U.S. trustbuster delivers transatlantic smackdown 24 Jun 2015 The Justice Department’s Bill Baer stressed to London listeners the need to divorce politics from antitrust. American competition policy hasn’t been immune from bias. But the speech seemed squarely aimed at EU lawmakers pushing to break up the likes of Google on fuzzy grounds.
Edward Hadas: Unforgiving pope is right on money 24 Jun 2015 Pope Francis says we are permanently indebted to the world in which we live. It’s different for financial promises which he says should sometimes be forgiven. In a divided world, that means the rich must help the poor find the money they need to honour their environmental debts.
BoE has severe case of central banks’ new dilemma 24 Jun 2015 The UK economy has been growing for a while and wages are finally picking up. But inflation is still pitifully low. And if a rate rise chokes growth, there’s little room for stimulative cuts. It’s a far cry from the clear choices the monetary authorities faced during the crisis.
Delhaize pays for sway in 25 bln euro Ahold combo 24 Jun 2015 Top brass at the Belgian supermarket operator have secured strong board representation in the agreed tie-up with its larger Dutch rival. The 5 pct fall in Delhaize stock suggests they may have surrendered shareholder value in the hope of retaining management influence.
French 10 bln euro telco bid isn’t quite dead 24 Jun 2015 The Bouygues board has rebuffed Numericable’s offer for some plausible reasons. Patrick Drahi, the ambitious Numericable boss, might yet gain favour with a hefty break fee and job commitments. But with a stretched valuation and the government still opposed, the risks are big.
Caixabank fail heralds fantasy Portuguese bank M&A 24 Jun 2015 Caixa’s withdrawn bid for BPI makes a merger of the latter with bigger rival BCP more likely. Meanwhile, the race to acquire the good bits of bust lender BES is hotting up. Both sagas remain unresolved, but Portugal’s bloated banking sector could soon be whittled down.
UK’s imperfect bank pay rules still pack a punch 23 Jun 2015 The Bank of England’s code for investment bank remuneration introduces a sliding scale of deferral and clawback periods that hinge on seniority. Keeping bankers from their winnings for 10 years may still not be enough. But it positions the UK as significantly tougher than peers.
Rob Cox: Don’t underestimate Exor’s John Elkann 23 Jun 2015 Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is the one leading a coercive charm offensive for car industry consolidation, but it wouldn’t be happening without the Agnelli scion’s support. Exor’s hostile bid for PartnerRe signals a hard-nosed approach that GM and others shouldn’t dismiss.
Greece stumbles towards dissatisfying compromise 23 Jun 2015 Any deal would be good, but the agreement being cooked up by Greece and its creditors in the EU and IMF looks decidedly unappetising. Athens’ government may introduce growth-slowing tax rises. More substantial reforms remain far distant. The crisis is far from over.
Ladbrokes bets ranch on 3 bln stg Gala finish 23 Jun 2015 A transformative deal will help the UK-listed bookmaker move on from recent troubles. Private equity-owned Gala Coral – corporate home of ex-HBOS chief Andy Hornby – is strong online, and could be an ideal partner. Potential cost cuts improve the odds of a successful deal.
China and UK are worlds apart on public debt 23 Jun 2015 Britain hopes to school China in its contentious public-private finance model. The idea underlines how different the two are. British schemes favoured private investors; in China the state remains in charge. The country has little need for accounting tricks to fund public goods.
EU top brass take a sunny view of banking union 22 Jun 2015 The bloc’s five most senior leaders are calling for a common deposit guarantee scheme for euro zone banks. That would push EU harmonisation forward - a much needed tonic with Greece on the brink of an exit. Yet political suspicion over fiscal transfers may still muddy their rosy vision.
Richemont’s digital fears may be overstated 22 Jun 2015 Amazon has got the Cartier parent worried. But the online retail giant is badly dressed for success in luxury. Richemont’s hope to join Kering and LVMH in a digital fightback also risks underestimating threats posed by smaller, nimbler luxury rivals such as Burberry.
Euro is poor yardstick for euro existential stress 22 Jun 2015 The Greek crisis is compromising FX traders’ reputation for being the first and fastest to react to big news. Currency market signals are currently so muddied that stocks and bonds are better barometers of investors’ views on how close Athens is to default or euro exit.
Numericable’s $11.4 bln Bouygues bid risks overkill 22 Jun 2015 Patrick Drahi could scrunch big cost savings out of a deal with France’s third-largest mobile telco. But his Numericable-SFR will have to work hard for regulatory approval and the mooted 10 billion euro price tag for the Bouygues enterprise - 14.4 times 2014 EBITDA - is huge.
Hugo Dixon: The big fat Greek blame game 22 Jun 2015 If Greece collapses, the biggest chunk of the blame will go to whoever behaves most unreasonably in the final stages of the current game of chicken. So both sides have an incentive to accommodate each other’s reasonable positions. Hopefully, they realise this.
SocGen’s asset management exit could prove shrewd 22 Jun 2015 The French lender is to list the remaining 20 pct stake it holds in Amundi, valuing the asset gatherer at 7 bln euros or more. Most banks have bulked up in capital-efficient funds businesses. But bond market outflows and heightened liquidity risk make it a less obvious bet now.
Review: The misbehaviour of behavioural economics 19 Jun 2015 Richard Thaler’s “Misbehaving” is the story of a supposedly new approach to people’s economic decision-making. The great insight is that we’re often funny about money. Entertaining anecdotes have helped this specialized field gain attention. The science of nudge has little to offer.
Greek point of no return could come on July 20 19 Jun 2015 The slide into financial no man’s land begins whenever the ECB has no excuse for propping up Greek banks. The central bank can overlook a June 30 non-payment to the IMF, even if a deposit run leads to capital controls. But if Greece stiffs the ECB on July 20, it gets much harder.
Bollore steps into Telecom Italia power vacuum 19 Jun 2015 The French billionaire will make Vivendi, which he chairs, the largest shareholder of the debt-laden telco. Vincent Bollore could help TI find a coherent strategy, at home and in Brazil. But his opportunism is at odds with Vivendi’s focus on media. That may irk some shareholders.