2019年经济学人 汇丰银行的最新计划(1)

 

When NOEL QUINN took over as interim¹ chief executive of HSBC from John Flint,

奎恩接替约翰·范宁（8月他被董事会罢免）出任汇丰银行临时首席执行官时，

ousted² by the board in August, analysts³ expected a change in style.

分析师们认公司风格将发生改变。

Whereas Mr Flint was seen as a cerebral⁴ introvert⁵, Mr Quinn is forthcoming, verging⁶ on blunt.

范宁被认为是一个理性内向的人，而奎恩则很直率，近乎直言不讳。

On that front, at least, HSBC's first quarterly-results announcement on his watch did not disappoint.

至少在这个方面，汇丰银行在他任期内发布的首份季度业绩报告没有让人失望。

Although its Asian business "held up well in a challenging environment",

奎因10月28日表示，尽管其亚洲业务“在充满挑战的环境中表现良好”，

performance in other areas was “not acceptable”, Mr Quinn said on October 28th.

但在其它领域的表现“令人无法接受”。

Third-quarter net profits, down by 24% on the same period last year, to $3bn, undershot pundits⁷' forecasts by 14%.

第三季度净利润为30亿美元，比去年同期下降24%，比专家预测的低14%。

Revenues fell by 3.2%, to $13.4bn, missing expectations by 3%.

营业收入下降3.2%，至134亿美元，低于预期3%。

Return on tangible⁸ equity⁹ (ROTE¹⁰), its chief measure of profitability, reached 6.4%, compared with analysts' forecast of 9.5%.

其主要衡量盈利能力的指标——有形资产收益率（ROTE）达到6.4%，而分析师的预测为9.5%。

Investors¹¹ agreed with Mr Quinn: the bank's shares dropped by 4.3% on the news in London.

投资者同意奎因的观点： 伦敦消息传出后，该银行股价下跌了4.3%。

They have fallen by about 11% in the past six months.

在过去六个月内，股价下跌了约11%。

HSBC's woes¹² can be blamed in part on broader conditions: low interest rates, a slowing global economy,

汇丰银行的困境可部分归咎于更广泛的情况：低利率、全球经济放缓、

business uncertainty¹³ in Brexit-hit Britain and trade tensions (HSBC is the world's largest provider of trade finance).

英国脱欧带来的商业不确定性以及贸易紧张（汇丰银行是全球最大的贸易融资提供商）。

Yet that is hardly likely to reassure¹⁴ investors.

然而，这很难让投资者安心。

Tom Rayner of Numis Securities, a broker¹⁵, points out that although some of these trends may be reversed,

努米斯证券公司的汤姆·雷纳指出，尽管其中一些趋势可能会逆转，

others, such as Brexit and the trade wars, may linger. Interest rates may well fall further.

但其他情况，如脱欧和贸易战争可能会持续。利率很可能进一步下降。

Investors are not yet pricing in any impact from protests in Hong Kong, where HSBC is the largest lender.

投资者尚未消化香港抗议活动的影响，汇丰是香港最大的银行。

That is too optimistic, says Fahed Kunwar, at Redburn, another broker.

另一家证券公司Redburn的Fahed Kunwar说，这太乐观了。

Mr Quinn does not deny the scale of the challenge.

奎因并不否认挑战的规模。

HSBC is ditching its rote target of 11% for 2020, and there are hints of a radical¹⁶ overhaul¹⁷.

汇丰银行正在放弃其到2020年达到11%的既定目标，并且有迹象表明将进行彻底的改革。

Mr Quinn spoke¹⁸ of accelerating plans to "remodel¹⁹" poorly performing businesses.

奎因谈到了加速“重塑”经营不善业务的计划。

In August the bank announced a plan to complete 4,700 redundancies by the end of this year.

今年8月，该银行宣布了一项计划，计划在今年年底前完成4700项裁员。

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

5 introvert   

n.性格内向的人

参考例句：

• You are very much an introvert.你是一位地道的内向性格者。
• The same conversation that energizes the extravert also drains the introvert.同样的交谈能让外向者荣光焕发，却让内向者精神颓靡。

6 verging   

接近，逼近（verge的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed understanding, verging on sympathy, for our approach. 他宣称对我们提出的做法很理解，而且近乎同情。
• He's verging on 80 now and needs constant attention. 他已近80岁，需要侍候左右。

7 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

8 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

9 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

10 rote   

n.死记硬背，生搬硬套

参考例句：

• Learning by rote is discouraged in this school.这所学校不鼓励死记硬背的学习方式。
• He recited the poem by rote.他强记背诵了这首诗。

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

13 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

14 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

15 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

16 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

17 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

18 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

19 remodel   

v.改造，改型，改变

参考例句：

• Workmen were hired to remodel and enlarge the farm buildings.雇用了工人来改造和扩建农场建筑。
• I'll remodel the downstairs bedroom first.我先要装修楼下那间房间。