Bear Stearns is useful lesson in healthy conflict 14 Mar 2018 The Wall Street firm’s effective demise 10 years ago, like that of Lehman Brothers, was a group effort by executives and watchdogs. Now, post-crisis rules may get softened and regulators talk of forging a “partnership” with banks. A bit of mutual suspicion would be smarter.
Hadas: Businesses need to cut back on half-truths 14 Mar 2018 In the age of digital activism, propaganda’s dire power corrupts politics and divides society. Companies too often join in, pushing agendas with scant regard for the full truth. That’s bad for the world. And if politicians respond by attacking corporations, earnings will suffer.
Prudential breakup is only a partial solution 14 Mar 2018 The global insurer is to demerge its European operations into a separate UK-listed arm. That could help unwind a discount to the probable sum of its parts but carries costs as well. Pru investors might have been better served by a sale, or an unpicking of the U.S. and Asian arms too.
Adidas catchup race has further to run 14 Mar 2018 The shoemaker’s shares have outpaced Nike and Puma during a global sportswear boom in the last three years. However, they still trade at a discount to main rivals, despite faster revenue growth and improving margins. Hitting new, higher targets should help Adidas close the gap.
Blackstone’s Schwarzman schools CIC on art of deal 14 Mar 2018 China’s sovereign wealth fund has sold its stake in the private equity firm. CIC only bagged a so-so return from its decade-long investment. For Blackstone’s founder and CEO, meanwhile, the partnership opened some lucrative doors to the world’s second-largest economy.
U.S. pensions struggle to hold line on governance 13 Mar 2018 A bull market is boosting American retirement funds but not corporate standards. Trustees worry the Trump administration may curb their influence over boards while global competition fuels a race to the bottom on voting rights. They may have to run hard just to hold still.
Apple acquires goodwill of flag-waving publishers 13 Mar 2018 The $925 bln iPhone maker is buying a digital subscription service for magazines like Rolling Stone originally founded to counter Apple’s onerous terms. The tech giant gets to play white knight to the challenged print industry, while buttressing its attempts to grow fee income.
Qualcomm slays a lion, baits a dragon 13 Mar 2018 Having the U.S. government essentially declare it a national champion allowed the chipmaker to defend itself from rival Broadcom’s bid. But a rise in anti-foreign sentiment may hurt Qualcomm too – since it’s still waiting for China to approve its own $44 bln acquisition of NXP.
What’s Time Warner worth? 13 Mar 2018 AT&T's $85 billion bid for the media group is in limbo - but Time Warner may be better off without it. Run the numbers.
Time Warner may do better without AT&T 13 Mar 2018 The broadcast group and HBO owner is in limbo while telecom giant AT&T prepares to fight U.S. watchdogs over its $85 bln bid. If there’s even a 50 pct chance the deal happens, a Breakingviews analysis suggests Time Warner could be worth significantly more than the market thinks.
Rexit shrinks White House talent pool, welcome mat 13 Mar 2018 Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, shifting officials around to replace him. The former Exxon CEO wasn't in the president's inner circle, but the world has lost a reassuring interlocutor. With outsiders leery of working for Trump such problems could get worse.
Three ways Broadcom tripped itself up 13 Mar 2018 While President Trump personally nixed the chipmaker’s $117 bln takeover of Qualcomm, Broadcom helped author its own failure. It failed to realize that chips are the new steel for national security. Its sheer hostility didn’t help. And boss Hock Tan was just too impatient.
Death of Broadcom’s bid leaves worrying fog 12 Mar 2018 President Trump blocked the Singapore-based chipmaker's $117 bln hostile offer for Qualcomm, citing national security concerns. Torpedoing a deal before it's even agreed, and for vague reasons, adds to fears of protectionism. It could raise the cost of the capital America needs.
Profit is only part of U.S. healthcare sickness 12 Mar 2018 America spends about 18 pct of GDP on healthcare – almost twice as much as most developed countries. Pricing to reward investors accounts for perhaps a fifth of this gap. High pay, fights over the spoils and the fetishization of costly high-tech medicine are other factors.
Guest view: The case for Trump’s de-globalization 12 Mar 2018 The U.S. president’s tariffs on steel and aluminum have precedents – Reagan and Bush No. 2 took similar actions. Critics worry that the globalization project of 1991-2016 is falling apart. Yet there could be benefits for the world economy and U.S. living standards.
Dropbox IPO comes with too much vapor 12 Mar 2018 The cloud-based, data-sharing firm reckons it’s worth $7 bln. It has positive cash flow, but slowing revenue growth, no profit, few paying users and plenty of deep-pocketed rivals. A value of six times sales implies investors have failed to upload the risks.
Goldman succession goes against the tide 12 Mar 2018 Investment banker David Solomon is front-runner to succeed Lloyd Blankfein as CEO after his main rival quit. That would end 12 years of traders at the top, a sign of Goldman’s troubles in that business. Yet trading could be due a boost as volatility returns and regulations recede.
Chinese micro-lender’s $100 bln dream is a stretch 12 Mar 2018 Qudian’s founder CEO Min Luo will forgo his salary until the $5 bln firm tops a $100 bln valuation, bigger than backer Ant Financial. That’s unrealistic for a company trading below its New York IPO price in an industry under intense scrutiny – unless its shareholder turns buyer.
Goldman’s golden chance to trade up on governance 9 Mar 2018 Lloyd Blankfein may step down as head of the Wall Street bank later this year. A new CEO could provide fresh momentum to efforts to sharpen the firm’s trading strategy. Bringing in an independent chairman would add extra heft – and set a good example for others to follow.
Blowout U.S. jobs set Fed hunting for wage growth 9 Mar 2018 The U.S. economy added more than 300,000 jobs in February, smashing economists’ expectations, even as wage growth fell back to a ho-hum 2.6 pct. It's likely to keep the Fed searching for the elusive Phillips curve and why a tight labor market means only tepid pay rises.