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TEXTONEAstheoilpriceclimbedtowards$100abarrelduringthepastfewweeks,bigWesternoilfirmswerereportingtheirresultsforthethirdquarter.Recordoilprices,itturnsout,donottranslateintorecordprofits.Oilisnowclosetoexceedingtherecordsetin1979ofbetween$100and$110,dependingonhowyouadjustforinflationandwhatbenchmarkyouuse.Yetalmostwithoutexception,bigoilfirms'profitsarefallingfromthepeaksreachedlastyear.ExxonMobil,forexample,reporteda10%dropinprofitsinthethirdquarter,andBP'sfellevenmoresharply.ProfitsalsofellatChevron,ConocoPhillipsandEni.TheyroseatTotalandRoyalDutchShell—butonlythankstoexchange-ratefluctuationsandone-offassetsales.AnalystsatCitigroupcalculatethat,measuredindollars,thebiggestoilfirms'earningsfellby15%onaverage.Tobefair,theoilpricehassurgedmostdramaticallysincetheendofSeptember,althoughitwasalsobuoyantinthethirdquarter.Themajors'poorshowingalsoreflectslowerprofitsfromrefining,asthedifferenceinpricebetweenpetrolandcrudeoilhasfallenfromtheexceptionallyhighlevelsofrecentmonths.Butthefactremainsthatoilgiantsarestrugglingtopumpmoreoilandgas.Inpart,thisisduetoaquirkoftherulesthatobligeWesternoilfirmstosharethecrudetheyproducewithstate-ownedoilfirmsinmanycountries.Thecontractsinquestionoftenstipulatethatasthepricegoesup,thevolumeofoiltheforeignersreceivedecreases.Worse,severalcountriesarechangingcontractsortaxrulesinwaysthatwillfurthererodetheWesternoilfirms'profits—andinsomecasesarethrowingthemoutaltogether.Risingcostsarealsoaproblem.Exxon,whichisknownforitsstringentfinancialdiscipline,sawcostsrisealmosttwiceasfastasrevenueinthethirdquarter.Theshortageoflabourandequipmentthatisfeedingthisinflationisalsocausingdelaystonewprojects.Andtherearenotenoughnewprojectsinthepipeline.TheInternationalEnergyAgencyreckonsthattheexpansionplansofthebigWesternandstate-ownedoilfirmswillleavetheworld12.5mbarrelsperdayshortofrequirementsin2015.Despitethisloomingdeficitandtheglaringpricesignal,allthebigcompaniesexceptTotalproducedlessoilandgasinthethirdquarterthantheydidinthesameperiodlastyear.AccordingtoCitigroup,theaveragedeclineinoveralloutputwas3.3%.Iftherelativelysteadysupplyofnaturalgasisstrippedout,thenumberslookevenworse:oilproductionfellby9%onaverage.Nomatterhowhighthepricegoes,theoilmajorscannotmakeaprofitfromoiltheydonotproduce.参考译文：随着石油价格在过去几周内攀到每桶100美元，西方据几家大型石油公司汇报了他们第三季度的收益。结果表明，石油价格创记录并不代表石油公司利润也创了记录。石油价格目前即将打破1979年创下的每桶100到110美元的记录，不过这与通胀及使用的标准有关。但是无论如何，几乎所有的石油公司利润都在去年达到峰值后出现了下滑。比如，ExxonMobil报告第三季度利润减少了10%，而英国石油公司利润下滑则更为厉害。Chevron,ConocoPhillips和Eni利润也出现了下滑，Total和RoyalDutchShell的利润虽然有所增加，但是这只是由于利率波动和一次性资产出售的原因。花旗银行分析家用美元核算得出的结果是最大型石油公司的利润平均下降了15%。其实石油价格从九月底就急剧上升，尽管在整个第三季度呈缓慢上升的态势。主要石油公司惨淡的汇报也反映了炼油企业的利润降低，因为近几个月内汽油和原油之间的高差价已经缩小了。但事实上石油巨头仍然在努力抽出更多的石油和天然气。这部分是由于在许多国家突然规定西方石油公司必须将制造的原油分给国有石油公司。这些合同经常规定如果石油价格上涨，那么出口给外国人的石油量就要减少。更糟糕的是几个国家甚至修改了合同或税收规则，进一步减少了西方石油公司的利润，更有甚者还逐出了西方石油公司。成本上升也是个问题。Exxon以其严格的财务纪律而著名，在第三季度公司成本上涨的速度是利润上涨速度的两倍。这种成本上升再加上劳动力和设备的短缺，使得新项目被延迟。同时在输油管道建设方面没有足够的新项目，国际能源组织承认西方大型石油公司和国有石油公司的扩展计划将导致世界在2015年每天的石油缺口达一千两百五十万桶。尽管隐约出现了赤字和价格信号，但除了Total以外的所有大公司在第三季度生产石油和天然气的数量都比去年同期减少了。花旗银行称总产量平均下降了3.3%。如果不考虑天然气相对稳定的供应，那么数字更为惊人：石油产量平均下降了9%。无论石油价格多高，主要石油公司都不能他们生产的石油中获利。TEXTTWOFromitsbirthin1981withjusttwoemployees,theGovernmentofSingaporeInvestmentCorporationhasbecomeoneoftheworld'slargestsovereignfunds,managingmorethan$100billioninassets,with900employeesineightofficesaroundtheworld.ItislargereventhanTemasekHoldings,thegovernment'sbetter-knownfund.Temasekgainedattentionwithits$1.9billionpurchaseofacontrollingstakeinThailand'sdominanttelecommunicationscompanyfromthefamilyofthecountry'sprimeminister.Thathelpedstirstreetproteststhatledtoacoupd'etattherelastyear.Thestakewaspartofabroaderexpansionstartedinmid-2002bythecompany'sexecutivedirector,HoChing,formerlyheadofgovernment-ownedSingaporeTechnologiesandwifeofSingapore'sprimeminister,LeeHsienLoong.AimedatrevivingTemasek'sfinancialperformanceinthewakeofarecession,TemasekhassincetakenlargestakesinbanksasdistantasIndia,ChinaandtheStandardCharteredBankofBritain.Temaseksaysitsinvestmentsarepurelyforfinancialpurposesdespiteitsownershipbythegovernment.Nonetheless,ithasrunintopoliticalheadwindsintheregion.AnIndonesiancourtrecentlyruledthatitwouldhavetoselloneofthecontrollingstakesitholds,onedirectlyandtheotherthroughasubsidiary,inthecountry'stwodominantcellulartelephonecompanies.Overthelastfewyears,SingaporehasembarkedonanaggressiveefforttocourtprivatebanksandtheirclientsasawayofdiversifyingtheeconomyasmanufacturingjobswereshiftingtoChinaandVietnam,turningthecountryintoanAsianassetbase.Therearealreadyatleast40privatebankswithofficesinSingapore,managingassetsworthatleast$150billion.WithmanywealthyEuropeansshiftingassetstoSingaporefromSwitzerlandtotakeadvantageofrapidAsiangrowthandavoidnewwithholdingtaxesinEurope,theEuropeanauthoritieshavesteppedupcriticismofSingapore'sbankingsystem,sayingthatSingaporeneededtotightencontrolsagainstmoneylaundering.Singaporeanfinancialauthoritiessaytheydonotcondonemoneylaunderingandrecentlysteppedupfinesagainstbanksfoundtobeinvolvedinillicitfinancia