经济学人:一周商业要闻9

 　　Business this week 一周商业要闻

　　Verizon issued $49 billion in bonds, smashing the record for a sale of corporate¹ debt.  Verizon公司发行了490亿美元债券，打破了企业债券的销售记录。

　　The telecoms company will use the proceeds to fund its $130 billion purchase of Vodafone's stake in Verizon Wireless², their joint³ venture.  该公司募集资金用于为购买其合资公司Verizon无线由沃达丰所持有的股份提供资金。

　　Pension funds and insurance companies flocked to the sale, tempted⁴ by the higher yields Verizon offered compared with other, similar quality bonds. 养老基金和保险公司蜂拥而至，受到Verizon公司相比其他同质债券提供的更高收益吸引。

　　Apple brought out two new iPhones, the 5C and the 5S.  苹果带来了两款新iPhone，5C和5S。

　　The 5S is the top-of-the range iPhone, with fingerprint⁵ ID replacing the traditional numerical locking code.  5S是顶级iPhone，带有指纹识别其取代了传统的数字密码。

　　The 5C is being billed as a cheaper handset, though at $549 in America and $733 in China, a market that Apple is keen to crack, it is still more expensive than many Android alternatives.  5C被标榜为更便宜的手机，虽然在美国售价为549美元，而在中国售价更高达733美元，苹果想攻破中国市场，但是其价格相比许多安卓机型还是太贵了。

　　Apple's share price fell by 5%. 苹果的股价下跌5%。

　　Koch Industries, a conglomerate⁶, forked out $7.2 billion to buy Molex, which is based in Illinois and makes a wide range of electrical components⁷ and connectors used in industrial and consumer products, including the iPhone. 联合公司科赫工业出资72亿美元购买Molex公司。Molex公司总部设在伊利诺伊州，制造一系列用于工业和消费者市场的电器元件和连接器，包括iPhone的器材。

　　Carl Icahn conceded defeat in his attempt to block the $24.8 billion buy-out of Dell by the computer-maker's founder⁸, Michael Dell, days before a shareholder⁹ vote on the issue.  在股东投票表决之前几天，卡尔·伊坎承认其在阻击戴尔的创始人迈克尔戴尔以248亿美元收购戴尔公司的行动中失败了。

　　Mr Icahn, a legendary¹⁰ activist¹¹ investor¹², had proposed an alternative plan to Mr Dell's buy-out, which he thinks is undervalued.  伊坎先生是具有传奇性的激进投资者，他曾就戴尔先生的收购提出过另一方案，他觉得戴尔先生的出价低了。

　　Mr Dell raised his offer to win over sceptics, leading Mr Icahn to claim that "shareholders¹³ would have gotten a lot less if I hadn't shown up." 戴尔先生提高了自己的出价解除质疑，这让伊坎先生宣称如果没有他股东得到的会更少。

　　Meanwhile, Southeastern Asset Management, Mr Icahn's ally in his fight with Dell, revealed that it had built a 12% voting stake in News Corporation, making it the publishing group's second-biggest investor after Rupert Murdoch.  同时，伊坎先生与戴尔斗争的盟友东南资产管理公司透露，它已经持有新闻集团12%的股份，使其成为仅次于鲁伯特默多克的新闻集团第二大投资者。

　　Its regulatory filing suggests the investment is "passive". 其监管文件显示这次投资是被迫的。

　　The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which assesses the risks to national security from foreign takeovers, gave its approval to the $4.7 billion offer for Smithfield Foods from China's Shuanghui.  美国外贸投资委员会作用是评估外国收购对国家安全带来的风险，同意中国的双汇以47亿美元的价格收购史密斯菲尔德食品公司。

　　When approved by shareholders it will be the biggest acquisition of an American company by a Chinese one, and create a global beast in pork products.  一旦经过股东同意，这将成为中国公司对美国公司最大的一次收购，并建立全球最大的猪肉生产公司。

　　Some American politicians had raised concerns about Chinese food-safety standards. 一些美国政客提出了对于中国食品安全标准的担忧。

