India’s e-commerce war to surface on U.S. shores 20 Dec 2017 Amazon's arch-enemy Flipkart has good reason to snub Mumbai and head to New York for an IPO in 2018. Its biggest global peers are listed stateside. With SoftBank and Alibaba as backers, the $12 bln retailer is primed to take its local fight against Jeff Bezos to global investors.
U.S. banks get the hang of dying in living wills 19 Dec 2017 Watchdogs cleared the resolution plans of the eight biggest firms though four, including Wells Fargo, need improvements. It’s a far cry from 2016, when five failed outright. It’s progress not just because banks are safer, but because they finally understand what regulators want.
Jefferies bumper pay leaves shareholders wanting 19 Dec 2017 The Wall Street firm’s average comp of $530,000, or 57 percent of revenue, is far more generous than even Goldman Sachs. Reducing it to be more in line with rivals would still leave plenty for workers – and would almost double publicly traded owner Leucadia’s subpar returns.
Ex-Im revives just as it’s least useful 19 Dec 2017 A Senate committee rejected the nomination of Scott Garrett, a vocal critic, to lead the bank. It’s a sign that Ex-Im is bouncing back from its nadir in 2015. But with the economy roaring and tax cuts coming, the result may be mostly a small stimulus for big firms like Boeing.
Apple provides hedge against global tech backlash 19 Dec 2017 Authorities worldwide are stepping up action against technology giants over the way they erode privacy, use data to push rivals out of business and influence elections. As a security-minded purveyor of hardware, Apple stands apart. It’s likely to avoid the worst of the blowback.
Home-healthcare company pulls plug on itself 19 Dec 2017 Kindred Healthcare has gone out with a whimper, selling itself for a 5 pct premium to insurer Humana and two private-equity firms. Management may have been a bit too eager to put an end to the company’s uncomfortable public existence with the $4.1 bln deal.
C-suite is corporate America’s big sex scandal 19 Dec 2017 Females hold fewer than a quarter of senior executive titles, new research finds. And it’s getting worse. The tsunami of harassment exposés makes the paucity of women in leading positions even more egregious. Without change at the top, it’ll be hard to fix the broader situation.
U.S. political doomsday will hurt economic growth 19 Dec 2017 Republican and Democratic parties will splinter ahead of the 2018 election, marginalizing moderates. More firebrand politicians increases the chances of trade wars, a U.S. debt default and government shutdowns that harm the economy. Compromisers won’t be there to stop them.
Jefferies’ banking boom may herald happier returns 19 Dec 2017 The Wall Street firm grew investment-banking revenue 48 pct this year, which should outpace larger rivals. Fixed-income trading languished and U.S. tax cuts won’t get its ROE out of the doldrums. But favoring advisory and underwriting is a smart way to bolster performance.
Saudi Aramco’s backup IPO plan runs through China 19 Dec 2017 Venue shopping is proving difficult for Saudi's national oil giant. London's listing rules - and Qatar’s investment in the LSE - will be hard to overcome. Legal risks make New York iffy. A Hong Kong float, supported by a pipeline of cash from China, may be the least-bad option.
Can carmakers think outside the self-driving box? 19 Dec 2017 Renault is investing in a magazine publisher, targeting the extra leisure time people will have in driverless cars. Breakingviews imagines the pitch from an M&A banker eager to encourage auto executives to buy other autonomous-vehicle beneficiaries, from music to alcohol. Sincerely.
M&A deal finds Saudi diversity but few believers 18 Dec 2017 McDermott is barely paying a premium for CB&I. Yet the transaction reduces the energy-infrastructure firm’s reliance on the turbulent Middle Eastern kingdom, and should yield cost savings worth over $1.5 bln. Investors are skeptical any player can thrive given oil’s troubles.
Harvard fund helpfully expels star pupils 18 Dec 2017 The university endowment is spinning out its real-estate team to buyout firm Bain. Investment boss Narv Narvekar had promised to outsource more of the $37 bln portfolio. Pushing out one of the bits that’s actually turning in stellar performance is a reassuring sign he means it.
U.S. will miss out on infrastructure again in 2018 18 Dec 2017 From air-traffic control to roads to schools, the White House says it’s a priority but focuses its energy elsewhere. Tax policy might boost private capital, yet other barriers lurk. And as the GOP squeezes the budget, the feds will have less to spend. It adds up to more gridlock.
Indispensable execs demand higher disclosure 18 Dec 2017 CSX’s turnaround expert Hunter Harrison is dead months after joining the railroad. A rich signing package and $10 bln added to the firm’s market worth showed his importance. If companies and markets think and act as if leaders are irreplaceable, key-man risks must be disclosed.
Campbell M&A picnic deserves activist gatecrashers 18 Dec 2017 Even with synergies, the company’s $5 bln offer for pretzel maker Snyder’s is a financial stretch. Campbell might be a better target than buyer. Big family shareholders make opposition hard, but Elliott’s campaign against oil producer Hess shows insiders can’t get complacent.
Chile reinforces Latin American pro-business pivot 18 Dec 2017 Billionaire Sebastian Piñera won the copper-rich nation's presidential election with a stronger showing than expected. That will lend succor to like-minded leaders in Argentina, Brazil and Peru for whom fiscal discipline is proving a long slog and graft allegations a danger.
Penn National places a decent bet on Pinnacle 18 Dec 2017 The regional casino operator is buying rival Pinnacle in a deal valued at $2.8 bln. The acquisition won’t provide the thrills of high-stakes table, but cost savings should cover the hefty premium and Penn National gains a more diversified footprint as the industry consolidates.
America loses its regional-bank champion 18 Dec 2017 Robert Wilmers built M&T into a $120 bln-in-assets lender and attacked post-crisis rules that lumped mid-tier players in with mega-banks. His death at 83 robs the industry of a staunch defender - just as lawmakers consider ditching some of the constraints he railed against.
Trump’s China diagnosis falls short of a remedy 18 Dec 2017 The U.S. president is casting Beijing’s economic prowess as a national security threat. It may signal coming tariffs related to intellectual property and other issues. Yet aides say they also need China's help on North Korea. Increasing tensions just makes that more difficult.