Amazon lends Morrisons scale, at a price 16 Nov 2016 The UK supermarket is extending its tie-up with Amazon, boosting its online sales. The deal isn't without risk for the grocer: Amazon is much bigger than it, and will have discretion over pricing. That's the price Morrisons pays for being slower than rivals to move online.
Rolls-Royce recovery mired in accounting fog 16 Nov 2016 Under new accounting rules, the engine-maker's operating profit in 2015 would have been less than half the reported figure. Cashflows are unaffected, but are nothing to write home about. Boss Warren East says performance is improving. Investors can only take his word for it.
Reynolds can get more of what BAT’s smoking 15 Nov 2016 The U.S. tobacco maker rejected an offer from its biggest shareholder that values the whole company at $76 bln. A new government at home gives Reynolds a smidgeon of extra negotiating heft. The case for a deal, meanwhile, remains as bewitching as the evil weed itself.
Vodafone can afford Indian troubles 15 Nov 2016 The UK mobile phone giant is growing slowly in Europe with bright spots in Germany and Italy. The key uncertainty is a price war in India, which makes up 12 pct of revenue. Despite a short-term drag, the long-term growth story remains intact.
Cross-border sandwich deal handmade for new world 14 Nov 2016 UK-listed snack outfit Greencore is gobbling up U.S. peer Peacock Foods for $748 mln. The scope for economic returns and greater scale explains why. In a Trump world, reducing tax bills and preserving transatlantic divides - even in sandwich scoffing - will remain much in vogue.
Clearers’ worst-case scenario requires EU own goal 14 Nov 2016 A London Stock Exchange-commissioned report reckons Brexit could lead to the loss of up to 83,000 market infrastructure jobs in the UK. This most painful outcome might cost banks at least $77 bln, says a UK data provider. It's in European interests to avoid that outcome.
Economists: try fewer forecasts, more planning 11 Nov 2016 The great recession exposed many shortcomings in the dismal science. Economists are exploring new strands of thinking - and reviving old, discarded ones. One good outcome would be to worry less about predicting the future, and spend more time preparing for what might go wrong.
New York gets nose in front in finance hub contest 11 Nov 2016 Donald Trump wants to pause rulemaking and scrap Dodd-Frank banking reforms. Much rests on the U.S president-elect's choice of Treasury secretary, who may whack big lenders. But firms cooler on London since the UK's vote to leave the EU may now be even keener on the Big Apple.
Bowie taste for art and money on fantastic voyage 11 Nov 2016 The first part of the late rock star's collection sold for 24 mln pounds, more than expected for the entire portfolio. A record 3.8 mln pounds paid for a stunning Auerbach epitomizes Bowie's eye and investment nous. The legacy of the music-securitization pioneer won't slip away.
London visa idea is clever but quixotic 10 Nov 2016 A business lobby wants a post-Brexit visa valid only in the capital for roles that can't easily be filled by UK workers. That would be good for the economy, but politically tricky. It would worsen divisions and jeopardise Prime Minister Theresa May's pledge to slash immigration.
Pollsters make an all-too-easy punching bag 9 Nov 2016 Pollsters have had a terrible 2016, missing Brexit and now the U.S. election results. But factor in margins of error and the picture looks better. The risk is that high-profile failures lead to voter cynicism, fewer polls, and less transparent data.
Politics-scarred investors will deploy new tactics 9 Nov 2016 After Brexit, Donald Trump's U.S. presidential win is another surprise that leaves money managers clueless about future policies. With more ballots ahead in Europe, waiting for post-event buying opportunities is increasingly less risky than betting the consensus will prevail.
Rio Tinto trips into bribery mine shaft in Africa 9 Nov 2016 The $67 bln mining giant has another scandal on its hands in Guinea, despite tightened controls after a similar problem in China. It's unlikely to derail the sale of Rio's remaining stake in the $20 bln Simandou iron-ore project to Chinalco, but collateral damage is unavoidable.
UK bail-in delay is part cop-out, part pragmatism 8 Nov 2016 The Bank of England has given British lenders two more years to meet thresholds for holding bonds that absorb losses if they fail. EU regulators are going soft on banks in general. But BoE concerns about a spike in bank funding costs are reasonable.
RBS gets grubby bill of health 8 Nov 2016 An official probe has found no evidence that the UK bank intentionally pushed healthy firms into bankruptcy for financial gain. Yet it has found over half the affected clients were treated inappropriately. To prove its independence, the regulator ought still to give RBS a fine.
M&S wisely turns to selective deglobalisation 8 Nov 2016 The UK clothing retailer will shut loss-making foreign stores, even in places like China where overall retail sales are still growing. It will keep stores where it has scale, or where the investment is done by others. The strategy sounds obvious. In retail it’s quite a novelty.
HSBC blows hot and cold on Chinese partner 8 Nov 2016 The UK bank says that its near-20 pct stake in Bank of Communications remains the “flagship” of its Chinese operations. The warm feelings are reciprocated. Yet HSBC just benefitted from an accounting change that implies the shareholding is anything but integral.
Cox: Trump would – briefly – make America great 7 Nov 2016 U.S. stocks are bound to freak out, Brexit-style, if the reality-TV star wins the White House. Yet the instability also would send investors in search of less risky assets. Beyond cash, those are mostly dollar-denominated. Longer-term, though, a President Trump is another story.
A divided town in a divided Britain 7 Nov 2016 Life is getting better, by many measures, in Hull. Yet the northern British city voted overwhelmingly to leave Europe, and its citizens aren’t sorry they did. Brexit is often seen as a conflict between progress and disenfranchisement, but it isn’t. One town can have both.
HSBC’s capital cloud lifts but returns remain dark 7 Nov 2016 The bank's capital ratio soared after a shift in the treatment of its stake in Bank of Communications. But net interest margins fell and returns remain below the cost of equity. Fixing that requires HSBC to quickly put capital to work in areas of strength like Asia and the UK.