＊第三季＊【EP. 40】#306 經濟學人新聞評論【人口老化、少子化、稅收短缺、醫療保健、養老金、社會安全網、比特幣、泡沫化、PayPal、電子/行動支付、飛雅特克萊斯勒集團、寶獅雪鐵龍集團、跨國汽車集團、企業合併/併購】

🔴Monday January 4th 2021 🔵2021年1月4日星期一 1️⃣Headache for most governments: ageing population feat. tax revenue 各國政府避之唯恐不及：人口老化 feat. 財政稅收 South Korea’s population fell in 2020 for the first time in its history. Compared with 2019, the number of deaths increased by 3%, while births fell by 10%. A population that is ageing as well as shrinking will prove expensive, as policymakers in Europe are also discovering. Old people require health care and pensions, and fewer working-age people means reduced tax revenue. 南韓在 2020年經歷了有史以來第一次的 (國民) 人口減少。與 2019年相比，2020年的死亡人數增加了 3％，而出生人數則下降了 10％。正如歐洲的政策制定者所發現的情況，人口老化和萎縮將證明是代價昂貴的。老年人需要醫療保健以及養老金，而就業人口的減少則意謂著稅收降低。 2️⃣Bitcoin: had I invested it 10 years ago, I would by now… 比特幣：如果我十年前有買的話，現在的我… The value of bitcoin surged above $34,000 for the first time. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency increased in value by more than 300% last year. Some analysts predict that the bubble will soon burst, but bitcoin’s rally has been boosted by a growth in institutional support; last year PayPal, a digital-payments firm, incorporated the digital currency for American customers. 比特幣的價值首次突破了 34,000美元。這個全球最受歡迎的加密貨幣之價值在去年成長了 300％以上。一些分析師則預測此一泡沫 (意指炒作比特幣的情形) 將很快破滅，但制度面的支持則推動了比特幣價格的反彈。在去年，電子支付公司 PayPal 為美國客戶導入了比特幣 (的支付功能)。 3️⃣A car (company) is born: Fiat Chrysler and PSA merge 新車 (廠) 誕生：飛雅特克萊斯勒 feat. 寶獅雪鐵龍集團 A new star will illuminate the car industry when the creation of Stellantis (derived from the Latin for “to brighten with stars”) is rubber-stamped today by shareholders of Fiat Chrysler, with brands that include Jeep, Ram and Dodge, and PSA Group, the maker of Peugeots and Citroëns. The deal will create an industry giant, bringing together a firm with a strong presence in America with a European powerhouse that has a toehold in China, all under the leadership of Carlos Tavares. Matching his success in the rapid revival of PSA, a basket-case when he took over in 2014, will be a challenge. The difficulty of merging differing corporate cultures has sunk many a car-industry megamerger and the challenge of remodelling existing carmakers for the electric age will undoubtedly lead to casualties along the way. But if anyone can navigate the course it is Mr Tavares, the brightest star among bosses in the business. 當旗下擁有吉普 (Jeep)、公羊貨卡 (Ram Truck) 以及道奇 (Dodge) 等品牌的飛雅特克萊斯勒集團 (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) 與握有寶獅 (Peugeot) 和雪鐵龍 (Citroën) 的寶獅雪鐵龍集團 (PSA Group) 在今天按表批准其合併案後，取自意指「由星光點亮」的拉丁文，並由兩家車商共同持股的新星車廠「Stellantis」將閃耀整個汽車製造業。這筆交易將一個在美國市場有相當高市佔率的車商與另一個在中國市場已佔有一席之地的歐洲車商勁旅聯合起來，進而打造出了一個汽車製造巨人，且由原 PSA 集團的執行長塔瓦雷斯 (Carlos Tavares) 繼續領導著新集團的營運。但如果將此役與塔瓦雷斯在 2014年接手財務困窘的 PSA 集團，並在後來取得迅速復甦的成功經驗相比將會是個挑戰。與不同企業文化之車商合併所帶來的困難讓之前許多大型車商的併購案陷入危機，再加上電動車世代對舊車商的改造這條路上無疑將帶來許多陣痛。不過呢，如果有人能 (成功地) 開闢出一條蹊徑，那一定是在眾多汽車製造業的老闆/執行長中最耀眼的那一顆星，即塔瓦雷斯。 -- Hosting provided by SoundOn