Welcome to another year of the Great Stagnation 2 Apr 2013 Remember the Great Moderation? Before the financial crisis, economists thought they had found the recipe for steady growth from here to eternity. Almost five years after the banking collapse, recovery remains tepid around the world, stifled by debt, fear and demographics.
Growth doesn’t justify Southeast Asia’s airline boom 2 Apr 2013 Budget carrier Lion Air is expanding its fleet again with a $24 bln order. The prospect of deregulation and the region’s expanding middle class will boost demand for cheap flights. But competition from equally bullish rivals like AirAsia may mean less profit to go around.
Altimo’s $3.7 bln bid undervalues Orascom Telecom 2 Apr 2013 The Russian firm is making an opportunistic bid for the Cairo-listed telco, in which it already has a large indirect stake through subsidiary Vimpelcom. If a dispute between Orascom and the Algerian government is resolved soon, the 10 pct premium will look measly.
BP already facing test of new Russia strategy 2 Apr 2013 After the sale of TNK-BP, the UK major owns 20 percent of Rosneft. Now BP must avoid becoming just another trampled Russian minority shareholder. It could start by using its new clout on Rosneft’s board to push for fair treatment of TNK’s minority investors.
Apple’s Chinese apology worth the loss of face 1 Apr 2013 Today’s prosperous iPad buyers in China may not be swayed by what seems to be state-orchestrated criticism. But the tech giant’s admission of arrogance is a cheap salve to future, less well-informed buyers who might, as the Apple CEO hopes, make the PRC his biggest market.
MetroPCS owners can forget a standalone option 1 Apr 2013 Dissident investors John Paulson and Peter Schoenfeld persuaded two proxy services that T-Mobile USA is buying its rival on the cheap and that independence is a better option. The agitating may bring a sweeter bid. But MetroPCS is unlikely to prosper or exist for long on its own.
Latest oil spill blame games miss the point 1 Apr 2013 Environmentalists reckon an Arkansas leak bolsters their case against the Keystone pipeline. Proponents point to a recent train crash to show other ways of ferrying crude are accident-prone, too. What counts is keeping such risks to a minimum. On that score, Keystone looks sound.
Dell blow-by-blow makes rival bidders’ jobs harder 1 Apr 2013 The PC maker has laid out, at length, its reasoning for agreeing to a $24.4 bln buyout by Michael Dell and Silver Lake. It’s only the company’s version, but Dell seemingly did pretty much all it could to secure the best offer available. A bidding war now looks even less likely.
Abenomics looks like solution in search of problem 1 Apr 2013 Japan’s prime minister plans to end deflation and push up the growth rate. But prices have been more stable than falling and GDP per worker is still rising. The shrinking population need not be a burden if Japan can deal with its debt load. Here, Abenomics is not radical enough.
Hugo Dixon: Cyprus leaves banking union up in air 1 Apr 2013 Optimists hope the fiasco will provide the euro zone with the impetus to complete its banking union. But it is also possible that core countries will now be even more reluctant to absorb the liabilities of bust peripheral banks. Fortunately, there’s a way of squaring the circle.