The Exchange: Fewer bankers, more engineers needed 20 Apr 2021 That’s one of Jacques Attali’s many prescriptions to enhance the economy of life. The former EBRD boss and French presidential adviser also discusses Big Tech breakups, Europe’s lagging vaccination efforts, Macron’s political prospects and his plan to close the elite ENA.
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.
Grab’s $40 bln debut comes with twin airbags 13 Apr 2021 The Southeast Asian taxi-to-fintech firm is going public at a sales multiple twice Uber’s. U.S. SPAC sponsor Altimeter is contributing to a $4 bln PIPE and signing a long lockup. It’s a smart way to underwrite an amped-up valuation and sets a template to speed others to market.
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.
How to play the post-Covid return to getting it on 12 Apr 2021 Rich-country birth rates fell in 2020 amid economic uncertainty, reduced social life, postponed nuptials and fertility treatments. The patter of tiny feet will return as lockdowns end and economies bounce. Diaper producers and formula makers like P&G and Reckitt stand to benefit.
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.
Capital Calls: Cellebrite good times 8 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The Israeli cracker of mobile-phone encryption is going public via a SPAC at a $2.4 billion valuation.
Covid-testing IPO is bet on long hypochondria 7 Apr 2021 German diagnostic tester Synlab is planning to float with a mooted $7 bln valuation. A receding pandemic may mean its 38% revenue growth in 2020 isn’t repeated. But the price reflects that, and consumers may well continue to obsess about other aspects of their health.
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.
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.
Cox: Europe really needs to get its shot together 1 Apr 2021 From Rome to Paris and beyond governments are imposing further travel and other restrictions, many for reasons that look more petty, political and punitive than sanitary. That’s energy better spent on the best way to exit the health and economic crisis: vaccinating people.
Draghi’s corporate inbox will keep flashing red 31 Mar 2021 Rome’s to-do list, left over from the last government, includes selling dud bank MPS, resurrecting carrier Alitalia, expanding broadband and ending a motorway row. With vaccinations and recovery his legacy, these secondary tasks will slip to the bottom of Mario Draghi’s pile.
Capital Calls: BlackRock’s Archegos angle, SPACs 30 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The fallout from the collapse of Bill Hwang’s family office gives regulators reasons to focus on funds, not fund managers; and bosses of blank-check companies don’t take investor questions.
Capital Calls: WFH deals, Suez Canal, NorNickel 29 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Fintech firm Broadridge pays a full price for trading platform; with the waterway clear, all sides will be taking up positions for a legal battle royal; the Russian nickel producer cashes in on high copper prices.
Review: “A World Without Email” is a long way off 26 Mar 2021 Tending to electronic communication takes a third of our working day, making us miserable and less productive, Cal Newport argues. Virtual to-do lists are useful hacks to regain control. Yet even if email is defeated, interruption by pervasive digital messages seems here to stay.
Boulder killings could break U.S. Senate’s back 23 Mar 2021 The second U.S. mass shooting in a week begs for laws favoring tougher gun checks. Like a $3 trln infrastructure plan, that measure is stalled because of arcane Senate filibuster rules. There are ways to untie the knot, but each step forward could lead to an even bigger breakup.
Capital Calls: Leon Black, Happiness index 22 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Apollo’s founder still has his imprint on the Museum of Modern Art and Dartmouth College; people are proving surprisingly resilient in the pandemic, a recent poll suggests.
Office landlords can live with homeworking shock 19 Mar 2021 Firms like HSBC hope working from home will let them cut costs. Goldman Sachs thinks it is a fad. Yet even if employees spend more time at home, their needs and social distancing rules will limit how much space can be freed up. The slump in office property stocks looks overdone.
Cox: Global vax race is lesson in risk appetites 18 Mar 2021 The widening gap between the jabbed and the jab-nots, with the U.S., UK and Israel light years ahead of Europe and Canada, isn’t just about healthcare systems. It’s about culture, too. Some societies are just better at embracing innovation and putting faith in technology.