Capital Calls: Klarna’s slashed valuation 11 Jul 2022 Concise views on global finance: The Swedish fintech group’s valuation is down 85% in just over a year to $6.7 bln.
Facebook loses its FAANG chompers 8 Jul 2022 Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is prepping for a downturn not seen since its early days as a public company. That’s as Google, Amazon, Apple and Netflix are chasing advertising, its main business. If Facebook’s share of the ad pie slips by a hair, Meta’s stock could be worth 25% less.
Peter Thiel-tied fund fights China fire with fire 24 Jun 2022 A nonprofit fund backed by Silicon Valley bigwigs wants to invest in tech that serves national interests. It raises conflicts, security issues, and takes a page from Beijing's playbook. But given China’s market meddling, it’s not a horrible solution.
Wirecard exposed finance’s scary credulity 17 Jun 2022 The payments group collapsed in 2020 after admitting $2 bln of its cash was fake. “Money Men”, a book by the FT journalist who uncovered the scandal, describes a chaotic and unsophisticated fraud. All the more shocking that analysts, advisers, auditors and regulators were fooled.
Cricket rights will bowl India Inc a new line-up 10 Jun 2022 A third of teams in the sport’s premier league fit poorly with owners like Diageo. One, Reliance, wants the broadcast rights too. CVC’s entry into the club creates more uncanny parallels to a changing corporate India. The outcome of the $6 bln TV auction may spur a clean-up.
Capital Calls: JetBlue makes winning Spirit hurt 6 Jun 2022 Concise views on global finance: The hostile bidder has offered cash up-front for Spirit shareholders, which could force current suitor Frontier to make costly concessions.
Capital Calls: Microsoft micromanages tech jitters 2 Jun 2022 Concise views on global finance: A 1% revenue shortfall because of a strong dollar normally isn’t that important. Microsoft’s warning reflects how nervous tech investors have become.
Capital Calls: Twitter snubs investors 27 May 2022 Concise views on global finance: The social media platform refused to accept the resignation of director Egon Durban, one more check for bad corporate governance. But it’s not like investors have held the company to a high standard.
Subdued Alibaba strikes fitting new tone 27 May 2022 New finance chief Toby Xu's focus on cost cuts and better-than-expected sales growth powered a 15% stock rally. The regulatory-thwacked e-commerce group is taking control where it can but exercising discipline on the bottom line in a slowing Chinese economy invites trouble too.
Venture royalty bets $4.5 bln on self-disruption 26 May 2022 Andreessen Horowitz’s new crypto fund comes less than a year after its last one. The former backer of Facebook and Airbnb reckons blockchain-based giants will conquer the web by rewarding users. If true, that should also mean less money for venture capitalists.
Alibaba’s overseas growth push faces European test 25 May 2022 The $223 bln Chinese e-commerce giant hopes to offset sluggish growth at home by expanding in the region via its Southeast Asian offshoot, Lazada. But with a European market share of less than 5%, and entrenched rivals like Amazon, Alibaba may struggle to justify the investment.
Debt-market chaos makes bank deposits great again 24 May 2022 Rising rates and volatility are a problem for fintech upstarts, like Affirm, which rely on wholesale markets to fund loans. Old-school lenders, flush with cheaper deposits, don’t face the same funding pressure. It gives banks a window to strike back.
Xiaomi epitomises risks of supply chain buffering 20 May 2022 The Chinese handset maker and peers weathered component shortages by stockpiling. Xiaomi's shrinking quarterly sales of $11 bln, and a net loss, make clear how the country’s Covid-19 lockdowns are hurting consumers. A reckoning of bloated inventories and falling demand awaits.
Klarna’s $46 bln price tag endures only in theory 19 May 2022 Investors heavily marked down the value of the Swedish startup’s buy-now-pay-later rivals like Affirm. On their sales multiples, privately held Klarna’s valuation would be cut by 75%. While the business is diversified with better funding, it still requires lots of red pen.
Hong Kong can afford slow road to digital currency 19 May 2022 There’s some FOMO in the local e-HKD effort. Central banks elsewhere have better reasons to act faster, including low rates of financial inclusion and less use of physical cash. Hong Kong would do well to think longer about privacy concerns and to learn from other experiments.
Tencent gives China bulls little to run with 18 May 2022 The $450 bln video-games giant said sales stalled in the first quarter, below expectations. Despite signs Beijing may rein in tech crackdowns, the government’s Covid-19 lockdowns are creating more uncertainty. Investors hoping to ride out the volatility will get no such reprieve.
Didi’s New York woes mask deeper problems 4 May 2022 The Chinese ride-hailing group hopes leaving the Big Board will ease Beijing’s cybersecurity probe. It now faces a U.S. investigation into its IPO. Yet the bigger blow in its new annual report is rising regulatory pressure at home, raising fresh doubts about Didi’s core business.
China’s ZTE answers the call on Huawei’s crisis 3 May 2022 Fresh off five years of U.S. probation, the $16 bln telecom-equipment maker is growing sales and improving margins as American sanctions hurt its larger rival. An expanding 5G rollout leaves additional market share up for grabs. Its discounted valuation is poised to be dialed up.
Bitcoin’s African outpost raises several red flags 2 May 2022 War-torn Central African Republic is following El Salvador in adopting the crypto unit as legal tender. The surprise of the region’s central bank and Bangui’s use of sanctioned Russian mercenaries are warning signs. Bitcoin’s quest for mainstream acceptance just got harder.
South Korea Inc heaps added pressure on Samsung 28 Apr 2022 The Galaxy maker’s 51% rise in quarterly operating profit, to $11 bln, only underscores its dependence on memory chips. Despite its ambitions in autos, biotech and other areas, peers Hyundai, SK and LG are moving faster to capitalise on new markets. Idle cash is a growing risk.