美国国家公共电台 NPR--Trading app Robinhood cuts nearly a quarter of its staff

Trading app Robinhood cuts nearly a quarter of its staff

Transcript¹

Robinhood, which became wildly popular during the pandemic, is reeling. After a decline in earnings², the company announced a second round of layoffs³.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Remember Robinhood? It's the company that made a trading app so popular that it became a pandemic phenomenon. Today, that same company is reeling. Its earnings have eroded⁴. And this week, Robinhood announced another round of sweeping⁵ layoffs. NPR's David Gura looks at what went wrong.

DAVID GURA, BYLINE⁶: Trading stocks has traditionally been a boring business. That is until Robinhood came along. The company made it exciting and free to buy and sell stocks. During the pandemic, as markets set new records, the Robinhood app became wildly popular.

Terrance Odean is a finance professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

TERRANCE ODEAN: There were people sitting at home, comfortable with technology, not much to do and enough money to play with. And many of them decided⁷ to play on Robinhood.

GURA: Odean was one of them who remembers how, when he first used the app to trade, his smartphone screen filled with virtual confetti. Robinhood grew fast, and its IPO on the Nasdaq was a high-profile event.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: They're getting ready to open Robinhood. They're going to get the first trade here. Indicated still at the offer price of $38 - going to have a valuation of about $32 billion.

GURA: But today, it's a completely different story. Markets have really taken a hit. So far this year, the Nasdaq is down by about 20%. And Robinhood is trying to survive in a difficult environment.

Reena Aggarwal teaches finance at Georgetown.

REENA AGGARWAL: So the demand that was there two years ago doesn't exist at the same level anymore.

GURA: This week, Robinhood, which needs its users to be buying and selling stock regularly, said it had 7 million fewer active users in June than a year before. Now, one reason is the lockdowns are over, and people don't have the time they used to to trade. But according to Aggarwal, this goes beyond that.

AGGARWAL: The markets have become much more volatile⁸, much more choppy. They're not just going up. And that has made retail⁹ investors¹⁰ nervous.

GURA: And Robinhood's CEO was forced to pivot¹¹ this week. He cut a quarter of the company's staff. Robinhood faces other problems, including scrutiny¹² from regulators. And investors are losing patience with the company. In the year or so since Robinhood went public, its share price is down more than 70%.

David Gura, NPR News, New York.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

4 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

5 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 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。

9 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

10 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

11 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

12 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。