Corona Capital: Peloton, BioNTech 22 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Peloton shareholders are getting a little too pumped up; BioNTech’s boss gives two reasons not to panic about the latest Covid-19 strain.
Volkswagen pact helps CEO more than returns 15 Dec 2020 The German carmaker has made a statement in support of boss Herbert Diess, allowing him to appoint key allies and cut some costs as it moves to electric cars. The agreement should end a long-running dispute with unions. Investors hoping for higher returns face a lengthier wait.
VW boss dilemma is about more than Herbert Diess 1 Dec 2020 The $90 bln carmaker’s CEO wants a contract extension beyond 2023. Diess is gaffe-prone but has the right strategy for moving to electric vehicles and extracting efficiencies. His contract debate is a proxy for whether VW’s board can face down unions trying to muddle that shift.
Corona Capital: Scotland, EU impasse, Amazon 27 Nov 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Scottish independence gets a viral shot in the arm; Poland and Hungary take a united stand on the European Union’s recovery fund; and the online retail giant delivers a modicum of Christmas cheer to workers.
UK economy beds down for slow, sluggish recovery 25 Nov 2020 Finance minister Rishi Sunak is set to hike borrowing to 394 bln pounds to pay for the pandemic. New savings from foreign aid and freezing public sector pay will do little to help the economy that is only set to grow 5.5% next year. A no-deal Brexit would make matters worse.
Corona Capital: Record Dow, Basketball, GoCompare 25 Nov 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Vaccine optimism shunts the blue-chip Dow Jones index through 30,000; U.S. college basketball gets back on the court; and UK publisher Future snaps up the bargain-hunting website.
Review: “Industry” shows banking is due a facelift 13 Nov 2020 The new BBC and HBO series follows graduate recruits navigating the pressures of a fictional investment bank. It overstates the responsibility juniors can have. But its portrayal of an old-fashioned work style rings true. To lure talented youngsters, the industry needs a shakeup.
Corona Capital: Warren Buffett, Burger boost 9 Nov 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.
Uber victory saves its model not its valuation 4 Nov 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.
Only a twin-track approach will rescue UK economy 2 Nov 2020 Finance minister Rishi Sunak will spend more to soften the impact of a new lockdown and the Bank of England is likely to loosen policy again. It won’t stop insolvencies or economic scarring. Retraining workers of all ages and encouraging productivity-boosting investment is vital.
Corona Capital: Gilead Sciences, Virtual Santa 23 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Remdesivir gets formal approval; Santa goes missing from Macy’s.
U.S. airline staff now need aid more than carriers 22 Oct 2020 Southwest and American’s losses continued last quarter. But they both fortified cash resources enough to fund the status quo for at least a year. Meantime, employees are the losers from the financial and political squeeze. Fresh government help needs to more clearly benefit them.
Corona Capital: Quibi 22 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Video streaming company Quibi’s failure is in spite of – not because of – the Covid-19 pandemic.
Corona Capital: U.S. state budget woes 20 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Some conservative U.S. states are hurting as much as liberal New York.
Corona Capital: Bankers, Virus vices, Student digs 8 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Japan’s Mizuho tries to get its employees to take it easy; smokers and gamblers struggle to kick the habit during lockdown; UK landlord Unite Group finds even student property is not immune to Covid-19.
European Union will be bond market’s new behemoth 7 Oct 2020 The need to fund pandemic aid schemes worth nearly 1 trillion euros will make the EU one of the region’s largest issuers. ECB bond buying and investors’ hunger for safe assets mean that is no problem. And the scale of issuance will make its debt more liquid, a prized quality.
Corona Capital: Donald Trump, Kenzo Takada 5 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. President Donald Trump’s fight with the coronavirus could lead to a less fiercely contested election result; the death of Japanese designer Kenzo Takada comes at a bad time for the global fashion industry.
Rishi Sunak’s UK economic safety net has a tear 24 Sep 2020 The finance minister’s new job retention scheme will avoid unemployment surging when furloughs wind up yet costs less than the old arrangement. That’s helpful. But his plan does too little for low-skilled service workers whose roles may disappear forever, and who need training.
Corona Capital: Coca-Cola, Viral inequality 22 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Coca-Cola, once an icon of temperance, is diving into the hard seltzer market; and California is considering using the disparity in numbers of Covid cases between neighborhoods to steer its response.
Corona Capital: Millionaire tax, Rent the Runway 18 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: New Jersey taxes the rich to help close a budget gap; and high fashion has trouble competing against sweats.