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.
Viewsroom: Asia’s E-car mania, U.S. infrastructure 8 Apr 2021 Huawei makes telecoms, Haier dishwashers, Xiaomi phones, Evergrande condos. Now, these Chinese companies all want to make battery-powered vehicles too. And while on the subject of building, U.S. President Joe Biden is going big. Maybe too big for the bean counters in the Senate.
Capital Calls: Trucking IPO 7 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Startup TuSimple will be listing shares via a traditional initial public offering.
Didi’s IPO could be as bumpy as Dida’s 7 Apr 2021 The Chinese ride-hailing firm is navigating toward public markets and a $100 bln valuation. Its smaller, similarly named rival's listing effort has stalled in Hong Kong after hitting regulatory, legal, and operational potholes. Didi will have to buckle up for a comparable ride.
Yellen global minimum tax is step too far in D.C. 6 Apr 2021 The U.S. Treasury chief is on board with an OECD initiative to end a race to the bottom on company taxes. It’s a logical goal for most big economies. But nailing a global pact is tough. It would also mean one more fight in Congress, where Joe Biden needs to pick his battles.
Vax surplus will be Uncle Sam’s hardest soft power 6 Apr 2021 America’s supply of Covid-19 jabs is burgeoning. The nation will soon have a surplus. The U.S. says it won’t trade these for political favors. But giving the glut away will still pay strategic and economic dividends. Vaccines are the opposite of a Trump-style zero-sum game.
Rosier IMF forecasts are riddled with inequalities 6 Apr 2021 The international lender upgraded its global growth forecasts for this year and next. But there is a gulf between haves and have-nots, across countries and within them. Some of the sound advice it is doling out to mitigate the problem may be hard for governments to implement.
Air France-KLM’s latest rescue tests marriage bond 6 Apr 2021 The European carrier is swapping a loan from the French state for hybrid equity and raising 1 bln euros from investors. The capital rejig should help it stay aloft if the recovery is delayed. But Paris’ increased stake will strain its already tricky relationship with the Dutch.
Review: Rwanda, Africa’s good-news story gone bad 1 Apr 2021 Under Paul Kagame, the Land of a Thousand Hills has gone from genocidal hellhole to wannabe African Singapore. In feting the ex-guerrilla president, donors and investors ignored autocracy and murder. Michela Wrong’s “Do Not Disturb” may force Davos to rethink its guest list.
UK’s Gupta merits net zero rescue in all senses 1 Apr 2021 The steel entrepreneur’s tottering industrial empire is a tricky candidate for a state bailout. But it could give the government a chance to decarbonise a major source of emissions. Done smartly, it may help Britain hit green goals and stabilise a perennially flaky sector.
Benettons avoid crash at end of Italian road feud 1 Apr 2021 Atlantia, part-owned by the clothing-to-infrastructure clan, looks set to sell its motorway unit for 9 bln euros to a group led by state investor CDP. The sale should end a row with Rome and cut debt. For the new owners, rising investment means the returns will hardly be racy.