Nice juicy Apple

　　新鮮多汁的蘋果

　　ALTHOUGH he is still stirring things up at Dell, an ailing computer-maker, Carl Icahn hasfound time to tilt at another tech titan. On August 13th the veteran shareholder activistrevealed that he had built up a stake in Apple, though he stayed mum about exactly howmany shares he had bought. Mr Icahns intentions, however, are crystal clear: he wants theconsumer-electronics behemoth to expand plans to return some of its whopping $147 billionof cash and marketable securities to shareholders.

　　盡管卡爾伊坎仍在陷入困境的電腦生產商戴爾公司攪和，他已經抽出了時間力爭另一家科技巨頭。8月13日，這位積極的投資老手透露他已經持有蘋果的股份，但是具體持有多少則避而不談。然而，伊坎先生的意圖很明確：他想要這家消費電子產品巨頭擴張計劃，將1470億美元市值里的部分資金以現金和有價證券的形式返還給股東。

　　Mr Icahn is also after more money at Dell, where he has been lobbying with allies against aproposed buy-out plan put forward by Michael Dell, the firms founder, and Silver Lake, aprivate-equity firm. His pressing has already forced the buy-out group to raise its initialoffer by over $350m, to $24.8 billion and he has taken his battle to the courts in a bid toextract an even higher price.

　　伊坎先生也仍在從戴爾公司爭取更多的錢，他正在游說股東反對一起收購。這項收購計劃是由戴爾的創始人邁克爾戴爾和一家私募股權公司銀湖發起的。來自伊坎先生的壓力已經使收購方提高了3.5億美元的價格，使得收購價達到了248億美元。他已經將斗爭帶到了法庭，通過投標爭取得到更多的錢。

　　Other tech firms have been attracting the attention of activist investors too. Earlier this yearValueAct Capital, an investment fund, said it had built up a $2 billion stake in Microsoft.Jaguar Financial, a Canadian bank, has been encouraging fresh thinking at troubledBlackBerry, which announced on August 12th that it is exploring various strategic options,including alliances and a possible sale. And Elliott Management, a hedge fund, has beenlobbying for change at NetApp, a data-storage firm that it thinks could do more to improvereturns to shareholders.

　　其他的科技公司也吸引了不少積極投資者的注意。今年早些時候，一個投資基金ValueAct Capital表示其持有了微軟公司20億美元的股份。加拿大銀行捷豹金融也鼓勵陷入危機的黑莓創新思維。今年8月12日，黑莓公司表示其正在探索戰略選擇，包括結盟和出售公司。一家對沖基金艾略特管理公司游說數據存儲公司NetApp做出改變，該公司認為NetApp能做出更多來提高股東的收益。

　　One reason tech firms have found themselves in activists crosshairs is that, like Apple, somebuilt up big cash piles during the economic downturn and have been slow to use the money.Financiers hope to get them to loosen their purse-strings faster and to pocket some of thecash. Mr Icahn wants Apple to increase and accelerate a share buy-back programme that iscurrently set to return $60 billion to shareholders by the end of 2023.

　　積極投資人瞄準科技公司的一個原因是，很多科技公司跟蘋果一樣在經濟衰退時擁有很大的現金流，但是資金利用不足。金融家希望他們放松自己的財政，放出更多的現金。伊坎先生想要蘋果增加并加速其股份回購計劃。現在該計劃是截止到2023年末，蘋果公司返還600億美元給股東。

　　Another reason that tech firms make tempting targets for shareholder activists is that swiftchanges in technologies can trip up even the mightiest. Witness the case of Microsoft, whichruled the roost during the personal-computer era but has struggled to adapt to a world inwhich tablets and smartphones are all the rage. Investors hope to mint money by pushingcompanies to change more rapidly in response to such upheavals in their markets.

　　積極投資者瞄準科技公司的另一個原因就是科技的日新月異甚至會搞垮行業巨頭。看一看微軟的例子，在個人電腦時期成壟斷之勢，而在平板電腦智能手機時代則處于苦苦掙扎的境地。投資者希望通過推動公司做出更快改變適應市場變化來掙得更多利潤。

　　The rewards can be substantial. Egged on by Third Point, an activist hedge fund, Yahooappointed Marissa Mayer as its new chief executive in July 2023. By the time shecelebrated a year in the job last month, the troubled web giants share price had risen byover 70%. In July the hedge fund sold a big chunk of shares back to Yahoo. Mr Icahn thinksApples share price, which closed at $499 on August 14th, could soar too if the firm follows hisadvice on buy-backs. He tweeted this week that he had had a nice conversation with TimCook, Apples boss, about his idea, though he did not say what Mr Cook thought of it. If Appledrags its feet, expect things to turn nasty.

　　報酬是實質性的。在活躍對沖基金第三點公司的慫恿之下，雅虎在2023年7月任命梅麗莎梅耶為新CEO。上個月她任職一年，這家陷入危機的互聯網巨頭股價上升了70%。7月，這家對沖基金回賣了一大筆股票給雅虎。伊坎先生認為蘋果如果聽從他關于回購的意見的話，其股價也能大漲。8月14日蘋果的股價為每股499美元。這周他發推表示他跟蘋果老板蒂姆庫克有一個很愉快的對話，盡管他沒有說庫克對其建議的看法。如果蘋果一拖再拖的話，等著丑事兒發生吧。

　　Nice juicy Apple

　　新鮮多汁的蘋果

　　ALTHOUGH he is still stirring things up at Dell, an ailing computer-maker, Carl Icahn hasfound time to tilt at another tech titan. On August 13th the veteran shareholder activistrevealed that he had built up a stake in Apple, though he stayed mum about exactly howmany shares he had bought. Mr Icahns intentions, however, are crystal clear: he wants theconsumer-electronics behemoth to expand plans to return some of its whopping $147 billionof cash and marketable securities to shareholders.

