2019年经济学人 一周要闻 腾讯收购环球音乐股份 汇丰银行CEO辞职 万事达收购丹麦Nets

 

John Flint’s decision to step down as chief executive of HSBC after just 18 months in the job took markets by surprise. His resignation was made “by mutual¹ agreement with the board”, which reportedly lost confidence in Mr Flint’s ability to steer² the bank through increasingly choppy waters stirred by trade tensions between America and China. Most of HSBC’s profit comes from Asia. The bank is expected to take its time choosing a successor.

汇丰银行(HSBC)首席执行官约翰·弗林特(John Flint)上任仅18个月就决定辞职，这让市场感到意外。他的辞职决定是“在与董事会的共同协议下”做出的。据报道，董事会对弗林特的能力失去了信心，他们认为他无法带领银行闯过中美贸易紧张局势引发的风浪。汇丰银行的大部分利润来自亚洲。预计该银行将遴选出继任者。

A report prepared for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggested that a move away from meat and towards plant-based diets could help fight global warming, but it pulled back from recommending that people become vegetarians³. Companies selling plant-based products have seen their share prices soar this year.

为政府间气候变化专门委员会准备的一份报告显示，从肉类转向植物类饮食可能有助于对抗全球变暖，但该报告没有建议人们转而成为素食主义者。销售植物类产品的公司今年的股价飙升。

The latest takeover in the consolidating⁴ payments industry saw Mastercard agreeing to buy Nets, a Danish real-time payments provider, for $3.2bn. It is Mastercard’s biggest acquisition to date.

在整合后的支付行业的最新收购动态中，万事达同意以32亿美元收购丹麦实时支付提供商Nets。这是万事达迄今最大的一笔收购。

Take a chance on me

冒险试一把

Vivendi, a French media company, said it was considering selling a stake of at least 10% of its Universal Music business to Tencent, a Chinese technology conglomerate⁵, possibly raising that to 20% at a later date. If completed, a deal might allow Tencent to combine its expertise⁶ in streaming with Universal’s vast catalogue of artists, which include Abba, the Beatles, Drake, Elton John and Taylor Swift.

法国媒体公司维旺迪(Vivendi)表示，正在考虑向中国科技集团腾讯出售环球音乐集团至少10%的股份，可能会在晚些时候将比例提高至20%。如果交易完成，腾讯可能会将其在流媒体领域的优势与环球唱片的众多艺人结合起来，其中包括阿巴乐队（Abba）、披头士(Beatles)、德雷克(Drake)、埃尔顿·约翰(Elton John)和泰勒·斯威夫特(Taylor Swift)。

The Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast entered administration, marking the probable end of a business that built the Titanic⁷ and other famous vessels⁸. The yard once employed 15,000 workers, but now just 122 work on repairs. It has not built a ship since 2003.

贝尔法斯特的哈兰德与沃尔夫造船厂进入破产管理程序，标志着这家曾建造泰坦尼克号和其他著名船只的工厂可能。这个工厂曾经拥有1.5万名工人，但现在只有122名工人负责维修工作。自2003年以来，该厂没有建造过一艘新船。

Barneys New York, a luxury department-store chain that opened shop in 1923, filed for bankruptcy⁹ protection and said it would close most of its stores. The company is restructuring its debt and expects to keep seven stores open, including its flagship premises¹⁰ in Manhattan, made famous by “Sex and the City”. Its insolvency¹¹ proves that the upheaval¹² in retailing¹³ is not confined to suburban¹⁴ shopping malls.

于1923年开业的奢侈百货连锁店巴尼斯纽约百货公司申请破产保护，并表示将关闭大部分门店。该公司正在重组债务，预计将保留7家门店，包括因《欲望都市》而闻名的曼哈顿旗舰店。这家公司的破产证明，零售业的动荡并不局限于郊区的购物中心。

1 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

2 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

3 vegetarians   

n.吃素的人( vegetarian的名词复数 )；素食者；素食主义者；食草动物

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• Vegetarians believe that eating meat is bad karma. 素食者认为吃肉食是造恶业。

4 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

5 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

6 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

7 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

8 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

10 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

11 insolvency   

n.无力偿付，破产

参考例句：

• The company is on the verge of insolvency.该公司快要破产了。
• Normal insolvency procedures should not be applied to banks.通常的破产程序不应当适用于银行。

12 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

13 retailing   

n.零售业v.零售(retail的现在分词)

参考例句：

• career opportunities in retailing 零售业的职业机会
• He is fond of retailing the news. 他喜欢传播消息。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。