????外界對沃倫?巴菲特高超投資技藝偶爾冒出來的懷疑情緒本周再度消散無蹤,，這次是因為在所有美國企業(yè)當中具有標志性意義的密爾沃基摩托車制造商哈雷戴維森公司（Harley-Davidson, Inc.）,。

????美國中西部地區(qū)的這兩家著名實體，也就是巴菲特位于奧馬哈的伯克希爾哈撒韋公司（Berkshire Hathaway）和哈雷戴維森公司,，五年前達成的一筆交易向這家摩托車制造商注資了3.03億美元,，以期在信貸市場和美國經(jīng)濟同時衰退的情況下幫助后者繼續(xù)能夠向購買者和經(jīng)銷商提供貸款。當時,，這筆資金的借貸利率是：15％,。

????本周，哈雷戴維森公司首席財務(wù)官約翰?奧林在宣布公司第一季度財報的電話會議期間透露,，公司今年2月份已經(jīng)償還了這筆貸款,。

????奧林表示，公司當初之所以借這筆高息貸款,，目的是為了協(xié)助購買者進行融資,，同時確保公司生產(chǎn)線和經(jīng)銷商繼續(xù)順暢運營。他說,，貸款是當時唯一的辦法,。這樣，二十世紀之交之后不久在威斯康辛州成立的這家公司既能借到錢,，同時又能保持所有權(quán)不變,。

????奧林說：“它是讓我們渡過一段艱難時期所需要的過橋貸款,。”2007年至2009年期間,，由于消費者用于購買摩托車,、甚至汽油的可支配收入大幅減少，哈雷的經(jīng)典摩托車（以其叛逆的‘重量級’摩托車騎手形象而著稱）銷量大幅下滑,，在美國市場的跌幅更是高達50％,。

????隨著這家公司開始從幾近深淵的谷底爬出來，它曾經(jīng)希望提前償還名下的高息貸款,。但據(jù)哈雷戴維森公司透露,，伯克希爾哈撒韋公司很難討價還價，咬定利潤豐厚的五年期貸款條款不放,。這也難怪,，因為這筆貸款為巴菲特賺到了數(shù)以百萬美元計的利息收入。此前,，他在2008年秋季美國金融體系搖搖欲墜之際在高盛集團（Goldman Sachs）股票上投資的五十億美元巨資已經(jīng)為他帶來了一筆意外之財,。

????巴菲特給高盛集團的這筆貸款的利率為10％，而且,，和哈雷那筆貸款一樣,，當時也是這家投資銀行面臨緊要關(guān)頭的時候。高盛在支付了大約五億美元的利息之后,，于2011年償還了這筆貸款,。

????雖然對于伯克希爾哈撒韋公司而言，向哈雷戴維森提供的這筆貸款利潤同樣非常豐厚,，但它引起的公眾關(guān)注程度遠低于向高盛提供的那筆貸款,，因為后者卷入了一樁重要的內(nèi)幕交易訴訟。檢方在那起官司中指控前高盛董事會成員拉賈特?古普塔在伯克希爾向這家投行注資的消息公諸于眾之前就暗中把消息透露給了對沖基金基金創(chuàng)始人拉吉?拉賈拉特南,，幫助后者獲利一百萬美元,。

????伯克希爾哈撒韋公司還在可口可樂（Coca-Cola）等美國其他知名品牌持有股份，而且總是能獲得良好的還款條件,。2009年,，伯克希爾哈撒韋公司向這家陷入困境的摩托車制造商投資了3億美元。與此同時,，哈雷戴維森的最大股東戴維斯精選顧問公司（Davis Selected Advisers LP）也向它投入了三億美元的無抵押貸款。

????盡管經(jīng)歷了20世紀30年代經(jīng)濟大蕭條以來美國經(jīng)濟的波折和起伏,，而且在20世紀70,、80年代遭到了日本摩托車制造商的沖擊，但是哈雷戴維森去年仍然以實現(xiàn)業(yè)績增長的態(tài)勢迎來了自己成立110周年的紀念日,。

????這家公司的標志性的地位似乎依然完好無損,。去年,，為了慶祝周年紀念日，公司創(chuàng)始人的孫子曾經(jīng)向教皇弗朗西斯贈送了一輛2013年款的哈雷戴維森摩托車,，這輛摩托車最近在巴黎的一場拍賣會上以32.7萬美元的成交價賣出,。這款摩托車的正常價格約為1.6萬美元。

