Sergio Ermotti has a path to Wall Street-style pay 28 Mar 2024 UBS handed its CEO $16 mln for nine months’ work last year. That’s more than his European rivals, but less than the bosses of US lenders like Morgan Stanley, whose valuation the $100 bln Swiss bank aspires to. Tweaked terms next year give Ermotti a chance to narrow the gap.
Elon Musk is his own worst enemy: part 420 31 Jan 2024 A Delaware court nixed the Tesla CEO’s $56 bln pay package, finding rampant dysfunction behind it. The sum may have been justifiable, but the carnival barking that underpins the company’s valuation complicates matters. If investors keep enabling Musk, bad governance will persist.
ECB is battling an imaginary wage spiral 24 Jan 2024 European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is set to hold rates this week because she fears rising salaries will boost inflation. Yet euro zone workers are getting raises of just 3.8%, down from a year ago. Frankfurt may not want to cheer bigger pay, but it can ignore it.
Capital Calls: Microsoft’s Russian hacker 22 Jan 2024 Concise views on global finance: The $3 trln tech firm disclosed that a nation-state hack accessed leaders’ email, saying it showed the need for potentially “disruptive” measures. It’s a worrying acknowledgement of the still-vague costs of geopolitical tensions for tech giants.
Elon Musk’s losing streak is heading for Tesla 17 Jan 2024 The billionaire wants 25% control at the $690 bln carmaker, after trimming his stake in part to finance an ill-advised deal for Twitter. Musk’s social-media frolic risked making him an absentee CEO; containing that threat means following bad governance with worse.
Capital Calls: Ryanair 18 Dec 2023 Concise views on global finance: The 21 bln euro budget airline’s potential 100 mln euro bonus for its CEO looks all the more awkward given the board’s decision last year to tweak the conditions.
EU payments tie-up would build wider M&A defence 11 Dec 2023 Worldline’s market value has shrunk by 60% to $5 bln in a year, making it vulnerable to a takeover by US rivals. Teaming up with Italian peer Nexi is a worthy alternative. While sorting out the ownership structure looks tricky, the reward is greater regional clout and savings.
Payments sector comedown creates opening for M&A 17 Nov 2023 The once-hot industry has slumped amid rising competition and a possible regulatory clampdown. For online specialists like $34 bln Adyen, the solution is to boost their customer offerings by buying startups. Older players like Nexi and Worldline, meanwhile, are ripe for mergers.
Capital Calls: Starbucks’ wages 6 Nov 2023 Concise views on global finance: Only US baristas with five years of experience will get above-average raises in 2024. Despite more than 9,000 organized workers, Starbucks is dodging the labor pressures faced by shipping firms and automakers this year.
Tough dealmaking conditions dull Waystar’s shine 31 Oct 2023 The healthcare technology firm is angling for a stock-market listing on the back of rapid, acquisition-fueled growth. With a sale looking difficult and heavy debt bearing down, an IPO may be its private equity backers’ best option, but a mooted $8 bln valuation looks steep.
Worldline crash is pivotal moment for payments 25 Oct 2023 The $7 bln French group’s shares fell 60% after it said sales would be hit by a call to ditch riskier merchants. Investors expect payment providers to be on top of flaky transactions. The fact that a leading player has had to rethink will scare them, and alert regulators.
Nobel Prize points way to closing gender pay gap 9 Oct 2023 US economist Claudia Goldin won the Swedish award for showing that wage inequality between men and women spikes after children are born. Governments can rectify that by funding childcare instead of fossil fuels. A more balanced workforce will boost tax revenue and spur growth.
Capital Calls: US government shutdown 29 Sep 2023 Concise views on global finance: Civil servants, who already earn 24% less than the market rate, lose their pay when Washington closes. Legislators, meanwhile, keep collecting their $174,000 salaries. Having skin in the game would help focus congressional minds.
Carmakers will blink first in union standoff 22 Sep 2023 The UAW is expanding strikes at GM and Stellantis, but not at Ford, where the union sees progress. Divide-and-conquer will stretch labor funds and selectively boost the financial impact – some $48 mln a week at the F-Series pickup manufacturer alone. Workers have the upper hand.
Uncle Sam risks recession by a thousand cuts 22 Sep 2023 A government stoppage would shave a sliver from US economic expansion. Restarting student loan payments will have a similar effect. Add striking autoworkers, high oil prices and costly mortgages, and 0.8% growth forecast for the fourth quarter and 0.5% in early 2024 look shaky.
Capital Calls: Four-day workweek 19 Sep 2023 Concise views on global finance: US Senator Bernie Sanders joined striking autoworkers in urging a conversation about shortening the workweek. Rising productivity has long enabled labor to win fewer hours. With disruptive new technologies rising, bigger victories make sense.
Capital Calls: Ford’s threats 15 Sep 2023 Concise views on global finance: The $50 bln automaker’s boss suggests that a strike could have dire consequences. The problem is that workers can see the $10 billion in cash sitting on Ford’s balance sheet.
Detroit profit engine could screech to a halt 14 Sep 2023 Years-long employment contracts meant auto workers missed out on post-pandemic gains. New demands could halve Ford and GM profit. The companies may prefer one-off rewards. But unions have little incentive to accept. Instead, transition plans may be wounded, and both sides pay.
UK leads Europe… in lack of boss pay restraint 25 Aug 2023 British CEOs at top listed groups got a 16% pay hike last year. Yet bosses’ salaries stagnated in France and fell 8% in Germany. Different growth paces partly explain the gap. But UK workers will struggle to take seriously policymakers’ calls for wage restraint to curb inflation.
Mastercard’s African fintech bet is VC, but better 15 Aug 2023 Mastercard is investing in telecoms company MTN Group’s $5.2 bln mobile payments unit after backing an Airtel Africa-owned rival. The price is higher than past deals. But historical underinvestment in African fintech helps, as does its ability to spread money around.