本周要闻
Business
商业
Under increasing pressure about the serial management mishaps at Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg said he would not relinquish his title as chairman and that investors who wanted him to step down from the position and focus on being chief executive were misguided. (As the controlling shareholder he cannot be forced from the job.) He also stood by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s beleaguered chief operating officer. The latest scandal to envelop the social network centres on its contract with a consultancy to dig up dirt on its detractors. Mr Zuckerberg and Ms Sandberg both say they were unaware of Facebook’s relationship with the firm.
在脸书一连串管理失误的压力日益增大的情况下,马克·扎克伯格表示,他不会卸任董事长一职,那些希望他下台、专注于担任首席执行官的投资者被误导了。(作为控股股东,没人能强迫他辞职。)他还力挺让脸书陷入困境的首席运营官——谢丽尔·桑德伯格。让脸书身陷囹圄的最新丑闻起源于其与某咨询公司签订的合同,以挖掘诋毁者的黑料。扎克伯格和桑德伯格均表示,他们对脸书与该公司的往来不知情。
Fasten your seat belts
系好安全带
The global car industry reacted with shock to the arrest of Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo. Mr Ghosn forged, and heads, the alliance between Nissan and Renault that was later joined by Mitsubishi. He is being detained at the behest of Japanese prosecutors after Nissan alleged that he had understated his earnings and misused company assets. Before his arrest Mr Ghosn’s push for deeper integration between Nissan and Renault had reportedly met some stiff resistance from Nissan’s board.
全球汽车业对于卡洛斯·戈恩(Carlos Ghosn)在东京被捕一事感到震惊。戈恩组建并领导了日产和雷诺(Renault)的联盟,三菱(Mitsubishi)随后也加入了该联盟。在日产汽车指控其虚报收入及滥用公司资产后,他应日本检察机关的要求被拘留。在戈恩被捕之前,据报道,戈恩推动日产与雷诺进一步整合的努力遭到日产董事会的强硬抵制。
Israel’s minister for tourism warned that he would seek to impose a punitive tax on Airbnb’s operations in the country, after the firm delisted properties located in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The home-rental platform acted in response to a campaign by activists to scrub the settlements from its website.
以色列旅游部长警告称,在Airbnb将位于约旦河西岸以色列占领区的民宿下线后,他将寻求对Airbnb在该国的业务征收惩罚性税收。该房屋租赁平台此举是为了回应活动人士要求该网站下架占领区民宿的行动。
A campaign to attain severance pay for staff at Toys “R” Us who lost their jobs when the company declared bankruptcy resulted in the creation of a $20m hardship fund by Bain Capital and kkr, two private-equity firms. Both were involved in the buy-out of the retailer in 2005, and have been blamed by workers’ groups for its demise. Other firms have been asked to contribute. The workers say the fund needs to reach $75m to cover payments promised to them.
玩具反斗城(Toys " R " Us)在宣布破产后,该公司发起了一场为面临下岗的员工争取遣散费的运动,而贝恩资本(Bain Capital)和kkr设立了一笔2000万美元的遣散费基金。这两家公司都参与了2005年对这家零售店的收购,并因其倒闭而受到工人团体的指责。其他公司也被要求“出钱出力”。工人们表示,该笔基金需要达到7500万美元,才能支付承诺给他们的数额。
Boston Scientific agreed to buy BTG for 3.3 billion pounds ($4.2bn). The deal enhances Boston Scientific’s business in interventional medicine. BTG, for instance, produces small glass microspheres that deliver radiation directly to liver tumours. BTG started life as a research division of the British government. It also has a pharmaceutical arm that focuses on antidotes; its bestselling product is a treatment for rattlesnake bites.
波士顿科学公司同意以33亿英镑(42亿美元)的价格收购BTG。这笔交易提升了波士顿科学公司在介入医学领域的能力。例如,BTG生产小玻璃微球,可将辐射直接传送到肝脏肿瘤。BTG成立之初是英国政府的一个研究部门。它还设有一个专门研发解毒剂的制药部门;其最畅销的产品是治疗响尾蛇咬伤的药物。