本周經(jīng)濟(jì)要聞
The saga at Valeant rumbled on. Michael Pearson decided to quit as chief executive of the troubled Canadian drugmaker. He acknowledged that the past few months, during which time the company has been criticised for introducing whopping price increases on heart medicines and has come under federal investigation for its ties to an online pharmacy, have been “difficult”. He will stay until a successor is named. The company blamed the “tone at the top of the organisation” and pressure to achieve targets as factors causing it to restate its earnings. William Ackman, an activist investor whose hedge fund owns 9% of Valeant, was appointed to the board.
加拿大制藥公司瓦蘭特的故事仍在繼續(xù)。該公司如今深陷困境,執(zhí)行總裁邁克爾·皮爾森(Michael Pearson)離任。在過去幾個月里,該公司由于大幅度上調(diào)心臟病藥物的價(jià)格而飽受指責(zé),并因?yàn)榕c某家網(wǎng)上藥店的交易而受到聯(lián)邦調(diào)查。皮爾森承認(rèn)這幾個月十分“難熬”。他將繼續(xù)掌管公司直到新總裁上任。瓦蘭特將公司重申收益歸咎于“高層的決策制定”以及達(dá)標(biāo)壓力。激進(jìn)投資者威廉·阿克曼(William Ackman)被任命為董事會成員,其麾下的對沖基金擁有瓦蘭特9%的股份。

IHS and Markit, two providers of market and financial data, agreed to merge in a transaction they valued at $13 billion. IHS is based in Colorado but will move to London, where Markit has its headquarters, thus allowing it to lower its corporate-tax rate considerably. It is the latest in a series of “tax inversion” deals that have attracted political controversy in America. The new IHS Markit will compete with Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters for business.
兩家市場與金融數(shù)據(jù)供應(yīng)商IHS和Markit就價(jià)值130億美元合并案達(dá)成共識。IHS位于科羅拉多州(Colorado),合并后將遷至Markit總部所在地倫敦,以此大幅度降低企業(yè)稅率。這是一系列“稅負(fù)倒置”案中的又一新例,在美國引發(fā)了政治上爭論。新公司IHS Markit將與彭博(Bloomberg)和湯森路透(Thomson Reuters)展開商業(yè)競爭。
Apple went back to basics, unveiling a new iPhone, the SE, which comes with a smaller screen than the iPhone 6 and is billed by the company as the cheapest iPhone ever. Meanwhile, America's Supreme Court agreed to hear Samsung's appeal against the penalties it has incurred for copying Apple's patented designs on the iPhone.
蘋果公司(Apple)回歸最初,發(fā)布新款iPhone SE。該款手機(jī)屏幕比iPhone 6小,并且是蘋果有史以來價(jià)格最便宜的一款手機(jī)。與此同時,美國最高法院(America's Supreme Court)同意受理三星公司(Samsung)的上訴。三星認(rèn)為對其抄襲蘋果iPhone專利設(shè)計(jì)的處罰不合理。

Marriott increased its offer for Starwood Hotels to $13.6 billion in order to fend off a rival bid from Anbang, a Chinese insurance company. Starwood, which counts the Sheraton and Westin chains among its brands, accepted Marriott's new deal, which was discussed by the companies' bosses when they accompanied Barack Obama on his visit to Cuba. Starwood also announced that it had struck a deal with the Cuban government to operate hotels on the island, the first American hotelier to do so since the revolution in 1959.
為了阻止中國保險(xiǎn)公司安邦(Anbang)收購喜達(dá)屋酒店(Starwood Hotels),萬豪(Marriott)將其收購報(bào)價(jià)提升至136億美元。喜達(dá)屋和萬豪的高層在陪同巴拉克·奧巴馬(Barack Obama)訪問古巴(Cuba)期間不斷商討,最終喜達(dá)屋接受了萬豪的提案。同時,喜達(dá)屋還宣布與古巴政府達(dá)成協(xié)議,進(jìn)軍古巴從事酒店經(jīng)營。喜達(dá)屋將成為自1959年古巴革命以來第一家進(jìn)駐古巴的美國酒店經(jīng)營商。喜達(dá)屋旗下?lián)碛邢瞾淼牵⊿heraton)和威斯汀(Westin)等連鎖品牌。
The minutes from the latest meeting of the Bank of England's policy committee showed that its members think uncertainty in the markets over the outcome of the June referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union is a “significant driver” behind the fall of the pound. The central bank, which is officially neutral in the Brexit debate, said the uncertainty was also causing some businesses to delay spending decisions.
英格蘭銀行(Bank of England)政策委員會最新會議紀(jì)要顯示,6月英國退歐公投所造成的市場不確定性正是英鎊貶值的“主要原因”。中央銀行對英國退歐問題保持中立態(tài)度,并表示這種不確定性同時也導(dǎo)致一些企業(yè)放緩了支出決策的制定。
In a surprise move, Nigeria's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point, to 12%. Nigeria's currency, the naira, has been hurt by the fall in oil prices. That has helped push up inflation to 11.4%.
尼日尼亞央行將銀行基準(zhǔn)利率調(diào)高1個百分點(diǎn)至12%,此舉令人倍感意外。尼日尼亞貨幣—奈拉因油價(jià)下跌而受到重創(chuàng),致使該國通脹率高達(dá)11.4%。