Food & Beverages

Corona Capital: Satellites, Shoes

15 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: SoftBank pours cash into satellite startup; and footwear winners and losers.

Xi rewrites China’s rags to riches tale

15 January 2021

Zhong Shanshan sits atop Asia’s largest fortune, at $84 bln, thanks to bets in bottled water and vaccines. His rise reflects a new economy, where property and tech bosses have fallen out of favour. But as Beijing frets over stock bubbles, new wealth can be just as easily lost.

Wrong sort of inflation is coming down the tracks

14 January 2021

A global food price index has been rising. When commodities like cereal grow dearer, consumers end up paying more. The poorest in developed and developing economies, who spend a higher proportion of income on basics, will feel the pinch as wages are unlikely to keep up.

France’s Carrefour defence targets wrong enemy

14 January 2021

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire opposes a possible $20 bln takeover of the grocer by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard. He’s right to worry about jobs and supply chains after Covid-19. But a new owner would still need French cashiers, while suppliers are better protected by law.

Corona Capital: Target, IPOs keep coming

13 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Retailer Target gets an extra sales boost from its earlier e-commerce efforts, while buy-now-pay-later company Affirm continues one of 2020’s less-hated features – a smoking hot IPO market.

Corona Capital: Bond bonanza, Albertsons

12 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. companies' bond issuance in 2020 hits records across the board; and America’s No. 3 grocer continues to take advantage of the shopping habits created by Covid-19 lockdowns.

Corona Capital: Video rental stores, Conagra

7 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A last surviving U.S. video rental chain shutters, Conagra’s boosted sales aren’t enough for investors.

Pandemic pet boom keeps running for new top dogs

24 December 2020

Locked-down humans adopted more four-legged friends in 2020 and upped spending on pet supplies and medicine, causing the stock prices of firms like Chewy and Zoetis to rally. Old-school pet chains also benefited, but as nimble e-retailers take more sales, the pack may thin.

Corona Capital: Poverty, Beer cans, Budget hotels

24 December 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Hong Kong’s poverty problem was getting worse even before the virus struck; AB InBev sells the family aluminium to cut debt; Whitbread, owner of hotel chain Premier Inn, tries to get its landlords to share the pain.

Tea bubble is set to inflate in China

23 December 2020

Coffee has been all the rage across the country as McDonald’s and the local KFC owner challenge Starbucks. On the rise, however, are bubble tea chains Heytea and Nayuki, which are angling for IPOs. Exuberance for consumer companies will have investors gulping down their shares.

Corona Capital: Supercars, Cooking, Home working

10 December 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Debt-laden carmaker McLaren tries to hitch a ride on the SPAC bandwagon; meal-kit deliverer HelloFresh’s virus feast only goes so far; and America’s working-from-home boom survives the crisis.

DoorDash IPO leaves too much on the table

9 December 2020

It raised $3 billion at $102 per share – and the stock started trading at $182. Market share prices don’t tell the full story, but the food delivery company could clearly have gotten more. That’s unfortunate. Between competition and Covid-19, DoorDash could use the extra cash.

Hershey cocoa spat tests limits of investor ethics

4 December 2020

Ghana and Ivory Coast may stop selling sustainable beans to the Reese’s maker, accusing it of dodging payments for impoverished farmers. That could make it harder for the $31 bln group to flaunt its sustainability kudos. The snag is that so far shareholders don’t seem to care.

Burger King’s cooks could use a new recipe

3 December 2020

Restaurant Brands International prospered after buying the fast food chain. But its Tim Hortons outlet, which is planning a UK push, drags on the $27 bln group’s valuation. Investors 3G and Pershing Square are experts at cooking up deals. It may be time to change the menu.

DoorDash delivers mixed messages for Just Eat

2 December 2020

On the one hand, the U.S. market leader's $27 bln pre-IPO valuation suggests Just Eat got a bargain buying Grubhub. On the other, cut-throat competition led by DoorDash has cost Grubhub market share and profit. The American home-delivery recipe isn't yet long-term tasty.

Airbnb IPO price deserves more stars than DoorDash

1 December 2020

The two are seeking similar IPO valuations: up to $30 bln for the home-sharing app and $27 bln for the delivery firm. That doesn't compute. Airbnb’s scale and proven cash-generating ability are more appealing. Moreover, the pandemic’s end will boost Airbnb and hurt DoorDash.

The Exchange: Eating worms is good for the planet

1 December 2020

Growing global demand for food is putting a squeeze on available land and one French startup says it has the answer: indoor insect farming. Ynsect co-founder Antoine Hubert on how growing mealworms for fertilizer will benefit the environment – and eventually our diets too.

Corona Capital: Cyber Friday and Monday

30 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Online holiday shopping hits new records.

Corona Capital: Skis, Italian banks, Dividends

26 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Europe’s hopes for a common ski policy hit a mogul; Italian lender Credito Valtellinese faces a lonely bidding war; Aviva’s payout cut is less stingy than it looks.

Elliott’s Swiss cookie raid merits activist slap

24 November 2020

Paul Singer’s fund made a 733 mln euro bid for debt-laden baker Aryzta. It comes as the Otis Spunkmeyer maker’s soggy valuation may gain from a plan backed by other investors to break it up. The easing pandemic gives shareholders reason to hold out for more.