Unilever is test case for ‘edible stranded assets’ 2 Feb 2024 The $123 bln consumer goods group relies on brands that look vulnerable to sugar taxes and changing eating habits. Like oil majors facing lower demand, Unilever and others like Nestlé may have to write down the value of these assets. Unfortunately, the problem defies easy fixes.
Korea’s battery giants engineer volatile US gains 2 Feb 2024 LGES and Samsung SDI have announced more than $18 bln of investments to build factories Stateside. Thanks to generous tax credits from Washington, those bets could pay off. But slowing EV growth and policy risk – amplified by US elections this year – will be an unstable mix.
China tech is running to stand still in AI race 2 Feb 2024 Tencent reckons it's "not too behind" on artificial intelligence. The $340 bln Chinese giant and peers like Baidu made it this far by stockpiling Nvidia chips and devising workarounds to US export curbs. Keeping pace with Western peers will soon be less straightforward, however.
Meta investors take wins now, forget about later 1 Feb 2024 The company is paying its first ever dividend just as politicians are on the warpath: a senator this week said CEO Mark Zuckerberg had blood on his hands. DC dysfunction protects investors for now. But safety issues dent its reputation, and political shifts will be a problem.
Apple’s AI absence may be its advantage 1 Feb 2024 Microsoft and Alphabet pepper quarterly results with the promise of artificial intelligence. The $2.9 trln Apple barely mentions it. The risk is a giant missed opportunity. But its gadgets may indirectly benefit, and without the ballooning capital expenditure at peers like Meta.
Basketball-maker will bounce back from IPO brick 1 Feb 2024 Amer Sports sold shares at $13 apiece, below its $16 to $18 range, valuing the owner of the Wilson, Salomon and Arc’teryx brands at just $6 billion. The steep discount to Lululemon, Nike and On partly stems from overblown fears about China. Buying now should be a slam dunk.
JPMorgan succession is a high-stakes soap opera 1 Feb 2024 The US’s largest bank shuffled its business leaders, sparking speculation as to who might eventually take over from boss Jamie Dimon. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why it matters, even if Dimon’s eventual successor is unlikely to fill his shoes.
American unions can’t bargain with the inevitable 1 Feb 2024 Workers in industries from coffee to movies rose up in 2023, but long-term trends are working against organized labor. Some, like auto workers, are a threat to employers. But even there, a combination of legal and societal shifts make for a less-united future.
Capital Calls: Ferrari closes gap with Hermes 1 Feb 2024 Concise views on global finance: The Italian carmaker’s valuation looks more like its luxury rival Hermes after its record results.
Deutsche Bank and BNP try on each other’s clothes 1 Feb 2024 The $27 bln lender is less highly valued than its $72 bln French peer and its recent past is more troubled. But Deutsche just upped its outlook, while BNP’s got worse. Neither are investor stars, but the German bank’s ambitions for its investment bank look easier to realise.
Julius Baer pops myth of private bank prudence 1 Feb 2024 CEO Philipp Rickenbacher is leaving the $12 bln Swiss wealth manager after bad lending led to a $700 mln writedown. It’s a reminder that serving rich clients is not risk-free. Money managers will have to provide more clarity on loan books or give up lucrative but dicey practices.