Politics

Capital Calls: Corporate America blowback

15 June 2021

Concise views on global finance: An investor lawsuit against Trump-era rules on shareholders' proposals is the latest sign of the tables turning.

Beijing finally gives China shorts a helping hand

15 June 2021

Central government crackdowns and the collapse of U.S.-based fund Archegos have delivered selective relief to investors betting against Chinese companies listed in New York. Caution is warranted as outbound investment quotas ease. Patriotic reinforcements are on the way.

India is well placed to fight G7 tax deal’s flaws

10 June 2021

The country wants to charge big tech companies on the basis of local revenue or users, rather than profit. A rich-nation plan offers little on this front. India’s 1.3 bln population and relative openness to foreign companies give it good ground to push for fairer digital levies.

Blocked Nvidia-Arm M&A would hit SoftBank hard

8 June 2021

CEO Masayoshi Son agreed to sell his chip designer to the U.S. giant for $40 bln. If governments or competition authorities scupper the deal, an IPO would be the obvious Plan B. Based on sector valuations, $20 bln may be a realistic public price tag, landing SoftBank with a loss.

The Exchange: EU Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis

8 June 2021

With vaccination programs catching up with America and Britain, Europe is poised to rebound, the former Latvian premier, who is also responsible for an “Economy that Works for People,” tells Rob Cox in an interview hosted by the European-American Chamber of Commerce New York.

Hong Kong devolving into economic monoculture

8 June 2021

Banks including Citi and UBS are hiring in the city, but other industries are looking to move headcount to Singapore or Shanghai. The financial hub is becoming dangerously one-dimensional: a recipe for rapid stagnation, not the renaissance Beijing promises.

Capital Calls: Medline’s money machine

7 June 2021

Concise views on global finance: Blackstone and partners’ purchase of a majority stake in the $34 bln medical equipment maker could generate a big windfall for its founding family, without the clan members handing over the keys to their empire.

Taxes are good first, knotty global step forward

7 June 2021

A G7 accord on a 15% minimum corporate tax, plus at-source levies on big firms helps rich nations shore up pandemic-hit coffers. Details are hazy but after years of wrangling it raises hopes of resolving harder multilateral challenges, principally in combatting climate change.

Capital Calls: Turkish gas, Generali, Garuda

4 June 2021

Concise views on global finance: President Erdogan’s “good news” on hydrocarbons smells off; the Italian insurer’s 1.5 bln euro bid for NN Group’s asset management unit may trigger a shootout; the Indonesian flag carrier’s long struggle to avoid bankruptcy is coming to a head.

Viewsroom: Vaccine carrots and sticks, plus donuts

3 June 2021

Governments and companies are dangling incentives for people to get jabbed against Covid-19. But it will take more than free weed, lottery tickets and beer to reach herd immunity, Jeff Goldfarb explains. And Dasha Afanasieva says take the pastries, leave the Krispy Kreme shares.

Capital Calls: AMC craziness, Pro lacrosse

2 June 2021

Concise views on global finance: The movie-theater chain raised $230 million from a hedge fund, which promptly sold the shares at a profit; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Alibaba's Joe Tsai are betting on the latest U.S. effort to professionalize the preppy sport.

The Exchange: Steering Europe’s green transition

1 June 2021

Frans Timmermans has a key leadership role in the European Union’s quest to reduce its 2030 emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels. Ahead of a major set of green policy updates next month, he talks to George Hay about both these and November’s COP26 conference.

Vaccine lollipops will give way to bitter medicine

1 June 2021

Qantas plans to award frequent flyer miles as Hong Kong waives quarantine for bankers, expanding a list of incentives to get immunised. Tougher tactics like denying the uninoculated entry to venues are also starting. It augurs an ugly divide between the jabbed and the jab-nots.

Chinese working women will rue three-child policy

1 June 2021

Beijing has cranked up the birth cap again, a desperate sign as families shrink. Doubling budgets for healthcare - way below par at 3% of GDP - and education might help. But the men who run China are stingy, and discrimination against female professionals will worsen.

Truck-sharing IPO hurtles down risky road

1 June 2021

The $20 bln valuation China’s Manbang is targeting is an axle-stressing 465 times last year’s small adjusted profit. The SoftBank-backed firm operates in a fast-growing market, but faces stiff competition and heightened regulation. Justifying the IPO price will be a long haul.

Italy sovereign wealth fund gets market friendlier

27 May 2021

Dario Scannapieco will run state investor Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. Under Fabrizio Palermo the $500 bln fund intervened boldly in M&A and hoovered up stakes in assets like Euronext. A change of the guard, under liberal Premier Mario Draghi, suggests a welcome recalibration.

Capital Calls: Airbus signals liftoff, Bill Gates

27 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The global aircraft industrial complex got a boost after the European plane maker said it hopes to churn out more of its A320 short-haul workhorses per month than expected; Microsoft founder’s huge private investment vehicle under scrutiny.

UK sends mixed message with London IPO veto

26 May 2021

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is seeking powers to block stock market offerings that threaten national security. Even if used rarely, the move is at odds with his drive to lure firms to list in London after Brexit. It’s another sign of the government’s ideological inconsistency.

Huawei gets pushed toward collision with Alibaba

26 May 2021

Founder Ren Zhengfei wants his embattled hardware company to shift focus to cloud computing and software. That will pit him against the $570 bln e-commerce giant, which is also moving into IT services. Huawei's scale and resources make it a formidable threat.

U.S. tech will slip the new global tax net

25 May 2021

The G7 may soon agree a 15% minimum corporate levy. That’s too low to stop profit being shifted to havens, which may dream up new sweeteners. And until Amazon and others pay taxes where they make sales, countries like France, Britain, and India will lose out as tech profit grows.