Review: Democrats’ chief firebrand fumbles message 19 May 2017 Elizabeth Warren's "This Fight is Our Fight" reads like a marker for a 2020 White House run. The senator from Massachusetts targets Donald Trump, lobbyists and Wall Street. Tales of struggling Americans are engagingly woven into the outrage. But her rote views limit her appeal.
ECB snared by bond-buying ambiguity 19 May 2017 European lawmakers have called for more transparency from the European Central Bank over its corporate bond purchases. The demands are flawed: the ECB discloses quite a lot and clarity can backfire. Yet it’s a reminder of the risks from central banks meddling in private credit.
Active-passive battle will end in ceasefire 19 May 2017 Index-trackers are eating into traditional investment managers' business – and could soon own half of U.S. equities held in funds. Even so, managers can find refuge in some places, like emerging-country debt. Shrinking market share may also help active investors outperform.
Japan’s job market is more brittle than it looks 19 May 2017 Unemployment is 2.8 pct and the country is on its longest growth streak in a decade. But some can only find part-time work, unions speak for just a minority, and productivity is patchy. So wage growth is anaemic - thwarting Premier Shinzo Abe's push for more inflation.
Alpha-seekers hedge their bets on America 18 May 2017 Despite being rejected by the White House, erstwhile fund manager Anthony Scaramucci is keeping the faith in Trump and his agenda. Many billionaire investors at his Sin City shindig are shorting the trade. Their money is on making European and emerging-market returns great again.
Guest view: U.S. energy independence is flawed aim 18 May 2017 The Trump administration is making oil self-sufficiency a top priority. Pursuing such a policy, however, puts the country at risk of missing out on important benefits of being a global buyer and seller, EY energy analysts argue. Interdependence, they say, is the better option.
Cox: Time to contemplate Mike Pence-onomics 18 May 2017 There is a whiff of impeachment in the air in Washington. That may still be an unlikely outcome, but Donald Trump's flawed stewardship of the Oval Office should be inspiring risk managers to run their rules over the fiscal views of the vice president from central casting.
Brazil’s corruption vortex engulfs reform hopes 18 May 2017 President Michel Temer has improved economic headlines, for example pushing inflation below 4.5 pct. Now he's implicated in the wider bribery scandal enveloping his government. A 10 pct drop in the stock market reflects fear that his unpopular but effective policies are on hold.
Theresa May’s manifesto leaves Brexit wiggle room 18 May 2017 Britain’s Tory party will slash migration and quit the EU without a deal if need be should it win a June 8 election. But its leader has left herself room to make Brexit very hard or relatively soft. That’s artful, but ensures adherents of one or the other will be disappointed.
Trump visit exposes Saudi Arabia’s insecurity 18 May 2017 The U.S. president is heading to Riyadh to rejuvenate an ailing alliance. Trade has suffered and America’s shale oil boom has undermined the kingdom’s status as a key energy supplier and security priority. Rather than build confidence, Trump’s trip could open old wounds.
Insurers take one step closer to intelligibility 18 May 2017 New accounting rules will force insurers to give a clearer picture of their liabilities. That should sweep aside national oddities, and stop firms using outdated assumptions that complicate comparisons. Yet while a step forward, aligning capital positions will remain a chore.
China’s confused market strategy reveals old flaws 17 May 2017 Top regulators rattled investors earlier this year with tough talk on financial risks. Now officials are trying to prop up stocks to provide a happy backdrop for showpiece political events. Even creating a proposed super-regulator cannot resolve such conflicting policy goals.
Viewsroom: CEO presidency needs boardroom pushback 17 May 2017 Donald Trump’s promise to run the government like a business is proving difficult but Congress could act like strong independent directors to rein in his wayward management. China’s ambitious Silk Road project could leave its people holding the bag. Plus: job cuts at Ford.
Wall Street waking up to Washington reality 17 May 2017 A notable dip in the S&P 500 Index represents only a minor setback for the so-called Trump rally. The dollar, however, has given back nearly all its post-election gains. Treasury yields also have retrenched. Stockholders remain too optimistic about any D.C. policy uplift.
Britain’s joyless job boom is nothing to celebrate 17 May 2017 A record three of every four working-age Britons is employed. But prices are rising faster than wages, and a post-Brexit crackdown on immigration threatens to limit further expansions in the workforce. That makes declining productivity an even bigger cause for alarm.
Hadas: Puerto Rico, Greece and bad-faith debt 17 May 2017 Both the U.S. territory and the euro zone laggard have fine beaches, irresponsible governments and a debt crisis. The most just and helpful response to such debacles is to force reckless lenders to write off loans. That’s a hard sell. Thankfully, few sovereigns are so careless.
Euro zone bonds are taboo worth breaking 17 May 2017 Spain wants the bloc’s 19 governments to pool their debt. That idea is likely to be shunned by Germany. Yet mutualisation is happening anyway through bailouts and central bank largesse, and countries are less profligate than they were. Common bonds needn’t mean wayward spending.
Lloyds bailout bill still isn’t paid in full 17 May 2017 The UK has recouped its 20.3 bln pounds on the once-failing lender. It wouldn’t matter if it hadn’t, since rescuing Lloyds helped save the banking system. Still, just as the real returns outweigh the financial ones, so do the costs: austerity and mistrust of the industry.
Labour’s risky UK manifesto requires Brexit context 16 May 2017 Britain’s opposition party has outlined tax rises for companies and the rich to pay for higher spending. Potential payers could get around them. Yet what Labour is proposing isn’t that much more risky than the “hard Brexit” the ruling Conservative party may deliver.
GIC’s humbling retreat from UBS makes sense 16 May 2017 The Singaporean wealth fund is losing money by selling a chunk of the bank it helped rescue nearly a decade ago. Even long-term investors have limits to their patience. A bounce in global financial stocks could tempt others such as Temasek to sift the wheat from the chaff.