Nobel rewards rigour in messy real-life tests 11 Oct 2021 The three winners of the economics prize aimed to spot cause and effect when actual events create experiments that lack lab-style controls. David Card’s work on wages and immigration, in particular, is newly relevant as workers seek higher pay and dislocations like Brexit unfold.
African phone-mast IPO priced for smooth safari 11 Oct 2021 IHS, which operates 30,000 towers across the continent, is listing in New York after an aborted attempt in 2018. Though its exposure to turbulent Nigeria is a worry, telecom kit has proved its worth in chaotic places. A market value of up to $8 bln reflects a generous discount.
Richard Li’s family baggage weighs on insurer IPO 11 Oct 2021 The Hong Kong tycoon is putting a limit on how long he can keep the supervoting stock he’ll get in the $2 bln float of Asia-focused FWD. But it can be extended while his nearest and dearest can for a time inherit the rights. That erodes the value of such sunset clauses.
Carrefour’s domestic shopping aisle looks bare 11 Oct 2021 A tie-up between the $15 bln French grocer and rival Auchan fell apart amid a valuation dispute. Concerns over competition and jobs complicate local mergers, while a failed Canadian takeover showed foreign buyers are unwelcome. Carrefour has little choice but to expand abroad.
Capital Calls: Green investors, ASOS, Renren 11 Oct 2021 Concise views on global finance: Al Gore’s asset manager finds listed equities can influence a larger chunk of global emissions; the online retailer parts company with its CEO; the startup investor’s $300 mln settlement with aggrieved investors is likely to be an exception.
Beijing discord drowns out Chinese tech playlist 11 Oct 2021 After dropping New York IPO plans, podcast app Ximalaya is eyeing a $1 bln float in Hong Kong. The prospectus details regulatory uncertainties ranging from censorship to whether it can list at all. It highlights the risk that crackdowns might stifle innovation.
India Insight: Silicon Valley-style success bites 11 Oct 2021 The South Asian giant is now home to herds of unicorns. Meanwhile, established beasts like Tata Consultancy and Infosys are in high demand to assist the global race online. It’s making tech talent hard to find and may even prompt the world’s outsourcing hub to outsource.
How to fill the global tax deal’s digital holes 8 Oct 2021 A landmark accord backed by 136 countries offers little scope for non-U.S. governments to raise money from giants like Facebook. One fix is to give nations with big markets a larger share of tax receipts. Sharing out levies according to where revenue is generated would be ideal.
Tepid jobs report obscures promising U.S. trends 8 Oct 2021 Payrolls grew by 194,000 in September, well below forecasts. But the unemployment rate fell to 4.8% and average monthly job gains this year are about 560,000. The Fed won't be rushing to cool the economy. But declining Covid cases should help the recovery keep going.
GM reinvents itself as a moonshot on wheels 8 Oct 2021 Perhaps tired of watching newcomers like Tesla race ahead of its valuation, the $82 bln automaker plans to double revenue, mostly through new businesses like self-driving cars. Beneath boss Mary Barra’s big bets, though, the projected car company of 2030 looks little changed.
Review: PepsiCo CEO memoir leaves work unfinished 8 Oct 2021 In “My Life in Full”, former boss Indra Nooyi describes fending off activists and making big acquisitions at the soda giant. She traces her path from southern India to hobnobbing with world leaders with humility. Her vision of an ethical consumer group looks far off, though.
Capital Calls: Pet retail scrap, Chubb, Czech IPO 8 Oct 2021 Concise views on global finance: Buyout firm Hellman & Friedman matches EQT’s 3.4 bln euro bid for Germany’s Zooplus, putting the onus on its rival; the U.S. insurer buys the Asian assets of Cigna for $5.8 bln; haulage-fleet manager Eurowag makes a chaotic market debut.
Time for bank holdouts to join Carney’s green club 8 Oct 2021 Most big western lenders have joined the ex-BoE boss’s GFANZ group pledging tough climate targets. Yet those run by Jamie Dimon, Charlie Scharf, Andrea Orcel and David Solomon have yet to do so. As with taking state capital in 2008, taking part makes more sense than holding out.
Sweden’s tiny tech investor is proxy bet on Klarna 8 Oct 2021 Sebastian Siemiatkowski is listing his investment firm in Stockholm, including a small stake in the $46 bln buy-now-pay-later lender he runs. Klarna will account for less than a third of the $31 mln portfolio. Still, Flat Capital offers rare exposure to the group before it lists.
