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.
Self-driving cars may find legal lesson in pharma 22 Mar 2018 Autonomous vehicles should make road deaths like the one involving an Uber prototype a rarity. Paradoxically, as drugmakers found with vaccines, mishaps may raise legal costs and drive companies out of the market. Limits on suits and a compensation fund balanced risk and reward.
Illicit money is Europe bank stability blind spot 22 Mar 2018 U.S. authorities arrested the head of a Maltese bank for violating Iran sanctions, prompting calls for it to lose its licence. Similar issues triggered the recent folding of a Latvian bank. Without power to fight financial misconduct, euro zone regulators can’t keep banks safe.
How Washington could really fix trade with China 22 Mar 2018 President Trump is rolling out tariffs and wants a $100 bln cut to the deficit. Yet Beijing’s import-substitution plans, forced tech transfers and IP policy are the real problems. By ditching them China would justify a truce, and reinforce its claim to free-trade leadership.
Aviva reminds investors to read small print 21 Mar 2018 The UK insurer has riled shareholders with a plan to retire supposedly “irredeemable” preference shares at their 450 mln pound face value. The juicy 8.5 pct average coupon made them a hit, but also encouraged Aviva to seek legal loopholes. It’s a powerful lesson in buyer beware.
Europe’s data tax war is worthy but hard to win 20 Mar 2018 The EU may tax tech groups’ revenue. The bloc is right to argue that current rules overlook the value firms like Google extract from its citizens’ data. A crude levy on sales is far from perfect, but might add impetus to longer-term international reform efforts.
Foreign banks find silver lining to U.S. clouds 20 Mar 2018 Congress isn’t handing the same regulatory relief to the stateside businesses of HSBC and others as it is to midsize domestic lenders. But Washington’s shift to more tailored regulations for the industry should at least give embattled foreign banks a bit of a break.
China’s regulatory mega-merger howls for synergies 20 Mar 2018 Uniting banking and insurance oversight while consolidating the work of other ministries should relieve burdens Beijing puts on private enterprise. Big layoffs would be an important next step for the new regime. Idle paper-pushers have grown too fond of mindless crackdowns.
Holding: Courts may toss investors a crypto-curve 16 Mar 2018 To hear U.S. regulators tell it, initial offerings of many crypto-currencies are actually securities, and subject to strict rules. That’s far from clear, though, judging from cases moving through the legal system. With the jury still out, Congress needs to step in.
China’s corporate-exposé programme jumps the shark 16 Mar 2018 A popular consumer-rights show fell flat targeting VW again and small bike-sharing startups. State broadcaster CCTV's yearly investigations once scared CEOs and even knocked their share prices. After helping deliver the message on quality control, "3.15" is no longer must-see TV.
Cox: Aramco and Amazon encourage bad behavior 15 Mar 2018 Global financial capitals are prostituting themselves to accommodate the Saudi oil giant's IPO. Amazon's competition for a second HQ is provoking U.S. municipalities to similarly ingratiate themselves. This "Aramazon" effect exemplifies how races to the bottom get started.
Curse of Libor belatedly strikes at SocGen 15 Mar 2018 Deputy CEO Didier Valet is leaving to preserve the French bank’s “general interests”. His role as CFO when SocGen staff submitted inaccurate interbank rates jarred with the bank’s efforts to minimise a U.S. fine. As peers have learned, not knowing is not an adequate defence.
Looser Dodd-Frank rules will stick more tightly 15 Mar 2018 Exactly a decade after Bear Stearns’ rescue, U.S. senators voted to soften parts of the post-crisis bank law. Wall Street’s critics are protesting, but Dodd-Frank needs some fixes. Shedding the most controversial elements will help ensure its pillars have a longer life.
SEC gives wrong Theranos lesson to Silicon Valley 14 Mar 2018 Elizabeth Holmes’ company raised $700 mln in a “massive” fraud that put patient lives at risk. Yet regulators are letting her escape with a slap on the wrist, and not admit guilt. The SEC says this is an important lesson for startups, but it shows how toothless the agency is.
Dealmakers contend with a boom being chipped away 14 Mar 2018 M&A practitioners gathering in New Orleans can toast the strongest start to a year since AOL and Time Warner connected in 2000. The annual conclave also coincides with the demise of Broadcom's $117 bln bid for Qualcomm. It raises prickly issues and also hints at cyclical excess.
Bear Stearns is useful lesson in healthy conflict 14 Mar 2018 The Wall Street firm’s effective demise 10 years ago, like that of Lehman Brothers, was a group effort by executives and watchdogs. Now, post-crisis rules may get softened and regulators talk of forging a “partnership” with banks. A bit of mutual suspicion would be smarter.
Qualcomm slays a lion, baits a dragon 13 Mar 2018 Having the U.S. government essentially declare it a national champion allowed the chipmaker to defend itself from rival Broadcom’s bid. But a rise in anti-foreign sentiment may hurt Qualcomm too – since it’s still waiting for China to approve its own $44 bln acquisition of NXP.
What’s Time Warner worth? 13 Mar 2018 AT&T's $85 billion bid for the media group is in limbo - but Time Warner may be better off without it. Run the numbers.