Politics

Review: China experts enter their own “New Era”

27 April 2018

Two new books from respected scholars try to make sense of the country under Xi Jinping. Both see it fast moving toward a more centralised political regime, with messy and probably unpredictable consequences. As interesting is the shifting mood among China analysts themselves.

U.S. sanctions rethink is only partly reassuring

24 April 2018

A Treasury decision to delay the effects of sanctions on Rusal and allow it to disentangle itself from Oleg Deripaska has boosted the shares of the Russian group. But it leaves U.S. policy harder to gauge. That doesn’t augur well for next month’s crunch decision on Iran.

Europe tests limits of net neutrality benefits

23 April 2018

Countries like Britain and the Netherlands are taking a strict approach to rules on treating internet traffic equally whereas the United States may roll them back. If opponents of net neutrality are right, Europeans will end up with less investment in networks and worse services.

Breakdown: Telecom Italia’s three-way poker game

23 April 2018

The incumbent telco is entangled in its umpteenth debilitating corporate fight. The row pits U.S. activist investor Paul Singer against French financier Vincent Bolloré. But an Italian state investor may be the key player. Breakingviews explains how the cards will fall.

Trump’s OPEC smackdown more relevant than it looks

20 April 2018

The president slammed the oil cartel for production cuts that spurred the highest oil prices since 2014. Whatever his intent, members meeting in Jeddah should be wary of leaving the field open for rivals. A U.S. shale-drilling frenzy would hurt prices more than a tweet.

Review: How to deprogram economic xenophobia

20 April 2018

In "Us vs. Them", political scientist Ian Bremmer joins the crowd bewailing the retreat of globalisation. He identifies roots and risks, but finds no easy fixes. Ideas like universal basic income and taxing robots are band-aids. What's needed is a better global school system.

Japan would take turn for worse without Abe

20 April 2018

Allegations of cronyism could bring Shinzo Abe’s five-year run as deflation killer to an end. While ultra-loose monetary policies may live on, one potential successor is more focused on North Korea than structural reforms. Markets are being sanguine about the potential fallout.

Viewsroom: Fintech’s growing pains

19 April 2018

Upstarts like LendingClub and SoFi need to find ways to keep customers returning – just as traditional banks are fighting back and Goldman Sachs’ digital push into consumer lending takes off. Also: how Malaysia’s prime minister may be re-elected despite the 1MDB scandal.

Beijing sets off careless Wanda fire sale

19 April 2018

Officials pushed the developer to shed assets to pay down debt, forcing it to scramble to stave off default. Buyers of its properties got discounts that let them book billions in quick profit. In retrospect, Beijing’s meddling looks more hapless than prudent.

Cuba rings changes while trying to stay the same

18 April 2018

Raul Castro's coming handover of Cuba's presidency is an effort to prolong beyond his own life span the communist revolution he built with late brother Fidel. Trying to modernize could also destroy it, though. And with neighbor Venezuela getting less able to provide cheap oil, economic reform can't wait.

Hadas: Knowledge is better shared than patented

18 April 2018

China is moving towards stronger protection of intellectual property. Trump’s prodding may speed up the pace. But hoarding knowledge is getting harder and less worthwhile, especially in developing countries. A global “Republic of Technology” may eventually replace patent wars.

KPMG woes force South Africa to consider Big Three

18 April 2018

The audit firm’s future in the country is in doubt after it was sacked by the government – its biggest client – following the second scandal in under a year. Regulators have long worried about losing one of the Big Four global firms. South Africa provides a reluctant test case.

Review: Comey is flawed champion of civics revival

17 April 2018

In his blockbuster memoir, the ex-FBI director who prosecuted Martha Stewart and worked at Bridgewater calls Donald Trump an unethical liar and a threat to American institutions. His yarn is riveting, but reveals Comey’s mix of principled leadership and sanctimonious showboating.

L&G’s gender revolt has revealingly low bar

17 April 2018

The 983 bln pound asset manager will vote against chairs at UK companies if boards have too few women. It’s a laudable move. But the 25 pct threshold looks low, and traps groups as big as Barclays or London Stock Exchange. Diversity in British boardrooms has a long way to go.

China’s two-track money policy hangs over economy

17 April 2018

Even as GDP grew 6.8 pct, industrial activity looks cooler, auguring a softer government line on bad debt. Higher official interest rates are being offset by short-term injections that keep the real cost of cash down. That could weaken the yuan and stir up more trade trouble.

Trump’s Fed is more rerun than reality TV

16 April 2018

Nominating economist and Pimco adviser Richard Clarida as vice chair and regulator Michelle Bowman to the board are predictable moves. With the central bank, the U.S. president has shunned the turmoil sown elsewhere in government. For investors, that's comforting continuity.

Russia’s banks could once more be its airbag

16 April 2018

The Kremlin has already authorised short-term liquidity to metals group Rusal. If the U.S. sanctions net gets cast wider, Moscow could use its control of the big Russian banks to prop up stricken companies. After all, that’s what it did when things last got dicey in 2014.

Trump spins trade wheel in friendlier direction

13 April 2018

The U.S. president is thinking of rejoining the TPP – an 11-member group set up in part as a bulwark against Trump's trading bugbear, China. Sharing should make that easier, while also appeasing American farmers. The question is whether Trump can compromise for long – or at all.

Review: America’s founding was all about the money

13 April 2018

“New World, Inc.” explores the role of British merchant adventurers in laying the groundwork for the colonial settlements in Virginia and Plymouth. The book is a prequel of sorts to the Pilgrim creation myth that suggests Mammon, not religious freedom, drove America's creation.

Qatar/Exxon love-in makes two types of sense

12 April 2018

Deepening its relationship with the Texas-based oil major would tie the Arab state more closely to the U.S. after recent tensions with Saudi Arabia. It also gets Exxon investing in infrastructure. That could open up the global market, to the benefit of both parties.