Offices will get roomier when the virus passes 4 May 2020 Conventional wisdom seems to be that after the pandemic commercial landlords will be crushed as staff stay home. But there’s a counterargument that cooped-up workers will crave interaction, employers will need to space them further apart and put an end to unhealthy hot-desking.
Review: A grim look at bad American exceptionalism 1 May 2020 “Deaths of Despair” analyses the sharp rise in U.S. mortality from suicide, alcohol and drugs, especially among poor whites. As Covid-19 further widens social divisions, the lament of economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton looks prescient. America fails its weakest residents.
Phones will restore freedom at the cost of privacy 30 Apr 2020 Contact-tracing apps like Apple-Google’s will allow more public mobility but only if related testing is quick and easy, and everybody plays ball. That means democracies will wave sticks, disguised as carrots, to encourage use. Good results would outweigh the Orwellian overtones.
U.S. moviegoers will never again fill theaters 29 Apr 2020 Attendance was already declining, and Covid-19 has completely shut down the likes of AMC. Netflix is ascendant, and Comcast's Universal managed a successful release of "Trolls" without cinemas. Add wariness of social contact, and the industry's bleak future may already be here.
Earth Day’s 50th comes at just the right moment 22 Apr 2020 Half a century ago, Americans protested in droves for cleaner air and water. But progress has slowed, or been undone, while air pollution costs the global economy $3 trln a year. The pandemic has given a taste of a less smoggy world that could bolster efforts to cut emissions.
U.S. virus bailouts portend Occupy Wall Street 2.0 20 Apr 2020 Uncle Sam is helping out everyone from Harvard to hedge fund managers to Potbelly in its emergency relief programs. A hastily structured deal and inadequate oversight are allowing room for taking advantage. That may be a necessary evil, but it will also fuel the backlash.
Review: Facebook and Instagram deserve each other 17 Apr 2020 The social network had a tense relationship with the photo-sharing app it bought in 2012. Sarah Frier’s “No Filter” offers fresh insight into the troubled $1 bln deal. A bigger problem was that their common pursuit of a higher purpose obscured the threat they posed to society.
Chaotic 2020 rips up America’s electoral script 14 Apr 2020 This year’s presidential primary season has been full of plot twists – from the Iowa debacle to Joe Biden’s comeback to, of course, Covid-19 and the unprecedented economic upheaval. Breakingviews imagines a lecture given in 2050 on the year U.S. elections changed forever.
Guest view: Can we achieve gender equality? 8 Apr 2020 In an unequal world, the coronavirus pandemic hurts women disproportionately. They are on the frontlines of the fight caring for the sick but are more exposed to hardships. Women might end up suffering the most while saving the world. Leaders can respond now to fix the equation.
Payment companies will emerge as lockdown winners 3 Apr 2020 Reluctance to touch banknotes and fewer chances to spend them are speeding the shift to digital money. The $1.9 trln global industry will take a short-term hit from lower volumes. But once the pandemic eases, cash will be less relevant. The likes of Adyen and Nexi should benefit.
Cox: What will change after coronavirus passes? 1 Apr 2020 Much depends on the pandemic’s ultimate human cost and the duration of lockdowns. Early indicators point to stronger social safety nets, fatter corporate balance sheets, less travel, the demise of cash, warped social interactions and better hygiene. And that’s just the start.
Hadas: The world needs to declare bankruptcy 31 Mar 2020 Debts have been out of alignment with the real economy for years. The coronavirus shutdown will magnify the imbalance. Finance has become an economic burden. A Chapter 11-style restructuring of the global balance sheet is the cure, but that’s too much for today’s politicians.
Corona Capital: Rich vs. poor, Carnival 31 Mar 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The rich may save even more while the coronavirus rages while the poor will be further squeezed, and Carnival tries to bail out its sinking cruise business with a big sale of equity and debt.
Racial wealth gap weakens U.S. virus defenses 30 Mar 2020 Pandemics don’t discriminate over whom they infect, but the coronavirus will wreak its worst havoc on black Americans, who are overrepresented in the hardest-hit parts of society. The U.S. racial prosperity gap hasn’t narrowed in 50 years. Covid-19 is likely to drive it wider.
Virus will clear out overcrowded events industry 25 Mar 2020 Even in its early stages, Covid-19 closed gatherings from Coachella to conflabs on the virus itself. Stopgap online substitutes only underscore the value of face-to-face contact. That means the $30 bln industry should eventually recover, but with a slimmed-down list of operators.
Hadas: This is no ordinary anti-crisis stimulus 18 Mar 2020 The usual reason to pump money into an economy is to increase economic activity. That’s not possible in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. But maintaining incomes and solvency will allow fairer and fuller use of what’s available. The crisis is teaching the uses of solidarity.
Toilet paper and bank notes aren’t so different 17 Mar 2020 Stampedes for bathroom tissue have similar roots to the bank runs that characterize financial panics. Rumor, fear of missing out and a patchy understanding of how underlying systems fit together are three ingredients. Bank runs are more serious, but easier to prevent.
U.S. Midwest election ditches free trade boogeyman 11 Mar 2020 Former Vice President Joe Biden scored a huge win in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary. Senator Bernie Sanders’ attacks on trade deals didn’t resonate like in 2016. Tariff wars have hurt the region, lowering Donald Trump’s popularity and changing the economic calculus.
No Dolce Vita: Life inside the Italian lockdown 11 Mar 2020 A national quarantine prompted by coronavirus threatens the social contacts essential to Italian life, while gut-punching the economy. Italy’s experience also highlights the struggle ageing societies face in fighting epidemics. Breakingviews offers glimpses from the red zone.
Holding: Governance brawl a boon for stakeholders 10 Mar 2020 Attorney Martin Lipton and Harvard’s Lucian Bebchuk are at it again, with the latter saying company pledges to serve the greater good are illusory. Lipton counters that firms really are moving past shareholder primacy. At least the debate could benefit all corporate constituents.