????哈雷在最近的盈利報告中表示,，2014年第一季度這家公司在全球范圍內(nèi)已經(jīng)售出了57,415輛摩托車,，同比增長了5.8％。這個銷售業(yè)績促使這家公司的營收同比增長了10％,，而盈利同比增長了22％,。

????增長中的大部分來自于海外銷售，這部分銷售額比上一年增長了10.9％,。這家公司習(xí)慣于向中年男性推銷產(chǎn)品,，但隨著它向女性、非裔美國人和西裔消費者發(fā)動推銷攻勢,，美國市場的銷售額同比增長了3％,。

????此外，這家公司還推出了一系列與其復(fù)古風(fēng)格相吻合的新款摩托車型,，從而也爭取到了購買者,。沉寂了五年之后，這家公司向市場再度推出了Low Rider摩托車型（它是1977年推出的原型Low Rider摩托車的改裝車型）以及其他幾款用于城市騎行和長途旅行的摩托車型,。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：iDo98

????The occasional doubts that crop up over Warren Buffett's investment prowess were laid to rest this week -- again -- by, of all companies, Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG), the iconic Milwaukee motorcycle maker.

????A business deal struck five years ago between the two renowned Midwestern entities -- Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), in Omaha, and Harley-Davidson -- infused $303 million into the motorcycle maker to help keep loans available to purchasers and dealers as credit markets sank along with the economy. The interest rate: 15%.

????Harley-Davidson paid back the loan in February, said chief financial officer John Olin during a conference call this week announcing its first-quarter earnings.

????The company took the high-interest loan, Olin said, to help finance buyers and keep its production lines and dealerships operating. It was the only way, he said. This way, the company -- which was founded in Wisconsin just after the turn of the 20th century -- could borrow money and, at the same time, keep its ownership intact.

????"It was the bridge we needed to get us through a rough time," Olin said. Between 2007 and 2009, sales of Harley's classic motorcycles -- celebrated for their heavyweight, outlaw biker image -- plummeted, down as much as 50% in the United States, as people had far less disposable income for purchases, or even for gasoline.

????As the company began to climb back from the near-abyss, it wanted to repay its high-interest loan ahead of schedule, but Berkshire Hathaway struck a harder bargain, sticking with the handsome five-year loan terms, according to Harley-Davidson. No wonder, as the loan earned millions for Buffett, who already had chalked up a stellar windfall by investing a whopping $5 billion in shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) as the financial system teetered in the fall of 2008.

????That loan had a 10% interest rate, and, like the Harley loan, came at a key time for the investment bank, which repaid the loan in 2011 -- after paying about $500 million in interest.

????While the loan to Harley-Davidson was also highly lucrative for Berkshire Hathaway, it drew much less attention than the one issued to Goldman Sachs, which became part of a key insider trading trial in which prosecutors accused former Goldman board member Rajat Gupta of helping hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam make $1 million by tipping him off to the Berkshire infusion before it became public.

????Berkshire Hathaway -- which has taken stakes in other noted American brands like Coca-Cola (KO), and always on good repayment terms -- invested $300 million in the troubled chopper manufacturer in 2009. At the same time, Davis Selected Advisers LP, Harley-Davidson's biggest shareholder, also sank $300 million in unsecured loans into the company.

????Despite twists and economic downturns as far back as the Great Depression of the 1930s, and then the onslaught from Japanese motorcycle makers in the 1970s and 1980s, Harley-Davidson celebrated its 110th anniversary last year -- on the upswing.

????Its iconic status seems to be intact. A 2013 Harley-Davidson given to Pope Francis last year by a grandson of the company's founder to mark the company's anniversary was sold recently for $327,000 at a Paris auction. Its regular price tag: around $16,000.

????In its most recent earnings report, Harley said that it sold 57,415 motorcycles worldwide during the first quarter of 2014, a 5.8% increase over the same quarter last year. This boosted total company revenue by 10%, with earnings up by 22%.

????Much of the growth came from international sales, which increased 10.9% over the prior year. Sales in the United States grew by 3% as the company, accustomed to marketing to middle-aged men, made inroads among women, African-American, and Hispanic consumers.

????The company also won over buyers by releasing new models that dovetail with its reputation for retro styling. After a five-year hiatus, it brought back the Low Rider -- a remake of the original first introduced in 1977 -- and other models for urban riding and long-distance touring.