2019年经济学人 一周要闻 世贸下调全球贸易增长预期 沙特石油市值超苹果 Lyft回吐上市首日涨幅

 

The world this week

本周要闻

Business

商业

In a prospectus¹ published ahead of a huge bond sale, Saudi Aramco revealed for the first time how much money it makes. Saudi Arabia’s state oil firm reaped $356bn in revenues last year. Annual net profit came to $111bn, almost twice that of Apple, the world’s most valuable listed company. The prospectus also confirmed how important Saudi Aramco is to the country’s economy. Oil accounted for 63% of the state’s revenue in 2017 and 43% of the kingdom’s GDP.

沙特阿拉伯国家石油公司(Saudi Aramco)在一次大规模债券发行前发布的招股说明书中，首次披露了该公司的盈利情况。沙特阿拉伯国家石油公司去年的收入为3560亿美元。年度净利润达到1110亿美元，几乎是全球市值最高的上市公司——苹果公司的两倍。招股说明书也证实了沙特阿拉伯国家石油公司对该国经济的重要性。2017年，石油收入占沙特国家总收入的63%，占该国国内生产总值的43%。

Saudi Arabia’s cut in oil output has helped drive up the commodity’s price in recent months. Brent crude traded around $70 a barrel this week, the highest level this year.

近几个月，沙特阿拉伯削减石油产量，帮助推高了石油价格。布伦特原油本周交易价约为每桶70美元，为今年最高水平。

The World Trade Organisation² released an estimate for global trade in 2018, which grew by 3%, well below the 3.9% that the WTO had forecast in September. It expects the growth in trade to fall to 2.6% this year. The organisation blamed tariffs³ and related retaliatory⁴ measures, but also weaker economic growth, volatile⁵ markets and tighter monetary⁶ policy in developed countries. It warned governments that it would be a “historic mistake” to forget the “fundamental importance” of the rules-based trade system.

世界贸易组织(WTO)发布了2018年全球贸易增长预测，增幅为3%，远低于WTO在9月份预测的3.9%。预计，今年的贸易增长将下降到2.6%。该组织将此归咎于关税和相关的报复性措施，而发达国家经济增长放缓、市场动荡和货币政策收紧也难脱干系。该组织警告各国政府，如果忘记以规则为基础的贸易体系的“根本重要性”，这将是一个“历史性错误”。

A preliminary report from Ethiopia’s transport ministry⁷ into last month’s fatal crash of a Boeing 737 max 8 passenger plane found that the pilots followed the procedures issued by the manufacturer when the jet started nosediving. The report recommended that Boeing change the max’s flight-control system.

埃塞俄比亚交通部对上月一架波音737 max 8客机致命坠毁事件的初步报告发现，飞行员在飞机开始俯冲时遵循了波音公司发布的指导程序。报告建议波音公司更换该机型的飞行控制系统。

Mark Zuckerberg’s apparent change of heart in calling for more regulation of the tech giants got short shrift. Facebook’s boss said governments should take a more active role in policing the internet in areas such as privacy and elections material. But one leading Democrat⁸ tweeted, “Does anyone even want his advice?” given that Facebook is under investigation⁹. Britain’s information commissioner¹⁰ wondered if Facebook would now drop its appeal against the fine it received for the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

马克·扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)呼吁加大对科技巨头的监管力度，但这一明显的改变却没有得到重视。这位Facebook老板呼吁，政府应该在隐私和选举材料等领域的互联网监管方面发挥更积极的作用。但一位民主党领袖在推特上写道:“会有人听取他的意见吗?“当下Facebook正在接受调查。而英国信息专员想知道Facebook是否会放弃对剑桥分析公司(Cambridge Analytica)丑闻罚款的上诉。

Lyft’s ups and downs

Lyft的起起落落

Following a successful IPO, Lyft’s stock pared back some of its gains, falling below the offer price of $72 a share. The price had closed up 9% on the first day of trading, giving the ride-hailing company a market capitalisation of $22bn.

在IPO成功后，Lyft的股价回吐了部分涨幅，跌破每股72美元的发行价。该公司股价在首日交易中上涨9%，市值达到220亿美元。

1 prospectus   

n.计划书；说明书；慕股书

参考例句：

• An order form was included with the prospectus.订单附在说明书上。
• The prospectus is the most important instrument of legal document.招股说明书是上市公司信息披露制度最重要法律文件。

2 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

3 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

4 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

5 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

6 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。