2022年经济学人 马斯克成功收购推特

The world this week--Business

本周国际要闻--商业

Elon Musk¹ struck a deal to buy Twitter, capping three weeks of drama during which he had revealed he had amassed² a 9.2% stake and rejected a seat on the board and Twitter had tried to block a sale.

埃隆·马斯克达成了收购推特的协议，为三周的闹剧画上了句号。在这三周的闹剧事件中，他透露自己积累了9.2%的股份，并拒绝了董事会的一个席位，而推特曾试图阻止这笔出售交易。

In the end its big investors⁴ forced Twitter to the table when Mr Musk revealed a financing package for his offer.

最后，当马斯克透露了收购要约的融资方案时，这位投资者迫使推特坐到了谈判桌前。

At around $44bn it will be one of the largest-ever leveraged⁵ buy-outs.

这笔约440亿美元的交易将成为有史以来规模最大的杠杆收购交易之一。

The Twitterati went into meltdown at Mr Musk’s pledge to nurture⁶ free speech on the platform.

马斯克承诺要在推特上培养言论自由环境，这让推特达人陷入了崩溃。

But he seemed to have the support of Jack⁷ Dorsey, Twitter’s founder⁸, who tweeted: “Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step.”

但他似乎得到了推特创始人杰克·多尔西的支持。多尔西在推特上写道:“从华尔街手中夺回公司是正确的第一步。”

Tesla’s share price tumbled the day after Twitter accepted Mr Musk’s bid.

在推特接受马斯克收购要约的第二天，特斯拉的股价暴跌。

Part of his financing for the offer includes a loan against the stock he owns in the carmaker; a much lower share price would complicate⁹ that calculation.

收购要约的部分资金包括以他持有的汽车制造商股票为抵押的贷款; 更低的股价会使这一计算复杂化。

Meta’s quarterly earnings¹⁰ pleased investors, a relief for the company after its results for the previous quarter showed a sharp slowdown in growth, pummelling its share price.

Meta的季度收益令投资者感到高兴，这让该公司松了一口气，此前该公司上一季度的业绩显示增长大幅放缓，股价受到重创。

Overall revenue grew at the slowest pace since Facebook went public, but the number of daily active users across all Meta’s apps, which include WhatsApp and Instagram, was up.

自脸书上市以来，Meta的总营收增长速度最慢，但包括WhatsApp和Instagram在内的所有应用的日活跃用户数量都在上升。

Microsoft reported solid quarterly revenues and forecast better sales for the current quarter, driven by its cloud-computing services.

微软公布了稳健的季度收入，并预计在云计算服务的推动下，当前季度的销售额将有所改善。

Satya Nadella, the chief executive, said that the inflationary environment was good for software, as firms seek to “do more with less”.

首席执行官萨蒂亚·纳德拉表示，通胀环境对软件行业有利，因为企业寻求“用更少的资金做更多的事情”。

Revenues from advertising¹¹ at Alphabet also grew sharply in the latest quarter, though not at the same pace as during the height of the pandemic.

Alphabet的广告收入在最近一个季度也大幅增长，但增速不及疫情最严重时期。

It said ad spending on its YouTube platform had not grown as much as it had hoped because of the “outsized impact” of Russia’s war in Ukraine in European markets.

该公司表示，由于俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争对欧洲市场的“巨大影响”，其YouTube平台上的广告支出没有像预期的那样增长。

Sales from Google’s search advertising were less affected¹² by wider economic concerns and rose by 25%, year on year.

谷歌的搜索广告销售额受更广泛的经济担忧影响较小，同比增长了25%。

America’s Senate confirmed Lael Brainard as vice-chair of the Federal Reserve, becoming deputy to the chair, Jerome Powell.

美国参议院确认莱尔·布雷纳德为美联储副主席，成为主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔的副手。

But the confirmation¹³ of Lisa Cook to the Fed’s board of governors was temporarily suspended by Democrats¹⁴ because they lacked the numbers to support her (mostly because of covid absences).

但民主党人暂时中止了丽莎·库克进入美联储理事会的就职确认，因为他们缺乏支持她的票选数字(主要是因为新冠肺炎缺席)。

Ms Cook would be the first black woman to sit on the board, though Republicans contend that she is an activist¹⁵ who would use her position to “promote radical¹⁶ hyperbole”.

库克女士将成为董事会的首位黑人女性，尽管共和党人认为她是一名激进分子，会利用她的处境“鼓吹激进夸张言论”。

It was a tale of two Swiss banks, as UBS reported its best first-quarter profit in 15 years and Credit Suisse fell to a loss and overhauled¹⁷ its management, replacing its chief financial officer.

这是两家瑞士银行的故事:瑞士联合银行公布了15年来最好的第一季度利润，瑞士信贷则陷入亏损，并对管理层进行了改组，更换了首席财务官。

UBS’s investment-banking¹⁸ business rebounded¹⁹ from its exposure a year ago to the collapse²⁰ of Archegos Capital Management, though income from its asset-management division was sharply lower (Bill Hwang, the founder of Archegos, was charged with fraud in America this week).

瑞士联合银行的投资银行业务从一年前因资本管理公司Archegos倒闭而受到的影响中反弹，尽管其资产管理部门的收入大幅下降(本周，Archegos的创始人比尔·黄在美国被控欺诈)。

Credit Suisse’s loss came as revenue fell in investment banking and wealth management, year on year.

瑞士信贷出现亏损之际，其投行业务和财富管理业务收入同比下降。

In a blow to green investors, shareholders²² at Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo overwhelmingly rejected proposals to stop the three big American banks financing new fossil-fuel projects.

美国银行、美国花旗集团和美国富国银行的股东以压倒性多数否决了阻止美国三大银行为新的化石燃料项目融资的提议，这对环保投资者来说是一个打击。

With energy costs rising, Jane Fraser, Citi’s chief executive, said that moving to a net-zero carbon economy would take time.

随着能源成本不断上升，美国花旗集团首席执行官简·弗雷泽表示，实现净零碳经济需要时间。

But in a sign of the growing power of shareholder²¹ activists²³ at investor³ meetings, Ms Fraser was also asked a question about Citi’s policy on reimbursing²⁴ staff who have to travel to get an abortion²⁵.

但有一个迹象表明，股东活动家们在投资者会议上的影响力越来越大。弗雷泽还被问及花旗在补偿员工因堕胎而不得不出差方面的政策。(注：德克萨斯州禁止堕胎)

1 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

2 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》

3 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。

4 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

5 leveraged   

促使…改变( leverage的过去式和过去分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• Chrysler has traditionally been a highly leveraged company. 克莱斯勒一向是一家周转十分灵活的公司。
• Leveraged recaps have become popular for a number of reasons. 杠杆资本重组的大行其道有好几个原因。

6 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

14 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》

15 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。

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 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

19 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

20 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

21 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

22 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

23 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 reimbursing   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• All banking charges outside Korea and reimbursing are for account of beneficiary. 所有韩国以外的用度及偿付行用度由受益人承担。 来自互联网
• A reimbursing bank's charges are for the account of the issuing bank. 然而，如果费用系由受益人承担，则开证行有责任在信用证和偿付授权书中予以注明。 来自互联网

25 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。