Regulation

Vale dam cleanup hints at miners’ rising ESG bill

21 January 2020

The world’s top iron ore producer faces criminal charges for a deadly 2019 dam collapse. It has spent billions on reparations and safety upgrades, and seen its share price stumble. The total financial hit is yet to become clear, but other resources firms will face reckonings too.

Huawei can afford to hang up on America

17 January 2020

The Chinese telecoms firm is fighting to keep its rural-carrier customers amid D.C. pressure. It’s a losing battle and makes little sense given the tiny contribution to Huawei’s top line. Quitting the U.S. would get rid of a headache and leave more energy for bigger conflicts.

Holding: EU may spoil FBI bid to hack Apple phones

16 January 2020

A deal allowing U.S. firms like Facebook to move data from Europe is already fragile. It might break if the iPhone maker bows to criticism from Donald Trump and others and unlocks a mass shooter’s devices. Law enforcement matters, but privacy shouldn’t be so easily breached.

U.S. regulators toss another wrench into M&A

13 January 2020

Washington’s deal enforcers are rethinking four decades of antitrust oversight by proposing a new set of guidelines. The refresh is overdue and needed following the meddling in AT&T’s deal for Time Warner. But it adds questions to a market already fraught with uncertainty.

Mark Zuckerberg can be his own activist investor

6 January 2020

Keeping shareholders happy isn’t necessarily compatible with cleaning up data abuses and toxic content. But Facebook’s CEO needn’t change his professed ideals. He could change the company’s legal form so it can better serve society – and put his supervoting power to good use.

Politics cripples shaky China-UK stock link

2 January 2020

Irritated by British attitudes towards Hong Kong, Beijing has suspended the scheme that connects equity markets in London and Shanghai. Already struggling, the initiative will be hard to revive. The UK loses potential new business, while China ends up more dependent on New York.

Team Trump will steal Warren’s tech thunder

26 December 2019

The Democratic presidential candidate has made breaking up Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Amazon a key part of her campaign. But the White House could use a recent antitrust probe to make the case first, and effectively mute much of Warren’s roar.

Gaming’s strongest opponent will be regulation

23 December 2019

New Microsoft and Sony consoles come out in 2020. Apple and Google want to be the Netflix of online play, and game makers like Activision Blizzard, Epic and EA hold a strong hand. But tighter scrutiny of gambling-style digital prizes will temper the $130 bln industry’s growth.

T-Mobile Sprint antitrust defense has a hole in it

20 December 2019

America’s No. 3 and No. 4 telecom firms are fighting state regulators to keep their $26 bln deal on track. Federal watchdogs want to preserve competition by making the companies help Dish build a new fourth mobile carrier. That only works if Dish is up to the job. It may not be.

Jack Dorsey adds third job as anti-Facebook hero

20 December 2019

The awkward Twitter boss banned political ads and did more than Mark Zuckerberg’s social network to prevent the silencing of Hong Kong protesters. Dorsey, also CEO of Square, fared surprisingly well in D.C. hearings, too. His style will put heat on rivals as U.S. elections loom.

Tencent is next in Western cross-hairs

20 December 2019

The WeChat app, indispensable to life and business in the People's Republic, is due unwanted foreign attention. Beijing uses the Tencent tool to influence and monitor users at home and abroad. Debate over restraining it will test democracies’ commitment to free information flow.

Viewsroom: Jack Dorsey’s heroic year ahead

19 December 2019

From banning political ads to developing cryptocurrency plans, the CEO of Twitter and Square has been politically more astute than rivals like Facebook. That sets him up for a good 2020. Also: the different ways that shareholders, the Fed and M&A bankers will tackle climate risk.

Goldman set for show of guilt without tears

19 December 2019

The Wall Street firm may pay $2 bln for its role in the 1MDB bribery scandal and offer a rare admission of wrongdoing. Neither fine nor mea culpa would carry much sting. As often happens in the cat-and-mouse game of enforcement, the end result looks half-baked.

Italy and Germany will unite on EU tech taxes

19 December 2019

New European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will struggle to persuade Rome and Berlin to compromise over much-needed euro zone banking reforms. Her best bet is to pick another battle. A levy on technology giants’ revenue may help the EU rivals find some common ground.

App stores are tech’s next Battle Royale

17 December 2019

Google and Apple collect enormous fees through their dominant online app stores. Those are coming under attack – Fortnite owner Epic Games is the latest to lob a grenade. If regulators seek new ways to challenge Silicon Valley, these distribution channels are an easy target.

UK takes small step to solving fund liquidity mess

17 December 2019

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney wants open-ended investment vehicles to offer redemption terms that match the cost of selling assets. The hope is to avoid blowups like M&G’s frozen property fund. Yet discounts could still encourage investors to run for the exit in a crisis.

Boeing 737 MAX cuts will speed margins descent

16 December 2019

Limited competition has insulated the $185 bln aircraft maker’s shares from the long grounding. The plane may fly again soon, but investors and CEO Dennis Muilenburg expect rising profitability. Newly zealous regulators, overstretched staff and economic winds say otherwise.

China’s health grey zone is hazardous for fintech

16 December 2019

Soaring medical costs in the People's Republic have prompted Jack Ma's $150 bln Ant Financial and others to offer insurance-like solutions. A scandal involving a Tencent-backed upstart, though, is a reminder the sector is largely unregulated. That's unlikely to remain the case.

Now we’ve lost Paul Volcker, we must find another

9 December 2019

Opposed by politicians and economists, the former Fed chairman raised interest rates, overcoming inflation in the 1980s. A great central banker needs monetary policies that fit their time as well as rarer qualities like determination and integrity. Volcker had both.

EU single market is better exported than muzzled

4 December 2019

The Netherlands wants the European Union to apply state aid rules to companies backed by foreign governments. That would hike Chinese import prices. Yet Europe’s economic heft gives scope to negotiate, and is better than breaking EU rules to create Siemens-Alstom-style champions.