The 1960s heyday of conglomerates may be over, but there are plenty of companies like ITT Corp. that make it their business to be involved in all sorts of unrelated activities.

　　大企業(yè)集團像上世紀60年代那樣的全盛期可能結束了，但目前仍存在大量像ITT Corp.一樣的公司，它們將涉足各式各樣彼此不相干的商業(yè)活動當成了自己的工作。

　　Those conglomerates range from General Electric Co. (jet engines, washing machines, loans to medium-size companies) to DuPont Co. (seeds, Kevlar, countertops) to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (machine parts, neon signs, Ginsu knives). But not all conglomerates are under the same sort of pressure as ITT to break up, and many are flush with cash and hunting for acquisitions.

　　無論是生產飛機發(fā)動機、洗衣機并向中型企業(yè)放貸的通用電氣(General Electric Co.)，還是生產種子、凱夫拉爾合成纖維以及廚房操作臺的杜邦公司(DuPont Co.)，抑或是沃倫?巴菲特(Warren Buffett)出產機器零部件、霓虹燈和金廚刀具的伯克希爾哈撒韋公司(Berkshire Hathaway Inc.)，全都屬于這類企業(yè)。但并非所有的大企業(yè)集團都像ITT那樣面臨分拆壓力，許多這類企業(yè)手頭都有充裕的現金，正在四處搜尋收購目標。

　　Conglomerates 'aren't going to go away,' said Wayne Titche, chief investment officer at AMBS Investment Counsel LLC, though he noted company-specific considerations could spur some to significantly adjust their lines of business.

　　投資咨詢公司AMBS Investment Counsel LLC的首席投資長提徹(Wayne Titche)說，大企業(yè)集團不會消亡，但他也指出，一些大企業(yè)集團出于公司自身利益考慮可能會大幅調整其業(yè)務布局。

　　GE had long been a target of investors and analysts who figured its pieces were worth more apart and pushed for some sort of division.

　　通用電氣曾一直是一些投資者和分析師鼓動分拆的目標，他們認為，通用電氣的一些業(yè)務如果獨立出來會更值錢，因此敦促這家公司進行某種形式的分拆。

　　That pressure has dissipated as GE has worked to better focus its operations around its industrial businesses. GE is shrinking GE Capital and is selling control of its NBC Universal media assets.

　　但隨著通用電氣開始致力于更好地將旗下業(yè)務集中在工業(yè)部門周圍，這種壓力已經消散。該公司目前正在縮減通用金融(GE Capital)的規(guī)模，并將出售旗下媒體資產NBC Universal的控股權。

　　GE said Wednesday a breakup is out of the question. Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said at the company's investor meeting last month that he considers GE's portfolio of assets to be the best since he took charge in September 2001.

　　通用電氣周三說，將公司分拆是不可能的。該公司首席執(zhí)行長伊梅爾特(Jeff Immelt)在公司上個月舉行的投資者大會上說，他認為通用電氣目前的資產分布狀況是他2001年9月就任以來最佳的。

　　Conglomerates blossomed five decades ago, when favorable interest rates made it relatively easy to boost revenue and stock prices with serial acquisitions. But they fell out of favor when the stock increases slowed and investors began to question whether promised efficiencies would materialize.

　　大企業(yè)集團這種企業(yè)形式興起于50年前，當時有利的利率環(huán)境使得企業(yè)能夠相對容易地通過連續(xù)收購來提振收入和股價。但當股價增速放慢、投資者開始對企業(yè)能否兌現其通過收購提高經營效率的承諾提出質疑時，這種企業(yè)形式也就失去了魅力。

　　Companies have since swung between diversifying through acquisitions and refocusing on core businesses via divestitures.

　　自那以來，企業(yè)一直在通過收購實現業(yè)務多元化和通過分拆重新集中精力發(fā)展核心業(yè)務這兩條道路間左右搖擺。

　　Danaher Corp. last year spun off its tools business into a joint venture with Cooper Industries PLC. Emerson Electric Co. sold its electric-motors business. Tyco International Ltd. sold its metals processing and distribution business after announcing plans to spin off the unit to shareholders as a separate company.

　　Danaher Corp.去年將其工具業(yè)務分拆出去，將其注入一家Danaher與康珀工業(yè)公司(Cooper Industries PLC)成立的合資企業(yè)。艾默生電氣公司(Emerson Electric Co.)出售了其電動機業(yè)務。泰科(Tyco International Ltd.)在宣布將其金屬加工和分銷子公司分拆出去作為一家獨立的公司給予股東的計劃后，出售了這家子公司。

　　Acquisitions, however, are expected to ramp up now that the recession-era cost cutting has left firms with plenty of cash and relatively little debt. Conglomerates' net debt to market capitalization is at an all-time average low of 11%, according to Citi Investment Research. Meanwhile, cash holdings at conglomerates amount to 8% of their combined market capitalization.

　　但現在，鑒于企業(yè)通過在本次經濟衰退期的成本削減降低了債務負擔并積累了大量現金，業(yè)務收購之風預計又會卷土重來?；ㄆ焱顿Y研究(Citi Investment Research)的數據顯示，大企業(yè)集團平均的凈債務與企業(yè)市值之比已經降至11%的歷史低點。而大企業(yè)集團的現金持有量則相當于他們總市值的8%。

　　Under Buffett's control, Berkshire Hathaway has become a holding company for companies including Dairy Queen, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad and Geico insurance. But Berkshire, unlike ITT and other conglomerates, has rarely faced questions about whether the businesses it owns are better together than they are apart.

　　在巴菲特的經營下，伯克希爾哈撒韋公司已經變成了一家下轄乳品企業(yè)Dairy Queen、鐵路公司Burlington Northern Santa Fe和保險公司Geico等不同行業(yè)企業(yè)的控股公司。但與ITT和其他大企業(yè)集團不同，很少有人向伯克希爾哈撒韋公司質疑說，它旗下的各種業(yè)務聚攏在一起是否比各自獨立更好。

　　Jeff Matthews, founder of hedge fund Ram Partners and author of 'Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha,' said it was largely because Berkshire stock has done so well--the 'Buffett premium' attributed to faith in the company's CEO.

　　對沖基金Ram Partners的創(chuàng)辦人馬休(Jeff Matthews)說，這很大程度上是因為伯克希爾哈撒韋公司的股票表現太好了，人們將該公司股票的“巴菲特溢價”歸因于投資者對巴菲特的信心。馬休還撰有《去沃倫?巴菲特的奧馬哈朝圣》(Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha)一書。

　　Buffett didn't respond to a request for comment left with an assistant Wednesday.

　　記者周三向巴菲特一名助手提出想請巴菲特發(fā)表相關評論，但巴菲特未予以回應。