2020年经济学人 一周要闻 航空业"裁员"潮继续 德国工人罢工 美股获20多年来最佳季度表现

The world this week

世界国际要闻

Business

经济

In another dreadful week for workers in the aviation industry, Airbus said it would cut 15,000 jobs, about a tenth of its total, because it does not expect demand for its aircraft to return to pre-COVID levels until at least 2023, or possibly 2025. The announcement was lambasted in France, where the government has dispensed¹ a huge rescue package. Aeromexico, Mexico’s biggest international airline, filed for bankruptcy² protection. And easyJet, a British carrier, started a consultation³ on redundancies, which could see 727 pilots lose their jobs. Qantas announced 6,000 jobs cuts.

对于航空业的工人来说，有时可怕的一周，空客公司表示，将裁员1.5万人，约占总人数的十分之一，因为该公司预计至少要到2023年，或者2025年，对其飞机的需求才能恢复到疫情之前的水平。这一声明在法国遭到抨击，法国政府已经推出了一项巨额救助计划。墨西哥最大的国际航空公司Aeromexico申请破产保护。英国航空公司易捷航空(easyJet)开始就裁员进行磋商，可能导致727名飞行员失业。澳航宣布裁员6000人。

There was some good news for Virgin⁴ Australia, after two months in bankruptcy proceedings⁵, as Bain Capital stepped in to buy the business. Shareholders⁶ lost their shirts in the deal, but the airline hopes to fly again in September.

在经历了两个月的破产程序后，维珍澳大利亚航空公司(Virgin Australia)迎来了一些好消息，贝恩资本(Bain Capital)介入收购了该公司。股东们在这笔交易中血本无归，但该航空公司希望在9月份恢复营业。

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the first certification flights had been conducted for Boeing’s 737 max, which has been grounded for 15 months following two crashes. Although the tests were described as a “milestone” in its rehabilitation⁷, Boeing’s passenger plane won’t be returning to the skies soon; the faa still has to carry out “a number of key tasks”.

美国联邦航空管理局证实，波音737 max飞机已经进行了首次飞行认证。这款机型在两次坠毁事件后停飞了15个月。尽管此番测试被称为波音飞机修复过程的一座“里程碑”，但波音的客机不会很快重返蓝天；联邦航空局仍然需要执行“一些关键任务”。

Shell joined the list of big oil and gas companies that have had to write down the value of assets because of falling energy demand and lower oil prices. The company expects to record charges of between $15bn and $22bn in the second quarter related to the writedowns. BP, meanwhile, agreed to sell what is left of its petrochemicals business to Ineos, a privately⁸ held firm with a record of taking over the chemical divisions of multinational⁹ companies, for $5bn.

由于能源需求下降和油价下跌，壳牌也加入了不得不减记资产价值的大型油气公司的行列。该公司预计，与减记相关的支出将在第二季度达到150亿至220亿美元。与此同时，英国石油公司(BP)同意将其剩余的石化业务出售给英力士集团(Ineos)。英力士集团是一家私人控股公司，曾以50亿美元的价格收购跨国公司的化工部门。

Germany became the latest flashpoint for safety concerns at Amazon warehouses¹⁰ during the pandemic, as its workers went on strike. Their union claims that 40 people contracted COVID-19 at two sites recently. The online retailer¹¹ says it has provided enough personal protective equipment.

在疫情期间，德国工人举行罢工，成为亚马逊仓库安全问题的最新爆发点。他们的工会声称，最近有40人在两处地点感染了新冠肺炎。这家在线零售商表示，他们已经提供了足够的个人防护装备。

Meanwhile,Amazon sealed a dealto buy Zoox, a developer of self-driving taxis. Reportedly costing $1.2bn, itis Amazon’s biggestinvestmentin autonomous-vehicle technology, which it may try to adaptforits delivery services.

与此同时，亚马逊敲定了收购无人驾驶出租车开发商Zoox的交易。据报道，这是亚马逊在自动驾驶汽车技术上最大的一笔投资，耗资12亿美元。该公司可能会尝试将这项技术应用于送货服务。

Wells Fargo became the first big American bank to cut its dividend¹² in light of the Federal Reserve’s recent stress tests. The central bank banned share buy-back programmes and capped dividends¹³ for 33 banks during the third quarter. All large banks will be required to resubmit and update their capital plans later this year to show they can cope with an extreme economic scenario¹⁴.

根据美联储最近的压力测试，富国银行成为第一家削减股息的美国大型银行。美联储禁止了股票回购计划，并限制了33家银行在第三季度的股息。今年晚些时候，所有大型银行都将被要求重新提交并更新资本计划，以显示它们能够应对极端的经济形势。

Cirque du Soleil filed for bankruptcy protection and laid off 3,500 employees who had been furloughed in March, when it was forced to cancel performances because of COVID-19. In other pandemicrelated redundancies, SSP Group, which operates food outlets¹⁵ at transport hubs around the world, and is best known in Britain, its home market, for its Upper Crust and Camden Food Co shops, slashed¹⁶ 5,000 jobs. Microsoft announced the permanent closure of all its 83 stores, most of which are in America.

太阳马戏团申请破产保护，并解雇了3500名曾在3月份被迫休假的员工，当时由于新冠肺炎疫情被迫取消演出。在其他与疫情相关的裁员中，SSP集团裁掉了5000个工作岗位。该集团在世界各地的交通枢纽运营着食品店，在其本土市场英国最为人熟知的是其Upper Crust以及卡姆登食品公司(Camden food Co)的门店。微软宣布永久关闭其所有83家门店，其中大部分位于美国。

American stockmarkets recorded their best quarter in at least two decades. From April to June the s&p 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by around 25%, and the Nasdaq by over a third. Most of the gains came in April and May following the market rout¹⁷ in March amid the coronavirus crisis (European stocks actually outperformed the s&p 500 in June). Most share indices are still lower than at the start of the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is a notable exception; it has climbed by 10%.

美国股市创下了至少20年来最佳的季度表现。从4月到6月，标准普尔500指数和道琼斯工业平均指数上涨约25%，纳斯达克指数上涨超过三分之一。大部分涨幅出现在4月和5月，这是继3月冠状病毒危机导致市场暴跌之后(欧洲股市实际上在6月跑赢了标普500指数)。大多数股票指数仍然低于年初。以科技股为主的纳斯达克(Nasdaq)是个明显的例外——已经攀升了10%。

Tesla overtook Toyota to become the world’s biggest carmaker by market capitalisation. The maker¹⁸ of electric vehicles has seen its share price rev¹⁹ up from $225 a year ago to $1,120, giving it a value of more than $205bn. It has yet to turn an annual profit.

特斯拉超过丰田(Toyota)，成为全球市值最大的汽车制造商。这家电动汽车制造商的股价已从一年前的225美元飙升至1120美元，使其市值超过2050亿美元。它还没有实现年度盈利。

1 dispensed   

v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• Not a single one of these conditions can be dispensed with. 这些条件缺一不可。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage. 他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 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。

3 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

4 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

5 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

6 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

7 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

8 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

9 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

10 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

11 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

12 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%。

13 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

14 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

15 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

18 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。

19 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。