Russia’s gold reserves buy Putin a few options 28 Mar 2022 The Russian leader has a $140 bln stash of the yellow metal. Using it, however, can require shell companies and middlemen. Putin’s regime may have some experience helping Venezuela turn bullion into euros. Though U.S. prosecutors will give chase, the gold trail is hard to follow.
Joe Biden nods at fiscal discipline 28 Mar 2022 The U.S. president is pitching a 2023 budget that would make America's deficit about $1 trln smaller than it would otherwise become over a decade. One proposal is a billionaires’ tax. Though that's a tough political sell, the package is a modest tilt toward a healthier ledger.
Russian gas gets harder to buy, but easier to snub 25 Mar 2022 Vladimir Putin’s call for Moscow’s hydrocarbon customers to pay in roubles puts Europe in a quandary. Still, Washington and Brussels are fleshing out a valid Plan B to Kremlin gas. That implies the Russian leader’s power to make market prices go haywire may start to wane.
Sea’s ‘Free Fire’ churns up Singapore-India ties 25 Mar 2022 New Delhi’s ban on the mobile game persists despite diplomatic intervention. The clash, tangled in Chinese tensions, casts a shadow over India’s relations with one of its biggest foreign investors. Rising nationalist sentiment on both sides will make rifts harder to heal.
The Covid effect: Sheds, Hong Kong, Conferences 24 Mar 2022 The pandemic continues to shape business and policy around the world. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate a possible 21 bln euro bid for city-centre warehouses, the relaxing of restrictions in Hong Kong, and a recent conflab of M&A advisers in New Orleans.
Chinese sanctions would be a warning versus a slap 24 Mar 2022 The White House vowed consequences if the People’s Republic helps Russia evade restrictions. It requires a delicate jig to avoid pushing the pair closer. Penalties, such as secondary sanctions, may be narrow at first but could quickly ratchet up beyond past punishment playbooks.
Britain’s limp economic fix leaves need to do more 23 Mar 2022 Finance minister Rishi Sunak cut taxes on fuel and incomes to ease a cost-of-living squeeze. Still, the measures are blunt and less generous than countries like France. With energy bills set to soar, he’ll soon need to dip into the 30 bln pounds of wiggle room he has left over.
Total becomes unlikely Russia sanctions poster boy 23 Mar 2022 The French group has belatedly started to pull out of its Russian business. Although it’s not selling local assets or exiting gas, it will stop buying oil. That strengthens the private-sector boycott of Moscow’s crude and puts pressure on governments to take tougher measures.
Energy windfall taxes are messy, unfair, and vital 23 Mar 2022 Europe can theoretically raise hundreds of billions of euros from utilities benefitting from soaring energy prices. To get near that this year, some utilities could be shaken down inefficiently or unjustly. Public anger at rising energy bills means states still have to try.
On the Ukraine refugee crisis, watch Canada 22 Mar 2022 The country that claims the second-largest Ukrainian diaspora has already done more than its southern neighbor to help those fleeing war. Unlike trade, immigration is one area where Ottawa has clout. Canada could prove an example to countries far removed from the crisis.
Ukraine truce or not, pre-war order is gone 22 Mar 2022 Investors are cheering any progress in talks between the country and invading Russia. But even if the fighting stops, the West won’t lift sanctions right away. Relations with Russia will take years to mend. And Europe will still crank up investment in energy security and defence.
Russians lose private banks’ golden goose status 21 Mar 2022 Spooked by sanctions, wealth managers are treating all Russian clients as suspicious. That limits the scope to offer lucrative loans or new products to customers who have $213 bln stashed in Swiss banks. Higher compliance costs will turn them from cash cows to financial baggage.
Hong Kong stumbles into pandemic policy pirouette 21 Mar 2022 The city is easing travel restrictions that were accelerating emigration: an acceptance that contradictory policies have ended in failure with infections rampant. If moving out of step with mainland China delays reopening of that critical border, people might keep leaving anyway.
Tokyo gets helpful shove from unhelpful war 21 Mar 2022 Other nations bewail the prospect of $150 oil barrels, but inflation won’t cripple Japan where price growth remains tepid. Russia is a negligible export market for local companies, and the war has already given officials an excuse to restart nuclear plants and end pandemic lockdowns.
Future militaries will be pricey and fully loaded 18 Mar 2022 Western armies may get an extra $100 bln a year to counter Russian aggression. Orders for tanks, missiles and bombers have boosted defence stocks like Britain’s BAE and Germany’s Rheinmetall. NATO allies will also need more soldiers and revamped nuclear arsenals.
A TuSimple China reversal would be hard to follow 18 Mar 2022 The $3 bln autonomous-truck upstart may sell its unit in the People's Republic. Splitting the Chinese-run firm would allay data concerns. Partners like UPS and better prospects make its U.S. business more appealing. Other Chinese entrepreneurs would struggle to take such an exit.
Nickel gets nixed, French firms linger in Russia 17 Mar 2022 The war in Ukraine is affecting far corners of global finance. In the Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how the conflict helped bring nickel trading to a halt in London. And why oil giant Total and carmaker Renault are resisting the exodus by Western companies.
Capital Calls: Electric vehicles 17 Mar 2022 Concise views on global finance: Tesla and BYD price hikes show that EV makers need to push harder to slim down designs and jettison expensive materials.
China Inc walks tightest of ropes over Ukraine 17 Mar 2022 Alibaba, Didi and ByteDance are at the pointy end of Beijing’s ambiguous position on Russia’s aggression. Others including chipmaker SMIC must tread carefully to avoid secondary sanctions. This war could accelerate the downgrade of Chinese companies’ global ambitions.
Russia punches economic hole above its weight 16 Mar 2022 The country that was a trade minnow during the Cold War became a big commodities exporter. That’s why the isolation of an economy smaller than Texas is pushing up global prices of energy, wheat and other goods. Though some countries can help fill the gap, consumers will suffer.