BREAKINGVIEWS

Battery IPO leaves LG Chem low on power

17 Jan 2022

The South Korean group's $11 bln spinoff was partly designed to unlock value. But the parent now trades at a discount to its 82% stake in its newly unleashed subsidiary. Its unloved petrochemicals-to-materials rump is failing to electrify investors. That looks harsh.

New Credit Suisse chair has grim streak to break

17 Jan 2022

António Horta-Osório has resigned from the Swiss bank after flouting COVID-19 rules. It’s less than a year since he arrived to steady the lender following CEO Tidjane Thiam’s ousting. Incoming Chair Axel Lehmann, formerly of UBS, has to hope his reputation is more durable.

Unilever piles pressure on GSK spinoff plan

17 Jan 2022

GlaxoSmithKline rebuffed the sauce-to-soap group’s 50 bln pound bid for its consumer unit. Unilever’s plan faces challenges. But a listing is unlikely to earn a higher valuation for the Advil maker. To placate investors, GSK boss Emma Walmsley needs other buyers like J&J and P&G.

Wall Street is well fueled for a dog-eat-dog 2022

14 Jan 2022

As they report blowout earnings for 2021, JPMorgan and its banking peers no longer need to fear reticent borrowers or low interest rates. There’s a new problem: each other. Competition for customers and talent is rising, and high valuations may understate the tug-of-war to come.

Biden’s bank cop choice will draw heat

14 Jan 2022

The U.S. president named Sarah Bloom Raskin to lead supervision at the Federal Reserve. She has slammed watchdogs as laggards on climate risks. The Fed has downplayed tying bank capital reserves to global warming. But if Raskin gets through the Senate, that could become a goal.

EDF is latest utility in energy crisis hurt locker

14 Jan 2022

The state-controlled French group’s shares dived after the government ordered it to sell cheap nuclear power to smaller rivals. It’s no surprise France is shielding consumers from high wholesale prices in an election year. EDF won’t be the last European energy provider to suffer.

Unilever can still avoid Danone’s fate

14 Jan 2022

The $137 bln Dove maker’s stock has lagged rivals, activist Nelson Peltz may be circling, and other investors are grumbling. The recent ouster of the French yoghurt maker’s boss is a warning. CEO Alan Jope could pre-empt any revolt with clearer targets to sell struggling brands.

Capital Calls: BlackRock gets an active boost

14 Jan 2022

Concise views on global finance: A renaissance in active strategies at the world’s largest investment manager helped vault it past $10 trillion in assets under management.

Covid-19 victory lap leaves Beijing exhausted

14 Jan 2022

China gloated over its pandemic control and took advantage of economic stability to launch risky crackdowns on tech and property. Now mini-outbreaks are prompting fresh lockdowns as an export boom looks set to slow. In 2022, malaise could prove harder to manage than disease.

China’s Great Firewall 2.0 will repel smart money

14 Jan 2022

Once focused on blocking offshore websites, authorities are increasingly hiding government pages, ship movements and even bus schedules from prying foreign eyes. They’re confident overseas funds will keep flowing in even with less access to information. That’s only half-right.

ThyssenKrupp’s hydrogen hype is oddly conservative

13 Jan 2022

The German group is seeking 600 mln euros from an IPO of Nucera, which uses green power to make the gas from water. It expects the energy transition to inflate sales from almost nothing to 650 mln euros by 2025. Compared to hope-filled listed rivals, the valuation looks sober.

Central banks will give risky debt a helpful shock

13 Jan 2022

Benchmark bond yields are rising as rate-setters around the world scale back asset purchases. That will reduce the appeal of corporate debt, but a correction in credit markets is nothing to fear. A setback may lead to less hazardous terms for bondholders, and a rout is unlikely.

TPG listing caps 30 years of easy money

13 Jan 2022

The $9 bln stock-market debutant has benefited from an interest-rate slide that began before its founding in 1992. David Bonderman’s private equity firm, still focused on LBOs, is exposed to debt costs rising. Others have used public shares to finance reinvention; so should TPG.