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（在线收听）

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 decided 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 administrators amid rising fuel and carbon prices, but was explicit about the uncertainty 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 tariffs on European car imports. America’s Commerce Department recently submitted a document to Donald Trump that reportedly recommends levying 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 interim dividend it pays to the government raised more questions about its political independence. The payment will help the government meet its fiscal 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 supreme 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 bankruptcy. 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”。