　　盡管卡爾伊坎仍在陷入困境的電腦生產商戴爾公司攪和，他已經抽出了時間力爭另一家科技巨頭。8月13日，這位積極的投資老手透露他已經持有蘋果的股份，但是具體持有多少則避而不談。然而，伊坎先生的意圖很明確：他想要這家消費電子產品巨頭擴張計劃，將1470億美元市值里的部分資金以現金和有價證券的形式返還給股東。

　　Mr Icahn is also after more money at Dell, where he has been lobbying with allies against aproposed buy-out plan put forward by Michael Dell, the firms founder, and Silver Lake, aprivate-equity firm. His pressing has already forced the buy-out group to raise its initialoffer by over $350m, to $24.8 billion and he has taken his battle to the courts in a bid toextract an even higher price.

　　伊坎先生也仍在從戴爾公司爭取更多的錢，他正在游說股東反對一起收購。這項收購計劃是由戴爾的創始人邁克爾戴爾和一家私募股權公司銀湖發起的。來自伊坎先生的壓力已經使收購方提高了3.5億美元的價格，使得收購價達到了248億美元。他已經將斗爭帶到了法庭，通過投標爭取得到更多的錢。

　　Other tech firms have been attracting the attention of activist investors too. Earlier this yearValueAct Capital, an investment fund, said it had built up a $2 billion stake in Microsoft.Jaguar Financial, a Canadian bank, has been encouraging fresh thinking at troubledBlackBerry, which announced on August 12th that it is exploring various strategic options,including alliances and a possible sale. And Elliott Management, a hedge fund, has beenlobbying for change at NetApp, a data-storage firm that it thinks could do more to improvereturns to shareholders.

　　其他的科技公司也吸引了不少積極投資者的注意。今年早些時候，一個投資基金ValueAct Capital表示其持有了微軟公司20億美元的股份。加拿大銀行捷豹金融也鼓勵陷入危機的黑莓創新思維。今年8月12日，黑莓公司表示其正在探索戰略選擇，包括結盟和出售公司。一家對沖基金艾略特管理公司游說數據存儲公司NetApp做出改變，該公司認為NetApp能做出更多來提高股東的收益。

　　One reason tech firms have found themselves in activists crosshairs is that, like Apple, somebuilt up big cash piles during the economic downturn and have been slow to use the money.Financiers hope to get them to loosen their purse-strings faster and to pocket some of thecash. Mr Icahn wants Apple to increase and accelerate a share buy-back programme that iscurrently set to return $60 billion to shareholders by the end of 2023.

　　積極投資人瞄準科技公司的一個原因是，很多科技公司跟蘋果一樣在經濟衰退時擁有很大的現金流，但是資金利用不足。金融家希望他們放松自己的財政，放出更多的現金。伊坎先生想要蘋果增加并加速其股份回購計劃。現在該計劃是截止到2023年末，蘋果公司返還600億美元給股東。

　　Another reason that tech firms make tempting targets for shareholder activists is that swiftchanges in technologies can trip up even the mightiest. Witness the case of Microsoft, whichruled the roost during the personal-computer era but has struggled to adapt to a world inwhich tablets and smartphones are all the rage. Investors hope to mint money by pushingcompanies to change more rapidly in response to such upheavals in their markets.

　　積極投資者瞄準科技公司的另一個原因就是科技的日新月異甚至會搞垮行業巨頭。看一看微軟的例子，在個人電腦時期成壟斷之勢，而在平板電腦智能手機時代則處于苦苦掙扎的境地。投資者希望通過推動公司做出更快改變適應市場變化來掙得更多利潤。

　　The rewards can be substantial. Egged on by Third Point, an activist hedge fund, Yahooappointed Marissa Mayer as its new chief executive in July 2023. By the time shecelebrated a year in the job last month, the troubled web giants share price had risen byover 70%. In July the hedge fund sold a big chunk of shares back to Yahoo. Mr Icahn thinksApples share price, which closed at $499 on August 14th, could soar too if the firm follows hisadvice on buy-backs. He tweeted this week that he had had a nice conversation with TimCook, Apples boss, about his idea, though he did not say what Mr Cook thought of it. If Appledrags its feet, expect things to turn nasty.

　　報酬是實質性的。在活躍對沖基金第三點公司的慫恿之下，雅虎在2023年7月任命梅麗莎梅耶為新CEO。上個月她任職一年，這家陷入危機的互聯網巨頭股價上升了70%。7月，這家對沖基金回賣了一大筆股票給雅虎。伊坎先生認為蘋果如果聽從他關于回購的意見的話，其股價也能大漲。8月14日蘋果的股價為每股499美元。這周他發推表示他跟蘋果老板蒂姆庫克有一個很愉快的對話，盡管他沒有說庫克對其建議的看法。如果蘋果一拖再拖的話，等著丑事兒發生吧。