Corona Capital: Uber, Tokyo Olympics 20 Jul 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Uber’s contact-tracing program could help stem Covid-19’s spread and mend relationships with municipalities; and Japan PM Shinzo Abe faces discontent over his handling of both the virus and the postponed Olympics.
Intesa’s UBI sweetener may be just enough 20 Jul 2020 Italy’s largest bank added an 18% cash top-up to its unsolicited offer for the smaller lender, lifting the price to 4.2 bln euros. Even after the hike, Intesa should make an attractive return. UBI shareholders hoping for more also have to consider the downside if the deal fails.
Wirecard’s red flags offer lessons for investors 20 Jul 2020 Shareholders couldn’t have known that $2 bln of the payments group’s cash was missing. But its seemingly unnecessary reliance on debt finance raised questions. A weak board and short-term executive pay packages were further warning signs. All three serve as a teachable moment.
Natixis buyout would be poor pandemic hedge 20 Jul 2020 French lender BPCE says it’s not planning to buy the remaining 29% of the investment bank. Offering for less than Natixis’s 13.6 bln euro book value could give its owner an extra buffer against Covid-19 losses. But the deal lacks synergies and any capital benefits would be small.
Indian syndicate’s sprawl smells of desperation 20 Jul 2020 A $42 bln housing lender, HDFC, hired a record 19 banks to raise $1.9 bln, says IFR. It suggests the well-capitalised issuer is worried liquidity flows might dry up soon as India’s pandemic keeps burning. The fee-starved advisers are settling for scraps. Neither is a good sign.
Huawei might starve overseas before it sells 20 Jul 2020 The Chinese telecoms kit maker is under renewed attack from Downing Street to Washington. Founder Ren Zhengfei has mulled divesting intellectual property, but buyers for that, or for overseas handset or network units, are few. Nor will Beijing permit a sale that looks like defeat.
Review: Market twists and turns, unraveled 17 Jul 2020 In a new book, “The Long Good Buy,” Goldman Sachs’ top equity strategist breaks down investment cycles and offers much needed historical perspective. It helps make sense of today’s head-scratching market and the asset total gyrations at the likes of giant fund manager BlackRock.
Equality is failing at shareholder ballot box, too 17 Jul 2020 Investors rarely push for votes advocating greater diversity and garner little support when they do, in part due to financial-industry demographics. George Floyd’s death may change that. But firms have a lot of latitude to downplay investor votes – unless they’re about pay.
Wall Street pay heads towards danger zone 17 Jul 2020 Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan socked away at least 33% more for investment-bank bonuses after bumper results last quarter. It looks reasonable given revenue gains. But huge paydays on the back of Fed largesse in an economic slump risk a return to public opprobrium.
Corona Capital: Newspapers, 747s 17 Jul 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Congress may dangle newspapers a lifeline; British Airways brings its fleet of jumbo jets in for a final landing.
Cox: Happy anniversary to Breakingviews readers 17 Jul 2020 It was 20 years ago today Hugo Dixon taught the band to play. Finance has changed. The media business been turned upside down. Yet punchy, agenda-setting commentary has only become more relevant to professionals. We’ve gone global and expanded our coverage but kept our values.
Chip champ jumps into Shanghai-Hong Kong value gap 17 Jul 2020 Dual-listed SMIC's mainland shares debuted at four times the price of its Hong Kong equivalent. Other peers trade at similarly ridiculous premiums. Mainland traders still struggle with valuing companies, while Beijing’s incomplete reforms keep the markets out of sync.
Toshiba mistakes activist opportunity for a threat 17 Jul 2020 The $15 bln conglomerate says that allowing pushy Effissimo to install directors would create conflicts of interest. Since overhauling the board, however, Toshiba’s performance has underwhelmed. Adding its biggest investor would be a confident move for the company and Japan Inc.
Netflix is still the pointiest FAANG 16 Jul 2020 Subscriber growth is slowing and Reed Hastings has decided to share the CEO role. After a 60% share-price rise this year — well ahead of Facebook, Alphabet and Apple – that clashed with sky-high expectations. But Netflix remains well placed, even if TV-viewing is reaching a peak.
Dan Loeb may have to eat his SPAC cooking 16 Jul 2020 His Third Point hedge fund is behind a listed vehicle that offered $1.9 bln in January for Global Blue, a tax-free-shopping payments firm. Then travel all but stopped. The buyer now says shareholders should reject the deal. But the SPAC’s features complicate what happens next.
Private equity helps CalPERS mature 16 Jul 2020 The $400 bln U.S. pension fund posted a 4.7% return for the year to June 30. It's one hint of the challenge of hitting its long-term 7% target. Moving deeper into buyout investments and using leverage to manage liquidity and risk should help the California outfit get closer.
EU data ruling opens new front in tech’s cold war 16 Jul 2020 The bloc’s highest court blew up the legal basis on which companies transfer data to America. Privacy evangelists would have Facebook and others store personal information locally. A better solution would be a new U.S.-EU data protection deal, but Washington won’t like the terms.
Wall Street gets $10 billion gift from Main Street 16 Jul 2020 The five big firms struck gold in the latest quarter as the Fed pumped up markets, even as rates fell. But the spoils pale next to crisis costs: JPMorgan, Citi, Goldman, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America collectively put aside twice that amount to pad against future bad debt.
Sweden’s $2 bln oat milk startup has watery moat 16 Jul 2020 Oatly, which makes the dairy substitute loved by hipsters and baristas, raised capital from Blackstone and celebrities including Oprah Winfrey. Sales reached $200 mln in 2019 and are expected to double again this year. But its lead could sour as bigger groups like Danone wade in.
Fiat and Peugeot throw stardust into new car mix 16 Jul 2020 Is it a new cocktail, a lost city, a painkiller, the easyJet founder? By renaming themselves Stellantis, FCA and Peugeot are seeking to add futuristic sparkle to their marriage. Like others before them - from Diageo to Mondelez to Altria - actions will mean more than new words.