Capital Calls: Moderna’s $40 bln shot gain 29 Nov 2021 Concise views on global finance: News of a spreading Covid-19 variant added $40 bln to the biotech’s market value. Investors are pricing in about 3 billion extra jabs. That’s rosy given competition and uncertainty.
Glasgow’s carbon market overhaul is only half done 18 Nov 2021 The U.N.’s COP26 summit agreed tougher accounting standards for emissions credits, a market ex-BoE Governor Mark Carney hopes can swell to $100 bln a year. It’s a step forward, but loopholes remain. Companies that don’t like greenwashing have a strong incentive to help police it.
Capital Calls: CalPERS and private equity, Art market 16 Nov 2021 Concise views on global finance: The biggest U.S. public pension fund is taking on more risk; works collected by the Macklowes sold for $676 million on Monday in a reminder that the richest have prospered through the pandemic.
Euronext and Nasdaq can scratch backs in Europe 8 Nov 2021 After buying Borsa Italiana, the $12 billion pan-EU exchange needs another deal. Nasdaq’s Nordic business, worth say $3 bln, is an ideal target. Euronext boss Stéphane Boujnah will need to convince the U.S. group’s CEO Adena Friedman that a sale could accelerate her data pivot.
Capital Calls: Hedge funds, Rogers, Inmarsat 8 Nov 2021 Concise views on global finance: The industry’s assets are above a new threshold, but it’s a business reaching a limit; the head of the Canadian telecom giant has won a court victory; U.S. rival Viasat pulls the UK-based satellite operator into its orbit for a pricey $7.4 bln.
Crypto puts U.S. and El Salvador in the same boat 18 Oct 2021 Hispanic and Black people are top American owners of digital currencies. Discrimination and lagging access to financial services are drivers and are among the better reasons why the Central American nation turned to bitcoin. It’s a lost opportunity for traditional banks.
Russian IPO salad hides some dodgy ingredients 18 Oct 2021 Helped by a global boom, new listings by the country’s companies are at their most active since 2007. Investors are more used to sanctions risk, while Covid-19 has spruced up hopefuls such as real estate website Cian. Others, like St Petersburg’s bourse, may be lumpy leftovers.
London’s IPO revamp gets its cautionary tale 18 Oct 2021 THG’s founder is giving up his golden share in the stricken online retailer, just as regulators prepare to make it easier for executives to keep control after listing. It’s a timely reminder of the benefits of “one-share-one-vote” governance. It’s not too late to turn back.
Capital Calls: Facebook, TeamViewer, Audio M&A 6 Oct 2021 Concise views on global finance: Whistleblower Frances Haugen’s polished rollout is a warning for Big Tech; the video software specialist’s 25% share price fall shows the perils of growth stocks; hearing aid group GN snaps up headset maker SteelSeries for $1.3 bln.
Beijing puts misplaced stock in new exchange 7 Sep 2021 President Xi is launching a bourse in China’s capital to fund small firms. It could bolster the fortunes of its parent, the New Third Board, which targets the same companies. But diverting liquidity from Shanghai and Shenzhen into a new pool will leave businesses no better off.
China market woes put hedgers in the driver’s seat 23 Aug 2021 More policy and regulatory pressure erased $560 bln of market value in a week. Some investors may flee as former darlings are hit. But many state-owned stocks are hurting less, and Monday cheer for a new offshore futures contract suggests more rethinking than a general retreat.
BHP’s Brexit should fare better than Unilever’s 18 Aug 2021 The $170 bln miner’s decision to collapse its dual-listed structure will require UK investors to swap their shares for foreign ones. When the Anglo-Dutch consumer group tried that in 2018, investors kicked up a fuss. The value proposition of BHP’s gambit looks more enticing.
Hong Kong bourse needs Beijing to calm down 11 Aug 2021 A bumper first-half profit thanks to record trading volumes and an IPO flood help justify the $84 bln group’s premium over rival exchanges, at 41 times forecast earnings. But such optimism won’t survive more regulatory mood swings, and HKEX has no way to hedge them.
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.
Chancellor: Bringing down the Red Curtain 4 Aug 2021 Recent shocks from Beijing are reminders that while investors in the West are protected by the rule of law, China’s markets are characterised by the “rule by law”. Investors shouldn’t forget Beijing has the final say on how capital is allocated and who gets paid and who doesn’t.
Capital Calls: Grab, Gaming, SocGen, Stellantis 3 Aug 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Southeast Asian super-app delivers some of the goods; Tencent shares tank after Chinese state-media criticism; the French lender’s investment bank overhauls goals; the carmaker hikes operating margin targets to a chunky 10%.
Capital Calls: Volvo, Moderna, Mediobanca 21 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Swedish automaker boosts its appeal ahead of a possible IPO by buying out its Chinese joint venture partner; joining the S&P 500 will cut both ways for the vaccine maker; another Italian tycoon ups his stake in the Italian investment bank.
Capital Calls: Intel, SPAC lobby 16 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: Buying GlobalFoundries would boost Intel’s ambitions to make chips for other firms, but spinning it off afterward might please investors more; a new D.C. group sets up shop to defend the blank-check craze.
Chancellor: Robinhood is more sheriff than rebel 15 Jul 2021 Like its many antecedents during previous bubbles, the app-based stockbroker claims a mission to “democratise finance for all”. But the $40 bln startup is more a creature of Wall Street and Silicon Valley than its clients may understand. The long-term risk is a people’s revolt.
Capital Calls: Gates split, Chinese IPOs, Telenor 8 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: Bill and Melinda Gates agree a post-divorce plan for their joint charitable organisation; medical data firm LinkDoc is among the first to pull its U.S. listing; the Norwegian telco gets just $105 mln for unit hobbled by Myanmar junta.