Capital Calls: Elon Musk, LeBron James 1 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Endeavor, Ari Emanuel’s entertainment group, is hoping the Tesla boss’s stardust will help a second attempt at an IPO; the basketball star’s stake in the Red Sox is a foil to Steve Cohen’s Mets deal.
IPO laggards pay price for predecessors’ chutzpah 30 Mar 2021 Miner GV Gold, defence firm Leonardo DRS and soccer team Club Brugge shelved their listings. Investors have been stung by the poor performance of a wave of richly valued tech floats earlier this year. With the pipeline still full, hopeful issuers will now have to offer bargains.
Capital Calls: Elon Musk, AstraZeneca 15 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The electric-vehicle maker’s jocular new title of “Technoking of Tesla” tests the theory that deeds matter more than words; fears over the drugmaker’s vaccine risk further delaying the re-opening of Europe’s economy.
Capital Calls: McKinsey, Celebrity SPACs 10 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: McKinsey’s new boss isn’t new enough; the SEC tells investors to be careful of celebrities bearing SPACs.
Japan Inc faces Olympic sexism trial 24 Feb 2021 A woman replaced the games’ boss after chauvinist comments. His attitude is common; women make up 13% of directors at large listed companies. Tokyo’s bourse will push for better representation on its new “Prime Market”, but a thin pipeline of female managers risks tokenism.
Capital Calls: Super Bowl, Poison pills, Experian 8 Feb 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: America’s game doesn’t benefit from scarcity value; Cubic’s poison pill serves a purpose; And Brazil’s cyberattack has a price for Experian.
Viewsroom: Short squeeze craziness, Oz in the lead 28 Jan 2021 Something completely wacky is happening with GameStop and a few other stocks favored by short sellers, and it’s likely to end very poorly for some armchair traders, Breakingviews columnists discuss. Plus, a visit to our Melbourne bureau for tennis and Google lessons.
Corona Capital: Bank of America, Halliburton, NBA 19 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Bank of America’s animalistic analogies; Halliburton sees a recovery that can’t come soon enough; The New York Knicks’ valuation has its top spot to lose.
Corona Capital: Inflation, Poshmark 14 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Breakingviews panel predicts the end of the free-money era; and Poshmark’s IPO looks overdressed.
Corona Capital: KKR/music, IMF 11 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Private equity giant KKR buys a stake in hip OneRepublic music royalties; and the International Monetary Fund half-heartedly bumps up its target lending cushion.
Corona Capital: U.S. college football 6 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. college football programs are in a talent arms race for coaches, a bit like companies' quest for top-ranked CEOs, despite the pandemic's impact on revenue.
MGM’s $11 bln UK punt is close to maximum wager 4 Jan 2021 Entain rebuffed a merger proposal from the U.S. resorts-to-roulette group. The British bookie has good reasons to ask for more stock and a slug of cash from its sports-betting partner. But with no rival bidders, and a shrinking domestic business, its negotiating power is limited.
European soccer will try on American-style pay cap 24 Dec 2020 Empty stadia wiped out nearly $4 bln in sales, pushing even rich clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona into the red. A partial return for fans barely eases the pain. To save itself, the beautiful game will have to import the U.S. National Football League’s limit on salaries.
Corona Capital: Tesla’s Apple snub 23 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Tesla boss Elon Musk asked to meet with Apple back in the day, and got rebuffed. Musk’s company has been the better investment recently, especially during the Covid-19 period. That doesn’t mean Tim Cook missed out.
Corona Capital: New York City, Fed/climate change 15 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: New York City’s exodus puts local government in a tight spot; the Fed’s belated move shows a change in Washington.
Corona Capital: Movie releases, Ads, Running 4 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: HBO Max uses its muscle on movie releases; advertising wins some and loses some; Brooks’ beast year.
Corona Capital: Record Dow, Basketball, GoCompare 25 Nov 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Vaccine optimism shunts the blue-chip Dow Jones index through 30,000; U.S. college basketball gets back on the court; and UK publisher Future snaps up the bargain-hunting website.
Private equity can sprint ahead in Adidas castoffs 11 Nov 2020 Buyout groups are considering buying Reebok from the German sportswear group, the FT says. Chunky returns are possible despite the brand’s dismal growth. But after a failed turnaround, the maker of Kanye West Yeezy trainers will need to accept much less than the $3.8 bln it paid.
Corona Capital: Utah Jazz, Comcast, Kraft 29 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Utah Jazz’s owners sign off with a respectable return; Comcast shoots the light out on broadband; and Kraft rides the stay-at-home wave.
Corona Capital: Drugmaker’s pick-me-up, Golf M&A 28 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Drugmaker GSK sees a recovery in vaccinations against old-school ailments; meanwhile Covid-19 turns out to be a handy driver when it comes to golf-related dealmaking.