Capital Calls: Microsoft’s buyback, Railway M&A 15 Sep 2021 Concise views on global finance: the software giant’s $60 bln stock repurchase plan is smaller than it sounds; meanwhile, a tangled takeover battle for train operator Kansas City Southern takes a messy new track.
Supersized Canva inspires financial creativity 15 Sep 2021 The Australian design-software firm more than doubled its valuation to $40 bln in five months after a fresh $200 mln investment. Its avant-garde approach includes co-founders intending to use most of their 30% stake to “do good”. Things get abstract, though, at 40 times revenue.
Tech execs invoke inner Texan in California vote 14 Sep 2021 Former PayPal COO David Sacks is among Silicon Valley elites who want Governor Gavin Newsom removed. High taxes and Covid-19 policies might change if a ballot leads to his being replaced by radio host Larry Elder. But then tech gurus lose the right to put on social justice airs.
Capital Calls: Amazon’s wage rise 14 Sep 2021 Concise views on global finance: The e-commerce giant’s salary strategy could catch on.
Ant may find it easy to move on after breakup 14 Sep 2021 Beijing wants Jack Ma's fintech giant to separate payments, credit scoring and lending, and is diluting it with assorted government investors. But these stakeholders might be helpful, and the loan operation looks to get a wider business remit. If this is bottom, it’s not too bad.
Amplifon within earshot of Luxottica-like success 13 Sep 2021 The Italian listening-device maker is positioning itself to do for the hard of hearing what the $89 bln eyewear giant did for the sight-impaired. It’s just one-eighth the size but has ageing societies and a new generation of customers banging their eardrums to look forward to.
Smart specs are a solution in search of a problem 13 Sep 2021 Facebook and Apple are working on so-called augmented-reality glasses, the latest addition to an $81 bln wearable accessories market. Like watches, such gadgets help tech giants hoover up data and lock in customers. The hard part is convincing people they’re actually useful.
China’s new wealth plan slow to make connections 13 Sep 2021 HSBC and other banks in Hong Kong will soon be able to sell products direct to the Greater Bay Area’s 70 mln citizens and vice versa. Financiers hiring furiously in anticipation have cheered. But real benefits will emerge only gradually if past schemes are anything to go by.
Chancellor: Tech growth comes at irrational price 9 Sep 2021 So overwhelming is the desire to find the next Alphabet, Amazon or Facebook that investors are giving nosebleed valuations to just about any software firm offering cloud-based services. The discount rates by which these enterprises are valued make no sense. Caveat speculator.
Viewsroom: Bitcoin, El Salvador and Roger Federer 9 Sep 2021 As the Central American country adopts the cryptocurrency as a coin of the realm, Richard Beales and Gina Chon discuss the merits of stablecoins and the scramble by regulators to catch up with the market. Karen Kwok takes a slice at Roger Federer-backed running shoe outfit On.
Capital Calls: Lagarde channels Thatcher 9 Sep 2021 Concise views on global finance: The ECB boss will buy fewer bonds but tells markets: “The lady isn’t tapering.” A tough decision on whether to scale back bond purchases more decisively will come later.
SenseTime IPO success rests on overseas investors 9 Sep 2021 The Chinese AI dragon has filed for a mooted $2 bln Hong Kong IPO despite being on a U.S. trade blacklist. There’s plenty of local appetite if regulators sign off. The real test is foreign funds’ ESG standards and if they share a desire to curb the country’s cutting-edge tech.
China’s Ke would drag heavy baggage to Hong Kong 9 Sep 2021 The New York-traded online property broker may add another stock listing. Ke is a prime target in Beijing's tech and real estate crackdown, and its founder’s death left a governance mess. Even with shares 70% off their peak, there's plenty to dissuade investors from moving in.
UK’s Smiths faces tough physio after M&A surgery 8 Sep 2021 The $8 bln engineer is flogging its health unit to ICU Medical for $2.4 bln, three years after walking away from the same bidder. The sale is a win for new boss Paul Keel. But for Smiths to warrant a jazzier rating, he will have to work similar magic on languishing margins.
Capital Calls: AMC, German pet retailer 8 Sep 2021 Concise views on global finance: The movie theater chain enjoyed bumper Labor Day attendance; a trio of private equity suitors are circling Zooplus.
Nio share sale copies one of Tesla’s better tricks 8 Sep 2021 The electric-car maker plans to boost its balance sheet by raising $2 bln, despite rising sales and a chunky cash pile. Like Elon Musk last year, CEO William Li is raising funds while he can, not when he needs to. That’s wise: Rich valuations make both vulnerable to setbacks.
Morgan Stanley boldly sidesteps record India IPO 8 Sep 2021 The Wall Street firm didn’t pitch for the $14 bln debut of state-owned insurer LIC. Sure, fees are painfully low. But the deal brings bragging rights and government brownie points and looks more straightforward than, say, the Saudi Aramco sale. Yet there’s logic to the move.
El Salvador takes a risky punt on crypto 7 Sep 2021 Bitcoin is now an official currency in the Central American republic, alongside the U.S. dollar. There are potential benefits for a country that is so dependent on remittances from abroad, but President Nayib Bukele’s pioneering move has way too many downsides.
Crypto poses systemic risks that need swift remedy 7 Sep 2021 Digital currency trading venues are a $2 trln industry while some coins, like Tether, are backed by fiat currencies. If money markets freeze up, their positions are so large that they could have ripple effects. Watchdogs are classically behind in reining in the market.
Capital Calls: UK interventions, Post-virus reset 7 Sep 2021 Concise views on global finance: U.S. bidder TransDigm’s withdrawal from the $8.7 bln race for Meggitt removes a tricky decision for the government; Boris Johnson’s new proposals will address social care but not generational wealth divides.