Viewsroom: Tesla/bitcoin, Hydrogen, French finance 11 Feb 2021 Elon Musk has gone full cryptocurrency. Tesla’s $1.5 bln bitcoin buy is a wink to virtual-investment, anti-establishment fervor, if a challenge to accounting rules, Richard Beales argues. Meantime, Japanese carmakers are going gaga for hydrogen, and Parisian finance is in tumult.
Engie’s timid breakup needs green boost 11 Feb 2021 The $39 bln French utility’s shares have lagged peers for years. New CEO Catherine MacGregor is simplifying the rambling group by selling part of its services unit. Spinning off the renewables division could give the stock a roughly 50% bump, and enable more climate-friendly M&A.
Draghi can finish old Italian bank job 10 Feb 2021 As Bank of Italy chief, Mario Draghi oversaw a bank merger wave that left Monte dei Paschi overstretched. As Italy’s next premier, he will get to decide the bailed-out lender’s fate. Selling it to a rival won’t come cheap but should spare taxpayers an even bigger bill in future.
Amundi governance cloud has M&A silver lining 10 Feb 2021 Europe’s biggest fund manager named Valérie Baudson CEO. The elevation of current boss Yves Perrier to chairman is an eyesore for a company that flaunts its ESG credentials. Yet given the $16 bln group’s need for acquisitions, keeping the seasoned dealmaker around makes sense.
Capital Calls: KKR, the investment bank 9 Feb 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The private equity firm run by Henry Kravis is building a useful capital-markets business, with almost half its deals last year for outside clients.
New Hong Kong bourse boss keeps eye beyond China 9 Feb 2021 Hiring JPMorgan’s international private bank chief Nicolas Aguzin signals overseas ambitions even after Charles Li’s failed attempt to buy the LSE. HKEX Chairman Laura Cha can help with Beijing. The bigger tasks will be to keep foreign investors sweet and the gateway opening.
Jeff Ubben’s soft touch could help hardened Exxon 5 Feb 2021 The activist behind Inclusive Capital may join the $204 billion oil giant’s board. He helped usher Ballmer out of Microsoft and encouraged an aging Adobe to transform. With vocal and quiet agitators at Exxon, shareholders need a diplomat. Ubben’s experience could prove useful.
Viewsroom: Bezos takes step back, Draghi steps up 4 Feb 2021 Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is handing the baton to Andy Jassy so he can spend more time with his rockets, a move that’s not always smooth sailing, Jennifer Saba tells Rob Cox. Meantime Mr. Whatever It Takes, Mario Draghi, is summoned to save Italy and Europe’s Hamiltonian moment.
It’s time HSBC’s big bosses followed the money 4 Feb 2021 The $108 bln bank may relocate the co-heads of its investment bank to Asia. There are good excuses for many financial services giants to avoid putting global chiefs in Hong Kong or Singapore. Given HSBC’s dependency on the region, however, it’s a wonder it has taken so long.
Amazon exposes flip side of tech’s governance ills 3 Feb 2021 Jeff Bezos built a $1.7 trln e-commerce firm without the dual-class shares or majority stakes that entrench founders at Alphabet and Facebook. So as he drops his CEO role, his remaining executive duties matter a lot. Microsoft offers some lessons that Amazon seems to have heeded.
Rupert Murdoch’s ESG flaws hurt more than ever 3 Feb 2021 Despite efforts to pare down and improve disclosure, $12 bln News Corp trades at a curiously deep discount, based on Breakingviews calculations. Online real estate and Dow Jones may be underappreciated. The media mogul’s bad governance and newspaper fetish also get in the way.
The Exchange: The long life of bad economic ideas 2 Feb 2021 From self-funding tax cuts to runaway executive pay, economists have provided intellectual support for seriously flawed policies. Reuters journalist Tom Bergin, author of “Free Lunch Thinking” tells Peter Thal Larsen how dodgy theories helped mislead politicians and the public.
Corona Capital: Vaccines, Dr. Martens 29 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Quantity matters with vaccines, while Permira gets an extra kick from the bootmaker.
Corona Capital: GDP, Corruption, Norway 28 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. output growth slows from a surge to a gentle trot; Transparency International flags that corruption and pandemic-fighting don’t mix; and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund sees its tech bets pay off.
Orcel gets second chance with UniCredit top job 26 Jan 2021 The Italian lender is set to pick the former UBS banker as its new chief executive. It gives Orcel an opportunity for redemption after a pay row cost him the chance to be Santander CEO. The former dealmaker’s first task will be to resist a rescue of state-owned Monte dei Paschi.
Leon Black report shoves Apollo in right direction 26 Jan 2021 The private equity firm unveiled shareholder-friendly changes following an investigation into its co-founder’s ties with Jeffrey Epstein. Plans to eliminate supervoting rights and separate Black’s CEO and chairman roles boosted shares. His full retirement would be better still.
Larry Fink flexes what green muscles he has 26 Jan 2021 The BlackRock boss will require companies to show how they will eliminate carbon emissions by 2050. The $9 trillion asset management giant’s largely passive funds cannot dump climate laggards. But Fink’s latest letter makes clear his active managers will show more strength.
The Exchange: Too much stimulus stores up big risk 26 Jan 2021 That’s the view of Oliver Baete, CEO of Allianz. Markets are pricing in vaccination perfection, as they’ve grown dependent on central bank and government largesse, he tells Rob Cox. But for the $97 billion German insurer, there’s still opportunity to be had in the year ahead.
UBS strength risks stifling new CEO’s reform zeal 26 Jan 2021 Ralph Hamers inherits a bank with a respectable valuation, tons of capital and healthy returns. Such performance could make him less likely to effect major changes at the $54 bln lender. That could be a problem given long-term weaknesses like slow growth and high costs.
EQT puts runaway share price to good use 26 Jan 2021 The $28 bln Swedish private equity firm linked to the Wallenbergs is issuing $800 mln of equity to the founders of Exeter, an American property investor. The deal expands its U.S. presence and helps diversify away from lumpy buyouts. While risky and expensive, it may just work.