2016年经济学人 大众排放门事件进一步发酵北美区总裁辞职 英国当局向脸书施压要求其加大纳税额度

 

Business this week

本周经济要闻

The Volkswagen scandal rumbled¹ on. Prosecutors² in Germany expanded the number of employees at the car maker³ who are under investigation⁴ to 17. But they have yet to find firm evidence that senior executives had knowledge of the rigged software in diesel⁵ cars that yielded false readings in emissions⁶ tests. In France authorities opened a formal inquiry⁷ into “aggravated fraud”. VW's chief in America, Michael Horn, resigned. Matthias Muller, VW's chief executive, warned of “substantial and painful” ?nancial damage at the company because of the scandal.

去年德国大众排放丑闻还在继续发酵。目前该公司已有17人接受德国检查机关的调查。但是他们还没有发现有力证据证明大众高层对柴油机机车中的“作弊”软件知情。该“作弊”软件能够篡改尾气排放测试中的显示数据，从而使其尾气排放量达标。法国当局则对德国大众的这起“严重欺诈”正式展开调查。大众集团北美地区总裁迈克尔·霍恩)离职。大众首席执行官马塞勒斯·穆伦警告说，这起排放丑闻将给公司财务状况带来“巨大而沉痛”的打击。

Under pressure to hand over more tax in Britain, Facebook reportedly told its larger British advertisers to pay it via its UK subsidiary rather than through its office in lower-tax Ireland. Earlier it was revealed that in 2014 Facebook paid just 4,300 in corporate⁸ tax; the next year British tax authorities paid the social-network company 27,000 ($44,000) to place ads reminding people about tax commitments.

据报道称，在英国当局要求加大纳税额的压力下，脸书公司要将英国大型客户的广告营收不再列为税率较低的爱尔兰总部的收入，而列入英国分公司的收入。2014年脸书缴纳的公司税仅有4300英镑。2015年英国税务部门让脸书发布宣传公民纳税义务的广告，并支付其27,000英镑(44,000美元)的广告费。

Chevron⁹ announced additional cuts to its capital-spending plans on top of the ones it outlined last December. Like its rivals, the oil giant has been hurt by the prolonged fall in oil prices. The further reduction in spending should shore up its dividend¹⁰ to shareholders¹¹, which it has paid out continuously since 1926.

美国油气生产商雪佛龙(Chevron)宣布再次削减其去年12月所定的几项首要计划的资本预算。像其他油气生产商一样，石油巨头雪佛龙(Chevron)也受到了油价低迷的冲击，这次进一步削减资本预算应该会对其发放股东红利有所帮助。该公司自1926年来一直不间断地派发股利。

Oil prices have been rallying recently, however. Brent crude rose above $40 a barrel for the first time since early December and at mid-week was priced 47% higher than the 13-year low it had sunk to in mid-January. The price has risen in part because oil production in America, where output from shale¹² fields has boomed in recent years, is dropping. The price of iron ore soared by record amounts after Chinese officials said they would do what it takes to boost growth?

不过近期石油价格有所回升。布伦特原油（Brent crude）交易价自12月初以来首次上浮超过40美元/桶。在本周中期，布伦特原油交易价比一月中期13年来的最低价高了47%。这次油价上涨的部分原因是美国石油产量正在下滑，而近年来美国的页岩油气产量猛增。另外由于中国政府表示他们会采取措施促进经济增长，随后铁矿石价格飙升，增幅创新高。

The prospect¹³ of building Hinkley Point C, a proposed nuclear-power plant in Britain, was thrown into turmoil¹⁴ after the chief financial occer of Electricite de France, which is to build Hinkley, quit over concerns that the project threatened EDF's future. At 18 billion ($25 billion), Hinkley would be the most expensive power plant in history.

英国欣克利角C核电站的建造计划陷入僵局，原因是建造该核电站的法国电力集团（électricité de France）的财务总监认为该项目会影响公司未来发展，故决定退出该项目。欣克利角C核电站将是史上造价最昂贵的核电站，预计至少需投资180亿英镑（250亿美元）。

1 rumbled   

发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋）

参考例句：

• The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
• Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了，然而，在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声，持续不断。

2 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

3 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

6 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。

10 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

11 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

12 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

13 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

14 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。