2019年经济学人 一周要闻 IMF下调增长预期 脸书将正式推出Libra 美联储宣布启动“QE4”（在线收听）

Investors responded positively to Netflix’s quarterly earnings. The video-streaming company undershot its forecast for new subscribers in America during the third quarter, though that was still a rebound from the previous three months, when it lost domestic users. It added 6.3m international customers, above expectations. Netflix also lowered its outlook, as it braces for the launch of rival streaming services from Apple and Disney next month.

投资者对Netflix的季度收益反应积极。这家视频流媒体公司第三季度的美国新用户数量低于预期，但至少从上一季度国内用户的流失中反弹。Netflix在海外市场增加了630万客户，超出了市场预期。Netflix也下调了预期，为下个月苹果和迪士尼推出竞争对手流媒体服务做准备。

Facebook held the first meeting of the association that will oversee its proposed Libra digital currency, despite a barrage of objections raised by global regulators. Facebook insists Libra will be up and running next year, even though eBay, Mastercard, PayPal and Visa have pulled out. Still, 21 companies have signed up to the payments network, including Uber and Vodafone.

尽管全球监管机构提出了一系列反对意见，但Facebook还是举行了Libra协会的首次会议，监督其拟议中的数字货币Libra。尽管易趣、万事达、贝宝和维萨已经退出，但Facebook坚称Libra明年将会上线运营。尽管如此，仍有21家公司与Libra协会签约，其中包括优步(Uber)和沃达丰(Vodafone)。

The IMF again downgraded its growth forecasts amid “uncertainty about the future of the global trading system and international co-operation”. The world economy is projected to grow by just 3% this year, the slowest pace in a decade. The “systemic economies” of America, China, the Euro zone and Japan can expect only a moderate expansion over the next few years. The IMF pointed out that subdued growth has coincided with easy monetary policy, but warned that central banks have little ammunition left when economies are in a “tougher spot”.

由于“全球贸易体系和国际合作的未来存在不确定性”，国际货币基金组织（IMF）再次下调了增长预测。今年世界经济预计仅增长3%，为十年来的最低增速。美国、中国、欧元区和日本的“系统性经济体”预计未来几年只会适度增长。IMF指出，增长放缓与宽松的货币政策同时出现，但警告称，当经济体处于“更艰难的境地”时，各国央行手中的工具已所剩无几。

The Federal Reserve began buying short-term government bonds at a monthly rate of $60bn in order to refill its portfolio until at least the second quarter of next year. It is doing this to ease a cash crunch and sharp rise in banks’ overnight lending costs (the repo rate). The size of the intervention took many by surprise. The central bank described it as a technical move, not a return to quantitative easing, which involved buying longer-dated treasuries.

美联储(fed)开始以每月600亿美元来购买短期政府债券，以便至少在明年第二季度之前补充其投资组合。此举是为了缓解现金短缺和银行隔夜贷款成本(回购利率)的急剧上升。干预的规模让许多人感到意外。美联储称其为技术性举措，而非回归量化宽松，即购买长期国债。

The United Automobile Workers union reached a tentative deal over a new contract with General Motors. The workers have been on strike for over a month, which is said to have cost the carmaker up to $1.5bn.

美国汽车工人联合会与通用汽车公司就一项新合同达成初步协议。工人们已举行了一个多月的罢工，据说这导致这家汽车制造商损失高达15亿美元。

James Dyson scrapped his firm’s project to build electric cars, acknowledging that it was not commercially viable. The British inventor, whose cordless vacuum cleaners and other gadgets have eased the burden of household chores, reportedly pulled the plug on the Dyson vehicle in the face of intense competition from established carmakers, who are ramping up production of their own battery-powered models.

詹姆斯·戴森(James Dyson)放弃了制造电动汽车的计划，承认该计划在商业上不可行。这位英国发明家发明的无线吸尘器和其他小型家用电器减轻了家庭杂事的负担。据报道，面对来自老牌汽车制造商的激烈竞争，他拔掉了戴森汽车的“插头”，而前者正在加紧自家电池驱动车的生产。