Skilling could have earned stripes more usefully 31 Aug 2018 The former Enron CEO was released from prison into a halfway house. During his time behind bars, corporate malfeasance flourished but prosecutions dropped. Using high-profile arrests as a deterrent doesn’t work if prosecutors don’t catch criminals. Felons could help.
NAFTA survival rests on Ottawa showmanship 29 Aug 2018 Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland is talking up how Mexico’s U.S. “concessions” help Canada. Now she needs a deal, not least on the country’s punitive dairy tariffs, that keeps both the U.S. president and her anti-Trump fellow citizens happy. That’ll require some smooth talking.
Only trophy hunters would bid $3 bln for Chelsea 29 Aug 2018 That’s what Roman Abramovich wants for the barely-profitable London soccer club, the Times says. But Chelsea’s dependence on selling players and the need to rebuild its stadium makes it hard for a new owner to earn a return. Any buyer would have to put glory ahead of money.
Hadas: The missed opportunity to do Brexit right 29 Aug 2018 Planning for “no deal” should embarrass serious supporters of Britain’s departure from the European Union. An abrupt break will cut thousands of crucial ties and create chaos. The pro-Brexit crew could have learned from the EU’s history of backing high deals with dull details.
Opioids and trade war create toxic cocktail 28 Aug 2018 An inflow of lethal fentanyl from China helped America record nearly 72,000 fatal drug overdoses last year. A breakdown of trust over tariffs may make it harder to cooperate over this dangerous import, and fuel unhelpful arguments about whether supply or demand is to blame.
UK-Africa trade is tiny plaster for Brexit wounds 28 Aug 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May hopes deeper ties with the continent will help cushion the blow of leaving the EU. But UK trade with sub-Saharan Africa is less than 3 pct of what it exchanges with Europe. With Nigeria and South Africa in the doldrums, prospects for growth look slim.
Latam’s market-friendly shift is at a parlous pass 27 Aug 2018 Argentina’s faltering growth imperils President Macri’s reforms. Mexico has delayed oil liberalization. Brazil’s main pro-business presidential candidate looks weak. Losing fiscal nous and foreign investment in the region’s biggest economies would hit business and the poor alike.
For a Republican, McCain was a financial maverick 26 Aug 2018 The Arizona senator, who died Saturday, was famous for his independent streak. Last year he helped block the repeal of Obamacare. He refused to toe the party line on big finance, too, often working with Democrats – including on reining Wall Street after the financial crisis.
South Africa has thin defense against Trump thump 24 Aug 2018 The U.S. president’s complaint about the killing of white farmers didn’t much rattle markets, but South Africa’s trade-dependent economy can’t afford a fight with the White House. The only comfort: leader Cyril Ramaphosa is more business-friendly than his ousted predecessor.
As Trump goes low, Fed goes high 24 Aug 2018 Jerome Powell sees little risk of economic overheating, indicating the Fed will raise rates again next month. The U.S. central bank chief’s first public comments since the U.S. president said he wasn’t thrilled with Powell’s policies suggest he’s largely impervious to Trump.
Mom and pop put a face on U.S. trade folly 24 Aug 2018 Sellers of wedding dresses, lawn sweepers and bike helmets have asked U.S. officials to drop tariffs on $200 bln of Chinese imports. They show how much lower-tech production has moved abroad, taking American jobs, but also how that has created new ones and saved consumers money.
Italy’s Trump card shows bond market fragility 24 Aug 2018 The U.S. President offered to buy Italian debt, according to one newspaper. Donald Trump may want to help a eurosceptic government but has limited scope to mitigate the damage that Rome’s policies are inflicting on domestic asset prices. Help is better sought closer to home.
Australian politicians play with economic fire 24 Aug 2018 Malcolm Turnbull has been forced out, ushering in the country's sixth prime minister in a decade. Political turmoil contrasts with 27 years of unbroken growth. But reforms are hard to implement and voters are disgruntled. The economy’s immunity to upheaval in Canberra is waning.
Anti-dollar push can fly in Beijing but not Berlin 24 Aug 2018 Germany’s foreign minister wants a payments system that’s independent of the United States. Europe will struggle to set it up given close transatlantic economic and financial ties. China is better placed and could demand that all who want to access its economy use an alternative.
Fed vice chair deserves to be top global bank cop 23 Aug 2018 Allies of President Donald Trump have slammed the Financial Stability Board, but Randal Quarles is a strong supporter. Putting the U.S. central banker in charge of the body that oversees financial regulation when Mark Carney steps down would help maintain global rules.
Corbyn goes mainstream with UK tech tax idea 23 Aug 2018 The opposition Labour Party’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn, wants to tax tech giants like Google and Facebook to fund journalism. The normally radical politician is in line with European thinking. His proposed solution has flaws but a better designed subsidy would be worth considering.
Britain can limit no-deal Brexit currency crisis 23 Aug 2018 The UK is publishing contingency plans for a no-deal EU exit. Its unspoken parachute, however, is Britain’s vast pile of overseas assets, which cushion a sterling crash and calm solvency fears. The bad news is that the impact on the City of London could erode that defence.
Smug markets underestimate Trump volatility risk 22 Aug 2018 The U.S. president renewed his auto-tariff threat after a former campaign chief was convicted of tax fraud and his ex-lawyer implicated him in election-finance abuses. Duties on $500 bln in Chinese imports also loom. Yet investors aren’t pricing in the potential economic damage.
Hadas: Shareholder value is a hard habit to kick 22 Aug 2018 Elizabeth Warren remembers when companies served the common good as well as investors. But the U.S. senator is wrong to hope that the old days can be restored with a few tweaks to governance. Renewed corporate responsibility requires big changes in five entrenched practices.
U.S. coal-power plan blows little but hot air 21 Aug 2018 Donald Trump wants to let states set their own emissions rules. It may save some coal plants for a while. But banks prefer not to fund them, other electricity sources are cheaper – or soon will be – and renewable energy provides far more jobs. These trends will win out.