Big Oil drills through White House policy crust 7 Mar 2017 Energy industry bosses, including Exxon's, kicked off their annual Houston hootenanny with reassuring words about the environment and free trade. They notably clashed with the new administration's climate-change and border-tax positions. Global market forces will be hard to move.
New U.S. healthcare plan is in critical condition 7 Mar 2017 After deriding Obamacare for years, Republicans have rolled out an alternative afflicted with financial and political problems. It would worsen insurance-exchange woes, raise costs for many Americans and weaken Medicare. The prognosis from Washington and Wall Street is dire.
UK retailers get a spring reality check 7 Mar 2017 Rising food and fuel costs are forcing shoppers to spend less on clothing and other discretionaries. That is bad news for stores that are already having to cut prices to attract business. With their own costs going up, retailers are about to be squeezed on multiple fronts.
Virtual-reality hype fades, 3D printing solidifies 6 Mar 2017 Tepid sales, legal questions, immature technology and a chicken-and-egg problem are putting dreams of immersive digital worlds on the back shelf. Meanwhile, steady progress is burning away disillusionment over digital manufacturing to order, as a Ford initiative makes clear.
Latam tax amnesties test private banks’ stamina 6 Mar 2017 Latin American countries are finding that tax forgiveness programs can bring billions in hidden assets into the open. UBS and Credit Suisse are discovering that the process can cause chunky asset outflows. Moving onshore could help the Swiss giants retain their share of the pie.
Macron pitches novel way to imperil EU banks 6 Mar 2017 The French presidential favourite wants ministers, not regulators, to set capital rules for banks and insurers. Despite the ECB’s best efforts, oversight remains far from harmonised. Handing the reins to politicians would just add financial stability concerns to the mix.
Slower China growth plan begs for labour reform 6 Mar 2017 Beijing has set a GDP growth target for 2017 of 6.5 pct as it seeks to revive stalled reforms and cut industrial overcapacity. Yet the leadership still wants unemployment below 4.5 pct. This aggressive goal, alongside an inflexible labour policy, could create new problems.
Northern Ireland vote sends Brexit warning shot 4 Mar 2017 Nationalist party Sinn Fein made surprise gains in snap elections, buoyed by discontent with the ruling unionist DUP. That puts the duo, who must govern together, on a more equal but confrontational footing. The result may be a bumpier path for Britain’s EU exit negotiations.
Review: Libor revealed dark underbelly of trading 3 Mar 2017 Two new books show how the benchmark interest rate underpinning many of the world's financial products was rigged. Jailed trader Tom Hayes leads a cast of deceitful or inept bankers, brokers and regulators. Yet both tomes might have said more about how to stop future malfeasance.
Saudi Arabia’s Asian pivot looks defensive 3 Mar 2017 A rare royal visit to the region shows the oil-rich kingdom’s vulnerability. Declining U.S. demand and competition from Iran and Iraq make Eastern customers more important. Saudi can offer something rivals can’t - splashy investments and the IPO of its state oil producer, Aramco.
White House circles America’s welcome wagons 2 Mar 2017 Donald Trump has become the world’s antagonizer-in-chief, questioning the One China policy and imposing travel bans. Interest in visiting the United States, where foreign tourists spend $250 bln a year, has plunged since he took office. A damaged image will hurt the economy.
Schulz woos German voters with wrong reforms 2 Mar 2017 Angela Merkel’s Social Democratic challenger wants to roll back some of the labour market reforms pushed through 15 years ago by his own party. This plays well with voters but may harm Germany’s growth prospects. Abandoning excessive fiscal rigour would be the better U-turn.
Macau’s hot streak depends on mainland momentum 2 Mar 2017 Gaming magnate Sheldon Adelson was right: Macau did hit bottom last year. Casino revenue in the gambling enclave keeps rising, up 18 pct last month to a two-year high. But everything hinges on China's economic health. If strains worsen, Macau's fortunes could change fast.
Northern Ireland may bolster case for own spinoff 2 Mar 2017 If Thursday’s elections produce a stalemate, London may have to rule the thorny region directly. The 9 bln pound cost per year of propping up the region is likely to grow after Brexit, but a united Ireland is problematic too. The north is a prize no one wants.
Hadas: Enough with the cult of Warren Buffett 1 Mar 2017 The sage of Omaha's folk wisdom and America cheerleading have been big factors in the unwarranted worship of his style of financial capitalism. Buffett's investing prowess is laudable. He is, however, a big winner in a zero-sum game, and that actually does little for the economy.
Dimming Olympic flame casts long shadow on bloat 1 Mar 2017 Budapest saw the light and became the fourth city to drop its bid for the 2024 Summer Games, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris in the race. With the ranks of potential hosts getting exhausted, one good way to save the global athletic fest would be to cut events back to basics.
France’s Macron faces peril of becoming mainstream 1 Mar 2017 Former front-runner Francois Fillon is persisting with a presidential bid despite new legal woes. That should help Emmanuel Macron. But the centrist is rapidly losing the useful cachet of being an outsider in what’s becoming a straight contest with far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
Research “Big Bang” sifts losers from megastars 1 Mar 2017 Sellside firms must charge fund managers an explicit price for European securities analysis from next year. Research is already competitive - hence brokerage CLSA chopping 90 staff in the Americas. More jobs will go, even as the best analysts command fatter pay packets.
What Christine Lagarde might say to Marine Le Pen 28 Feb 2017 The presidential candidate wants France to quit Europe’s single currency. The possibility that she might win is already spooking markets. Breakingviews imagines the advice Le Pen might get from her compatriot, International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde.
Trump’s “European Apprentice” is a real-life sequel 28 Feb 2017 The president’s support for Brexit and criticism of the European Union makes its members nervous. Though leaders publicly pledge a united front, they are privately jockeying for influence in his administration. It’s a closed-door version of the TV contest that made Trump famous.