2019年经济学人 一周要闻 美联储预计今年不再加息 德银和德商银行合并遇阻 百威英博大换血

 

The world this week

本周要闻

Business

商业

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, and suggested it would not raise them at all this year (in December the Fed indicated rates might be lifted twice in 2019). It is also to slow the pace at which it shrinks its portfolio¹ of Treasury² holdings from May, and stop reducing its balance-sheet in September.

美联储维持利率不变，并暗示今年不会加息(去年12月美联储曾表示，2019年可能会加息两次)。美联储还将放缓从5月份开始缩减国债持有的速度，并在9月份停止缩减资产负债表。

After months of speculation³, DEUtsche Bank and Commerzbank said they would explore a merger⁴. A combined entity⁵ would be Europe’s third-biggest bank and hold about one-fifth of German deposits. The German government is thought to favour a tie-up between the Frankfurt neighbours. A deal faces many hurdles⁶, not least from unions opposed to the potential 30,000 job losses.

经过数月的猜测，德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)和德国商业银行(Commerzbank)表示，它们将考虑合并。合并后的实体将成为欧洲第三大银行，持有德国约五分之一的存款。外界认为，德国政府倾向于让这两家位于法兰克福且相邻的银行合并。而合并协议面临多层阻碍，尤其是工会，他们担心此举或将导致3万人失业。

In one of the biggest deals to take place in the financial-services industry since the end of the financial crisis, Fidelity⁷ National Information Services, a fintech company, offered to buy Worldpay, a payment-processor, in a $43bn transaction. It is the latest in a string of acquisitions in the rapidly consolidating⁸ payments industry amid a shift to cashless transactions.

金融科技公司富达国家信息服务公司提出以430亿美元收购支付处理平台Worldpay，这是金融危机结束以来金融服务业最大的交易之一。随着支付行业快速整合并转向无现金交易之际，这次收购成为该行业一系列收购案中的最新一例。

Lyft gave an indicative price range for its forthcoming IPO of up to $68 a share, which would value it at $23bn and make it one of the biggest tech flotations in recent years. Uber, Lyft’s larger rival, is expected to soon launch its IPO.

Lyft对其即将进行的IPO（首次公开募股）给出了一个发行价区间，最高为每股68美元，这将使其估值达到230亿美元，成为近年来规模最大的科技股上市公司之一。而规模更大的竞争对手优步(Uber)预计将很快启动上市计划。

Bayer’s share price swooned, after another jury found that someone’s cancer had developed through exposure to a weedkiller made by Monsanto, which Bayer acquired last year. The German drugs and chemicals company has been under the spotlight⁹ since August, when a jury reached a similar verdict in a separate case.

在又一个陪审团发现有人因接触孟山都公司生产的除草剂患上癌症后，拜耳的股价应声暴跌。孟山都公司去年被拜耳收购。自去年8月一个陪审团在另一起案件中做出类似裁决以来，这家德国制药与化学品公司一直是外界关注的焦点。

Brother, can you spare a dime¹⁰?

兄弟，能借一笔钱吗?

Anil Ambani avoided a three-month prison sentence when his brother, Mukesh, stepped in at the last minute to help pay the $77m that a court ordered was owed to Ericsson for work it did at Anil’s now-bankrupt telecoms firm. Anil Ambani, who was once ranked the world’s sixth-richest man, said he was “touched” by his brother’s gesture.

阿尼尔·安巴尼(Anil Ambani)托哥哥穆凯什·安巴尼的福，避免了三个月的监禁，穆凯什在最后时刻慷慨解囊，替他支付了法庭裁定的7700万美元的罚款，这笔钱是阿尼尔名下已破产的电信公司拖欠爱立信(Ericsson)公司的欠款。曾在全球富豪榜上排名第六的安尼尔·安巴尼(Anil Ambani)表示，他对哥哥的仗义相助十分“感动”。

AB InBev shook up its board, appointing a new chairman and replacing directors. The changes are meant to reassure¹¹ investors¹² that the brewer¹³ intends to revitalise its drooping¹⁴ share price and pay down the $103bn in net debt it accumulated in a spree of acquisitions. They also reduce the influence of 3G Capital, a private-equity firm that helped create AB InBev via several mergers¹⁵. 3G’s strategy has been called into question by mounting problems at Kraft Heinz, another corporate¹⁶ titan it helped bring about.

百威英博(AB InBev)改组了董事会，任命了一位新董事长，并更换了董事。这些变化意在安抚投资者：这家啤酒制造商打算重振其不断下跌的股价，并偿还其在一系列收购中累积的1030亿美元净债务。这也降低了私募股权公司3G Capital的影响力，这家私募股权公司通过几宗并购帮助创建了百威英博。3G Capital的战略因卡夫亨氏(Kraft Heinz)不断增加的问题受到了质疑。卡夫亨氏是3G Capital帮助促成的另一家企业巨头。

1 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

5 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

6 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

7 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

8 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

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

11 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

12 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

13 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

14 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

15 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

16 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。