The Level of the Non-Manufacturing Index Was 53.9

美国11月份非制造业指数为53.9

—in November. It’s a measure of activity in the U.S. economy’s service sector compiled 

by the Institute for Supply Management.

这是供应管理协会(Institute for Supply Management)编制的衡量美国服务业活动的指标。

The November reading showed a sharper-than-expected drop in service activity from October. And that gloomy news comes a day after a similar measure of manufacturing showed a continued decline in activity at U.S. factories.

11月份的数据显示，与10月份相比，服务活动的下降幅度超出了预期。此前一天公布的制造业指数也显示美国工厂活动正在持续下降。

The two surveys illustrate how broad an impact trade wars, and all the uncertainty that comes with them, are having on business activity.

这两项调查表明了贸易争端的影响范围有多大，以及随之而来的所有不确定因素给商业活动造成的影响。

he Bonds of the Riskiest Companies Yield 11.6% More

高风险公司的债券收益率比美国国债收益率高出11.6％以上

—than U.S. Treasuries. It, of course, makes sense that companies with a higher chance of defaulting need to pay more to borrow than those likelier to pay back their creditors.

当然，违约几率较高的公司需要比更有可能偿还债务的公司支付更高的利息。

But here’s something else: The difference between the risky bond yields and the Treasuries’ yield—often referred to as their spread – has widened since the summer.

但是还有另外一个因素：高风险债券收益率与美国国债收益率之差（通常称为债券利差）自夏季以来就在扩大。

It’s not a promising sign. That’s because lower-rated debt is considered to be the most sensitive to economic growth. So, the fact that investors are now demanding an even higher premium to lend to risky borrowers means they could be expecting slowing economic growth, or worse: a recession.

这不是一个好迹象。因为评级较低的债务被认为对经济增长最为敏感，因此，投资者现在要求更高的溢价以向高风险借款人贷款的事实意味着，他们可能预计经济增长将放慢甚至恶化：出现经济衰退。

Carl Icahn Thinks Investors Could Save $2 Billion

卡尔·伊坎认为投资者可以节省20亿美元

—if Xerox (XRX) and HP (HPQ) were to combine. Icahn, an activist investor, is a large shareholder in both printer companies.

如果施乐(Xerox, XRX)和惠普(HP, HPQ)合并的话。激进投资者伊坎(Carl Icahn)是这两家打印机公司的大股东。

Xerox made an offer to acquire its larger competitor earlier this fall, which HP’s board rejected. Then on Wednesday, in a characteristic letter, Icahn appealed to HP shareholders to put pressure on the board.

施乐于今年秋季提出要收购规模更大的竞争对手惠普，但惠普董事会拒绝了该提议。周三（12月4日），伊坎在一封信中呼吁惠普股东向董事会施加压力。

Icahn wrote: “I can say without exaggeration that the combination of HP and Xerox is one of the most obvious no-brainers I have ever encountered in my career.”

伊坎写道，“我可以毫不夸张地说，惠普和施乐的合并是我职业生涯中最显而易见的选择。”

Carl Icahn has a long history of using public letter-writing campaigns to persuade investors of his point of view. And it’s worked well for him in the past.

卡尔·伊坎通过公开信的方式说服投资者接受他的观点是这位投资人很常见的做法。从过去的情况来看效果不错。

翻译 | Anqi

版权声明：

《巴伦》(barronschina) 原创文章，未经许可，不得转载。英文版见2019年12月5日报道“An HP-Xerox Merger Will Save Investors $2 Billion, Icahn Says”。

（本文内容仅供参考，投资建议不代表《巴伦》倾向；市场有风险，投资须谨慎。）