Considered View

Bitcoin’s slide blows digital stardust to winds

20 November 2018

Fans dreamed the cryptocurrency would consign conventional finance to the dustbin. But it’s more vulnerable than stocks and bonds to investor funk, plummeting a third in a month and 75 pct from its peak to below $5,000. Bitcoin’s flaw remains its lack of fundamental value.

Toys R Us buyout firms offer crumbs for holidays

20 November 2018

KKR and Bain are giving $20 mln to employees who lost jobs in the retailer’s bankruptcy. That’s better than nothing, and an intriguing precedent. But it won’t go far among tens of thousands of people. It’s also a pittance compared with the fees the firms took over the years.

Analyst tie-up merely defers research bloodbath

20 November 2018

AllianceBernstein is set to buy Autonomous Research. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, endorses the value of independent insight in the wake of new European rules. But it also acknowledges that asset managers will continue to cut budgets, hitting less-celebrated rivals.

Target deserves as much investor love as Walmart

20 November 2018

Owners wiped 11 pct off the retailer’s stock after it just missed estimates. Yet soaring online revenue and a rise in same-store sales show Target, like Walmart, is dealing well with shoppers’ changing habits. Its larger rival, though, sports a better multiple on lower margins.

Julius Baer slip heralds broader pain for peers

20 November 2018

Choppy markets and nervous clients hit the Swiss private bank’s margin in October, putting a key target at risk. The group’s push into the more volatile Asian market didn’t help. The weak update flashes a red light to rival wealth managers, like Credit Suisse.

EasyJet valuation is heading for lower altitudes

20 November 2018

The budget airline carried a record number of passengers in 2018. That will be hard to replicate since rivals are finally resolving their problems. Stiffer competition and higher costs will weigh on revenue. The premium at which the company is trading over most peers will shrink.

SocGen U.S. settlement has sting in the tail

20 November 2018

The French lender will pay $1.4 billion to U.S. authorities for sanctions violations. The hit is in line with its expectations, but a deferred-prosecution pact will push up compliance costs. That puts more pressure on boss Frederic Oudea to cut the bank’s bloated cost base.

Nissan puts Japan’s governance drive into reverse

20 November 2018

The Carlos Ghosn fiasco suggests derisory oversight by a board whose few independent directors include a race-car driver. Ernst & Young ShinNihon, auditor of Olympus and Toshiba, may have done sloppy work too. The restoration of faith in Japanese boardrooms has been damaged.

RBI’s piggy bank can stand a New Delhi raid

20 November 2018

Under government pressure, India’s central bank will consider cuts to over $100 bln of reserves. Its capital cushion looks generous next to BRIC peers, but the country’s large budget deficit, its dependence on foreign capital and the danger of a bad precedent demand caution.

Beyond Meat IPO could go from rare to charred

19 November 2018

Investors who take a bite of the plant-based meat maker could get a taste of rapid growth, top-notch leaders and a way to address the looming food crisis. But the company is restricting some shareholder rights and faces competition from traditional and fellow upstart firms alike.