WhatsApp, a popular encrypted-messaging app owned by Facebook, reported a security flaw that allows hackers to install surveillance software on smartphones by placing calls in the app. It was reported that a team of Israeli hackers-for-hire had used the vulnerability to inject spyware onto phones belonging to human-rights activists and lawyers.
有报道称,Facebook旗下一款受欢迎的加密消息应用WhatsApp存在安全漏洞,黑客可以通过智能手机拨打电话来安装监控软件。据报道,以色列一个受雇的黑客团队利用漏洞将间谍软件安装到人权活动家和律师的手机上。
America’s Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for iPhone users to sue Apple. The case centres on whether Apple’s App Store, which takes a 30% cut of all sales, constitutes an unfair monopoly. Unlike Android-based rivals, Apple’s phones are designed to prevent users from installing apps from other sources.
美国最高法院允许iPhone用户起诉苹果公司。这起诉讼案的焦点在于,苹果的App Store是否构成了不公平的垄断行为,App Store的销售额占苹果总销量的30%。与使用android系统的竞争对手不同,苹果的手机旨在防止用户安装其他不明来源的应用程序。
Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel abandoned a plan to merge their European steel assets because of stiff resistance from the EU’s antitrust regulator. Pushed by activist investors demanding reform at Thyssenkrupp, the proposal had been announced in September 2017. The German company will now spin off its lifts division, its most profitable business.
蒂森克虏伯(Thyssenkrupp)和塔塔钢铁(Tata Steel)放弃了合并其欧洲钢铁资产的计划,原因是欧盟反垄断监管机构强烈抵制。在要求蒂森克虏伯进行改革的维权投资者的推动下,该提议已于2017年9月宣布。这家德国公司现将拆分其最盈利的电梯业务。
British Steel told the British government that it needs more state aid because of “uncertainties around Brexit”. That is in addition to the 100m pounds ($130m) loan from the government the company had recently secured to pay its EU carbon bill. A no-deal Brexit would hit British Steel hard, subjecting it to 20% tariffs under WTO rules.
英国钢铁公司向英国政府表示,由于“脱欧的不确定性”,该公司需要更多的国家援助。除此之外,该公司最近还获得了1亿英镑(1.3亿美元)的政府贷款,用于支付欧盟的碳排放账单。“无协议脱欧”将对英国钢铁行业造成沉重打击,根据世界贸易组织的规则,其将面临20%的关税。
Global investment in renewables has stalled, according to the International Energy Agency, taking the world further away from meeting the goals of the Paris agreement on climate change. This is aggravated by the continued expansion of spending on coal-fired power plants, especially in Asia. Investment in coalmining rose by 2.6% in 2018. By contrast, growth in new renewable installations was flat for the first time since 2001.
国际能源署表示,全球对可再生能源的投资已陷入停滞,使全球距达成《巴黎气候变化协定》的目标又远了一步。尤其是在亚洲,燃煤电厂的投资不断扩大,加剧了这一状况。2018年,煤炭投资增长了2.6%。相比之下,自2001年以来,新型可再生能源设施的增长首次持平。
The most eagerly awaited stockmarket flotation in years turned out to be a damp squib. Uber priced its IPO at $45 a share, the low end of the offer’s price range, which did little to entice investors. The stock closed 8% down on the first day of trading, valuing the company at $70bn, well below most expectations. Optimists pointed to the experience of Facebook, which, despite a poor ipo and share price that sagged for months, eventually became one of the world’s most valuable companies. Pessimists said Uber’s ride-hailing business will struggle to make sustainable profits.
多年来最备受期待的股票发行结果却让人大跌眼镜。优步将其IPO发行价定在每股45美元,为发行价区间的低端,这对吸引投资者没有多大帮助。该股在首日交易中下跌8%,导致公司估值为700亿美元,远低于普遍预期。乐观主义者指出了Facebook的“前车之鉴”。尽管IPO表现不佳,股价连续数月下跌,但Facebook最终成为全球市值最高的公司之一。而悲观主义者表示,优步的叫车业务将难以实现可持续的利润。