Court dunk changes game for digital collectibles 28 Feb 2023 U.S. regulators didn’t say whether non-fungible tokens are financial securities before the $40 bln market swelled. Now it’s up to the courts. A judge’s ruling against fantasy basketball card developer Dapper Labs raises big risks for NFT companies. But there’s still no referee.
Capital Calls: Monte dei Paschi, Abrdn 28 Feb 2023 Concise views on global finance: Insurer AXA is selling shares in the Italian bank just four months after joining a risky capital increase; meanwhile, the UK asset management group run by Stephen Bird is still shrinking.
Airtel would be a complex saviour for Paytm 28 Feb 2023 Any investment from telecoms magnate Sunil Bharti Mittal would be a timely sign of confidence in the loss-making fintech darling as its big Chinese investors exit. Tycoons and banks are not happy bedfellows in India Inc, but deal talk at least shifts the debate to Paytm’s value.
Open-source software braces for trade war 27 Feb 2023 Sharing code that runs databases, phones and more benefits the world economy. But mutual walls are going up: ChatGPT is blocked in China while the White House has cut off Huawei from Android. Many Chinese and U.S. software projects are intertwined. They might also be doomed.
Politicians could do better with FTX donations 24 Feb 2023 Recipients of cash from Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford had to hand it back. In Madoff’s case some $14 billion was recouped. The people overseeing the FTX bankruptcy vow to go after politicians. In a perfect world, lawmakers would voluntarily give money back.
Spotify’s next act: hosting ad lollapalooza 24 Feb 2023 The music service attracted activist ValueAct as founder Daniel Ek starts to whack costs. Yet rather than cutting its way to profit, Spotify could stem its losses by nabbing a quarter of the streaming and podcasting ad pie. It’s a tough but plausible performance to pull off.
Capital Calls: Adobe’s lose-lose Figma bind 24 Feb 2023 Concise views on global finance: Shareholders in the $160 bln design technology firm seem to have decided that the only thing worse than doing its blockbuster deal for rival Figma is losing it.
Alibaba shows limits of China’s reopening boon 24 Feb 2023 Boss Daniel Zhang's cost-cutting has paid off at the $250 bln e-commerce group but the outlook is meh. Consumers will spend offline as their confidence slowly rises. With Alibaba shares down 30% in one month, enthusiasm for China's return to normalcy has peaked worryingly early.
Capital Calls: World Bank, Bumble, Wood Group 23 Feb 2023 Concise views on global finance: The U.S. picks ex-Mastercard boss Ajay Banga to run the multilateral development bank; while the dating app’s shares are down, private equity owner Blackstone is still in the money; the UK oil services group has turned down three bids from Apollo.
Capital Calls: Tech trustbusting, Fresenius 22 Feb 2023 Concise views on global finance: After fighting a slew of deals, the U.S. FTC decided not to challenge Amazon’s $3.9 bln acquisition of One Medical, while the sprawling $17 bln German conglomerate is cleaning up its messy structure in a tentative step toward breaking up.
Euronext may have to dig deeper to snare Allfunds 22 Feb 2023 The 8 bln euro exchange offered 5.5 bln euros for the wealth technology group, the latest in a slew of deals. Boss Stéphane Boujnah would get much-needed diversification away from sluggish markets. Yet the price is not a knockout, and rivals like Deutsche Boerse could barge in.
TCI’s Airbus fury may have collateral benefit 22 Feb 2023 Hedgie Chris Hohn says the plane maker’s plan to buy a 30% stake in Atos’s cyber arm will destroy value. He’s probably right, but private investors take a back seat in defence deals, where governments call the shots. His salvo might however help Airbus drive a harder bargain.
War puts defence firms on investors’ radar 21 Feb 2023 The Ukraine conflict is prompting once-wary capital to engage with defence and aerospace companies. In this Exchange podcast Lorenz Meier, CEO of drone software firm Auterion, accepts ethical issues remain. But defence tech startups should brace for new venture capital cash.
Hermès’ “MetaBirkin” win misses the big picture 17 Feb 2023 A court ruled an artist’s digital version of the $198 bln group’s iconic Birkin bag violated trademark rights. The verdict gives luxury firms more clout to commercially exploit the metaverse. Yet the jury is still out on whether such forays will be anything more than marketing.
Missing China bank boss is the wrong big deal 17 Feb 2023 Bao Fan's disappearance wiped 30% off China Renaissance’s stock. But his boutique investment bank had already shrunk as work from clients like Didi vanished. The broader blow is to financiers waiting for new business to offset Beijing’s common-prosperity and anti-corruption push.
YouTube CEO exit is an unlucky break 16 Feb 2023 Veteran Susan Wojcicki is leaving the helm of the video service at a critical time for parent Alphabet. Advertising is under duress from rivals and regulators want to unwind past acquisitions. Executives come and go, but the last thing Google needs is turmoil from within.
Capital Calls: Schneider’s sustainable CEO 16 Feb 2023 Concise views on global finance: Jean-Pascal Tricoire’s departure as chief executive of the French industrial software group after nearly two decades at the helm defies the trend of short-lived or underperforming corporate bosses.
Capital Calls: Ford and CATL 15 Feb 2023 Concise views on global finance: A new battery plant shows U.S. electric-car makers may struggle to cut China out of supply chains.
Economic war with China would be MAD 14 Feb 2023 The prospect of mutually assured destruction averted nuclear conflict during the Cold War. Hopefully, fear of the economic equivalent will stop a showdown with China. But after the shooting down of a Chinese balloon, tensions are rising and errors are possible, says Hugo Dixon.
Microsoft can answer antitrust “Call of Duty” 13 Feb 2023 UK regulators say selling the video game would ease their concerns over the software giant’s $69 bln purchase of Activision Blizzard. A disposal would be chunky, and boss Satya Nadella won’t want to leave it behind. But even without the franchise, the acquisition still stacks up.