Management & Leadership

The “Trump option” still has value for U.S. CEOs

4 June 2020

Corporate chiefs who left White House councils in 2017 are speaking up again over racial injustice. Their ability to challenge the president is constrained, since they still need help on trade and other issues. The value of being inside the tent, though, is less than it was.

Christine Lagarde is having a good crisis

4 June 2020

The ECB boss will buy more assets and for longer than initially planned. She is as decisive as her predecessor, Mario Draghi, but luckier. Politicians are splurging to revive economies. Growth will recover faster because fiscal and monetary policies are pulling the same way.

American CEOs have huge power. They can use it

2 June 2020

Leaders like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon support calls for racial justice. Most businesses can do more though, financially and in their workforces. Even if it’s not their job to fix society, U.S. norms and pliant shareholders give executives wide latitude to do what they think best.

Corona Capital: Bank fears, Payments M&A, Coal

2 June 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A new U.S. regulator wants cities to reopen to prevent bank robberies. Western Union may bid for struggling rival MoneyGram. And the pandemic is hastening the decline of U.S. coal.

Kylie Jenner teaches Coty celeb value is cosmetic

1 June 2020

The perfume maker’s stock fell after Forbes suggested the TV star, who sold 51% of her makeup brand to Coty last year, had exaggerated her wealth. Coty had overpaid either way. But the drama exposes the folly of companies buying brands whose value they can’t really control.

Chinese online tutor gets lesson in multiplication

29 May 2020

GSX Techedu deflected one sloppy short-seller attack and a second sensational one. A third from Muddy Waters calling the $7 bln company a fraud hit as Luckin buckled and Congress moved on U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. Growing scepticism will require targets to have strong defences.

Renault-Nissan repair job needs governance fix

27 May 2020

The French carmaker and its Japanese partner are merging production in a bid to revive their grim alliance. Yet the union’s uneven power split is a brake on integration. Luckily for incoming Renault CEO Luca de Meo there’s a way to mend relations, without losing control.

Sanofi finds M&A cure to CEO foot-in-mouth disease

26 May 2020

The French drugmaker is selling a $13 bln stake in biotech Regeneron. CEO Paul Hudson, recently chastised for saying America would get first dibs on a Covid-19 vaccine, now has a pristine balance sheet to do deals and invest. It helps Sanofi’s growth problem, and public image.

French plutocratic raiders rally around their kind

26 May 2020

LVMH’s Bernard Arnault helped the activist-besieged owner of Paris Match by snagging 25% of the Lagardere family’s holding company. And Vivendi’s Vincent Bolloré raised his stake in the media group to 16%. Mogul overcrowding risks blunting Amber’s bid for better governance.

Sony embraces its inner conglomerate

20 May 2020

The Japanese giant is buying the rest of its financial arm for $3.7 bln as part of a broader shakeup. A new holding company structure clumsily tries to reposition Sony beyond its electronics roots. At least it’s managing the sprawl while thumbing its nose at activist Dan Loeb.

TikTok’s new boss will be hitting the road to D.C.

19 May 2020

Former Disney streaming-video exec Kevin Mayer is to become boss of ByteDance’s popular video app. He was the M&A maestro behind the Magic Kingdom’s acquisitions of Fox and the Star Wars empire. But he may have to learn some new moves to navigate U.S.-China tensions.

Nomura circulates an awkward startup pitchbook

19 May 2020

Boss Kentaro Okuda unveiled his plan for a digitally savvy investment bank catering to entrepreneurs. Buzzwords like AI and disruptive growth accompanied slides full of arcs and arrows. The clunky approach only makes it harder to believe Nomura can pull off this belated strategy.

Exxon activists attempt to hit CEO where it hurts

13 May 2020

Some U.S. investors prefer the top executive and chair to be different people; most don’t care. Exxon will test the theory this month. Even if the arguments are theoretical, stripping the boss of a status-boosting title sends a message. That's why Darren Woods should worry.

Hong Kong bourse walks fine line on CEO succession

7 May 2020

Boss Charles Li plans to step down by October 2021. Ample lead time helps HKEX shareholders and should ensure a clean handover, but he also risks becoming a long-term lame duck. Finding someone equally able to balance the interests of Beijing and foreign investors will be tough.

BNP CEO’s “trust me” routine is only half credible

5 May 2020

First-quarter earnings at the French bank fell 33%, driven by losses in equities trading. Boss Jean-Laurent Bonnafé argues that superior risk control means 2020 profit could fall by just one-fifth. Investors are rightly dubious that the lender’s bad debt charges will stay so low.

Deal squawkers spread their remorseful wings

5 May 2020

A flock of buyers is citing Covid-19 to wriggle out of acquisitions. Legal flaps may determine the fates for targets Moss Bros, Delphi, Metlifecare and a Bed Bath & Beyond business. Despite some questionable arguments, negotiating power favours the yellow-bellied birds of prey.

Brazil’s finance minister: right place, wrong time

4 May 2020

Chicago-trained Paulo Guedes helped achieve needed pension reform and topped privatization goals. But Covid-19 torpedoed plans to shrink the state’s role in the economy, and presidential chaos has undermined his efforts. His agenda is mostly dead, so he’ll probably jump ship.

Warren Buffett may have met his match: the Fed

4 May 2020

For the unflappable billionaire, moving Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting online and suffering a $50 bln loss from stock swings are minor bumps. His bet-on-America philosophy faces a bigger challenge. Easy money does no favors for an insurance company with $130 bln of cash.

Mukesh Ambani gives Saudis a run for their money

4 May 2020

A $7 bln rights issue backstopped by the Reliance Industries boss will help keep his promise to cut debt. Although smaller than a delayed deal with Aramco, the discounted stock sale is a record for India. The symbolic significance should instil more confidence amid the pandemic.

Tesla’s Elon Musk turns from prey to predator

30 April 2020

The electric-car maker’s boss lashed out at state-imposed “fascist” lockdowns. Truth is, Tesla’s having a good crisis. Its $160 bln valuation bests all but Toyota. Rather than kvetching, Musk could use this firepower to seize the moment and expand global manufacturing capacity.