Thruppence: Ten buzzwords to expect in 2017 3 Jan 2017 The dawn of a new populist era will bring even more corporate jargon and political euphemisms to the global lexicon. Think "import substitution" after trade barriers go up, or "fiscal space" as doublespeak for blowing through budgets. Breakingviews columnists place some bets.
ANZ makes welcome progress in slimming down abroad 3 Jan 2017 The Australian lender has sold out of a Chinese bank for a decent $1.3 bln. Newish CEO Shayne Elliott is moving decisively to unload capital-intensive Asian assets. Other holdings could be trickier to shed but any progress will help ANZ narrow the valuation gap with its peers.
Bank rate cuts are a key step in India’s recovery 3 Jan 2017 Admonished by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, banks are slashing lending rates up to 90 basis points. That is critical to kick-starting credit growth and thus the economy. But all the uncertainties created by a nationwide cash crunch mean it is too soon to cheer a revival.
Too many forex fiddles make Beijing look nervous 3 Jan 2017 Regulators have put fresh restrictions on individuals changing money. They've also doubled the number of currencies in the official trading basket, a statistical trick to make the sliding yuan look stable. Instead of fooling investors, official anxiety could aggravate outflows.
Breakingviews predicts a shaken-up world in 2017 3 Jan 2017 After the upheavals of 2016, governments, companies and investors face unfamiliar terrain. Once-unthinkable scenarios, good or bad, now seem possible. From the U.S. economy to European elections, from M&A to magic mushrooms, our financial insights offer a guide to the year ahead.
Best of Breakingviews 2016: Our readers’ top picks 30 Dec 2016 You demonstrated a varied, voracious appetite for insight in 2016. The most-clicked columns, podcasts and graphics encompassed the rise of Trump and Brexit Britain to Singapore, Saudi Arabia, negative rates, tech titans and an ethical dilemma for Harvard's business school dean.
Hadas: Russian Revolution won’t be the last 30 Dec 2016 Soviet communism initially looked like the future, but rapidly became a cruel failure. Its disappearance left big-government democratic capitalism as the sole surviving system. A century later, that hybrid model is now under global threat. It might not last another century.
India is gearing up to recapitalise its big banks 30 Dec 2016 The country's lenders already need $27 bln or more of capital. Now Premier Narendra Modi's scrapping of high-value banknotes could lead to a spike in bad loans at small businesses. That might rally support for a move and help Modi as he repositions himself as a champion of the poor.
Drones will take off for big business 30 Dec 2016 Today's market mainly targets hobbyists. That will change in 2017, as countries clear up legal uncertainty and big corporations turn to commercial drones for everything from crop-dusting to parcel delivery. Tech groups from Intel to Chinese unicorn DJI should benefit.
Hadas: Four resolutions for a more humane economy 3 Jan 2017 Brexit and Donald Trump’s election are part of a rebellion against the social and economic establishment. Changes are needed to prevent a dangerous disintegration. Here are some suggestions: forget GDP, fight alienation, support communities and promote local decision-making.
Psychedelic drugs enlighten $2.5 trillion problem 29 Dec 2016 That was the cost of mental illness in 2010, an expense set to double by 2030, says the World Economic Forum. Psilocybin, magic mushrooms' active ingredient, has alleviated suffering in clinical trials. Illicit stigma aside, high returns on investment could make it worth a trip.
Banking whales have had their day 29 Dec 2016 A year ago, Bank of England boss Mark Carney suggested regulators had cracked the "too big to fail" bank problem. Yet new rules keep coming, and international cohesion is fading. The biggest cross-border lenders like HSBC will find it ever harder to make their cost of capital.
China’s slow salt reform leaves sour aftertaste 29 Dec 2016 China is finally dissolving the world's oldest monopoly. The government's difficulty loosening its grip on the salt trade, which accounts for a tiny fraction of government revenue, suggests dim prospects for reform in more lucrative sectors such as tobacco or telecoms.
Korea scandal shows risk of pension giant 29 Dec 2016 Prosecutors detained the head of South Korea's $450 bln pension fund over suspicion that it voted for a Samsung merger under government pressure. The case highlights how the country's largest investor could be manipulated at shareholders' expense. Korea could use a safeguard.
Tencent heads for high score in gaming M&A 29 Dec 2016 China's biggest tech company will look abroad for growth in 2017. It will probably follow its $9 bln purchase of mobile hit-maker Supercell with similar-sized deals. But these will barely move the needle. A bolder move would be to bid for U.S. heavyweight Activision Blizzard.
Diverging central banks will power dollar in 2017 28 Dec 2016 Donald Trump’s promise of increased U.S. government spending and the likelihood of tighter Fed policy contrast with continued weak growth and loose monetary conditions in the euro zone and Japan. That means the greenback is set to get stronger against most other currencies.
Guest view: China’s currency faces big 2017 test 28 Dec 2016 With rising U.S. interest rates and trade tensions, stop-gap measures from Chinese authorities won't keep the renminbi from depreciating, argues former Citibank executive William Rhodes. The longer reforms are postponed, the greater will be the eventual cost to economic growth.
Qualcomm’s big Korea fine is small part of problem 28 Dec 2016 The U.S. giant says it will fight a record $854 mln fine from the country's antitrust watchdog. But the bigger threat will be if South Korea forces the company to license patents to rivals. If other governments follow suit, the financial damage to Qualcomm could be high.
Facebook and Google will swallow the ad world 27 Dec 2016 The two Silicon Valley titans are expected to account for nearly half the $270 bln budget for digital advertising in 2018. Even China's behemoth, Alibaba, is a distant third. Such dominance makes it harder and harder for starry-eyed startups to build sustainable businesses.
China’s central bank will lose its longtime leader 28 Dec 2016 Zhou Xiaochuan will step down in 2017, part of a wider leadership reshuffle as President Xi further consolidates power. Investors will miss the affable technocrat, who helped steer the world's second-largest economy for 15 years. Any successor will lack Zhou's market credibility.