Ping An untangles one knot in its leadership 2 Jul 2020 Ma Mingzhe is giving up his CEO role and will remain chairman of the $187 bln insurer. The split is welcome but quirky governance endures with three other co-CEOs. Multiple bosses can be effective when responsibilities are clearly divided. Ping An mostly ticks that box.
New Standard Life boss may give dividend the bird 30 Jun 2020 Keith Skeoch is leaving the $7 bln fund group shortly after his co-CEO Martin Gilbert. With both architects of the Standard Life Aberdeen merger gone, successor Stephen Bird faces a lengthy turnaround, made harder by Covid-19. A fat payout looks like an unaffordable luxury.
Paroled Chinese tycoon greases GOME rally 26 Jun 2020 Shares of the $4.5 bln electronics retailer rallied as much as 25% after founder Huang Guangyu was released after a decade in jail. GOME has lost money for years, but investors are betting his return, plus recent deals with JD.com, herald a comeback. That could be a long shot.
Deal for Mark Wahlberg gym needs post-Covid energy 25 Jun 2020 A SPAC is buying the F45 gym group backed by the actor-musician for an enterprise value of $845 million. If projections pan out, that's a bargain next to Peloton and Planet Fitness. Heavy lifting is needed, though, to rebound from the coronavirus and keep new franchisees coming.
SoftBank-Alibaba distancing has further to go 25 Jun 2020 Masayoshi Son is leaving the e-commerce group’s board after 15 years. The Japanese group just raised $11.5 bln using some of its Alibaba stake; its valuation discount gives it reason to keep selling. Being a major investor in both U.S. and Chinese firms will also only get harder.
Jeff Ubben gives Wall Street its Fukuyama moment 24 Jun 2020 ValueAct’s founder declared “finance is, like, done” as he left to start an ESG fund. True, it’s harder for traditional activists to make money. But like the academic who claimed that history had ended, Ubben’s off the mark – as his new climate and social gig is likely to prove.
The Exchange: Pehr Gyllenhammar 23 Jun 2020 Long-time Volvo CEO Pehr Gyllenhammar was pushing radical environmental and social changes at the carmaker long before they became fashionable. One of Sweden’s most admired businessmen argues why CEOs should be paid less and how it felt to become a father again at 81.
New City watchdog head fits UK’s Brexit challenge 22 Jun 2020 The financial regulator’s next CEO will be Nikhil Rathi, an ex-Treasury official who runs London’s stock exchange. His background suggests PM Boris Johnson sees the need to help Britain’s hub after the EU exit. That may also make it harder to resist pressure for lower standards.
Corona Capital: Payments systems, Shale 22 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Payments systems get some good news, shale oil drilling’s double whammy.
Corona Capital: UK debt, Oaktree, KKR, Chanel 19 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: UK government borrowing surges past GDP; Howard Marks is sceptical about the stock market revival; KKR bets on cheap and local European holidays; Chanel takes a gloomier view than rivals on the luxury rebound.
Ray-Ban mogul’s late financial quest is baffling 19 Jun 2020 Leonardo Del Vecchio is building his shareholding in Mediobanca. The investment bank’s stake in insurer Generali puts it at the heart of Italian corporate power. The 85-year-old may be motivated by financial gains or prestige. Equally unclear is who inherits his expanded empire.
Andrew Bailey can freeload on Fed and ECB largesse 18 Jun 2020 The Bank of England boss will buy an extra 100 billion pounds of bonds, but at a slower pace. His peers are being more open-handed. For example, banks just borrowed 1.3 trillion euros from the European Central Bank. Ample global liquidity will help Bailey contain UK debt yields.
HSBC CEO requires a sharper cost-cutting axe 17 Jun 2020 Noel Quinn is resuming plans to slash expenses - a programme that he had put on hold amid global lockdowns. With bad debt rising, he’ll need even deeper cuts than before to hit an 11% return on tangible equity target. The original plan for 35,000 job losses may not be enough.
Wirecard CEO is approaching his day of reckoning 16 Jun 2020 The $14 bln payments group is due to publish its delayed 2019 annual results on Thursday. If EY flags issues with its accounts, Markus Braun’s position will be untenable. Even the auditor’s seal of approval may not save the chief executive from investors who want him out.
GE institutionalizes outsider executive culture 15 Jun 2020 John Slattery is the first non-legacy GE employee in decades to run Aviation, the U.S. firm’s crown jewel. It’s a bold move by fellow outsider, CEO Larry Culp. Among Slattery’s challenges is to manage GE’s ties with Boeing – which just snatched another job from under his nose.
Tencent’s China car deal defies and disappoints 15 Jun 2020 A consortium led by the tech giant has agreed to buy New York-listed Bitauto for $1.1 bln, the same price proposed months ago. Globally, buyers have tried to cut lower prices on pre-pandemic deals. But the outlook for China’s auto market is rosier: Tencent is getting a bargain.
Review: Trump’s fight with China will outlast him 12 Jun 2020 The U.S. president started the trade war but “Superpower Showdown” shows that anger with Beijing predates him. The account of the tariff row, which partly played out on Twitter, is familiar. Even so, it’s a warning that miscalculations on both sides can haunt long-term ties.
Volkswagen boss loses control at critical juncture 10 Jun 2020 The German carmaker’s board axed Herbert Diess as CEO of its flagship brand after his loose tongue got him in trouble again. He keeps the top job after apologising. But the spat distracts VW recovering from the pandemic and taking on Tesla. Diess can’t afford any more accidents.
Corona Capital: Goldman, Vroom, Deutsche Bank 9 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Goldman does too well in Britain; shares in online used-car sales outfit Vroom double on their market debut; and Deutsche Bank gets another shot at redemption in the U.S. market.
The “Trump option” still has value for U.S. CEOs 4 Jun 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.