>French Senate adopts Macron's pension reforms despite new protests
法國參議院通過退休制度改革方案
A protester holds a placard reading "It's no" during a demonstration on Place de la Concorde after the French government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using the article 49,3 of the constitution, in Paris on March 16, 2023. [Photo/Agencies]
On Saturday night, the French Senate adopted President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular pension reform plan.
法國參議院周六（3月11日）晚表決通過了總統馬克龍提出的並不受歡迎的退休制度改革法律草案。
One hundred and ninety-five members of the upper house of the French Parliament voted for the text, whose key measure is raising the retirement age by two years to 64, while 112 voted against.
馬克龍政府新的退休制度改革計劃將退休年齡從62歲提高到64歲。法國參議院以195票贊成，112票反對的表決結果，通過了相關法律草案。
The protests aimed to pressure the government to withdraw the pension plan, which it said is essential to ensure the pension system does not run out of money.
抗議活動為了向法國政府施壓，要求撤銷退休制度改革計劃。而法國政府卻認為，該計劃對於確保養老金體系不會無錢可用至關重要。
"After hundreds of hours of discussions, the Senate adopted the pension reform plan. It is a key step to make a reform happen that will guarantee the future of our pension system," Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne wrote on Twitter. She added that she was "totally committed to ensure the text will be definitively adopted in the coming days".
「經過數百個小時的討論，參議院通過了養老金改革計劃。這是實現改革的關鍵一步，這將保證我們養老金體系的未來。」法國總理伊莉莎白•博爾內在推特上寫道，「我們完力確保該法律草案在未來幾天內獲得正式通過。」
Now that the Senate has adopted the bill, it will be reviewed by a joint committee of lower and upper house lawmakers, probably on Wednesday.
在法國參議院通過後，該計劃可能會在15日被提交給由國民議會和參議院議員共同組成的聯合委員會進行審查。
If the committee agrees on a text, a final vote in both chambers is likely to take place on Thursday, but the outcome of that still seems uncertain in the lower chamber, the National Assembly, where Macron's party needs allies' votes for a majority.
如果委員會就文本內容達成一致，兩院的最終投票可能會在16日進行。國民議會的投票情況仍然不確定，因為馬克龍的政黨需要盟友支持才能獲得多數票。
If the government fears it won't have enough votes in the lower house, it is still possible for it to push the text through without a parliamentary vote, via a so-called 49:3 procedure.但即使投票未通過，法國政府仍然可以通過憲法49-3條款推動計劃實施，該條款授權法國總理在不經過議員修改或投票的情況下履行政府制定法律的責任。
>Silicon Valley Bank collapse could have major impact on tech industry
矽谷銀行倒閉可能對科技行業產生重大影響
The logo of Credit Suisse is pictured in front of the Swiss Parliament Building, in Bern, Switzerland, March 19, 2023. [Photo/Agencies]
The sudden collapse of the top Silicon Valley lender SVB Financial Group has sent shock waves throughout the tech world, leaving tech startups scrambling to make payroll this month, which could be followed by a wide wave of failures and layoffs in the tech industry.
矽谷銀行的突然倒閉在整個科技界引發了衝擊波，使得科技初創企業在本月爭相發放工資，而這可能會使科技行業之後出現大範圍倒閉和裁員潮。
With approximately $209 billion in total assets and $175.4 billion in total deposits at the end of last year, the 16th largest bank in the US was closed by California's banking regulators on Friday due to "inadequate liquidity and insolvency."
截至去年年底，這家美國第16大銀行的總資產約為2090億美元，總存款為1754億美元。然而，加州銀行監管機構周五（3月10日）以「流動性不足和資不清償」為由關閉了該銀行。
The FDIC said Friday that all accounts would quickly get access to the insured portions of their deposits, but the rest would depend on how much is recovered from sales of the bank's assets, an often lengthy process.
美國聯邦存款保險公司周五表示，所有帳戶將很快獲得其存款的保險部分，但其餘部分則取決於出售銀行資產能夠收回多少，而且這通常是一個漫長的過程。
This has left startup founders worried about whether they'll be able to keep paying their employees.
這讓初創企業的創業者擔心他們是否能夠繼續支付員工工資。
Close to half of US venture-backed tech and healthcare firms that listed on stock markets in 2022 were SVB customers, leading many to fret about the fallout from the bank’s collapse that will ripple through the already battered tech sector, which had seen mass layoffs in recent months.
在2022年美國上市的眾多風投科技企業和醫療企業中，有近一半是矽谷銀行的客戶，這導致許多人擔心該銀行破產的後果會波及本已遭受重創的科技行業。近幾個月來，該行業出現了大規模裁員。
Garry Tan, head of the well-known incubator Y Combinator, said in a tweet that "the real victims of the SVB fallout are the depositors: startups with 10 to 100 employees, who cannot make payroll, and will have to furlough or shut down workers as soon as Monday."
矽谷著名創業孵化器 Y Combinator執行長陳嘉興在一條推文中說："矽谷銀行破產的真正受害者是儲戶，也就是那些擁有10到100名員工的初創企業，他們無法支付工資，不得不最早在周一（13日）讓員工暫時休假或徹底停工。"
He also warned that "years of U.S. innovation" are on the line, as an entire "generation of American startups" could be destroyed in a month or two.
他還警告說，美國「多年的創新」岌岌可危，因為整整「一代美國創業公司」可能在一兩個月內被摧毀。
Top U.S. investor Bill Ackman raised a similar alarm on Twitter, saying that SVB's collapse "could destroy an important long-term driver of the economy." 美國頂級投資人比爾•阿克曼也發出了類似的警告，稱矽谷銀行的破產「可能摧毀（美國）經濟的一個重要的長期驅動力」。
Voices from tech and finance are increasingly calling for the federal government to push another bank to take over the failed Silicon Valley Bank, CNBC reported. According to several U.S. media reports, SVB had discussed a possible buyout with several banks on Thursday and Friday, but could not find a solution quickly enough.
美國消費者新聞與商業頻道報導稱，美國科技界和金融界有越來越多的聲音呼籲聯邦政府推動另一家銀行來接管破產的矽谷銀行。根據幾家美國媒體的報導，矽谷銀行曾與幾家銀行討論過可能的收購問題，但未能迅速找到解決方案。
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來源：chinadaily.com.cn