杀了欧洲打造世界领先企业的可能？根据前欧洲央行(European Central Bank)行长马里奥•德拉吉(Mario Draghi)最近发布的有关重振欧盟竞争力的报告，有时可能确实如此。被提名为欧盟竞争事务新主管官员的西班牙人特雷莎•里贝拉(Teresa Ribera)被告知，要制定一种“更支持企业在全球市场扩大规模”的做法。确保欧盟反垄断法规跟上技术与全球经济的眩目变化，这无疑是正确的。但目标应该是进化，而不是革命。

Draghi argued competition policy should take greater account of the need to create businesses that can compete with US and Chinese giants, not just preserving competition within the EU market. Merger policy should also weigh whether tie-ups will stimulate innovation, and not focus only on price effects. An “innovation defence”, he suggested, could allow tech or other research-intensive companies to argue that by merging they could achieve the scale needed to plough more into innovation. The EU might switch to policing some such mergers post-approval — for example, by ensuring they stick to agreed investment targets.

德拉吉认为，竞争政策应更加重视创造有能力与美国和中国巨头竞争的企业，而不仅仅是保护欧盟市场内的竞争。合并政策还应考虑合并是否能够刺激创新，而不仅仅关注价格影响。他提议，允许科技或其他研发密集型公司发表“创新辩护”，即通过合并可以达到大量创新投入所需的规模。欧盟可以改为在批准后监管某些此类合并交易，例如确保它们遵守约定的投资目标。

One key to a successful approach, however, must be to identify where lack of scale in EU companies is genuinely the fault of competition rules rather than remaining obstacles to competition across national borders. In very fragmented sectors such as telecoms, banking or defence, having fewer companies might indeed strengthen EU competition and investment, and enhance Europe’s ability to compete globally. But national protections or regulatory barriers have been more responsible than merger rules for thwarting consolidation. Completing the single market is at least as important as tweaking antitrust regulations.

然而，成功做法的关键之一必须是确定，在哪些方面欧盟公司规模不足确实是竞争规则的过错，而不是跨国竞争的障碍。在电信、银行或国防等非常分散的行业，减少公司数量可能确实会加强欧盟的竞争和投资，并提高欧洲的全球竞争能力。但在阻碍合并方面，国家保护或监管壁垒比并购规则的作用更大。完善单一市场至少与调整反垄断法规同等重要。

The man suspected of plotting to kill Donald Trump in Florida wrote a letter describing his “assassination attempt” months before the incident, according to a court filing submitted by federal prosecutors on Monday.

根据联邦检察官周一提交的一份法庭文件，涉嫌在佛罗里达州密谋杀害唐纳德•特朗普的男子在事发几个月前写了一封信，描述了他的“暗杀企图”。

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” Ryan Wesley Routh wrote in the letter shared by Department of Justice prosecutors. “I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster.”

“这是对唐纳德•特朗普的一次暗杀，但我让你们失望了，”瑞安•韦斯利•劳斯在司法部检察官分享的信中写道。“我尽了最大的努力，使出了浑身解数。”

Prosecutors said Routh dropped the handwritten letter off at an unnamed witness’s house several months ago. 

检察官表示，几个月前，劳斯把这封手写的信送到了一位未具名证人的家中。

——本文2024年9月24日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Suspected gunman described ‘assassination attempt’ against Donald Trump in letter 

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