2019年经济学人 一周要闻 美联储前主席沃尔克去世 PG&E就加州野火达成和解（在线收听）

Problems at an oilfield off the coast of Ghana were one factor that caused Tullow Oil to drastically reduce its production forecasts for the next few years. Its share price tanked by 70%, one of the worst falls on the FTSE 250 this decade.

加纳沿海油田出现的问题，是导致图洛石油公司大幅降低未来几年产量预测的一个因素。它的股价下跌了70%，是这十年来富时250指数最严重的下跌之一。

Pacific Gas & Electric reached a $13.5bn settlement with the victims of wildfires that were sparked by its faulty equipment. That brings the total charges incurred by California’s biggest utility to $25.5bn. The settlement with victims could hasten PG&E’s exit from bankruptcy protection, though the deal must first be signed off by California’s governor.

美国太平洋天然气和电力公司(Pacific Gas & Electric)与因设备故障导致野火的受害者达成了135亿美元的和解协议。这使得这家加州最大公用事业公司的总费用达到255亿美元。与受害者的和解可能会加速PG&E退出破产保护，尽管该协议必须首先得到加州州长的批准。

German industrial production fell by 1.7% in October compared with September, renewing concerns that the dip in German manufacturing may be deeper than had been thought. Compared with October 2018 output was down by 5.3%, the biggest drop by that measure in a decade.

德国10月份的工业生产较9月份下降了1.7%，这再次引发了人们对德国制造业的下滑幅度可能比预期更大的担忧。与2018年10月相比，产量下降了5.3%，是十年来的最大降幅。

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate on hold, and suggested it would stay on hold throughout next year. The central bank cut the rate three times this year, but now believes the risks to the economy have moderated.

美联储(Federal Reserve)维持基准利率不变，并暗示将在明年全年保持不变。美联储今年曾三次降息，但现在认为经济风险已经减弱。

Brazil’s central bank lowered its main interest rate for a fourth consecutive time, to a record low of 4.5%. That may spur a further decline in the real, which could be an issue for Donald Trump; he has accused Brazil of manipulating its currency to favour exports.

巴西央行连续第四次下调主要利率，降至4.5%的历史最低水平。这可能会刺激雷亚尔进一步贬值，这可能成为特朗普(Donald Trump)面临的一个问题;他指责巴西操纵汇率以利于出口。

Tributes were paid to Paul Volcker, who died at the age of 92. Mr Volcker influenced monetary policy for decades, waging a war on inflation as chairman of the Federal Reserve. He also proposed what became known as the “Volcker rule”, which bankers hate because it limits their trading. Asked how bad America’s economy was when he took charge at the Fed in 1979, Mr Volcker replied, “by Latin American standards, it wasn’t so bad”.

人们哀悼逝世的保罗·沃尔克，享年92岁。沃尔克数十年来一直影响着货币政策，作为美联储主席，他发动了一场对抗通胀的战争。他还提出了后来被称为“沃尔克规则”(Volcker rule)的方案，该方案招致银行家们的痛恨，因为其限制了他们的交易。他于1979年执掌美联储，当被问及美国经济有多糟糕时，沃尔克曾回答称:“以拉美国家的标准衡量，情况还不算太糟糕。”

JD Wetherspoon, a pub chain in Britain, announced that it is pumping 200m pounds ($264m) into its business over the next four years, creating 10,000 jobs. The ailing sector has been anything but stout over the past two decades, seeing around 12,000 pubs and bars close down.

英国连锁酒吧JD Wetherspoon宣布，将在未来四年投入2亿英镑(2.64亿美元)，创造1万个工作岗位。在过去的20年里，这个处境堪忧的行业一点也不景气，大约有1.2万家酒吧倒闭。