Government & Agencies

Trump fires messy parting shot at Beijing

13 November 2020

The lame-duck president is banning U.S. investment in 31 Chinese companies with military ties, erasing $8 bln of value from index heavyweight China Mobile alone. It creates another headache for U.S. fund managers and momentum for further decoupling that may be hard to roll back.

Biden’s finance squad is a progressive fig leaf

12 November 2020

Wall Street alumni are notably lacking in the transition teams sizing up bodies like the Treasury. But bankers should still have the president-elect’s ear. Amplifying left-leaning voices may signal new priorities, like racial inequities, but not a finance-unfriendly agenda.

Hong Kong strife highlights uneasy corporate truce

12 November 2020

The mass resignation of opposition legislators to protest the disqualification of four colleagues makes clear the bind for big business and finance. They’re trying to stay out of the fray even as a valued system erodes. One big reason is that there is nowhere else yet to go.

New UK takeover rules thicken the global M&A fog

11 November 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making it mandatory to seek approval for deals in some sectors, and expanding the government’s powers to cover intellectual property. The rules are no worse than in America or Europe. But they’re vague enough to give bankers and lawyers headaches.

Corona Capital: Lyft, Vaccine minefield, Peru

11 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The U.S. ride-hailing company is tempted by food delivery; Pfizer could face high demand for its coronavirus vaccine; and Peru gets another leadership shuffle just as Covid-19 cases soar.

Tui makes cheeky last grab for German largesse

11 November 2020

Europe’s largest tour operator may get another 1.8 bln euros of funds from Berlin. That would allow CEO Friedrich Joussen to survive the winter and delay a dilutive equity issue. Still, with Covid-19 vaccines emerging and markets buoyant, the case for more bailouts looks weak.

Japan’s financiers face a carbon cleanup

11 November 2020

New Prime Minister Suga wants to cut greenhouse gases to zero by 2050. That’s ominous for MUFG, Mizuho and peers, who provided more than $150 bln in loans and underwriting for fossil fuels over five years. Powerful investors like $1.6 trln pension fund GPIF can crack the whip.

Billionaires hang on Georgia as U.S. tax firewall

10 November 2020

Donors like Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman have already given millions to keep the Senate in Republican hands. Now that effort will focus on the Peach State with two runoff races in January. Much is at stake, both for Wall Street’s highest paid and for the companies themselves.

U.S. Latino vote shows economic progress relative

10 November 2020

Support for Donald Trump among Hispanics jumped in Florida and Texas where many have flourished economically since 2016. But Arizona, where income inequality is more apparent, tilted leftward. Joe Biden wants to close the wealth gap, which helps the Democrats, at least for now.

Corona Capital: Salvatore Ferragamo

10 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Faded heels-and-loafers brand Salvatore Ferragamo could benefit from a coronavirus vaccine-induced return to airport shopping, but the Florentine fashion house would still need a makeover.

Chinese vaccine developer flags corporate disease

10 November 2020

Sinovac’s promising tests to confer Covid-19 immunity just hit a snag. Investors are stuck because the shares have been halted since last year amid an epic saga featuring a buyout attempt, boardroom coup and poison pill. These governance trials are worth watching closely too.

Cox: American progress hangs on geriatric trinity

9 November 2020

Usually presidents wait until clinching a second term to focus on how they’ll be remembered in history. At almost 78 Biden must govern as if he has one chance to make his mark. Ditto his aging foil in the Senate and ally in the House. There may be less gridlock than expected.

The Donald Trump show will continue broadcasting

9 November 2020

The president may have lost the White House. But an army of Twitter followers and right-wing media will ensure him a platform. That will serve his many interests, from boosting his businesses and staving off looming debt payments to acting as a thorn in the side of his successor.

WTO is early test of Joe Biden’s multilateralism

9 November 2020

The president-elect approaches diplomacy very differently to Donald Trump. The world trade body’s snarled-up leadership race is a chance to show that. But American criticisms of global commerce rules and China were bipartisan. Biden will seek reform but do it more collegially.

Corona Capital: Warren Buffett, Burger boost

9 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Rising share prices take the sting out of Berkshire Hathaway’s Covid-19 profit hit; and McDonald’s reports a good quarter for American nugget-lovers.

Turkey’s new economy team will face fresh problems

9 November 2020

President Tayyip Erdogan installed a new central bank boss while his son-in-law quit as finance minister. Credible policymakers are more likely to hike rates. Just as well: without President Donald Trump, Ankara’s foreign policy – and the lira – are more vulnerable to sanctions.

Italy’s oldest bank risks becoming a new Alitalia

5 November 2020

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena needs another bailout. A government rescue would cost around 2 bln euros. Winding it down and selling the rump to a rival like UniCredit would be politically toxic. Like Rome’s loss-making airline, it is turning into a lasting burden on taxpayers.

Corona Capital: GM earnings, Third-quarter readout

5 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: General Motors swerves around Covid-19 potholes; and U.S. companies look to have emerged from a difficult three months in better shape than expected.

Uber victory saves its model not its valuation

4 November 2020

California voters approved measures that keep the ride-sharing firm from treating drivers as employees but require it to pay healthcare and other perks. Uber avoided punishing costs. But its expensive fight underscores how much the environment for the shared economy has changed.

Close-shave U.S. election may leave many losers

4 November 2020

With no clear winner and the count likely to drag on, a divided government is getting more likely. Markets may be jittery temporarily. Those who stood to lose from a “blue wave,” like Wall Street and Silicon Valley, will be relieved. It bodes less well for struggling Americans.