2019年经济学人 一周要闻 英国脱欧连累企业 欧盟回击美方汽车关税 汇丰利润未达预期

 

The world this week

本周要闻

Business

商业

It is shaping up to be a bad year for Britain’s car industry. In the latest blow, Honda decided¹ to close its plant in Swindon in 2021, putting 3,500 jobs at risk. It is the first time the Japanese carmaker has closed one of its factories (it is also stopping production of one of its models at a facility in Turkey). Honda said it was accelerating its commitment to electric cars, and stressed that Brexit was not a factor in its calculation to shut up shop. Many observers think otherwise.

对英国汽车业来说，今年将是糟糕的一年。在最近的一次风波中，本田决定在2021年关闭其位于斯文顿的工厂，导致3500个工作岗位面临风险。这是本田首次关闭工厂（该公司还在土耳其的一家工厂停产了一款车型）。本田表示，它正在加快实现对电动汽车的承诺，并强调英国脱欧不是其关闭工厂计划中的诱因。许多观察人士则不这么认为。

Flybmi was less shy about blaming Brexit for its troubles. The British regional airline called in the administrators² amid rising fuel and carbon prices, but was explicit³ about the uncertainty⁴ surrounding Brexit, which caused it difficulties securing valuable flying contracts in Europe.

Flybmi对将问题归咎于英国脱欧一事并无横加掩饰。在燃料和碳价格不断上涨的情况下，虽然这家英国区域航空公司申请了破产，但明确表示，英国脱欧的不确定性导致其难以在欧洲获得有价值的飞行合同。

The European Union threatened to react in a “swift and adequate manner” if America imposes additional tariffs⁵ on European car imports. America’s Commerce Department recently submitted a document to Donald Trump⁶ that reportedly recommends levying⁷ duties on European cars on the ground that damage to America’s car industry is a threat to national security. The president has 90 days to decide whether to act.

欧盟威胁称，如果美国对从欧洲进口的汽车征收额外关税，将以“迅速并适当的方式”作出回应。据报道，美国商务部最近向特朗普提交了一份文件，建议对欧洲汽车征收关税，理由是美国汽车工业受到的损害对国家安全构成了威胁。总统有90天的时间来决定是否采取行动。

The decision by India’s central bank to increase the interim⁸ dividend⁹ it pays to the government raised more questions about its political independence. The payment will help the government meet its fiscal¹⁰ targets ahead of the forthcoming election.

印度央行决定提高向政府支付的中期股息，此举引发了人们对其政治独立性的更多质疑。这笔款项将帮助政府在即将到来的大选前实现其财政目标。

Anil Ambani, one of India’s most prominent businessmen, was found guilty of contempt of court by the country’s supreme¹¹ court for not paying Ericsson, a Swedish network-equipment company, for work it carried out at Reliance Communications. Mr Ambani founded Reliance, which recently filed for bankruptcy¹². The court said Mr Ambani would be sent to prison if he didn’t pay, prompting Reliance to promise to comply.

印度最著名富商安尼尔·安巴尼(Anil Ambani)被印度最高法院裁定犯有藐视法庭罪，原因是他没有向瑞典网络设备公司爱立信(Ericsson)支付在信实通信(Reliance Communications)的工作费用。安巴尼创办了信实集团，该公司最近申请破产。法院表示，如果安巴尼不付款，他将被送进监狱，以此施压信实集团承诺解决债务问题。

The nosedive in financial markets towards the end of last year led HSBC to report a lower annual profit than had been expected. The bank announced net income of $12.6bn. That was below analysts’ forecasts of $13.7bn, which John Flint, the chief executive, ascribed to being “very much a fourth-quarter problem”.

去年底金融市场的暴跌，导致汇丰(hsbc)公布的年度利润低于预期。该行宣布净利润为126亿美元。这低于分析师137亿美元的预期。该行的首席执行官约翰·弗林特(John Flint)将这一预期归因于“很大程度上是第四季度的问题”。

1 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。

2 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 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。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 levying   

征（兵）( levy的现在分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• The high tax will be given levying to the foreign country car. 对外国汽车要予以征收高税。
• Levying estate income tax are considered to be goods tax. 遗产税是在财产所有者死亡后所征收的税。

8 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

9 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

10 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。