Reliance’s 7-Eleven swoop inconveniences Amazon 8 Oct 2021 Mukesh Ambani’s $230 bln group has taken over the franchise rights for the stores in India from Future Retail, which it is trying to buy. That bigger purchase is being legally contested by its U.S. rival. But the tycoon has found a way to get what he wants despite the setback.
Tesla’s move to Texas further mars ESG credentials 8 Oct 2021 Elon Musk is relocating the electric-vehicle champion’s home base after a Covid-19 spat with California. It will put it in a state building a weak record on green energy and women’s rights. A company already hit by bad governance is giving investors more reasons to think twice.
Samsung etches fresh way to take on TSMC 8 Oct 2021 Memory chips are set to help lift the South Korean company’s quarterly operating profit 28% to $13 bln. Growth at its small semiconductor design and manufacturing arms also warrant greater attention. Customers like Tesla could make the units secret weapons against Taiwan's titan.
BlackRock brings shareholder democracy to the few 7 Oct 2021 Clients with a combined $2 trillion of index-fund investments will get more say on how votes at underlying companies are cast. It’s only for large institutions, and many will stick with the status quo. Bigger change would come if CEO Larry Fink offered the same to all investors.
Barry Diller’s $2.7 bln deal banks on digital elan 7 Oct 2021 The media mogul’s IAC conglomerate is buying People and other magazines from Meredith. He has excelled at growing and spinning off businesses like dating app Match. Diller is betting big that his digital knack can also make a success of lifestyle brands that still rely on print.
Malaria vaccine can protect kids and economies 7 Oct 2021 The WHO approved its first jab for the deadly disease. Its primary target is the 274,000 mostly African children who die each year. But malaria also inflicts $12 bln of economic pain. That makes the shot’s roughly $1 bln annual cost one of the smartest sub-Saharan investments.
Capital Calls: NatWest’s guilty-plea logic 7 Oct 2021 Concise views on global finance: The UK lender could receive a lower money-laundering fine for accepting culpability.
Newcastle bid suits Saudi more than UK soccer 7 Oct 2021 A consortium led by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund may buy the northeastern club for 305 mln pounds. Saudi Arabia gets a storied team for a low price, and cheap PR. Yet having another deep-pocketed sovereign backer will further distort competition in British soccer.
Acquisitive Swedes may turn into overseas turnips 7 Oct 2021 Serial acquirer Storskogen has listed in Stockholm and is worth $8 bln. It makes its money hoovering up cheap, small companies from jewellery suppliers to trailer manufacturers. But rapid overseas expansion beyond its home territory will bring fresh risks, and more competition.
Viewsroom: Electric-car global roundup; Facebook 7 Oct 2021 Rivian drops its IPO prospectus, Volvo readies its public market return, Hertz brings on a car guy and GM gets a thumbs up from Engine No. 1. Antony Currie puts it all together. And what does Facebook’s outage mean for shareholders? Gina Chon and Richard Beales weigh in.
Evergrande crisis inspires shrewd bottom-feeding 7 Oct 2021 Tycoon Joseph Lau offered just $250 mln for the 25% of Chinese Estates his family doesn’t own. Shares were hit by its long backing of its ailing peer, whose boss plays poker with Lau. As with a rival’s mooted deal for an Evergrande unit stake, current owners may have to fold.
Hong Kong tycoons laugh off Xi’s inequality push 7 Oct 2021 Real estate is overheating while residents get gouged at the grocery store. Leader Carrie Lam wants to increase housing supply but has propped up home prices and left elite monopolies alone. So far President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” drive is steering around the city.
Competition cops are latest wrench in M&A trade 6 Oct 2021 Firms navigating a merger crackdown by the FTC are facing uncertainty. That should in theory be good for arb investors. The trouble is some, like Kadmon and Sanofi in their $1.9 bln deal, are cautiously planning for the worst, making it nearly impossible for arbs to cash in.
Chancellor: Going green is everything except easy 6 Oct 2021 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the United Nations just weeks ago that transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy would be a cinch. Oops. The global energy crisis changes everything. Not least, it makes the cost of jettisoning hydrocarbons a great deal more expensive.
Funky hedging is a way for states to ease gas woes 6 Oct 2021 Countries caught by fuel-price spikes have no quick means to create alternative supply. As a result, they may be tempted to use public cash to buy options on gas a few years hence. It would waste taxpayer money if prices dropped, but sustained inflation would cause a mess too.
Telefonica can play hard to get in fibre sale 6 Oct 2021 The 23 bln euro Spanish telco may flog a chunk of its super-fast domestic broadband network. With the fibre rollout almost done and debt vaguely in check, Telefonica isn’t desperate for the cash. That means it can wait for a buyer ready to top the reported 15 bln euro valuation.