2020年经济学人 一周要闻 惠普拒绝施乐收购 巴菲特致股东年度信 亚马逊首家无人超市开放

HP said it was "reaching out to Xerox¹ to explore whether a combination of the two companies would be in shareholders²' interests." But it also announced a $15bn share buy-back plan, almost half its market value, complicating³ the path for such a tie-up. Xerox has gone hostile in its $35bn takeover bid for the computer-and-printer maker⁴.

惠普公司表示，“他们正与施乐公司接洽，探讨两家公司合并是否符合股东利益。”但该公司还宣布了一项150亿美元的股票回购计划，数额几乎占到其市值的一半，这加大了两家公司合并的难度。电脑和打印机制造商惠普已拒绝施乐公司350亿美元的收购邀约。

In his annual letter to shareholders, Warren Buffett defended the investment strategy of Berkshire Hathaway, his holding company, which straddles insurance, stockmarket bets and industrial activities. Last year Berkshire's share price recorded its worst performance set against the broader market in a decade. Still, it made a net profit of $81.4bn (mostly because of a change in accounting⁵ rules). Separately, Mr Buffett, a famous technophobe, revealed that he has started to use an iPhone, though only for calls.

在致股东的年度信中，沃伦·巴菲特为其控股公司伯克希尔哈撒韦公司的投资战略进行了辩护，该公司业务横跨保险、股票交易和工业活动。去年，伯克希尔的股价创下了10年来与大盘差距最大的纪录。尽管如此，它还是实现了814亿美元的净利润(主要是由于会计准则的变化)。另外，著名的技术恐惧者巴菲特透露，他已经开始使用苹果手机，尽管只是用来打电话。

A measure that would compel Apple to consider rights to freedom of expression in its dealings with China was backed by 40% of shareholders present at a meeting. A similar item had been voted on before but drew little support; investors⁷ today seem more eager to push companies to take up purpose-driven agendas.

苹果公司的一项措施得到了出席会议的40%股东的支持，该措施将迫使苹果公司在与中国打交道时考虑言论自由权利。此前也曾就类似的项目进行过投票，但没有获得多少支持；如今，投资者似乎更渴望推动企业采取以目标为导向的议程。

Amazon opened its first Go supermarket, which has no cashiers, simply charging customers through an app for items they have taken from shelves fitted with sensors⁸. The supermarket in Seattle builds on technology used in two dozen convenience stores that Amazon operates. Teething problems include accurately⁹ weighing fruit and vegetables. Shoppers must put a product back in its correct place if they do not want to be charged for it, a potential nightmare for those who have enough trouble dealing⁶ with self-checkout machines.

亚马逊首家没有收银员的Go超市开始营业。放置商品的货架上装有传感器，顾客只需通过一个应用程序就可以付费。西雅图的这家超市应用了亚马逊经营的24家便利店使用的技术。初期的问题包括水果和蔬菜的准确称重。如果不想被收取费用，购物者必须把商品放回正确的位置。对于那些在使用自助结账机方面有足够麻烦的人来说，这可能是一场噩梦。

Volkswagen's boss said he was looking to employ a young green activist¹⁰ who can push the board to take a more aggressive stance against climate change. Sounds like an ideal job for Greta Thunberg.

大众的老板表示，他正考虑聘用一名年轻的环保活动人士，此人可以推动董事会采取更积极的姿态应对气候变化。听起来像是格里塔·桑伯格的理想工作。

1 xerox   

n./v.施乐复印机，静电复印

参考例句：

• Xerox and Lucent are two more high-tech companies run by women.施乐和朗讯是另外两家由女性经营的大科技公司。
• You cannot take it home,but you can xerox it.你不能把它带回家，但可以复印。

2 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

3 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

4 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。

5 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 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

8 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

9 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

10 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。