引发恐慌抛售？印度首富阿达尼一天蒸发131亿美元******
当地时间周三，印度商业巨头阿达尼(Gautam Adani)旗下企业股价再次暴跌，至此在做空机构兴登堡研究(Hindenburg Research)发布看空报告后，阿达尼集团总市值已经蒸发860亿美元。资金也开始出逃印度股市，市场信心有待恢复。
阿达尼让出亚洲首富
根据福布斯的统计，对于阿达尼而言，做空事件市值蒸发导致其个人财富缩水超500亿美元，其总资产已经回落到751亿美元，在世界富豪榜上的排名从第8位一路下滑到第15位，而亚洲首富的位置则被印度信实工业董事长安巴尼(Mukesh Ambani)取代，他以837亿美元的资产位居全球第9。
近年来，阿达尼集团业务迅速扩张，涉及港口、机场、采矿、水泥和电力等行业，上市公司的股价飙升让他成为2022年全球财富增长最快的亿万富豪。去年9月，其净资产最高飙升至1500亿美元，仅次于特斯拉CEO马斯克(Elon Musk)。
不过一份做空报告让阿达尼的商业帝国面临前所未有的挑战。兴登堡研究质疑阿达尼集团通过海外避税天堂的实体操纵上市公司股价，使得公司能够获取更多的负债，报告还对其旗下7家上市子公司的高债务和估值表示担忧。知名对冲基金经理、Pershing Square创始人阿克曼(Bill Ackman)在社交媒体上质疑道，阿达尼的银行负债敞口太大了。
阿达尼集团随后否认了这些指控，称关于股票操纵的说法“毫无根据”，是对印度法律的不了解。为了获得投资者的支持，阿达尼麾下旗舰公司阿达尼企业(Adani Enterprises)开启了25亿美元FPO(后续公开发行)，这也是印度历史上最大的FPO，公司在周二截止前成功收到足额认购意向，股价一度止跌企稳。
不过好景不长，周三阿达尼集团旗下企业再次跳水，阿达尼企业(Adani Enterprises)暴跌28%，阿达尼港口下跌19%，两只股票均创下了上市以来最大单日跌幅纪录，集团其他五家上市公司中三家触及跌停板，其中阿达尼与法国能源巨头道达尔合资的阿达尼道达尔能源(Adani Total Gas)近一周市值蒸发已经达到270亿美元。
面对股价波动，阿达尼集团当地时间周三晚些时候宣布取消阿达尼企业(Adani Enterprises)刚刚完成的发行融资计划。公司在一份声明中表示：“鉴于当前的市场缓解，公司将通过返还FPO资金并撤回已完成的交易来保护其投资群体的利益。今天的市场前所未有，公司董事会认为继续发行股票在道德上是不正确的。”
信心恢复尚待时间
自兴登堡研究报告发布以来，阿达尼集团公司股价下跌也拖累了印度股市，印度基准Nifty指数累计下跌近3%。第三方资金流向统计发现，一周内外国投资者净卖出了价值15亿美元的印度股票，这也是自去年9月30日以来最大规模的抛售纪录。
当有媒体被问及是否担心阿达尼集团股价暴跌导致印度股市更大动荡和损失时，印度经济事务部长赛斯(Ajay Seth)表示，政府不会评论与某家特定公司相关的问题。
有消息人士透露，印度市场监管机构正在对阿达尼集团的交易展开调查，并将在其初步调查中加入做空报告的指控。
阿达尼集团股东印度人寿保险公司本周表示，将寻求管理层对做空报告的澄清。截至去年12月底，印度人寿持有阿达尼企业(Adani Enterprises)4.23%的股份，在阿达尼港口和经济特区(Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone)持有超过9%的股份。报道称，这家保险巨头是近期抛售阿达尼股票的主要投资者。
独立市场分析师巴里加(Ambareesh Baliga)表示：“在股票发售完成后，市场出现了轻微反弹，但现在投资者情绪再次变得疲软。”他补充道，“尽管阿达尼集团进行了反驳，但实际反响效果并不好，这显然表明投资者信心已经受到了损害，波动可能需要一段时间才能稳定下来。”
中新网评：美国众议长选举“连续剧”暴露美式民主痼疾******
中新网北京1月9日电(蒋鲤)在15轮投票表决后，美国众议院议长选举这场“连续剧”终于落下帷幕，众议院共和党领袖凯文·麦卡锡最终成功当选第55任美国众议院议长。这是美国国会过去164年来耗时最久的一次议长选举记录，将美国“对抗式民主”的弊端暴露无遗。
资料图：美国众议院共和党领袖麦卡锡。中新社记者 沙晗汀摄
由于两党对立加剧、党派内斗、利益分配不均等因素，众议长选举陷入一场拉锯战。在此次众议长竞选中，美国民主党议员继续抱团，多轮投票中，一票不投麦卡锡，共和党右翼“强硬派”领头的约20人小团体也拒绝投票麦卡锡。
麦卡锡的当选之路一波三折，除了本人的“政治投机派”角色在国会不受欢迎外，与共和党内部政治分歧关系密切。
一方面，共和党党内反对者认为，麦卡锡对民主党态度过于软弱，无力对抗民主党控制的参议院和拜登政府，另一方面，因为共和党的多数优势微弱，党内一些影响力较小的派系的政治力量则被放大，有利于他们巩固自己的选票。
此外，党内反对者也认为，自己的选票没有换取更多利益，希望以此作为筹码换取麦卡锡更大的让步，比如让他们获得众议院重要委员会中的职务。
作为仅次于美国总统、副总统的政坛三号人物，众议院议长通常由众议院多数党领袖担任，选举几乎没有悬念。然而，麦卡锡此次为当选，不得不做出多个关键让步，其中可能包括恢复一项罢黜议长动议机制，使得众议长的权力被削弱，难以掌控众议院。
美国有线电视新闻网CNN称，麦卡锡在这场不合时宜的政治勒索中作出让步，这种绥靖政策只会让极端主义势力更加强大。
这场引发全世界围观的尴尬选举暴露出美国政治存在严重的对立和分化。在权力博弈思维的裹挟下，党派利益凌驾于国家和人民利益之上，美国两党相互拆台，陷入“为反对而反对”的无脑对垒。而即便是一党内，也会因为利益分配问题产生不同的小派系，相互对抗，选票变成了谋利益的工具。
从国会山骚乱到打破记历史记录的15轮众议长选举，“对抗式民主”让美国政治陷入瓶颈，长期对抗势必会让政客们丧失客观公正的判断能力，其政治阶层是否有能力治理国家也会引发质疑。
两党之争和党派内斗进一步放大了美国政治体制弊病，美国所谓的“民主”形象，让全世界大跌眼镜。鼓吹以选民利益为先的美式选举，变成了政客们利益置换的游戏，进一步彰显出美国“民主政治”日渐失能，不断极化的党争已使美国政治制度陷入死循环。
House speaker election reveals deep-rooted problems in U.S. democracy
(ECNS) -- The Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was elected as the 55th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives after 15 ballots. As the most grueling House speaker election in the past 164 years, the election has highlighted the defects of the country’s "confrontational democracy".
