Brexodus: Where to After London?

① The clock is ticking towards March 2019, the deadline for talks between Britain and the EU.

② But businesses require certainty well before then.

③ In 2018 financial-services firms will have their commitment to the City of London tested.

④ Nobody expects a stampede to the exit, but in the absence of clarity about a deal, many will move some of their operations pre-emptively.

⑤ In 2018 it will be clear that Frankfurt, favoured by Goldman Sachs, has the edge in Europe.

⑥ HSBC, meanwhile, is moving jobs to Paris, a short train ride from London.

⑦ In the second tier are Amsterdam, Dublin and Luxembourg, with cheaper, tech-savvy Warsaw emerging as the dark horse.

⑧ In the end, however, investment banks may prove more footloose than many people imagined; business-friendly New York could yet be the biggest beneficiary.

⑨ Don't write the City off just yet.

⑩ But don't underestimate the short-term damage of Brexit.

▍生詞好句

exodus /??ks?d?s/: n. 大量離開；出埃及記 (Exodus)

the clock is ticking: 時間迫近

well /w?l/: adv. 遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地

commitment /k??m?tm(?)nt/: n. 承諾；奉獻(xiàn)；投入

stampede /stam?pi?d/: n. 踩踏；蜂擁

pre-emptively /pr???mpt?vl?/: adv. 先發(fā)制人地；未雨綢繆

second tier: 二線

savvy /?savi/: adj. 精明的；精通的

dark horse: 黑馬

footloose /?f?tlu?s/: adj. 自由自在的 (本文可理解為“安步當(dāng)車”)

beneficiary /b?n??f??(?)ri/: n. 受益者

write off: 刪除