U.S. racism’s $13 trln legacy is just the start 19 Jun 2020 The world’s wealthiest country built its economy on unpaid black labor. Centuries of discriminatory policies, like redlining and mass incarceration, compounded the inequity. There are many ways to weigh what reparations might be due. The racial wealth gap offers just one way in.
Lloyd’s makes apt Black Lives Matter target 18 Jun 2020 The 334-year-old insurance market has pledged an undisclosed sum to atone for its role in the Atlantic slave trade. Amid global protests, it has little choice but to rethink its past. But there’s also a need to change its approach to diversity in the present.
ESG takes on new meaning with U.S. private prisons 17 Jun 2020 CoreCivic is halting dividends and may ditch its REIT structure. That comes as social risks prompted most banks to stop lending to the incarceration business. An LBO is one option. But with leverage hard to come by, CoreCivic would need investors for whom the E means equity.
The Exchange: Bruce Flatt 16 Jun 2020 The office is not dead, though hot-desking may be. The elevator needs a rethink. And don’t rule out the shopping mall. Brookfield Asset Management’s chief executive made these and other predictions for the post-pandemic global economy in a recent chat with Breakingviews editors.
LGBTQ ruling adds to the great American workaround 15 Jun 2020 Outlawing workplace discrimination was a job for Congress, not the Supreme Court. But with government so dysfunctional, change had to come from elsewhere. Big companies know the feeling: they are already working around the political void on everything from climate to Covid-19.
Baseball risks strike-out with its labor squabble 15 Jun 2020 Major League Baseball and the players’ union have been arguing about pay and the length of the 2020 season. Meanwhile, other sports may soon be back in action. Baseball had problems before Covid-19. By focusing on short-term gains, the union could undermine the sport’s future.
VCs mistake diversity for a new asset class 12 Jun 2020 Andreessen Horowitz and SoftBank have new funds to back entrepreneurs of color, prompted by U.S. protests against racial injustice. Yet the problem isn’t a lack of capital – it’s that what’s there rarely goes to black founders. The fix starts with the VC firms themselves.
Corona Capital: Instacart stocks up 11 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Grocery-delivery firm and lockdown beneficiary Instacart tops up on capital while the getting is good.
Twitter is the new, virtual picket line 9 Jun 2020 Employees and customers are taking to social media to vent grievances. Executives at Facebook, the New York Times, CrossFit and more have come under fire. It’s a way to show worker solidarity that was once provided by organized labor. But it's also easily misdirected.
IBM makes a virtue of facial-recognition necessity 9 Jun 2020 New CEO Arvind Krishna is ending the $117 bln firm’s attempts to develop the technology and questioning whether police should use it. Companies rarely abandon potential profit for PR wins, but it’s easier when operations are small, rivals pull ahead, and regulation threatens.
Dixon: Wean firms off debt by rejigging taxes 8 Jun 2020 Excess corporate leverage makes the global economy wobbly. After the pandemic, governments should use the tax system to encourage more equity and less debt so the world can better resist future shocks. They may even be able to raise some cash to repair their own balance sheets.
U.S. jobs surprise mixes hope with division 5 Jun 2020 The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in May despite continuing lockdowns. That revives hopes of a V-shaped recovery and makes roaring stock markets look less out of touch. But 21 mln Americans are still out of work, with minorities in a protest-hit country faring worst.
Chancellor: A catastrophic failure of risk control 5 Jun 2020 Dependency on risk models may be leading policymakers astray in handling the pandemic, just as such models did ahead of the financial crisis. If “risk societies” are to prosper, they must apply large doses of common sense to avoid the groupthink that hinders smart decisions.
The “Trump option” still has value for U.S. CEOs 4 Jun 2020 Corporate chiefs who left White House councils in 2017 are speaking up again over racial injustice. Their ability to challenge the president is constrained, since they still need help on trade and other issues. The value of being inside the tent, though, is less than it was.
Viewsroom: Not the same as it ever was 4 Jun 2020 After the Covid-19 pandemic has passed, will we still shake hands, ride elevators, go to sports matches and go on dates? Will taxes surge to pay for massive government budget deficits? Breakingviews editors chew over some highlights from their new e-book on what will change.
American CEOs have huge power. They can use it 2 Jun 2020 Leaders like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon support calls for racial justice. Most businesses can do more though, financially and in their workforces. Even if it’s not their job to fix society, U.S. norms and pliant shareholders give executives wide latitude to do what they think best.
Only losing users will get Zuckerberg’s attention 2 Jun 2020 Facebook workers and civil rights groups criticized the social network’s hands-off approach to President Trump’s inflammatory posts. Its co-founder says he’s listening, but Zuckerberg has little incentive to act. Covid-19 has boosted the company, and reduced employees’ leverage.
Once in a lifetime is our hopeful prediction 2 Jun 2020 Humanity either learns key lessons from the pandemic, corrects course and becomes a more resilient species. Or it tears further apart and expands the divisions in society that predated Covid-19. In a new e-book on what will change, Breakingviews takes the more optimistic view.
E-book: Once in a Lifetime? 2 Jun 2020 Humanity either learns key lessons from the pandemic, corrects course and becomes a more resilient species. Or it tears further apart and expands the divisions in society that predated Covid-19. In a new e-book on what will change, Breakingviews takes the more optimistic view.
Clashes are facet of U.S. “exorbitant privilege” 1 Jun 2020 Unrest over racial injustice does nothing for a country already divided and struggling with disease. Yet it takes more to unseat a superpower. America is no longer the only one, but it still has unrivaled heft. The downside: limited pressure to tackle economic or social problems.