　　An investigation¹⁴ into allegations of corruption¹⁵ in the office that handles compensation claims for the 2010 BP oil spill found no wrongdoing among its senior management, and concluded that the processing of "honest" claims should continue.  关于2010年英国石油公司漏油事件处理赔偿过程中办公室腐败指控的调查没有发现其高管的不当行为，并得出结论，应继续诚实处理赔偿。

　　But the report, written by Louis Freeh, a former director of the FBI, also described the co-operation between some staff in the office and lawyers for the victims of the spill as "problematic", and possibly causing a "conflict of interest". 但是由FBI前探员Louis Freeh给出的书面报告也提到有些员工和受害人律师之间的合作有问题，可能引起利益冲突。

　　TSB returned to the British high street as a stand-alone bank, 18 years after being merged¹⁶ with Lloyds.  在被劳埃德并购18年之后，TSB作为一家独立银行重返英国市场。

　　Following its bail-out by the British government Lloyds was ordered by the European competition authority in 2009 to sell off assets in retail¹⁷ banking¹⁸.  随着英国政府对其纾困，2009年欧洲竞争委员会命令劳埃德卖掉其零售银行资产。

　　TSB has been rebranded and is handling the accounts of 5m customers moved over from Lloyds. Lloyds will float TSB on the stockmarket next year. TSB已经重塑品牌，正在处理由劳埃德转移过来的500万消费者账户。劳埃德明年将会将TSB上市。

　　An ongoing¹⁹ study of income distribution found that the richest 1% in America took 19% of national income last year, their biggest share since 1928.  一个正在进行的收入分配研究发现美国最富有的1%的人占国民收入的19%，这是自1928年以来的最大比例。

　　The top 10% of earners held a record 48.2%. During the recovery between 2009 and 2012 real family incomes rose by an average of 4.6%, though this was skewed by a 31.4% increase for the top 1%.  收入最高的10%的人群占创记录的48.2%的收入。在2009年到2012年经济复苏阶段，真正的家庭收入平均上升4.6%，不过，这是被收入最高的1%的人群拉高了。

　　For the other 99% incomes rose by just 0.4%. 剩下的99%的人群收入只增加了0.4%。

　　Three companies are to be chucked out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and three companies are joining, in the biggest shake-up of the stockmarket index in a decade.  三家公司被赶出道琼斯工业平均指数，同时有三家公司加入该指数，这是十年来该指数最大的变动。

　　Alcoa, Bank of America and Hewlett-Packard are leaving, to be replaced by Goldman Sachs, Nike and Visa.  美国铝业公司，美国银行和惠普都即将离开，代替他们的是高盛，耐克和Visa。

　　The DJIA is composed of just 30 stocks and is price-weighted, so dearer shares count for more.  道琼斯工业指数仅仅由30支股票组成，采取价格加权，所以昂贵的股份数居多。

　　The share prices of Alcoa, BofA and HP have tumbled over the past five years. 美国铝业公司，美国银行和惠普的股价过去五年一直在跌。

　　Japan's economy grew at a much faster rate in the second quarter than had been thought, because of more corporate and public investment.  日本二季度经济增长快于预期，由于更多的公司和公共投资。

　　A revised estimate put the pace of growth at 3.8% at an annual rate, up from the 2.6% initially²⁰ reported. 年化增长率由最初公布的2.6%被调整为现在的3.8%。

　　Suntory, a Japanese company that sells a range of alcoholic²¹ and soft drinks, agreed to buy the Lucozade energy-drink and Ribena fruit-juice brands from GlaxoSmithKline, a British drugs company, for ?1.35 billion ($2.1 billion).  日本的酒精及软饮料销售公司三得利同意以13.5亿英镑（21亿美元）的价格从英国药品公司葛兰素史克公司购买葡萄适能量饮料和利宾纳果汁品牌。

　　Both beverages²² are popular in Britain and elsewhere, and were marketed from the 1920s to the 1980s as aids to boosting health (Ribena) or recovery from sickness (Lucozade). 上述两种饮料在英国和其他一些地区很受欢迎，从1920年到1980年之间作为促进健康（利宾纳）和从疾病中恢复（葡萄适）的辅助手段流通于市场。

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

5 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

6 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

7 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

10 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

13 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

14 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。

15 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

16 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

17 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。

18 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

19 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

20 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

21 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

22 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例