2019年经济学人 一周要闻 美国掀反垄断调查 脸书被罚50亿美元 波音季度亏损29亿

 

The world this week

本周要闻

Business

商业

America’s Justice Department announced a broad antitrust review of the market power of online platforms in search, social media and retailing¹. That increases the pressure on Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google to improve their behaviour as the calls from some Democrats² to break up those companies grow louder during the election season.

美国司法部宣布对搜索、社交媒体和零售业在线平台的市场力量进行全面的反垄断审查。这加大了亚马逊、苹果、脸书和谷歌改善自身行为的压力，因为在选举季节，一些民主党人要求分拆这些公司的呼声越来越高。

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission confirmed that it is slapping Facebook with a $5bn fine for violating privacy. It ordered Facebook to change its attitude to privacy “from the corporate³ board-level down”, and introduce mechanisms⁴ that make its executives accountable for decisions on privacy. The firm disclosed that the FTC has launched a separate antitrust investigation⁵ into its practices.

与此同时，美国联邦贸易委员会(FTC)证实，将以侵犯隐私为由对脸书处以50亿美元罚款。该委员会命令脸书“从公司董事会开始”改变其对隐私的态度，并引入让其高管对隐私决策负责的机制。该公司透露，联邦贸易委员会已经对其行为展开了单独的反垄断调查。

Boeing’s quarterly net loss of $2.9bn was its biggest ever. The aerospace⁶ company recently disclosed an after-tax charge of $4.9bn in connection with the worldwide grounding of its 737 max airliner⁷ following two fatal crashes.

波音公司季度净亏损29亿美元，为有史以来最大的亏损。这家航空公司最近披露了一项49亿美元的税后费用，涉及其737 max客机在两起致命坠机事故后在全球停飞。

Carl Icahn, an activist⁸ investor⁹, stepped up his attack on Occidental’s offer to take over a rival oil company, Anadarko, calling it a “travesty”. Mr Icahn holds a 4.4% stake in Occidental and has nominated a slate¹⁰ of directors to sit on the company’s board. He has been highly critical of Warren Buffett’s backing of Occidental’s bid, which includes putting $10bn towards its financing.

激进投资者卡尔·伊坎(Carl Icahn)加大了对西方石油公司(Occidental)收购其竞争对手阿纳达科石油公司(Anadarko)的攻击力度，称这是“歪曲事实”。伊坎持有西方石油公司4.4%的股份，并任命了一批董事会成员。他对沃伦·巴菲特支持西方石油(Occidental)的收购一直持高度批评态度，包括为其融资投入100亿美元。

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Soon after ditching an IPO of its Asian business, which would have been the world’s most valuable stockmarket flotation this year, Anheuser-Busch InBev agreed to sell its Australian brewing¹¹ division to Asahi, a Japanese beermaker, for $11.3bn. The world’s biggest brewer¹² still intends eventually to list its Asian assets. It needs the money to pay down the huge debt pile it amassed¹³ during a takeover binge.

安海斯-布希英博(Anheuser-Busch InBev)放弃了其亚洲业务的首次公开募股，其原本有望成为今年全球市值最高的股票发行。不久后，该公司同意以113亿美元的价格将其澳大利亚子公司出售给日本啤酒制造商朝日啤酒(Asahi)。这家全球最大的啤酒制造商仍有打算让其亚洲业务上市。该公司需要资金偿还在收购狂潮中积累的巨额债务。

The IMF lowered its forecast of global growth this year, to 3.2%, which would be the weakest in a decade. In its latest outlook the fund described the world economy as “subdued”; it is specifically concerned about trade and technology tensions between America and China and the prospect¹⁴ of Britain leaving the EU without a deal. Still, the IMF expects British GDP to grow by 1.3% this year, slightly above its previous projection¹⁵ in April. It sharply downgraded its growth forecasts for many emerging economies, notably¹⁶ Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

国际货币基金组织（IMF）将今年的全球经济增长预期下调至3.2%，这将是十年来的最低水平。在其最新的展望中，国际货币基金组织称世界经济“疲软”;该组织尤其关注中美两国的贸易和技术紧张关系，以及英国无协议脱欧的前景。尽管如此，国际货币基金组织预计英国今年的国内生产总值将增长1.3%，略高于4月份的预期。国际货币基金组织大幅下调了对许多新兴经济体的增长预测，尤其是巴西、墨西哥和南非。

1 retailing   

n.零售业v.零售(retail的现在分词)

参考例句：

• career opportunities in retailing 零售业的职业机会
• He is fond of retailing the news. 他喜欢传播消息。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

7 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

9 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

10 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

11 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

12 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

13 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

16 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。