The election once reached a stalemate due to intense partisan strife, inner-party struggle among the Republicans, uneven distribution of interests, and more. Democratic Party members forged a close alliance, refusing to vote for McCarthy, while about 20 Republicans also declined to cast ballots for the GOP leader.
Except for his unpopular role as a "political speculator" in Congress, McCarthy’s hard-won election can be attributed to turmoil within the Republican Party.
On the one hand, opponents in the Republican Party believe that the GOP leader's attitude toward the Democrats is too weak to confront the Senate controlled by Democrats and the Biden administration.
On the other hand, the political power of some less influential factions in the Republican Party has been amplified due to the Party’s weak majority advantage in the House of Representatives, which is conducive to consolidating their ticket warehouses.
Meanwhile, these opponents believe that their votes failed to win them more benefits, hoping to use this as a bargaining chip for McCarthy's further concessions, such as getting them positions in important House Committees.
As the third political figure after the President and Vice President of the U.S., the speaker, by tradition, is the head of the majority party in the House of Representatives.
But McCarthy has made many concessions in order to bring the ultra conservatives along, involving what’s known as the “motion to vacate,” a mechanism by which members can force a vote to depose the speaker. The reported concessions will empower individual members at the expense of McCarthy’s sway as speaker.
CNN thought the concessions he made during this unseemly political shakedown would only make the extremist faction more powerful.
This embarrassing election, which has drawn global attention, exposed the serious opposition and polarization in American politics. Both Democrats and Republicans put their interests before that of the country and its people, attacking and opposing each other irrationally.
Besides, different factions arise within a single party and confront each other because of the distribution of interests. Votes have become a tool to win more benefits.
From Capitol riots to the House Speaker election with record-breaking ballots, "confrontational democracy" has become a bottleneck of American politics. Long-term confrontation will surely impede politicians to think objectively and fairly while their capacity of governing the country will also raise doubts among the public.
Both parties’ struggle and infighting among the Republicans have further amplified the defects of the American political system, with its "democratic" image shocking the world.
The U.S.-style election, which advocates putting voters' interests first, has become a game of interest exchange among politicians. In addition, it further demonstrates the malfunction of American "democratic politics" and the constantly polarized party struggle that has trapped the American political system into an infinite cycle.
