Business this week
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Mar 27th 2008
From The Economist print edition
JPMorgan Chase increased its recent offer for Bear Stearns to $10 a share from $2 to win the support of Bear's many unhappy investors. JPMorgan, which stepped in to rescue its rival during a run on its assets amid bankruptcy rumours, was praised by some for raising the price to keep a deal afloat（out of debt or difficulties 无债; 无困难）. Others questioned the arrangement and the Federal Reserve's part in it. The central bank is backing $29 billion of Bear's illiquid assets （Of an asset, investment, etc.: not easily or readily realizable, not readily converted into cash.不可流动的资产）, which critics argue amounts to bailing out a company that took reckless risks.
Britain's Financial Services Authority recommended improvements to its oversight of the banking industry after the collapse of Northern Rock, a mortgage lender stricken by the credit crisis and later nationalised. The FSA admitted to failures in supervising the bank; it promised to recruit extra staff and work more closely with financial institutions. But its mea culpa didn't go far enough for critics of the debacle, who want a review of the Bank of England's role.
Motorola said it would split its mobile-phone business from its networking division and that the two would trade as separate companies. Motorola's handsets, such as the RAZR, have lost market share to more sophisticated devices and been a drag on earnings（收益的障碍）. Carl Icahn, a veteran investor who pushed Motorola to spin off the division, recently reignited his battle to nominate directors to the board.
The long-awaited sale of Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors was announced; the Indian company is paying around $2.3 billion for the luxury-car brands. Ford acquired （收购）Jaguar in 1989 and Land Rover in 2000, but is now restructuring its business around its more basic models. See article
Sunbelt blues
House prices in 20 American metropolitan areas fell by 10.7% in January compared with a year earlier, according to an index from Standard & Poor's and Case-Shiller; annual growth rates were at a record low in 16 of the 20, most notably in the south-west. A despondent housing market did receive some good news. Existing-home sales rose in February at an annual rate for the first time in seven months, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Starbucks said it would appeal against a ruling ordering it to repay $105m in tips, including interest, to its baristas in California. An employee had complained about the company's policy of sharing the tip jar with shift managers, which, a judge decided, was contrary to state law. The coffee chain maintains that supervisors “deserve their fair share” of the gratuities; the baristas （(English Slang) professional espresso coffee maker, espresso bartender (from Italian meaning barman or barmaid) claim their tips are subsidising managers' wages.
afloat
out of debt or difficulties 无债; 无困难
The firm managed to stay afloat during the recession. 在经济衰退期间, 公司设法渡过了难关.
Financial Services Authority
It is an independent non-departmental public body and quasi-judicial body that regulates the financial services industry in the United Kingdom.
英国金融服务局
于1997年10月由证券投资委员会(Securities and Investments Board，SIB，该组织1985年成立)改制而成，为独立的非政府组织，拟成为英国金融市场统一的监管机构，行使法定职责，直接向财政部负责
Tata Motors
印度最大汽车制造商塔塔汽车
index from Standard & Poor's and Case-Shiller
标准普尔Case-Shiller 房价指数
Existing-home sales
成品房销售额
难句翻译：
1. JPMorgan, which stepped in to rescue its rival during a run on its assets amid bankruptcy rumours, was praised by some for raising the price to keep a deal afloat.
摩根大通，由于其对手的资产在破产的谣言中流失，而施加援手，受到一些人的称道，因为这么做提高了（股票）价格,免去了交易的债务。
2. Britain's Financial Services Authority recommended improvements to its oversight of the banking industry after the collapse of Northern Rock, a mortgage lender stricken by the credit crisis and later nationalised.
英国金融服务局建议加强对银行业的监管，（此举是在）Northern Rock，一个受到信贷危机重创的银行倒闭后作出的，该银行后来被收归国有。