中國經濟放緩波及全球公司

????本周，世界最大的航空包裹托運公司聯邦快遞（FedEx）拉響警鐘，說出了一個讓許多公司高管擔心的問題：中國的經濟增速正在放緩。眼下，包括歐美在內的許多其他經濟體依然難以走出全球金融危機的陰霾，作為世界第二大經濟體的中國是全球經濟增長的主要推動力。

????聯邦快遞公司CEO弗雷德?史密斯周二警告稱，歐美的經濟問題已經拖累了世界貿易。他說，這種局面對中國經濟的影響遠遠超過大多數觀察家此前的估計。聯邦快遞是一只受到密切關注的經濟領頭羊，因為其出貨量可以反映出經濟的總體運行狀況。這家公司已經削減了向美國發貨的飛機數量。

????受中國經濟放緩影響的公司并不止聯邦快遞一家。一些大型跨國公司的高管也紛紛下調了對中國經濟前景的預期。中國消費者已經顯露出了疲態，從豪華雨衣到智能手機，許多產品的制造商都已經感受到了這一點。

????上周，英國奢侈品制造商博柏利（Burberry）出人意料地發布了一項盈利預警，該公司公布了一組自金融危機以來最糟糕的店面銷售數據。銷售額的縮水預示著作為世界增速最快的奢侈品市場的中國存在更廣泛的問題。盡管博柏利公司表示它所面臨的問題并不單純是中國經濟放緩，但該公司首席財務官斯泰西?卡特賴特稱：“是的，亞洲經濟總體上也在放緩；沒錯，中國是亞洲經濟放緩的重要原因之一。”

????可以肯定的是，中國的經濟可能很快就會好轉。近幾個月來，中國政府已下調利率，并大膽地宣布了一系列旨在恢復建設和政府項目的財政刺激計劃。

????博柏利稱，該公司依然看好中國經濟的長期發展前景。

????“有沒有人能控制中國？”當博柏利在倫敦時裝周 （London Fashion Week）上發布了2013春夏款時裝系列之后，該公司首席執行官安吉拉?阿倫茨周一接受《華爾街日報》（The Wall Street Journal）采訪時這樣說道。阿倫茨援引的分析報告顯示，盡管中國經濟最近遭受挫折，但其增長勢頭將會延續下去。

????卡特彼勒公司（Caterpillar）也對中國經濟的長期前景持有類似的觀點，盡管這家世界最大的運土設備制造商上月在接受彭博社（Bloomberg）采訪時表示，該公司設在中國江蘇省徐州市的大型挖掘機工廠已經削減了產量。從7月份開始，這家工廠曾關停了兩個月。此外，卡特彼勒公司還縮短了中國工廠的工作時間。由于中國市場對建筑和采礦設備的需求下跌，卡特彼勒公司現在不得不將大部分產品出口至海外。該公司此前曾錯誤地預期中國市場的銷量將會上揚。

????芯片制造商奇跡科技集團（Marvel Technology Group）也感受到了中國經濟放緩帶來的痛楚。上個月，奇跡科技發布警告稱，由于個人電腦銷售放緩，其中國移動芯片業務當前季度的業績或許難以達到預期指標。這家公司為采用3G技術的中國手機市場制造處理芯片，智能手機在中國的熱賣曾讓其受益良多。奇跡科技集團預期，它面向移動和無線終端市場的芯片銷量增速將回落至中等個位數。

????譯者：任文科

????FedEx, the world's largest air package shipper, sounded the alarms this week on what many corporate executives have feared: China's slowing growth. The world's second-largest economy helped drive global growth when many other economies, including the U.S. and Europe, were still struggling from the global financial crisis.

????FedEx CEO Fred Smith on Tuesday warned economic problems in Europe and the U.S. have slowed trade around the wo，rld. And he said the impact on China's economy is far bigger than what most observers have estimated. FedEx is a closely watched economic bellwether, as the volume of its shipments offer a broad glimpse of how economies are doing. Already, the company trimmed the amount of planes carrying shipments into the U.S.

????FexEx (FDX) isn't alone. Executives at some of the world's largest corporations have also been down on China, where consumers have shown they're hurting, and it's starting to be felt by manufacturers of everything from luxury raincoats to smartphones.

????Last week, British luxury-maker Burberry issued an unexpected profit warning, reporting its worst same-store sales figures since the financial crisis. The crimp in sales signaled broader troubles in China, the world's fastest-growing luxury market. Although the company said the problem isn't simply a China slowdown, Burberry chief financial officer Stacey Cartwright said: "Yes, we are seeing a slowdown in Asia, and yes, China is a significant contributor to that."

????To be sure, China's economy could soon turn around. In recent months, the government has cut interest rates and announced a series of bold spending packages aimed at reviving construction and government projects.

????Burberry has said it continues to be bullish on China for the long-term.

????"Can anyone control China?" asked Burberry chief executive Angela Ahrendts on Monday during an interview with The Wall Street Journal after the company unveiled its Spring/Summer 2013 collection at London Fashion Week. Ahrendts pointed to analyst reports that suggest China would continue growing despite recent setbacks.

????Taking a similar long-term view is Caterpillar (CAT), even though executives at the world's largest maker of earth-moving equipment told Bloomberg last month that it has slowed production at its main Chinese excavator factory in Xuzhou city, Jiangsu province. This included shutting down the factory for two months in July. Caterpillar also cut working hours in China. As demand for construction and mining equipment falls, the company is exporting most production after it wrongly anticipated that sales would pick up.

????Chipmaker Marvel Technology Group (MRVL) is also feeling the pain. Last month, the company warned that it may miss expectations for the current quarter at its mobile chips business in China as PC sales slow. The company makes processing chips for phones that run on a 3G technology used in China and had benefited from the boom in smartphone sales. Marvel expects its mobile and wireless end-market sales to fall in the mid-single digits.