Warren Buffett, the billionaire chiefexecutive of Berkshire Hathaway, has sold off all his shares in US airlines asthe industry loses and sheds tens of thousands of jobs.
伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司首席执行官亿万富翁沃伦·巴菲特已抛售了他在美国航空公司的所有股份，因为该行业损失了数十亿美元，并减少了成千上万个工作岗位。
Mr Buffett, whose conglomorate had avoidedthe airline industry but began building stakes in key carriers in 2016, toldinvestors the sector looked set to "chew up" money as BerkshireHathaway reported a $50bn （£40bn） net loss.
巴菲特的集团回避航空业，但于2016年开始在主要航空公司中持股。 他告诉投资者，随着伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司净亏损500亿美元（400亿英镑），该行业似乎将“吞噬”资金。
Berkshire Hathaway had built upshareholdings in four major airlines and was a top three shareholder afteracquiring an 11pc stake in Delta, 10pc of American Airlines, 10pc of SouthwestAirlines and 9pc of United Airlines.
伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司曾购入四大航空公司股份，成为排名前三的股东，包括达美航空11％，美国航空10％，西南航空10％和联合航空9％的股份。
Mr Buffett said he expected each of theairlines would need to borrow more than $10bn to survive the crisis.
巴菲特表示，他预计每家航空公司将需要借入逾100亿美元才能度过危机。
Berkshire Hathaway, which operatesprimarily as a holding company with shareholdings across sectors, warned mostof its businesses had been negatively affected by the pandemic's downturn.
伯克希尔·哈撒韦主要为一家控股公司，在各行各业中拥有股份。该公司曾警告说，其大部分业务已受到疫情带来经济下滑的负面影响。
Despite the downturn, the conglomorate'scash pile swelled to $137bn.
尽管经济不景气，这家企业集团的现金储备仍增至1370亿美元。
The company has been holding off on newacquisitions since the downturn, unlike during the 2008 financial crisis, whenit went on a buying spree.
自经济低迷以来，该公司一直在推迟新的收购活动，这与2008年金融危机期间的购买狂潮不同。
Analysts warned his unwillingness to investsuggested he believed the market had further to fall.
分析师警告说巴菲特不愿投资，暗示他认为市场还将进一步下跌。
Berkshire Hathaway's investor conferencenormally attracts tens of thousands of shareholders to its base in Omaha,Nebraska.
伯克希尔·哈撒韦的投资者会议通常吸引成千上万的股东来到其位于内布拉斯加州奥马哈的基地。
This time, Mr Buffett, 89, addressedinvestors via video link.
此次会议，89岁的巴菲特先生通过网络视频向投资者发表演讲。
Late on Saturday, Mr Buffett told a virtualmeeting of investors: "We made that decision in terms of the airlinebusiness. We took money out of the business basically even at a substantialloss."
周六晚间，巴菲特在一次线上投资者会议上说：“我们就航空业务做出了这一决定。即使亏损很大，我们还是要从业务中撤资。”
He added: “The world changed for airlinesand we wish them well."
他补充说：“航空公司的世界改变了，我们祝他们一切顺利。”
conglomerate n. 联合大公司; 企业集团; 合成物; 组合物; 聚合物; 砾岩;
Fiat is Italy's largest industrialconglomerate.
菲亚特是意大利最大的产业集团。
build stakes 增持股份
chew up 细细咀嚼; 嚼得稀烂; 毁坏; 破坏;
I took one of the pills and chewed it up.
我拿起一粒药丸，把它嚼碎。
swell v. 膨胀; 肿胀; （使） 凸出，鼓出; （使） 增加，增大，扩大;
过去式：swelled 过去分词：swollen
hold off 推迟; 拖延; （在比赛或竞赛中）抵挡住（对手的挑战） ;
spree n. （常指过分） 玩乐，作乐; 纵乐; 一阵，一通（犯罪活动）;
Some Americans went on a spending spree inDecember to beat the new tax.
一些美国人在12月疯狂花钱，以避开新税。
substantial adj. 大量的; 价值巨大的; 重大的; 大而坚固的; 结实的; 牢固的;
The party has just lost office and with ita substantial number of seats
该党刚刚竞选失利，同时还失去了许多席位。
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