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（在线收听）

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

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 accounting 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; investors 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 sensors. The supermarket in Seattle builds on technology used in two dozen convenience stores that Amazon operates. Teething problems include accurately 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 dealing 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 activist 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。