Curbing German exceptionalism has political price 11 May 2020 A national court’s ruling on ECB asset buying has challenged the primacy of EU law. If politicians can’t defuse the stand-off, Brussels will have to take legal action against Europe’s paymaster. The fiasco is likely to give Euroscepticism across the continent a boost.
Hong Kong’s reeling companies need a quicker fix 7 May 2020 Local businesses have been battered by Covid-19 and months of protests, but the city still lacks a regime to give them breathing room while they nurse themselves back to health. A mooted Chapter 11-style system will take too long to implement, but other options are available.
ECB firefighters can circumvent German roadblock 5 May 2020 A ruling by Teutonic judges challenged the European Central Bank’s long-standing efforts to use bond buying to stimulate the euro zone economy. Inventive rate-setters will find ways to plough on to achieve their aims. But it’s a very German way to test their independence.
Leo Strine’s Wachtell plunge ups deal-advice ante 27 Apr 2020 The outspoken ex-Delaware chief justice is joining Wall Street’s most profitable law firm. Ditching mergers is one live issue. And the role of stakeholders beyond shareholders will only become a hotter topic. Strine and his new colleagues are at the sharp end of both debates.
Guest view: Push the economic pain up the chain 22 Apr 2020 The crisis created by Covid-19 will leave the most vulnerable facing the biggest burdens. Courts have tools that can help spread the pain more fairly. To preserve the basic economic relationships critical to recovery this should be a top priority, argues lawyer Jamie Gamble.
Bad news could travel fast for Facebook and Google 20 Apr 2020 Australia is forcing the tech goliaths to share revenue with local media. The virus was the last straw after years of digital destruction and fake news scandals. Whatever the financial formula, the costs should be bearable. The trouble is that Canberra headlines will go global.
Holding: Bad Covid-19 lawsuits can infect the good 6 Apr 2020 Calling crisis profiteers to account in court may be both justified and informative, as the 2008 financial meltdown made clear. Yet cases like a waxing parlor’s demand to stay open during the pandemic are not only absurd, they undermine the legal system. Real victims pay a price.
Rosneft Venezuela exit is not as good as it looks 30 Mar 2020 The $41 bln oil giant is selling its operations in the country to the Russian state to avoid more sanctions. Moscow is making a generous share payment but in practice keeps voting control. It’s a cheap way for the government to protect a key asset and send a message to the U.S.
Holding: Lawyers proving prepared if not prescient 25 Mar 2020 Covid-19 has thrown them for a loop like anyone else. Yet recent innovations in corporate law, from M&A to insider trading, have put companies and the public in a better position to face the virus fallout. It’s a change from the lousy advice that helped prompt the 2008 crisis.
Corona Capital: Religious aid, Ad-spending slump 23 Mar 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence wants Americans to donate to religious institutions to bolster community aid. But churches have their own fiscal problems. Plus: TV ad revenue look set for a pounding.
Holding: Governance brawl a boon for stakeholders 10 Mar 2020 Attorney Martin Lipton and Harvard’s Lucian Bebchuk are at it again, with the latter saying company pledges to serve the greater good are illusory. Lipton counters that firms really are moving past shareholder primacy. At least the debate could benefit all corporate constituents.
Spanish banks get slightly lighter loan albatross 3 Mar 2020 EU judges have ruled that local courts can resolve a dispute over unfair floating-rate mortgages. That could spare Spanish lenders billions of euros in potential losses. The catch is that the same loans are increasingly unprofitable as rates head south.
Barclays 2008 gamble has nuanced investor legacy 28 Feb 2020 A jury acquitted three ex-employees of fraud over a Qatari crisis cash call. The money forestalled a state bailout, allowing Barclays’ shares to beat RBS and Lloyds’. But the government may also have hacked back an investment bank which now drags down the lender’s valuation.
Heathrow ruling reflates sagging UK green stature 27 Feb 2020 Judges have grounded plans for a third runway at Europe’s busiest airport, saying the government ignored obligations to cut CO2 output. As host of a major climate change summit in November, it’s critical Britain has the credibility to push for emissions curbs. This should help.
Holding: Big Tech’s U.S. legal exceptionalism 20 Feb 2020 The approval of T-Mobile US’s merger with Sprint is the latest sign that different rules apply to technology firms. Consequences include gig-worker gripes, unchecked online lies, and abuses of corporate power. Congress and the courts should focus more on equality under the law.
Rosneft’s sanctions yellow card won’t turn red 19 Feb 2020 The Russian oil giant’s trading subsidiary is the target of the toughest form of U.S. sanctions over Venezuela. Unlike 2018 curbs on Rusal and En+, it shouldn’t hurt Rosneft much. Tougher measures are unlikely given the unwanted surge they might trigger in oil prices.
Capitalism pardoned Milken long before Trump did 18 Feb 2020 The U.S. president granted clemency to the financier-turned-philanthropist for crimes committed in the 1980s. Michael Milken remade himself after prison time and is worth an estimated $4 bln. Pardoning him undermines the point of his story: America specializes in second chances.
Bayer settlement only slightly eases Monsanto pain 24 Jan 2020 The German chemicals group may spend $10 billion compensating alleged cancer victims of its acquisition’s Roundup weed killer. That would be better than CEO Werner Baumann’s worst fears. But it barely makes his ill-starred $66 billion deal look any better.
Wells Fargo fine is one half of a double deterrent 23 Jan 2020 Former boss John Stumpf will pay $17.5 mln for overseeing pervasive misbehavior at the U.S. bank. It may dissuade other executives from wrongdoing, but pales next to the $75 bln or so foregone by investors. That seems just, too: In some ways they were also asleep at the wheel.
Vale dam cleanup hints at miners’ rising ESG bill 21 Jan 2020 The world’s top iron ore producer faces criminal charges for a deadly 2019 dam collapse. It has spent billions on reparations and safety upgrades, and seen its share price stumble. The total financial hit is yet to become clear, but other resources firms will face reckonings too.