DowDuPont activist legacy spawns new activism 21 Jan 2021 Starboard Value wants new directors and a new CEO at $33 bln Corteva. The seed and pesticide group is one of three born from the 2017 merger and later breakup of Dow and DuPont. That grand plan looked good on paper to other noisy investors, but making it work is proving hard.
India’s richest men become rural whipping boys 13 Jan 2021 New agricultural reforms will cut out middlemen and boost incomes, but some farmers are lashing out at businesses owned by Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. Focusing on them is unfair, but the perception that the duo is taking over the economy makes them easy targets.
Russia’s wheat tax scrapes bottom of policy barrel 22 Dec 2020 Fiscal conservatism and administrative issues make it tricky for Moscow to support citizens via European-style furloughs. Its Plan B, a levy on wheat exports, is supposed to limit domestic food price inflation. But in doing so it will probably undermine a key Russian industry.
Hershey cocoa spat tests limits of investor ethics 4 Dec 2020 Ghana and Ivory Coast may stop selling sustainable beans to the Reese’s maker, accusing it of dodging payments for impoverished farmers. That could make it harder for the $31 bln group to flaunt its sustainability kudos. The snag is that so far shareholders don’t seem to care.
The Exchange: Eating worms is good for the planet 1 Dec 2020 Growing global demand for food is putting a squeeze on available land and one French startup says it has the answer: indoor insect farming. Ynsect co-founder Antoine Hubert on how growing mealworms for fertilizer will benefit the environment – and eventually our diets too.
Corona Capital: Cyber Friday and Monday 30 Nov 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Online holiday shopping hits new records.
U.S. farm aid bonanza is free market nightmare 2 Nov 2020 Farmers are receiving a record $50 billion in federal aid this year. Covid-19, trade and politics are partly to blame, but the bigger problem is too many uncompetitive farms. More handouts or price controls would further distort markets. Governments could help more by doing less.
Bayer’s dismal M&A harvest boosts breakup pressure 1 Oct 2020 The German drugs-to-seeds company’s shares collapsed after it said earnings will fall next year. On top of legal woes from the Monsanto acquisition, the crop science business has been hit by the virus, and tough competition. The case for separating its sickly units is growing.
Corona Capital: KKR, Rugby, Centene 12 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: KKR volunteers advisers to share the pain, Super Rugby heads back to the pitch, and Centene's best bet.
Corona Capital: Oil cheerleading, Mortgaging Ford 13 Apr 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. and Saudi energy ministers agree on pumping up oil, Ford may use an old trick to raise new capital.
Bayer settlement only slightly eases Monsanto pain 24 Jan 2020 The German chemicals group may spend $10 billion compensating alleged cancer victims of its acquisition’s Roundup weed killer. That would be better than CEO Werner Baumann’s worst fears. But it barely makes his ill-starred $66 billion deal look any better.
Trump’s trade war chases its own tail 16 Jan 2020 The U.S. president is hailing his agreement with China as a boost to farmers and manufacturing workers. It is, but only because they were the losers from trade conflict. Obama showed that following the rules doesn’t work; Trump has only shown that ripping them up doesn’t either.
China trade deal gives Trump a campaign win 15 Jan 2020 Beijing pledged to buy more U.S. goods and enforce intellectual-property rights. It has fallen short on similar promises in the past, and anyway the conflict was partly whipped up by the U.S. president. Still, he can tout the new “phase one” agreement as he seeks re-election.
Trump’s soybean dream can be crushed 8 Jan 2020 The U.S. president says China could soon buy as much as $50 bln in farm products from American farmers, including more of the oilseed. But the U.S. doesn’t have the beans, and Brazil’s currency offers a better value. The weakened U.S. agriculture trade could struggle to return.
Trump and Xi go back to square minus-one 13 Dec 2019 The U.S. president will gradually roll back tariffs while his Chinese counterpart has agreed to buy more U.S. crops. Tit-for-tat taxes are halted, not shelved, and thorny issues like forced tech transfers linger. It’s stability, but companies are worse off than when they started.
Time has come for Aussie CEOs to walk climate talk 12 Dec 2019 Fierce bushfires have left Sydney choking, triggering public anger along with home fire alarms. A government that won by challenging Labor’s green campaign is sitting idle. Companies can fill the leadership gap by pushing for coherent policy that would benefit investors, too.
Viewsroom: China-US trade deal is thin gruel 17 Oct 2019 President Donald Trump is touting the latest Sino-American talks as a real win, especially for farmers. China agreed to buy more agricultural goods like soybeans, but big issues like intellectual-property theft are still up in the air. Plus: The pros and cons of direct listings.
Farmers will turn activists to mop spilt Kiwi milk 26 Sep 2019 New Zealand's Fonterra, reeling from writedowns and its worst ever annual loss, will cut back overseas. Battered investors can press for more from the world’s largest dairy exporter. That includes fixing the $3 bln giant’s contradictory structure by carving out consumer brands.
Pig crisis gives China a shot at transparency 18 Sep 2019 African swine fever has driven local pork prices up by about 50% in a year. Inflation remains muted regardless, prompting some speculation that officials may be massaging the figures. Other factors make that unlikely, but it's a rare opportunity for Beijing to open up – a little.
U.S.-China trade war hinges on farmers, not Apple 13 Aug 2019 The Trump administration is delaying import tariffs on some electronics, giving the iPhone maker and the S&P 500 a boost. That’s down to business lobbying and a little pragmatism. But the president wants to boost American agriculture. Until China helps, investors can’t rest easy.