Spain is beginning to look more like Italy 22 May 2017 Pedro Sanchez’s unexpected victory in Socialist primaries could weaken the already fragile minority government. The risk of a crisis is low, but a more fragmented parliament, similar to Italy, makes economic reforms harder, and undermines Spain’s call for European integration.
Review: Democrats’ chief firebrand fumbles message 19 May 2017 Elizabeth Warren's "This Fight is Our Fight" reads like a marker for a 2020 White House run. The senator from Massachusetts targets Donald Trump, lobbyists and Wall Street. Tales of struggling Americans are engagingly woven into the outrage. But her rote views limit her appeal.
Japan’s job market is more brittle than it looks 19 May 2017 Unemployment is 2.8 pct and the country is on its longest growth streak in a decade. But some can only find part-time work, unions speak for just a minority, and productivity is patchy. So wage growth is anaemic - thwarting Premier Shinzo Abe's push for more inflation.
Theresa May’s manifesto leaves Brexit wiggle room 18 May 2017 Britain’s Tory party will slash migration and quit the EU without a deal if need be should it win a June 8 election. But its leader has left herself room to make Brexit very hard or relatively soft. That’s artful, but ensures adherents of one or the other will be disappointed.
Trump visit exposes Saudi Arabia’s insecurity 18 May 2017 The U.S. president is heading to Riyadh to rejuvenate an ailing alliance. Trade has suffered and America’s shale oil boom has undermined the kingdom’s status as a key energy supplier and security priority. Rather than build confidence, Trump’s trip could open old wounds.
Viewsroom: CEO presidency needs boardroom pushback 17 May 2017 Donald Trump’s promise to run the government like a business is proving difficult but Congress could act like strong independent directors to rein in his wayward management. China’s ambitious Silk Road project could leave its people holding the bag. Plus: job cuts at Ford.
Wall Street waking up to Washington reality 17 May 2017 A notable dip in the S&P 500 Index represents only a minor setback for the so-called Trump rally. The dollar, however, has given back nearly all its post-election gains. Treasury yields also have retrenched. Stockholders remain too optimistic about any D.C. policy uplift.
Hadas: Puerto Rico, Greece and bad-faith debt 17 May 2017 Both the U.S. territory and the euro zone laggard have fine beaches, irresponsible governments and a debt crisis. The most just and helpful response to such debacles is to force reckless lenders to write off loans. That’s a hard sell. Thankfully, few sovereigns are so careless.
Lloyds bailout bill still isn’t paid in full 17 May 2017 The UK has recouped its 20.3 bln pounds on the once-failing lender. It wouldn’t matter if it hadn’t, since rescuing Lloyds helped save the banking system. Still, just as the real returns outweigh the financial ones, so do the costs: austerity and mistrust of the industry.
Private equity offers tonic Korea Inc needs 17 May 2017 State-run banks are injecting an extra $2.6 bln into Daewoo Shipbuilding but lack the expertise to fix problems. The government has finally learnt its lesson and wants private equity help with other ailing firms. The new approach will be better for patients and the public purse.
Labour’s risky UK manifesto requires Brexit context 16 May 2017 Britain’s opposition party has outlined tax rises for companies and the rich to pay for higher spending. Potential payers could get around them. Yet what Labour is proposing isn’t that much more risky than the “hard Brexit” the ruling Conservative party may deliver.
Macron faces stronger Merkel after state election 15 May 2017 France’s new president needs German support for his euro zone reform ideas. Angela Merkel’s challenger Martin Schulz is more supportive of tighter fiscal integration and more investment. The triumph for Merkel’s party in a regional poll suggests any changes will need her consent.
Britain gears up for immigration self-harm 15 May 2017 Theresa May is likely to stick with a vow to reduce annual net migration below 100,000, despite failing to hit it so far. The election gives the prime minister a golden opportunity to show the UK will keep growing post-Brexit. Renewing the pledge would apply an unhelpful brake.
India’s Narendra Modi has many stripes 15 May 2017 The prime minister enjoys huge support for his bid to clean up the country. But he now looks more populist than pro-market – and in no hurry to push through difficult reforms. Modi is unpredictable and it is not clear what tops his agenda: development, Hinduism, or power itself.
Macron inherits healthy economy – and will need it 12 May 2017 The French president-elect is taking over at a propitious time. Growth is picking up, unemployment has probably peaked and the budget deficit is expected to fall under the EU limit for the first time in a decade this year. That gives him some scope to sweeten unpalatable reforms.
Relief offer hints at solution for Fannie, Freddie 11 May 2017 Regulator Mel Watt wants the housing-finance firms to rebuild their capital buffers to avoid fresh bailout risk. It’s a temporary band-aid while the administration ponders the firms’ legal status. Yet Trump’s Treasury should seize the idea as the basis for more-lasting reform.
Viewsroom: Comey ouster bad for business 11 May 2017 Donald Trump’s surprise firing of the FBI director could bog down policies from tax cuts to regulatory reform and even throw the rule of law into question. South Korea elects a new leader to put its own presidential scandal in the past. Plus: Coach goes shopping for Kate Spade.
Cox: Nixon nostalgia missing from stock market 11 May 2017 Trump's sacking of FBI boss Comey has sparked worries about a crisis similar to the one that forced another Republican president out of the White House in 1974. A 40 pct decline in the Dow accompanied that ordeal. Investors don't seem to think history is repeating itself.
Australia hands U.S. timely infrastructure example 11 May 2017 An investor group is paying A$7.6 bln for 50.4 pct of Endeavour Energy, a New South Wales electricity distributor. It's an "asset recycling" model that raises private capital against established operations to fund new government investment. Trump's team should take note.
If Britain cools on markets, others lose too 11 May 2017 The country’s two main political parties are both promising to intervene in high household electricity prices. In energy, market forces haven’t worked as they should. Yet if Britain backs away from its instinct to be mostly hands-off, other countries lose a reason to go forward.