Huarong foreign bondholders get sweet nothings 21 Apr 2021 The market is stabilising around the troubled bad debt manager holding $21 bln in dollar bonds. Its key offshore unit says it has returned to profit; Beijing notes Huarong has adequate liquidity. It’s better than silence but thin gruel for a relief rally.
UK climate goals could use a short-term stick 20 Apr 2021 PM Boris Johnson has committed to hit tougher CO2 emissions targets by 2035. That’s good, but the most important decade for tackling climate change is the 2020s. A better way to spur action would be to make it politically or legally difficult to duck shorter-term carbon goals.
Capital Calls: Bank of America, WeWork, Kering 20 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance: The bank’s shareholders voted against a deeper dive into its impact on racial inequality; the office landlord is taking bitcoin as payment, for now; the Gucci owner needs to run faster to catch arch-rival LVMH.
Germany’s EU views will get Green jolt post-Merkel 20 Apr 2021 Armin Laschet, the ruling Christian Democrats’ pick to run for chancellor, will almost certainly have to share power with the increasingly popular pro-European Greens. Such a coalition would bode well for a sensible reform of the bloc’s fiscal rules and common debt issuance.
The Exchange: Fewer bankers, more engineers needed 20 Apr 2021 That’s one of Jacques Attali’s many prescriptions to enhance the economy of life. The former EBRD boss and French presidential adviser also discusses Big Tech breakups, Europe’s lagging vaccination efforts, Macron’s political prospects and his plan to close the elite ENA.
Capital Calls: SXSW 19 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance: Rolling Stone publisher Penske Media is taking a 50% stake in hipster arts festival South By Southwest.
Jack Ma discounts value of tech-boss charisma 19 Apr 2021 Fintech giant Ant is exploring ways for its founder to divest, to end the pressure from Beijing and salvage what it can of a onetime $300 bln valuation. As outspoken and larger-than-life leaders become bigger liabilities in China, investors have good reason to be more discerning.
Capital Calls: Goldman Sachs, U.S. currency report 16 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Wall Street bank’s communications veteran, Jake Siewert, goes back to the future, sort of; Taiwan is dubbed a forex interventionist but avoids manipulator label.
China makes double-digit growth look disappointing 16 Apr 2021 Output rose 18.3% in the first quarter compared to last year, but slowed sharply on a quarterly basis. Industrial growth softened while services shrank. The central bank has few monetary policy options, making signs of decelerating fiscal stimulus particularly alarming.
U.S. and Japan can take their time on China 15 Apr 2021 Yoshihide Suga’s visit to D.C., Joe Biden's first in-person confab, is about countering the People's Republic. It’s still politically thorny for the U.S. to rejoin the transpacific trade pact. Once Covid is past, the timing could be better – especially if other allies also join.
Viewsroom: Cross-border travel hassles, Alibaba 15 Apr 2021 For businesspeople eager to get back on the road, three lucky Breakingviews editors share their experiences of hopping across the Atlantic, traveling to India and navigating Europe’s arbitrary rules. Asia columnists discuss how Beijing has come down hard on Jack Ma’s tech empire.
Turkey’s monetary meddling offers scant rewards 15 Apr 2021 The country’s central bank kept its interest rate at 19%. Having replaced his chief rate-setter in March, President Tayyip Erdogan hasn’t yet got the lower borrowing costs he wants. Rising inflation, a weak currency and the loss of credibility mean policy will need to stay tight.
Capital Calls: Christine Lagarde, Bernie Madoff 14 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance: The European Central Bank president’s quest for inflation will take a while to achieve its goal; investor gullibility will live on after the death of the Ponzi schemer in a U.S. federal prison.
The Exchange: Rwanda’s dark side 13 Apr 2021 Under Paul Kagame, the East African state has gone from genocidal hellhole to wannabe Singapore. Michela Wrong, author of critical biography “Do Not Disturb”, explains how, in feting the ex-guerrilla president, donors and investors ignored autocracy and murder.
Capital Calls: LVMH surges back to full health 13 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance: The 300 billion euro luxury conglomerate’s first-quarter sales surpass pre-Covid-19 levels.
Hong Kong-on-Thames lies in not-too-distant future 13 Apr 2021 Real estate tycoons from the former British colony are rushing to build new homes in London. They appeal to Hong Kong residents taking up UK visas, and offer a better return on investment than at home. It’s a bold bet on the capital’s pandemic-afflicted property market.
China’s rectified internet will be fairer, duller 14 Apr 2021 Having fined e-commerce giant Alibaba $2.8 bln, President Xi Jinping is widening his net to other hot tech companies. Halting monopolistic practices is welcome, but entrepreneurs and investors must start pricing in the risk of a sweeping, unfocused and indefinite crackdown.
Review: Tax’s weird past exposes present oddities 9 Apr 2021 State levies propelled historical turning points from Magna Carta to the Boston Tea Party. “Rebellion, Rascals and Revenue” turns these episodes into an elegant tax-theory primer. Current practices, like rules for multinationals, prove no stranger than peculiarities of yesterday.
Capital Calls: Netflix, GameStop 9 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The video-streaming service sprays webs of money to secure movies; GameStop’s “Chewy of Gaming” strategy.
Path out of global tax combat is slowly emerging 8 Apr 2021 A new U.S. proposal would allow other countries to raise more money from tech giants like Facebook, the FT reported. It’s a concession that could unlock a broader deal on a global minimum levy. Low-tax states, like Ireland, and big multinationals may have no way to avoid a hit.