Silicon Valley models value of noncompete ban 24 Apr 2024 A new FTC rule forbids US companies from stopping employees joining a rival, or starting one. Freeing up opportunities for a fifth of the workforce should boost pay. California’s tech hub also showcases other benefits of labor mobility. Intel, for example, exists because of it.
How one firm made child’s play of tricky M&A games 24 Apr 2024 Imagine buying a company without tedious negotiations, rival bids or pricey premiums. A Saudi investor pulled it off by snapping up enough shares to gain control of US retailer The Children’s Place. The feat will be hard to replicate, but there’s now a model for deal masterminds.
Musk’s next big payday matters more than his last 17 Apr 2024 Tesla shareholders will soon vote on the CEO’s court-voided $40 bln pay package. It’s not a tough decision. Recent departures and strategy shifts make Tesla’s value highly dependent on keeping Elon Musk motivated. But a new pay plan is needed too, and the stakes are even higher.
Market forces knock ominously on US realtors’ door 12 Apr 2024 Home buyers will soon find it easier to negotiate fees they pay to 1.5 mln agents – a move that might have happened earlier in a less distorted market. Some brokers will earn more. But the reforms are likely to shrink the fee pool, which is tricky for ancillary firms like Zillow.
Hermès lawsuit attacks luxury’s FOMO premium 26 Mar 2024 A suit against the $274 bln fashion house claims it’s so hard to buy a Birkin, it’s illegal, alleging the handbag’s must-have aura lets the company force purchases of unwanted extras. If successful, it could crimp both Hermès’ top growth areas and ultra-luxe goods’ mystique.
Apple antitrust case is surprisingly simple 21 Mar 2024 The US legal swipe at the $2.7 trln iPhone maker is all about choice. Users choose its devices, but not always the services on them. That shows up in small ways, like payments or how to install apps. In a new cloud-dominated world, returning choice to users will matter much more.
US nudges EU banks toward clean break with Russia 20 Mar 2024 Austrian lender Raiffeisen dreamt up a $1.6 bln plan to salvage value from its Moscow-based unit. But Washington dislikes it, Reuters has reported. For European banks, upsetting the US could ultimately be more damaging than the write-offs from a speedy Russian exit.
Reckitt slump offers a cue to slim down 18 Mar 2024 The $41 bln Lysol maker’s shares fell sharply after it lost a US court case. One option for Reckitt Benckiser is to separate the nutrition arm, focus of the legal woes. That would ease the hit to the rest of the group, but also leave a new arm that may yet be worth something.
UK media muddle is fresh turn-off for foreign cash 14 Mar 2024 Hurried Westminster amendments are set to block an Abu Dhabi-backed bid to buy the Telegraph. It’s OK to stop foreign states owning domestic media, and it may not even upend UAE relations. But making policy on the hoof so flagrantly offers a new reason to swerve UK assets.
Time continues to be on TikTok’s side 12 Mar 2024 A US bill that would force the social media app’s parent ByteDance to sell the platform is gaining ground. Demands are like those made years ago, only the app is now more powerful, the relationship with China more complicated, and politicians less willing to compromise.
Apple’s Epic fail powers up EU tech oversight cred 11 Mar 2024 The $2.6 trln firm quickly reversed its decision to close ‘Fortnite’ maker Epic Games’ developer account. Frowns from the EU, which is going after Big Tech via fresh laws, look to have played a role. The episode is as much a victory for the bloc’s credibility as it is for Epic.
Musk vs. Altman is a battle everyone loses 5 Mar 2024 The Tesla boss's complaint that OpenAI ignored obligations to the human race distracts from a bigger problem. Existential issues are best overseen by democratic governments, because to leave them to techno-libertarians and private contracts is absurd. AI is no different.
EU’s $2 bln Apple bite is still more of a bark 4 Mar 2024 Brussels is fining the US giant more than expected for hurting streaming competition. That leaves $2.7 trln Apple open to similar cases. But as with other EU bids to rein in Big Tech, it hikes the cost of doing business more than it shakes up the sector.
Healthcare’s $450 bln octopus becomes the kraken 28 Feb 2024 Trustbusters are probing UnitedHealth, which insures 53 mln patients and works with 10% of US doctors, while also managing pharmacy benefits and more. It’s hard to dispute the market power. Whether there’s abuse, and how to stop it without hurting consumers, is less obvious.
Stephen King ghost-writes trustbusting bestseller 27 Feb 2024 The US FTC is suing to block the $25 bln merger of grocers Kroger and Albertsons partly because of perceived harm to union labor. It resembles, oddly enough, a winning DOJ lawsuit over Penguin’s deal to buy Simon & Schuster. The case has a good shot at becoming a horror classic.
Buffett puts $1 trln grid problem in a bad light 26 Feb 2024 The billionaire’s Berkshire Hathaway became one of the biggest US utilities on the basis that providing electricity would generate steady returns. He now says he made a “costly mistake.” Thirteen-digit capital demands from climate change are quickly dimming investment prospects.
Russia risk looms over Euroclear profit windfall 22 Feb 2024 The Brussels-based clearing house is a reluctant depository for sanctioned Russian assets. It made 5.7 bln euros before tax last year thanks to cash sitting on its balance sheet. But the bonanza also makes it a target. A blow to financial stability would far exceed one-off gains.
Peter Thiel’s latest bitcoin bet is a coronation 13 Feb 2024 The billionaire’s Founders Fund pocketed $1.8 bln in 2022 on crypto investments before dipping back in last fall. Bitcoin has since been anointed with an ETF and technology that furthers its use. The currency isn’t yet legitimate, but Thiel’s return marks its growing status.
Elon Musk charts largely painless Delaware exodus 2 Feb 2024 Tesla’s boss is angling to reincorporate in Texas after the First State’s corporate judiciary undid his $56 bln pay package. Such a move would invite yet another lawsuit, but have little effect on investors. It also might give other cultish CEOs ideas on the value of governance.
Meta investors take wins now, forget about later 1 Feb 2024 The company is paying its first ever dividend just as politicians are on the warpath: a senator this week said CEO Mark Zuckerberg had blood on his hands. DC dysfunction protects investors for now. But safety issues dent its reputation, and political shifts will be a problem.