How António Horta-Osório can bounce back (again) 18 Jan 2022 The tennis-loving Credit Suisse chair resigned after flouting quarantine rules. He’s survived a past personal scandal and is one of a small number of Europeans with a strong track record of running a big bank. Breakingviews imagines some advice from an optimistic headhunter.
Demographic flatline will test China’s generosity 18 Jan 2022 The population may have peaked in 2021, far earlier than expected. Beijing might prefer to continue to tackle root causes including high living costs, but a desire to prop up the economy in a key political year makes less disruptive, clumsy fixes like cash subsidies practical.
The Exchange: Xpeng boldly goes 18 Jan 2022 The Chinese electric-car maker has navigated everything from shrinking subsidies to Covid-19. Embracing new ways of working is critical, President Brian Gu tells Katrina Hamlin. Future forays into Europe, the metaverse and flying cars will test the Tesla rival’s resilience again.
New Credit Suisse chair has grim streak to break 17 Jan 2022 António Horta-Osório has resigned from the Swiss bank after flouting Covid-19 rules. It’s less than a year since he arrived to steady the lender following CEO Tidjane Thiam’s ousting. Incoming Chair Axel Lehmann, formerly of UBS, has to hope his reputation is more durable.
Capital Calls: BlackRock gets an active boost 14 Jan 2022 Concise views on global finance: A renaissance in active strategies at the world’s largest investment manager helped vault it past $10 trillion in assets under management.
Samsung tech prowess drained by governance woes 7 Jan 2022 Operating profit at the maker of microchips and Galaxy phones is set to hit a four-year high of $11.5 bln. Despite the dominance, it trades at a discount to Apple and TSMC. A recent management shakeup provides a chance to tidy up the leadership mess and boost shareholder returns.
Capital Calls: Beyond Meat’s faux chicken 5 Jan 2021 Concise views on global finance: The plant-based meat company’s shares jumped 5% on news KFC will offer its product. The extra value assumes benefits beyond selling buckets of substitute fried chicken.
Capital Calls: BlackBerry’s demise is a warning 4 Jan 2021 Concise views on global finance: Life support ends on Tuesday for the once ubiquitous phone's operating system. When cult gadgets lose their edge to devices that do much more, the descent can be inexorable.
Theranos jury draws a line between hype and lies 4 Jan 2022 Elizabeth Holmes, who touted non-existent capabilities for her now-defunct blood-testing startup, has been convicted of defrauding investors. If it stands, she faces jail time. Even in Silicon Valley, there's a limit to how flagrantly founders can fake it until they make it.
Wall Street will find ways to satisfy crypto envy 3 Jan 2022 Banks have mostly been shut out of the $2 trln digital asset craze. Many want in, but they will have to deal with murky regulation, a 24/7 market and patchy legal protections. A fight for profit and customers may also obscure other risks in a market untested by the mainstream.
What our columnists got right and wrong in 2021 31 Dec 2021 We look back at a year as unpredictable as its predecessor. We foresaw an M&A surge, even if some of the deals we called for, like Tesla buying Daimler, failed to materialize. But we nailed a few biggies, like Grab’s moment in the limelight, inflation’s return and mRNA’s success.
Jimmy Cayne fed myth of the Wall Street buccaneer 29 Dec 2021 The former Bear Stearns boss, who has died aged 87, is best known for leading his brokerage to near-collapse in 2008. The bridge-playing Cayne added a personal flavor to Bear’s fate. But the global financial crisis was a failure of entire systems, not a few individuals.
Mammoth re-engineering project begins: Germany 28 Dec 2021 Its manufacturing-led, carbon intensive economy is ill-suited to the 21st century. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and firms like Volkswagen will spend more on green and digital investment. The trick will be to plough on despite short-term supply chain problems and rising labour costs.
Capital Calls: Enel’s payments punt 24 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: The 70 bln euro utility is paying up to 361 mln euros for a relatively pricey punt on fellow Italian payments firm Mooney.
Italy will miss Mario Draghi’s premiership 23 Dec 2021 The ex-ECB boss may swap his prime minister role for that of president. A political version of a CEO-turned-chairman, Draghi could still steer affairs and reassure markets of Rome’s EU faith. But he would have less clout to push reform just as elections lead to stormier politics.
Capital Calls: Hedge fund fine 22 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: Britain’s FCA fines BlueCrest Capital 41 mln pounds, a third of the fund’s U.S. penalty.
China celebrity crackdown is tech’s horror show 21 Dec 2021 "Queen of livestreaming" Viya was fined $210 mln for tax evasion and had her social-media accounts shut. Investors wiped up to 12% off platform providers like Bilibili and Alibaba. The effect on the fast-growing $300 bln influencer market suggests that underestimates the risk.
The Exchange: Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg 21 Dec 2021 With an election looming early next year, the Liberal Party’s deputy leader discusses everything from booster shots to Big Tech, climate change to China, immigration to inflation, and more. He tells Jeffrey Goldfarb how his country can overcome the many economic challenges ahead.
Rio Tinto’s new chair is an odd change agent 20 Dec 2021 The $105 bln miner has appointed Dominic Barton to run its board. China experience fits well with managing Rio’s key relationship, but scandal tainted McKinsey while he ran the consultancy. For a group trying to move on from its own controversies, it’s a strange choice.
Capital Calls: Bundesbank, Biogen 20 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: The new head of Germany's central bank is a reassuringly boring choice; cutting the price of its Alzheimer's drug could help Biogen squeeze something out of what looks like a flop.