＊第三季＊【EP. 54】#326 經濟學人新聞評論【拜登上任第一天、美國疫情、COVAX、世界衛生組織、Google (谷歌)、歐盟的一般資料保護規範 (GDPR)、歐盟法、工商管理碩士 (MBA)、The Economist’s WhichMBA (經濟學人的 MBA 排名)】

🔴Friday January 22nd 2021 🔵2021年1月22日星期五 1️⃣Biden’s Day One: taking care of what should have been done! 拜登走馬上任的第一天：亡羊補牢，猶未遲也！ President Joe Biden focused on covid-19 on his first full day in office, signing ten executive orders to increase testing, accelerate vaccinations and boost domestic production of protective equipment, among other measures. Meanwhile Anthony Fauci, Mr Biden’s chief medical adviser, announced that America would join COVAX, a global initiative to ensure equal vaccine access co-led by the World Health Organisation. 美國總統拜登 (Joe Biden) 在上任的第一天就全心全意在對付新冠病毒，並簽署了十項行政命令以增加 (病毒測試) 篩檢、加速疫苗的接種以及提高 (美國國內之) 個人防護設備的產量等措施。與此同時，拜登的首席醫學顧問弗契 (Anthony Fauci) 宣佈美國將加入COVAX。這是由世界衛生組織 (WHO) 共同領銜，旨在確保 (世界各國) 平等地取得疫苗的一項全球倡議。 2️⃣Google: even the almighty bows to EU law 谷歌：再怎麼全能也仍在歐盟法之下 Google agreed to pay a group of around 300 French publishers for listing their content in its search results. Tech companies such as Google profit by displaying lucrative adverts alongside publishers’ stories. Last year a court in Paris ruled that publishers deserve compensation and the search giant must negotiate in good faith to find an agreement under EU law. 美國科技巨頭谷歌 (Google) 同意向一群大約三百家的法國出版商付費，因谷歌在其搜尋引擎上列出了這些出版商的內容。像谷歌這類的科技公司通過在出版商的故事旁展示廣告以獲得可觀的利潤。在去年，法國巴黎一法院裁定這些出版商應獲得賠償，而這家搜尋引擎巨頭必須真誠地 (與出版商) 進行談判，並根據歐盟法得談出個協議。 3️⃣Just about managing: MBA rankings 提到管理：工商管理碩士 MBA 之學校排名 The pandemic seemed likely to hurt the MBA, a pricey stepping-stone to corporate success. Lectures went online; valuable in-person schmoozing opportunities dried up. But business schools are resilient. In a recent survey of more than 300, two-thirds of programmes had more applications this year. Travel restrictions boosted domestic applications, while schools in Asia and Europe mopped up foreigners worried about getting stranded in America. But even some American schools—including MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Columbia Business School—report double-digit growth in applicants. The Economist’s latest WhichMBA ranking, in which current and former students rate their programmes, puts five American schools in the top ten (although IESE Business School of the University of Navarra, in Spain, took the top spot). Applications typically rise in recessions, when a weaker job market lowers the opportunity cost of forgoing salaries. But schools deserve credit for adapting by delaying semesters and waiving exam requirements. They know their business. 新冠疫情似乎對 MBA (工商管理碩士) 這個索價不貲，如同邁向企業成功的墊腳石造成傷害。原本學程所提供的寶貴親身交流之機會也隨著課程改為線上形式而消逝。不過商學院的韌性卻很堅強。在最近一項針對超過三百間商學院所做的調查中，今年有 2/3 的商學院表示收到了比以往更多的入學申請 (者/人)。(原因不外乎是) 旅遊限制推升了本國學生的申請數量，且同時間，亞洲和歐洲的學校解決了外國人擔心被困在美國的煩惱。不過包含麻省理工學院的史隆商學院 (MIT’s Sloan School of Management) 以及哥倫比亞大學商學院 (Columbia Business School) 在內的一些美國商學院，甚至指出今年的入學申請 (者/人) 有雙位數的成長。在《經濟學人》最新的 WhichMBA 之排名中，雖由西班牙的納瓦拉大學之 IESE 商學院 (IESE Business School of the University of Navarra) 奪冠，但該排名仍將五間美國的商學院列為前十名。通常來說，在景氣衰頹時，由於疲弱的就業市場減少了放棄薪資的機會成本，進而使申請 MBA 的人數上升。學校仍因採取延後學期以及免除入學考試等方式而獲得嘉許。他們知道自己的商機在哪。 -- Hosting provided by SoundOn