Cyber-paperwork blizzard will soon blind markets 14 Dec 2023 New SEC rules force companies to divulge a hack within days of deeming it serious. CEOs wary of falling foul are apt to overshare. Such stock-swinging decisions, like ones from Clorox and Johnson Controls, will test investors’ analytical skills as much as corporate tech defenses.
Banks’ hidden losses are surprise survivor of 2023 13 Dec 2023 The same paper deficits that helped fell Silicon Valley Bank in March still burden lenders worldwide. Bank of America alone sits on $130 bln; US banks nurse a record sum. Investors are now better at telling what’s scary from what’s not, but fuzzy accounting remains unhelpful.
Capital Calls: OpenAI’s Microsoft dilemma 11 Dec 2023 Concise views on global finance: When boss Sam Altman’s ouster threatened to implode the ChatGPT maker, $2.7 trln backer Microsoft helped restore order. That necessary boon, however, will draw ever-more trustbuster scrutiny about tech giants’ unshakable influence in AI.
Bank CEOs channel movie mobsters in Basel fight 7 Dec 2023 New capital rules are beset by inefficiencies and inconsistencies. Yet eight US bank chiefs appearing before the Senate delivered a more populist warning: water them down, or regular Americans will be impoverished. It’s disingenuous at best; counter-productive at worst.
NCAA gets B for paying jocks; for an A, drop the C 6 Dec 2023 The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s plan to uncap amateur earnings while attending school is a long-overdue change for good. Its blueprint has flaws, however, and keeps control in the hands of a few. A good next step would be to separate sports from higher education.
UK, EU trade détente leans on Chinese threat 6 Dec 2023 The European Union fell in line with UK demands to ease part of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. Delaying tariffs on battery parts helps carmakers like Volkswagen sell to Britain and fend off competition from China. But Brussels has reason to be tougher on other issues, like finance.
Purdue mess pits drug victims against due process 5 Dec 2023 The $10 bln settlement ending opioid lawsuits is done and dusted, except for a case being reviewed by the Supreme Court. Justices’ discomfort over bankruptcy protection for the Sackler family has merit. But throwing out a deal means aggrieved parties just have to wait longer.
OpenAI’s value comes full circle 5 Dec 2023 Despite recent chaos, the Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence startup is moving ahead with a share sale that could value it at roughly $86 bln. Even after the temporary ouster of boss Sam Altman that nearly spurred an employee exodus, its prospects are largely unchanged.
Competition will make obesity drugs successful 1 Dec 2023 Medicines like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy decrease weight and mortality. CEO Jørgensen has suggested a tiered pricing scheme that addresses the long arch of benefits. It makes sense, but competition, rather than innovative pricing schemes, may be faster.
UniCredit G-SIB downgrade tests CEO animal spirits 1 Dec 2023 The Italian lender has lost its global too-big-to-fail designation. Yet the Bank of Italy wants UniCredit to hold even more capital than before. At least with over 10 bln euros of spare cash, Andrea Orcel has plenty of M&A firepower to buy his way back to the big league.
OPEC+ is a weird club for Brazil to want to join 30 Nov 2023 Latin America’s largest economy is mulling joining the 23-strong oil producer group. But OPEC+’s latest 2 mln barrels of daily cuts are not needed to balance the market, will rile the US at a sensitive time, and may increase internal strife. It seems more like a club to leave.
EU watchdogs muck up Amazon’s messy iRobot cleanup 28 Nov 2023 The European Commission says the e-commerce giant’s $1.4 bln takeover of the Roomba maker could shut out robot-vacuum rivals. Trustbusters are mainly concerned about Amazon’s market clout. Yet if the deal collapses, iRobot shareholders will suffer more downward suction.
Britain is case study in death-duty dysfunction 24 Nov 2023 UK politicians have been mulling inheritance tax tweaks. Death duties are good policy, but the British version is beset with exemptions that favour wealthy landowners and pensioners. Given the problem may worsen, there’s logic in cherry-picking from better approaches overseas.
EU holiday-home rules lead shady bookings to light 22 Nov 2023 Cities looking to rein in short-term rental platforms like Airbnb will get a boost from an EU plan to track bookings data. Patchy reporting has hampered stay limits and tax oversight. Clearer figures will help local authorities to balance the needs of travellers and residents.
Capital Calls: Monte dei Paschi 21 Nov 2023 Concise views on global finance: The Italian Treasury raised 920 mln euros by selling a 25% stake in the bank on the open market. So far, it looks like a better outcome for taxpayers than submitting to the onerous sale conditions offered by UniCredit in 2021.
Payments sector comedown creates opening for M&A 17 Nov 2023 The once-hot industry has slumped amid rising competition and a possible regulatory clampdown. For online specialists like $34 bln Adyen, the solution is to boost their customer offerings by buying startups. Older players like Nexi and Worldline, meanwhile, are ripe for mergers.
Uncle Sam cleverly goes long on short sellers 15 Nov 2023 The SEC is among the US regulators paying cash, including $279 mln in one case, not just to corporate insiders with stories to share but also investors betting against companies using public information crunched in new ways. It makes for a helpful kind of outsourcing.
Lina Khan’s spirit haunts T-Mobile deal ghost 10 Nov 2023 Consumers are suing the $170 bln telecom company for its deal with Sprint. Given government watchdogs can’t bust up big tech, it seems ambitious. But recent jury verdicts illustrate rising movements against companies. Plus the hassle creates yet another deal impediment.
Farfetch turns from Richemont blessing to curse 9 Nov 2023 The $65 bln Cartier-owner hoped to fix a problem by flogging part of digital arm YNAP to the US-listed marketplace in a stock deal that involves extending $450 mln in credit. But Farfetch’s stock has dived and its finances are stretched. Its woes risk infecting the bling giant.
Ohio’s weed embrace faces federal buzzkill 9 Nov 2023 Buckeye State voters backed legal recreational cannabis, bringing nearly half the country on board. More Americans now smoke weed than cigarettes, yet the industry’s market value is dwarfed by tobacco’s. National legal roadblocks and hazy growth prospects cloud the path forward.