New York bank deal caps post-election euphoria 7 Mar 2017 Sterling Bancorp lost 5 pct of its market value even though cost cuts should cover the premium it's paying for rival Astoria. The $2.2 bln price bakes in the buyer's plan to swiftly triple its target’s poor returns, leaving no room for error. Even giddy investors can see that.
Even flawed UPS trustbusters beat none at all 7 Mar 2017 Brussels has egg on its face after a court overturned its 2013 decision to block the U.S. parcel delivery outfit's merger with TNT. Europe rarely nixes deals, and occasional errors are inevitable. A bigger threat to M&A is protectionism, which requires far less serious analysis.
Big Oil drills through White House policy crust 7 Mar 2017 Energy industry bosses, including Exxon's, kicked off their annual Houston hootenanny with reassuring words about the environment and free trade. They notably clashed with the new administration's climate-change and border-tax positions. Global market forces will be hard to move.
New U.S. healthcare plan is in critical condition 7 Mar 2017 After deriding Obamacare for years, Republicans have rolled out an alternative afflicted with financial and political problems. It would worsen insurance-exchange woes, raise costs for many Americans and weaken Medicare. The prognosis from Washington and Wall Street is dire.
Citi dips cautious toe in China bond pool 7 Mar 2017 The U.S. bank will include Chinese bonds in existing emerging market indexes - the first major provider to do so. This is a victory for Beijing, which has struggled to lure foreign investors. It’s a low-risk diplomatic win for Citi, as the sums involved are probably small.
Virtual-reality hype fades, 3D printing solidifies 6 Mar 2017 Tepid sales, legal questions, immature technology and a chicken-and-egg problem are putting dreams of immersive digital worlds on the back shelf. Meanwhile, steady progress is burning away disillusionment over digital manufacturing to order, as a Ford initiative makes clear.
Holding: Alphabet-Uber collision dents tech ethos 6 Mar 2017 Silicon Valley broadly, and especially the former Google, thrived more by sharing than suing. A legal brawl between its Waymo outfit and the $70 bln ride-hailing service over driverless-car secrets may signal a sharp turn. Open cultures would fade far in the rearview mirror.
Nationality of Vauxhall’s owner is a red herring 6 Mar 2017 The sale of GM’s European operations to French carmaker PSA Group has caused fresh concern over its plants in the UK. Yet irrespective of the owner, the key risk for automotive jobs in Britain is Brexit. A stronger Peugeot may even have more patience with Vauxhall than GM.
Latam tax amnesties test private banks’ stamina 6 Mar 2017 Latin American countries are finding that tax forgiveness programs can bring billions in hidden assets into the open. UBS and Credit Suisse are discovering that the process can cause chunky asset outflows. Moving onshore could help the Swiss giants retain their share of the pie.
Deutsche Bank gives itself a chance of revival 6 Mar 2017 The German lender is to raise 10 bln euros, chiefly via a rights issue and a part-IPO of its funds arm. Assuming slimmed-down revenue can then grow, there’s a path to hit a 10 pct return goal in the medium term. But the fragile investment bank will need to do the heavy lifting.
Peugeot’s Opel deal shows shrewd engineering 6 Mar 2017 At a price of 1.8 bln euros, the French carmaker should get a good return from GM’s European business. The U.S. auto group lacked sufficient size to run Opel and Vauxhall efficiently. By taking PSA warrants, GM also gets insurance against appearing to have sold too cheaply.
Deutsche $8.5 bln equity hike would be partial fix 4 Mar 2017 The German bank may raise funds while markets look kind. The infusion would boost creditworthiness and thus Deutsche Bank's key trading and corporate lending arms. That's fine unless investment banking falters, or Deutsche turns out to have underestimated its capital needs again.
Luxury mall fight is small sign of what’s in store 3 Mar 2017 An aggressive investor wants to add new directors at $4.2 bln shopping-center operator Taubman. U.S. malls are in for a world of hurt as tenants collapse financially. Even upscale owners like Taubman need a push, but there are more vulnerable targets. And the fixes aren't easy.
Snap deal is latest in NBC’s Ponce de León series 3 Mar 2017 The U.S. TV network plunked $500 mln into the hyped IPO after some promising experiments with the messaging app. Comcast-owned NBC also has made big investments in BuzzFeed, Vox and other millennial-hunting firms. Beware older generations on epic quests for the fountain of youth.
Review: Libor revealed dark underbelly of trading 3 Mar 2017 Two new books show how the benchmark interest rate underpinning many of the world's financial products was rigged. Jailed trader Tom Hayes leads a cast of deceitful or inept bankers, brokers and regulators. Yet both tomes might have said more about how to stop future malfeasance.
Moms’ fashion chain returns going out of style 2 Mar 2017 J.Jill's IPO may quintuple its private-equity owner's investment. The company has stitched together a better set of financial threads than many rivals, but faces the same threats all retailers do. Buyers hoping to replicate TowerBrook's successful design are pushing the seams.
White House circles America’s welcome wagons 2 Mar 2017 Donald Trump has become the world’s antagonizer-in-chief, questioning the One China policy and imposing travel bans. Interest in visiting the United States, where foreign tourists spend $250 bln a year, has plunged since he took office. A damaged image will hurt the economy.
Viewsroom: SoftBank deal frenzy lacks hard logic 2 Mar 2017 The giant Japanese tech firm has been on a global M&A tear, but shareholders aren’t buying it. President Trump's mix of details-free policy pledges and jingoistic militarism looks dazed, confused and dangerous. Plus: Silvio Berlusconi's AC Milan sale puts Chinese buyers offside.
Cox: Snap IPO marks moment investors donned sweats 2 Mar 2017 The "camera company" debuted successfully because buyers swapped pinstripes for baggy cotton and abrogated their right to fair treatment, good governance and reasonable valuations. If $24 bln Snap becomes the next GoPro, shareholders have only their capitulated selves to blame.
Wells Fargo beats Yahoo on crisis clawbacks 2 Mar 2017 Both companies are docking executives' pay for failing to deal with long-running scandals. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is losing some 2016 and 2017 bonuses after a 2014 security breach. Wells' decision to reach further back in time is a more appropriate response to a multi-year mess.