Only next crash will test HK bank chief’s legacy 22 Feb 2019 Norman Chan, head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, plans to retire. Supervision was a bigger focus than traditional monetary policy during his decade in office, using controls such as mortgage curbs to limit a housing boom. Only a downturn will determine whether that worked.
Homeplus shopping pain will resist Korean IPO cure 22 Feb 2019 Asian buyout firm MBK will list some of the hypermarket buildings it bought from Tesco. This $1.5 bln REIT should fly in yield-hungry Seoul. Yet the split could make it harder to sell the rest. Separating property and operating units was a boom-era trick that ended badly.
China’s trade problems go well beyond Trump 21 Feb 2019 Beijing hopes harsh terms in any tariff pact could be undone if the U.S. president loses re-election. But Democratic White House hopefuls like Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders are also tough on China. No matter who wins in 2020, bashing the People’s Republic is here to stay.
Nissan would be better off with its own chairman 21 Feb 2019 A panel enlisted by the Japanese carmaker opposes replicating the corporate governance model used under Carlos Ghosn. Uniting with Renault makes sense in the long run, but for now two separate board chiefs will be more effective at cleaning house and rebalancing the relationship.
Man City’s long game in China can yield a win 21 Feb 2019 A consortium including the Manchester soccer club’s owner has acquired third-tier Sichuan Jiuniu FC. It's a modest punt, and the first by a Premier League heavyweight in the mainland game. Local allies and experience in multiple countries set the buyer up for financial success.
Storms won’t keep Qantas from higher flight path 21 Feb 2019 Australia's flag carrier said fuel costs pulled first-half earnings down by nearly a fifth to $559 mln. Domestic business proved resilient, though; its fleet and balance sheet are in good shape too. Choppy weather lies ahead, but Qantas looks sturdier than higher-valued rivals.
Lenovo’s reboot could run low on battery 21 Feb 2019 Quarterly pre-tax earnings more than doubled from a year earlier, confirming a turnaround at the world's top PC-maker. That's mostly powered by cost cuts in the $9 bln group's handset and server units. With demand cooling for both, this comeback may prove difficult to sustain.
Hadas: Profit and innovation go different ways 20 Feb 2019 American companies are being less inventive, in part because productivity-boosting breakthroughs are more expensive. In theory, this should lead to stiffer competition. In reality, corporate earnings have kept rising. This makes no economic sense – and brings political risk.
U.S. soy farmers will suffer trade war shell shock 20 Feb 2019 Midwestern producers will place a bet on talks between Washington and Beijing, when planting begins. Even with a deal, they face stockpiles and fewer soy-eating pigs in China, after an outbreak of disease. Worse, the spat has taught their top buyer it can live without U.S. supply.
Everyone is right about China’s economy 20 Feb 2019 Stock markets are charging; bonds defaulting. Holiday spending was weak, but January exports boomed. State-owned companies, and contradictory industrial and monetary policies are muddying performance measures. They betray a growth engine driving in two directions at once.
Kashmir attack exposes the limits of India’s clout 20 Feb 2019 New Delhi has vowed to secure the “complete isolation” of Pakistan after one of the deadliest assaults in years. Yet Islamabad’s strategic value to Beijing and Riyadh makes that unrealistic, leaving Premier Narendra Modi with few options to show strength ahead of an election.
Brexit paints go-slower stripe on UK car industry 19 Feb 2019 Plant closures like Honda’s in Swindon raise the spectre of decline for Britain’s auto sector. Yet the underperforming site always looked vulnerable. The bigger test is whether global carmakers want to build electric vehicles in the UK. Brexit will prove a huge deterrent.
HSBC pushes investor goodwill to its limits 19 Feb 2019 The Asia-focused bank fell short of expectations after a fourth-quarter slowdown. Even so, boss John Flint is sticking to his 11 pct return on equity target for 2020 despite strong Brexit and China headwinds. Already valued at 1.2 times book value, there is no room for error.
BHP sets judicious pace for big diggers 19 Feb 2019 Two fires and a runaway train smudged first-half profit at the world's largest miner. BHP cut debt to below its target and said it is eyeing $9 bln in free cash in the year to June, at current commodity prices. But CEO Andrew Mackenzie kept the tone cautious and spending flat.
Money can’t buy China’s chip industry much love 19 Feb 2019 Beijing may buy more U.S. semiconductors, a tacit admission of its $100 bln struggle to make advanced ones at home. Champions such as SMIC haven’t closed the gap with rivals. While distorting policies like Made in China 2025 draw fury, it’s an open question whether they work.
China’s big urban-zone idea lacks finer points 19 Feb 2019 Beijing unveiled a blueprint to link Hong Kong, Macau and mainland cities into a $1.5 trln economic powerhouse. The Greater Bay Area plan is packed with industrial-planning jargon. What’s missing is nitty-gritty on taxes, consumer banking and commuting, which will matter most.
SoftBank adds to contradictions with Mubadala punt 18 Feb 2019 Masayoshi Son’s group is bankrolling half the Abu Dhabi state investor’s $400 mln start-up vehicle. That’s peanuts next to the $100 bln Vision Fund, and gives SoftBank access to early-stage bets. But outsourcing those decisions is an odd look for a supposed tech visionary.
Aussie watchdogs bark as economy starts to bite 18 Feb 2019 A spate of tough decisions on banks and other oligopolies augurs an era of stricter regulation. The broad inquiry into financial misdeeds helped spur an overdue crackdown. It's also a new risk for boards and investors as a long, stable growth streak Down Under looks vulnerable.
Hong Kong’s China extradition experiment unnerves 18 Feb 2019 The territory is mulling a way to exchange suspects across the border. With over 1,000 mainland firms listed there, putting CEOs within reach of local courts makes sense. But Beijing’s reaction to U.S. attempts to extradite a Huawei executive suggests the channel might be abused.
UK throws drowning Huawei a European lifeline 18 Feb 2019 British intelligence says it can manage risks from using the Chinese giant’s kit to build ultra-fast 5G networks, the FT reports. It's the first major power to challenge a U.S. campaign against the telecoms group. Berlin or Paris could follow, keeping Huawei's ambitions afloat.