Education

Corona Capital: Dividends, Zoom, Big-screen blues

24 August 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: As company bosses try to conserve cash, investors are feeling the pinch; Zoom has a back-to-school problem; and a mediocre debut for Russell Crowe’s new road-rage movie shows Hollywood is stuck in the slow lane.

UK exam U-turn exposes algorithms’ deep flaws

19 August 2020

Popular fury forced the abandonment of hypothetical calculations of likely grades for Covid-canceled national exams. From credit scoring to criminal sentencing, even well-intentioned models of this kind make many harmful mistakes. Most victims lack the clout to force a reversal.

Corona Capital: Champagne, Canada, College chaos

18 August 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Champagne growers cut production; Canada’s finance minister quits over stimulus costs; and some American universities are collecting tuition fees before telling students that in-person classes can’t happen.

Guest view: U.S. universities need some self-study

17 August 2020

Even before the pandemic, America's higher education system was in crisis. It’s an opportunity to question orthodoxies about how it works and how it’s paid for, McKinsey’s André Dua says, and to develop new ways of equipping students with the skills for today’s economy and world.

American college football needs to play long game

10 August 2020

Collegiate athletes recently penned a letter arguing for better safety, healthcare and cash compensation. Players have increasingly been using their star power to pressure coaches and administrators. But the time for tweaks is over – a total NCAA revamp is long overdue.

Corona Capital: College mergers, UK property funds

3 August 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: M&A goes to the University of Arizona; Britain’s financial watchdog considers stopping property fund withdrawals.

Corona Capital: Movies, Sports

24 July 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Walt Disney is pushing back the highly anticipated movie “Mulan,” with a domino effect for “Avatar” and “Star Wars” sequels; and sport stars are still making it rain when it comes to pay.

Corona Capital: A tax on martinis

24 June 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Uncle Sam has bad news for those enjoying the libation during lockdown as it’s putting up import duties on gin, vodka and olives.

Pearson is poster child for post-pandemic activism

12 June 2020

Cevian Capital has revealed a 5% stake in the ailing education group, sending its shares up 12%. Though the company lagged under departing CEO John Fallon, it should benefit from a long-term shift to more online learning. Pressure from a patient but persistent activist will help.

Chinese online tutor gets lesson in multiplication

29 May 2020

GSX Techedu deflected one sloppy short-seller attack and a second sensational one. A third from Muddy Waters calling the $7 bln company a fraud hit as Luckin buckled and Congress moved on U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. Growing scepticism will require targets to have strong defences.

The Exchange: Vaccine optimist

26 May 2020

Lloyd Minor, the dean of Stanford’s school of medicine, tells Rob Cox that research into the coronavirus shows promising signs for the discovery of a vaccine. Just the same, the world needs to better prepare for pandemics, and medicine is at the cusp of extraordinary change.

M&A bankers should consider going back to college

8 May 2020

Not for the frat parties. Even before the pandemic, demographics were working against the economics of higher education. Crunched finances make it worse, and online learning has exposed absurd tuition costs. Colleges seeking size, scale and stability will need strategic advice.

Corona Capital: Corporate debt

3 April 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Despite uncertainty, investors have big appetites for investment-grade bonds.

Corona Capital: Dining bonds

20 March 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Restaurant industry cooks up a unique form of funding to help alleviate revenue wipeout.

Holding: Governance brawl a boon for stakeholders

10 March 2020

Attorney Martin Lipton and Harvard’s Lucian Bebchuk are at it again, with the latter saying company pledges to serve the greater good are illusory. Lipton counters that firms really are moving past shareholder primacy. At least the debate could benefit all corporate constituents.

Blackstone bets big on Boris British housing hedge

26 February 2020

The private equity giant is buying iQ Student Accommodation for $6 bln from Goldman Sachs in what it calls the biggest private UK real estate deal ever. It’s a play not on whether Brexit is a boom or a bust – but rather the continuing global allure of a proper English education.

M&A bird in hand not always better than nothing

14 February 2020

Education software company Instructure’s board recommended a $1.8 bln buyout shareholders are unlikely to support, after initially backing a lower one. The board now looks hasty and out of touch. It shows why some bid targets, like printer-maker HP, prefer to play hard-to-get.

Pearson’s excuses are running thin

16 January 2020

The publisher’s shares hit a 12-year low after it said 2019 operating profit would miss forecasts. CEO John Fallon and his finance chief, who are both leaving, switched focus from paper textbooks to digital ones. Their replacements will have to work out how to make that succeed.

Gojek founder can re-route Indonesia’s rough ride

12 November 2019

Growth slipped to a disappointing 5% and the outlook is glum, with 55% of students ending school barely literate. That’s a bigger challenge for new education minister Nadiem Makarim than Jakarta traffic. This long haul would benefit from entrepreneurial and pragmatic direction.

MAGA mindset proves toxic for U.S. soft power

24 October 2019

The latest index of countries’ persuasiveness ranks Trump’s America fifth, down from top three years ago and pipped for fourth by Sweden. Washington’s image is so poor it outweighs the halo around U.S. tech, education and the like. Military might and economic heft only go so far.