Cisco pays fantastical price to capture unicorn 25 Jan 2017 The networking giant's core switch and router businesses face tough times. Buying software firm AppDynamics for $3.7 bln offers some respite from hardware woes. At an estimated 12 times revenue, Cisco is paying over the odds to add a bit of excitement to its story.
Breakdown: Border tariff vs. border-adjustment tax 25 Jan 2017 Donald Trump wants to hit firms that outsource with a simple levy on imports. GOPers in Congress have pitched a more complex idea built into a corporate-tax overhaul, which might more reliably offset the effects of lower tax rates. The plans create different winners and losers.
Trump can teach May about the art of the deal 25 Jan 2017 A trade pact between the UK and the United States could be helpful to both. The faster it comes, the less comprehensive it would be. Yet what an accord between the two leaders might lack in scope would be made up for by the creation of a clear loser: Europe.
Tax reform could strip the “L” from LBO 24 Jan 2017 Many companies love the idea, espoused by President Donald Trump and Republicans, of slashing corporate tax rates. But one quid pro quo, ending the deductibility of interest payments, would spike one of private equity's most potent weapons – especially if interest rates go up.
Cox: Buy Amazon, short the euro zone, readers say 24 Jan 2017 Those are two ideas to emerge from people who attended Breakingviews predictions events in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. Our audiences also anticipated a U.S. recession in 2019 and expected the family car to outlast supermarkets, television, the euro and NAFTA.
Verizon and AT&T will get best connection from DC 24 Jan 2017 President Trump named a net-neutrality critic to run the FCC, the communications industry watchdog. That means internet providers may soon be able to charge the likes of Netflix to stream content faster. It'd be a timely fillip to earnings as their core phone business declines.
Even a pariah can poke holes in drug-lobby spin 24 Jan 2017 The industry wants the public to focus on good deeds rather than price hikes. "Less hoodie, more lab coats," it says. Discredited hoodie-wearing ex-CEO Martin Shkreli quickly noted publicly that most drugmakers bear a stain or two. He's right: Big Pharma hasn't helped itself.
Avis steers wrong way to avoid investor hazard 24 Jan 2017 The $3.2 bln rental-car outfit adopted a poison pill after its biggest shareholder refused to renew a standstill agreement. Avis worries big buybacks will give hedge fund SRS creeping control without paying a premium. A simpler, fairer solution would be to pay dividends instead.
Blackstone prices its housing fixer-upper to move 23 Jan 2017 The biggest portfolio of U.S. single-family rental homes should tempt investors. The buyout giant is pitching the $1.5 bln IPO of Invitation Homes in line with rivals despite superior fundamentals. The cautious approach is sensible given the headwinds facing the housing business.
Judge, not Trump, kills U.S. health insurer love-in 23 Jan 2017 Aetna's $34 bln deal for rival Humana was crushed on antitrust grounds in court. That bodes poorly for Anthem's star-crossed $46 bln Cigna bid. It's a mercy killing for the firms' shareholders, who watched UnitedHealth, which sat out consolidation, gobble up market share.
How much could Yahoo gain from tax cuts? 23 Jan 2017 Breakingviews calculates Altaba, the Asian investment rump, could surge in value.
Yahoo may get good Alibaba news without searching 23 Jan 2017 Even as its Verizon deal hangs in the balance, U.S. corporate tax rates could be cut. That would eliminate the main reason CEO Marissa Mayer dithered over a $37 bln stake in the Chinese e-commerce site. Breakingviews calculates a potential 20 pct uplift in Yahoo's stock value.
Five things Davos Man will get wrong this year 23 Jan 2017 Each January the politicians, financiers and company bosses who gather in the mountains offer a snapshot of elite thinking. However, this "Davos consensus" is often wide of the mark. From Donald Trump to Xi Jinping, here are five widely-held views that will probably be mistaken.
Trump protectionism double-down faces harsh reality 20 Jan 2017 The new U.S. president echoed his campaign rhetoric by presenting a dark picture of "American carnage" and decay at his inauguration. Ending overseas assistance to focus on growth at home is his remedy. But he also needs to boost exports, which requires other countries' help.
Snap makes any good-governance pretense disappear 20 Jan 2017 The messaging app whose photos vanish wants to sell only non-voting stock in its upcoming IPO. Facebook and Alphabet waited years to move from dual-class feudalism to such derisive treatment of shareholders. What should be designed to fade away instead is these share structures.
Review: Jack of many trades masters nearly all 20 Jan 2017 Edward Thorp, the card-counter who bewildered Las Vegas before conquering Wall Street, flaunts his storytelling skills in "A Man for All Markets." His connection to so many defining moments in finance makes for a compelling memoir. Only the investment tips are out of place.
Heineken’s Dutch courage on Brazil looks merited 20 Jan 2017 The brewer may buy Kirin's Brazil unit for a mooted $872 million. The deal would give the company a 20 percent share of a difficult market, still well behind dominant AB InBev. The target is loss-making, but Heineken has reason to believe it can do a better job.
Trump takes office more as middle manager than CEO 19 Jan 2017 The president-elect has weighed in on place settings for his inauguration, among other insignificant matters. Trump also has been meeting with game-show hosts and municipal officials while picking fights with TV and film stars. Here's hoping he grows into the big promotion soon.
Guest view: Fixing finance to repair U.S. roads 19 Jan 2017 Plenty of federal programs exist to help leverage private funds eager to invest in infrastructure and make President-elect Donald Trump's $1 trln plan work, argues lobbyist James Courtovich. What's missing is cooperation in Washington to hold municipal bond issuers accountable.
Mnuchin has his work cut out on art of persuasion 19 Jan 2017 The U.S. Treasury nominee was grilled at a Senate hearing about using offshore havens and his chairmanship of a bank that Democrats called a foreclosure machine. He parried critics well enough on the day but to sell a tax overhaul to lawmakers will demand a much stronger pitch.