2019年经济学人 企业丑闻新时代(1)

 

Two things stand out about business in America today. One is how successful American firms are:

如今美国商业界有两件事最为突出。一是美国公司有多么成功：

they account for 57 of the world's 100 most valuable listed firms. The other is the bad smell hanging over a number of powerful companies.

世界百家最具价值上市公司中，它们占到了57家。另一个是萦绕在许多大公司周围的臭味。

Boeing faces claims that it sold 737 max planes with dangerous software. It says it is "taking actions to fully¹ ensure the safety of the 737 max".

波音面临指控称其出售的737 max飞机上装有危险软件。其表示正在“采取行动完全确保737 max的安全性”。

Criminal charges have been filed against Goldman Sachs in Malaysia for its role in arranging $6.5bn of debt for a state-run fund that engaged in fraud.

马来西亚高盛投资公司已被提起刑事指控，因其参与为一家涉嫌诈骗的国有基金安排65亿美元的借款。

Goldman says it is co-operating with investigators². A jury in California has just found that Monsanto failed to warn a customer

高盛集团表示正在和调查人员合作。加利福尼亚的一陪审团刚发现孟山都公司未能警告顾客

that its weedkiller could, allegedly, cause cancer. Bayer, a German firm which bought Monsanto in June, says it will appeal the verdict.

其除草剂可能会导致癌症。德国公司拜耳在6月收购了孟山都公司，拜耳称将对判决提出上诉。

Wells Fargo, one of America's biggest banks, has admitted creating 3.5m unauthorised bank accounts.

美国最大银行之一富国银行承认开设了3500万个未授权银行账户。

It says it is working to "rebuild trust with our stakeholders". Facebook is ensnared in scandals; its data practices have come under scrutiny³ in several countries.

其表示正在努力“重建与我行股东的信任”。Facebook深陷丑闻；其数据操作受到了几个国家的审查。

The firm says "we need a more active role for governments and regulators".

该公司表示“我们需要成为政府和监管者的一个更加积极的角色”。

Some 146m customers of Equifax, a credit-scoring firm, had their personal details stolen in 2017.

2017年信用评估公司Equifax的约1.46亿客户的个人数据遭窃。

It is being sued for negligence⁴, according to its annual report. A recent document for its investors⁵ says protecting information is "our highest priority".

根据该公司年度报告，其因玩忽职守罪名被起诉。一份给其投资者的近期文件表示保护信息是“我们的重中之重”。

Then there is the opioid epidemic⁶, which involves not only Purdue Pharma, the maker⁷ of OxyContin,

然后类鸦片盛行，涉及其中的不仅仅是奥施康定的制造商普度制药

but also, according to a lawsuit⁸ by New York's attorney-general, other firms including McKesson and Johnson & Johnson.

根据纽约司法部长的一起诉讼所述，还有其他公司，包括麦克森公司和强生。

Purdue says it is "deeply concerned" about opioid addiction⁹. Last year McKesson also said it is "deeply concerned" by the epidemic

普度制药表示其“深切关注”阿片类药物成瘾。去年麦克森公司还表示类鸦片盛行是他们“深切关注”的问题

and that its board has "enhanced oversight¹⁰ procedures related to opioid distribution".

并且其董事会已经“增强了类鸦片药物分销的监管程序”。

Johnson & Johnson says it is "committed to ensuring its medicines are used correctly".

强生表示其“致力于确保其药物的正确使用”。

It is tempting¹¹ to view these cases as unrelated events caused by factors ranging from bad luck and human error to negligence and criminality.

很容易将这些案例看做是由各种噩运和人为错误、失误和犯罪行为所引起的不相关事件。

That would be a mistake. American firms seem to be more scandal-prone than their peers across the pond.

这么想是错误的。美国公司似乎比大西洋彼岸的同类公司更容易出丑闻。

The total market value of American firms involved in big incidents that have become public since 2016 is $1.54trn.

自2016年以来，已公开的那些涉及大事件的美国公司的市场总值为15400亿美元。

At least 200m consumers have been affected¹². The figures are only $600bn and under 30m for European firms,

至少2亿顾客已经受到影响。欧洲公司，包括尾气排放测试造假的汽车制造商

including carmakers that faked emissions¹³ tests and Nordic banks involved in money-laundering.

以及参与洗钱的北欧银行，他们的相应数字仅为6000亿美元和不到300万人。

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

4 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

5 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

6 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

7 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

8 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

9 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

10 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

11 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

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 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。