Qualcomm is set to pitch life without NXP 25 Jul 2018 The $90 bln chipmaker’s $44 bln purchase of its rival could die on Wednesday unless Beijing gives it an 11th-hour nod. Traders seem to think that’s unlikely. Going it alone won’t be easy for Qualcomm, but in the 21 months since striking the NXP deal it has not stood still.
GM’s Mary Barra has a new yardstick 25 Jul 2018 The carmaker’s decent earnings seem to justify its CEO’s decision to eschew a big merger, sell GM’s Europe unit and focus on electric and autonomous cars. But Opel’s rapid recovery under new owner Peugeot could return to haunt Barra if her Autos 2.0 strategy careers off the road.
Facebook and Twitter are lucrative quagmires 24 Jul 2018 Bosses Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey are under fire for allowing misinformation and bullying to flourish on their social networks. Lawmakers and users are beginning to notice, but advertisers have a higher tolerance – and that’s what keeps the swamp bubbling.
Japan’s $11 bln Line treads a very fine one 24 Jul 2018 The chat app’s shares have bounced around since its 2016 IPO as user growth proves elusive. Line bumbled its way from ride-hailing to music-streaming, and is now aiming at fintech. It’s a promising market, but trading at over 100 times earnings leaves little room for error.
Europe can’t stop Alphabet profit machine 23 Jul 2018 Regulators and lawmakers have tried to throw sand in the gears of the internet goliath, but blowout quarterly figures show Google’s parent is in a strong position. Europe will need more than stringent data rules, giant fines, and hearings to slow the $827 bln company’s growth.
Atos picks good second best with $3.4 bln U.S. buy 23 Jul 2018 The French group is purchasing IT outsourcer Syntel after missing out last year on European peer Gemalto. Its original target was a more logical fit but the transatlantic deal gives Atos an entry pass to its new target’s U.S. bank clients and will create value after a few years.
UK takes space leap as it leaves EU orbit 20 Jul 2018 Exiting the European Union has cast a cloud over Britain’s membership of the Galileo satellite-navigation project. Going it alone could leave the government with a big bill. Building Europe’s first launch pad, though, taps into strong demand for new commercial satellites.
The Exchange: Asia’s bubbly entrepreneurs 20 Jul 2018 Pete Sweeney hits the RISE tech conference in Hong Kong and hears pitches on vegan cryptocurrency, fog computing and big data for shrimp farmers. Trade tensions haven’t dented enthusiasm, but venture capitalists expect a correction to flush the dumb money from the market.
Microsoft could use some self-inflicted activism 19 Jul 2018 The software giant now has more than $50 bln in net cash, thanks in part to successfully growing its cloud platform. Tax changes will boost its hoard even faster. With debt easily manageable, the company ought to boost dividends and buybacks, before pushy investors force it to.
Viewsroom: Europe puts Google in a bind 19 Jul 2018 The search firm can easily cover the EU’s $5 bln fine for using its Android phone system to stymie rivals. But the order to stop forcing handset makers to pre-install its software could clip innovation. Plus: Goldman Sachs and Tesla put lackluster corporate governance on show.
TSMC etches chip fortunes onto investor memories 19 Jul 2018 The $190 bln Taiwanese semiconductor maker delivered the $2 bln in quarterly earnings that was anticipated. Weak smartphone and cryptocurrency demand, as well as global trade tensions, will be a drag in the second half, though. Betting on AI and 5G should help TSMC longer-term.
Old-school Chinese tech IPO bedeviled by startups 19 Jul 2018 Valuation expectations are falling for state-owned mobile mast operator China Tower, just as they did for smartphone maker Xiaomi. A $50 bln max may now be $35 bln, with a slug heading to cornerstone investors. The techlash is bringing at least some sense back to the market.
Tech’s four superpowers come with kryptonite 18 Jul 2018 Silicon Valley is onto something big. The cloud, mobile, connected devices and artificial intelligence are finally providing real benefits, from disease prevention to classroom safety. Negative consequences, though, are dangers techies mostly prefer someone else to tackle.
Blackstone gets “insurance” on $20 bln F&R deal 18 Jul 2018 Its buyout of Thomson Reuters’ financial-data arm comes with features that enhance the seller’s upside if things go very well – but leaves Steve Schwarzman’s investment firm in better shape if things wobble. That ought to help hold the Canadian group’s feet to the fire.
EU’s $5 bln fine is the least of Google’s worries 18 Jul 2018 The Alphabet unit can absorb another record European antitrust penalty. A companion order requiring it to stop forcing handset makers to pre-install its Google search app and Chrome browser may cause more damage – and curb the firm from expanding in areas like self-driving cars.
Really Big Data gives China medical AI edge 18 Jul 2018 Investors at a Hong Kong conference talked up a digital-healthcare revolution. The hype is also palpable in Silicon Valley, where U.S. life-sciences investment hit a record $17 billion last year. It’s early, but Chinese outfits with access to a huge data trove can take the lead.
Race to governance bottom won by China’s Pinduoduo 18 Jul 2018 The shopping app’s owner apes Alibaba with a partnership that controls the board and an insider committee on top. It then adds super-voting stock for founder Huang Zheng, who is a member of all three groups. Investors who buy into the $1.6 bln IPO are just along for the ride.
BYD’s football fumble salts investor wounds 17 Jul 2018 The $17 bln Chinese car and battery maker says a fraudster struck deals in its name, including with Arsenal. BYD has already squandered a rally in electric vehicle stocks; its muddled response to this scandal will vex stakeholders like Warren Buffett. Patience could run out.
Chinese shopping-app IPO travels long last mile 17 Jul 2018 Shanghai-based Pinduoduo is seeking a $20 bln valuation in a New York debut. Sales are surging, but its social-networking e-commerce business model targeted at lesser-known areas of China may perplex overseas investors. Unwelcome comparisons to Groupon and Zynga are possible.
Alibaba’s $2 bln food sale hints at indigestion 17 Jul 2018 The e-commerce firm is raising new funds from outside investors for its meal delivery arm Ele.me, media reports. This comes just three months after Alibaba took full control of the unit. Rival Meituan's mooted $4 bln Hong Kong flotation might be giving Jack Ma stomach jitters.