Capital Calls: Brookfield, Macquarie 9 Aug 2021 Concise views on global finance: An insurance wing of the Canadian financial empire may bring a dash of risk to a conservative Texan insurer, while Australian investment bank Macquarie has snapped up a stake in British utility Southern Water.
UN climate warning is a gauntlet for green finance 9 Aug 2021 Carbon emissions from human activity are “unequivocally” to blame for global warming, a new report says. Financial markets are belatedly coming up with solutions, like a Prudential-inspired plan to close coal plants. All their creativity is needed to tackle the planet’s crisis.
Inhaler fight offers investors false moral choice 9 Aug 2021 Philip Morris International raised its 1 bln pound bid for UK pharma group Vectura, beating Carlyle’s sweetened offer. Shareholders that shun tobacco may prefer the buyout firm. But PMI has more strategic know-how and Carlyle could sell in a few years. Price should be decisive.
Aramco’s tricky balancing act gets easier 9 Aug 2021 The Saudi oil giant’s ultimate boss, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wants it to help fund the kingdom’s pivot away from crude. A strong first half makes it easier to do that and pay dividends. Unlike last year, Aramco can also meet its various demands without debt spiking.
Alibaba’s #MeToo scandal is warning for China tech 9 Aug 2021 Sexual assault allegations have embroiled the $534 bln e-commerce firm, already under scrutiny for antitrust and other issues. Alibaba prizes strong internal controls and hires more female executives than domestic peers. The industry’s toxic culture is overdue a reckoning.
Review: WeWork’s debacle had many enablers 6 Aug 2021 Founder Adam Neumann led the hyping-up of the office-sharing upstart, once purported to be worth nearly $50 bln. But he was far from alone. “The Cult of We” by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell exposes how banks, return-chasing investors and the media danced around the red flags.
Capitalism alone won’t deliver herd immunity 6 Aug 2021 Businesses from United Airlines to BlackRock want employees to get the shot or stay away. But bosses that face both staff shortages and low levels of vaccine take-up have less sway. Leaving mandates to companies will most hurt people already bearing the brunt of the pandemic.
LSEG data drive shows everywhere except its stock 6 Aug 2021 Financial information now brings in roughly two-thirds of the $60 bln London Stock Exchange owner’s revenue. Yet its shares trade closer to European exchange operators than more highly valued data purveyors. CEO David Schwimmer faces a long haul to win over sceptical investors.
German property deal rejig risks messy stalemate 6 Aug 2021 Landlord Vonovia got the nod from regulators to submit a new $23 bln offer for peer Deutsche Wohnen. Its last bid was scuppered by hedgies hoping for a higher price. A skimpy premium means it may still not get enough shares to take full control, leading to a lengthy standoff.
Chinese media’s social mania maddens markets 6 Aug 2021 State newspapers are having a field day slapping down consumer brands like liquor giant Moutai and Tencent. If an editorial hints a sector isn’t harmonised with Xi Jinping Thought, traders bail. Yet not all comments represent policy. In fact, some create buying opportunities.
South Korea’s fintech wars put banks on back foot 6 Aug 2021 Web giant Kakao’s digital bank and payments affiliates are going public while rival Toss raised funds at a $7.4 bln valuation. Up for grabs is the country’s $1 trln lending market. The digital disruptors’ early gains in retail loans spell trouble ahead for incumbents.
Coal bad bank fund dangles complex climate kudos 5 Aug 2021 The ADB and the UK’s Prudential could buy Asian power plants fuelled by the pollutant, close them early and foster green energy. Bragging rights from cutting carbon should bag the needed cash. But investors will have to accept the risks and the iffy optics of profiting from coal.
Glencore can live with a faster coal phase-out 5 Aug 2021 The commodity giant is enjoying soaring prices of everything from copper to coal. New plans to help Asian states shutter coal earlier are a potential cloud. But they could also lead to price-boosting supply deficits, and anyway, Glencore’s metals will fuel the green transition.
Asia $5 bln property deal builds on a big pivot 5 Aug 2021 Hong Kong-listed ESR is buying fellow real estate manager ARA, its second big acquisition in months. It’s a bet that asset owners want to swap their offices and shops for exposure to fast-growing logistics and data centres. The region’s expanding REIT markets will help.
China’s Delta outbreak casts pall over growth 5 Aug 2021 A dozen provinces have imposed travel curbs, mass testing and other strict measures to try to contain the highly contagious strain. Yet 60% of the population is probably vaccinated. Beijing’s zero tolerance for new cases has limited economic impact so far, but that could change.
Viewsroom: Jack Dorsey takes a trip Down Under 5 Aug 2021 Square’s $29 bln takeover of Aussie fintech darling Afterpay shines a light on the “buy now, pay later” craze, which poses a big challenge to many established players in the banking and payments businesses, argue Melbourne-based editors Jeff Goldfarb and Antony Currie.
Capital Calls: Moderna, Qualcomm, US tax, ViacomCBS 5 Aug 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Covid-19 vaccine maker is looking past the pandemic; the telecoms group is offering $4.6 bln for Veoneer; U.S. Democrats are trying to close the carried-interest loophole; ViacomCBS is betting "South Park" can boost its streaming service.
Uber’s M&A ride is yet to bring five-star result 4 Aug 2021 The $80 bln ride-hailing firm has invested in more than 20 businesses and sold nearly as many since 2017. More focused rival Lyft reached profit by one measure in the second quarter. Despite some smart exits and merges, Uber's multiple lanes have yet to get it there.
Robinhood’s pay structure is meme stock heaven 4 Aug 2021 Lurches in the digital brokerage’s stock matter more than they should because of its pay structure. Founder Vlad Tenev and his peers are rewarded based on share price goals. It would have been better to explicitly link their rewards to profit or to a cleanup up of legal issues.
Novo Nordisk diet drug may finally be the big one 4 Aug 2021 Obesity costs America over $1 trln a year, but therapies have proved ineffective or worse. The $215 bln Danish group’s new injection works, and a fast start means annual sales may one day near $10 bln. If U.S. insurers play along, it could be one of the best-selling drugs ever.