Breakdown: China’s gift to big technology 9 Apr 2018 Beijing has unveiled plans to allow Alibaba and other offshore-listed tech giants to sell stock using depositary receipts. The move should boost their valuations and benefit investors on both sides of the Pacific – but creates a few fresh headaches too.
U.S. companies in China prepare to be squeezed 6 Apr 2018 President Trump is aiming new tariffs at $100 bln of Chinese exports after Beijing threatened duties against U.S. products. American firms have invested over $250 bln into China in the past 25 years. Their assets are now exposed to regulatory harassment and shifting trade flows.
Viewsroom: Spotify leads Wall Street on IPO dance 5 Apr 2018 The music-streaming service enjoyed a mostly smooth stock-market debut despite largely bypassing investment banks. Ultimately, though, business success, not IPO hype, is what counts. Plus: Regulators and automakers are sparking up an altogether too cozy relationship.
Meituan deal sets pace in Chinese bicycle-sharing 4 Apr 2018 The food-delivering, ticket-booking, ride-sharing app is buying Mobike for $2.7 bln. Given the competitive and cash-burning realities, investors should be relieved at the sale. For rival Ofo, which just raised nearly $900 mln more from Alibaba and others, the riding gets tougher.
U.S. emissions watchdog hands keys to car industry 3 Apr 2018 EPA boss Scott Pruitt plans to ditch Obama-era rules mandating much greater fuel efficiency. He says the move will enhance affordability, but that’s a foil for putting industry concerns first. As finance has shown, regulators who kowtow to those they oversee can cause a crash.
Disney and Fox open door to higher Sky bid 3 Apr 2018 The U.S. media giant may buy the UK group’s news business to ease regulatory concerns over merger partner Fox’s bid for the whole company. Given Disney probably has little interest in the loss-making channel, the tactic shows a readiness to fight off Comcast’s rival bid for Sky.
Dodd-Frank sheds surprising light on Wall St pay 2 Apr 2018 The widest income disparities in finance don’t involve the biggest CEO paychecks. And median comp can say more about geography and sector than inequality. The law’s pay-ratio disclosures offer useful data for investors and job seekers, and could revive a debate about offshoring.
Walmart may have hit on healthy kind of disruption 30 Mar 2018 Merging with insurer Humana could put clinics in the U.S. retailer’s stores, keeping patients out of hospitals and insurance costs down. Walmart isn’t given to big acquisitions and $37 bln Humana wouldn’t come cheap. But a broader partnership could bring many of the benefits.
Viewsroom: Facebook’s multiplying problems 29 Mar 2018 The social network founded by Mark Zuckerberg is reeling from a data harvest on some 50 million users. It will take time for the $440 billion firm to feel the impact but people are starting to slowly unplug. Plus, the world’s largest consumer-drone maker may go public.
Barclays settlement fixes one of several headaches 29 Mar 2018 The UK lender is paying $2 billion to settle U.S. regulators’ claims of mortgage securities mis-selling. That’s less than peers paid and removes some uncertainty. But the outcome of a UK investigation is still pending and CEO Jes Staley has yet to turn the investment bank around.
Legal woes could impair SocGen’s 2020 vision 29 Mar 2018 The French lender says it is close to settling with U.S. regulators over investigations relating to Libya and Libor. A sanctions-busting probe could pose a sterner test, though. Any fine above 1.8 bln euros could threaten SocGen’s capital target – and put pressure on dividends.
China’s business culture sabotages its art culture 29 Mar 2018 Art Basel’s Hong Kong fair kicked off on Thursday. Mainland sales rose 14 pct to $13.2 bln in 2017; exhibitors hope enthusiasm will prove contagious. But Chinese art prices and volumes are unreliable. An excess of auction houses draws speculators and deters real collectors.
Rocket-fueled stocks finally feel the burn 28 Mar 2018 Amazon lost as much as $50 bln in value, perhaps partly because Donald Trump isn’t a fan. Tesla’s stock fell another 8 pct-plus. Facebook has shed nearly $100 bln of market cap. Investors once whistled past concerns that haven’t changed much. Maybe they are opening their ears.
FDIC risks memory loss with old-guard exit 28 Mar 2018 Thomas Hoenig, the U.S. watchdog’s No. 2, used his swan song to criticize recent moves to ease bank-capital standards. It’s a cry in the wind given the deregulatory bent of Jelena McWilliams, likely the next FDIC chair. Yet forgetting history can sow the seeds of future crises.
Unilever-FTSE standoff is test of index power 28 Mar 2018 The benchmark compiler must decide whether to keep the Marmite maker in the FTSE 100 after it opted for a Dutch head office. Recent tax changes and activist pressure may prompt similar rejigs at heavyweights Shell and BHP. The index may have to bend its rules to retain its clout.
UK gender pay gap requires “just do it” approach 28 Mar 2018 Disclosures have revealed discrepancies, especially in finance, which will not close on their own. The state can help. Fining employers which fail to make progress over several years would align the interests of women and investors. CEOs would have to match words with actions.
Apple stores up Yahoo-like trouble in China 28 Mar 2018 Keeping Chinese iCloud user data inside the People's Republic invites controversy amid Facebook's latest woes. After Yahoo shared emails with Beijing in 2004, Jerry Yang and other bosses were hauled up to Capitol Hill and called moral "pygmies." Apple should brace for blowback.
Facebook crisis could bust digital-ad duopoly 23 Mar 2018 Advertisers may pull money from the social network, which together with Google sucked up 84 pct of digital ad spending in 2017. That cash is likely to stay with data-rich platforms rather than older media. Amazon could benefit if CEO Jeff Bezos can avoid raising antitrust fears.
Aviva fumble leaves no room to miss targets 23 Mar 2018 Chief Executive Mark Wilson has been forced to scrap a plan to cancel 450 million pounds of preference shares after a row with institutional and retail investors. He can start winning back their trust by doing more to boost the insurer’s sales and by reducing debt.
Basel tweak gives global banks another helping hand 22 Mar 2018 Global regulators have proposed relaxing the amount of capital banks must hold against some forms of market risk. If implemented, the changes would further shrink the 28 bln euro shortfall big lenders face under new rules. After a decade of tightening, watchdogs are easing up.