2019年经济学人 一周要闻 美联储第三次降息 通汽罢工致巨额损失 第四大汽车集团诞生（在线收听）

The world this week

本周要闻

Business

商业

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate for the third time this year, shaving off another quarter of a percentage point to a range of between 1.5% and 1.75%. Arguments have raged at the central bank about the need for further easing in America’s still robust economy. Many have read the runes of the carefully worded statement by Jerome Powell, the Fed’s chairman, that “policy is likely to remain appropriate”, to suggest that future reductions are on hold.

美国联邦储备委员会今年第三次下调基准利率，将利率再下调0.25个百分点，至1.5%至1.75%的区间。在美国仍然强劲的经济中，关于进一步放松货币政策必要性的争论已经在中央银行引起了激烈的争论。许多人已经看到了美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔措辞谨慎的声明——“政策可能仍将保持适当”，暗示未来将暂停降息。

Official figures showed that the American economy grew by 1.9% at an annualised rate in the third quarter. The data underlined the Fed ratesetters’ conundrum; consumer and government spending remained buoyant, though business investment was limp.

官方数据显示，美国经济第三季度年化增长率为1.9%。这些数据突显了美联储利率制定者的难题；尽管商业投资疲软，但消费者和政府支出依然强劲。

Groupe PSA, the maker of the Peugeot car brand, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles agreed to merge, creating the world’s fourth-largest car manufacturer. Carmakers are under increasing pressure to consolidate in an industry beset by rising costs and disruptive technologies. Earlier this year Fiat Chrysler tried to engineer a merger with Renault, but it hit a dead end when the French government, which owns 15% of Renault, withheld its support.

标志汽车品牌的制造商标致雪铁龙集团和菲亚特克莱斯勒汽车公司同意合并，成为世界第四大汽车制造商。该行业受成本上升和颠覆性技术的困扰，汽车制造商面临越来越大的整合压力。今年早些时候，菲亚特克莱斯勒曾试图与雷诺(Renault)合并，但由于持有雷诺15%股份的法国政府拒绝支持，这计划就此陷入僵局。

The recent strike at General Motors is now thought to have cost the company $2.9bn. The 40-day strike was the longest at the carmaker since 1970.

据信，通用汽车最近的罢工已导致该公司损失29亿美元。为期40天的罢工是自1970年以来这家汽车制造商罢工持续时间最长的一次。

In a week when it announced that it would have to lay off up to 15% of its workforce, Juul which dominates the market for e-cigarettes, faced a lawsuit from a former executive accusing it of selling contaminated vaping pods to retailers. It is another blow for e-cigarettes, which are under scrutiny in dozens of cases of lung disease.

在宣布不得不裁员15%的一周内，主导电子烟市场的Juul面临着一名前高管的诉讼，指控其向零售商销售受污染的蒸汽烟弹。这是电子烟遭受的又一次打击，目前因数十起肺部疾病病例，电子烟正在接受调查。

General Electric reported another huge quarterly net loss, this time of $9.5bn, as it booked charges connected to its restructuring. Some $8.7bn of that relates to writing down its investment in Baker Hughes, an oil-services firm.

通用电气报告了另一笔巨额季度净亏损，这一次的金额为95亿美元，因为其计入了与重组相关的费用。其中87亿美元与减记对石油服务公司贝克休斯的投资有关。

The long-awaited IPO of Saudi Aramco was reportedly ready to be launched on November 3rd. Shares in the world’s biggest oil company, owned by the Saudi state, are expected to start trading in mid-December.

据报道，沙特国家石油公司期待已久的首次公开募股已准备好在11月3日启动。预计这家全球最大石油公司的股票将于12月中旬开始交易。