Transportation

Uber and Lyft race to get through open IPO window

10 December 2018

The ride-hailing apps are jockeying for pole position with public offering filings. Economic worries have put the broad market in a correction and Moderna’s plunge after a $7.6 bln IPO shows demand for cash-burning firms is limited. This duel risks a nasty collision with reality.

Royal Mail’s last valuation crutch looks shaky

15 November 2018

The UK postal firm’s shares fell after it reported a 25 pct drop in operating profit. Rising costs, falling letter volumes and the need to invest will make it hard for the group to cover its generous dividend. A lower payout would give investors little reason to own the stock.

Exclusive: FedEx drops NRA deal by snail-mail

30 October 2018

The shipping giant is ending discounts for the U.S. gun-lobby group’s members, eight months after other firms ditched similar schemes. FedEx says it’s an economic decision, not a response to mass shootings. Even so, it suggests offending the NRA is no longer bad for business.

Car parts M&A starts looking more compelling

26 October 2018

France’s Valeo is the latest in the auto sector to issue a profit warning, sending its shares down by a fifth. Crashing valuations might help deals make more financial sense. Rival Faurecia’s purchase of Japanese peer Clarion shows how the fleetest can exploit the opportunity.

Hadas: Six economic reasons to hate Uber

25 October 2018

Economists are wrong to drool over the car service provider as an exemplar of free markets. This financial zombie has destructive effects on transit, a dysfunctional strategy and an antisocial approach to regulation. Also, it hurts its workers and makes investors look foolish.

Daimler and Ford dividends have whiff of roadkill

24 October 2018

The duo are the car sector's worst stock market performers this year and on track to pay out a higher share of earnings than peers. They will have to dip into cash reserves to do so. Weak sales and investments in electric and autonomous vehicles make such largesse unsustainable.

China’s tech hub warrants an upgrade from Beijing

22 October 2018

Shenzhen has morphed from tiny market town to a $320 bln economy. Conferring a province-like status on it would boost Xi Jinping’s plans to integrate the surrounding region. Having more power in the capital amid a trade war also could help champion the likes of Tencent and DJI.

Activists may soon arrive by truckloads to Germany

9 October 2018

Whether uppity investors will rattle the cages of VW and Daimler depends on how they separate their commercial-vehicles arms. Resorting to standard, crummy German governance through partial listings, rather than clean-break spinoffs, will earn them the enmity of investors.

Royal Mail’s strategy gets lost in the post

2 October 2018

The delivery service partly blames its profit warning on poor worker productivity. While keeping a progressive dividend pledge will please investors irked by its new CEO’s pay, Royal Mail needs more investment to solve its operating issues. It could wind up doing the opposite.

Uber’s profitability recipe starts with Deliveroo

21 September 2018

The taxi app may buy the $2 bln European food-delivery group, says Bloomberg. It’s a hefty mouthful for a company that’s steered clear of large dealmaking. As long as Uber Eats and Deliveroo are tearing chunks off each other, though, investors have little chance of a full belly.

New York’s trouble: a total lack of tunnel vision

12 September 2018

The city’s commuters already know that its transport system is hanging by a thread. A halted project to build new tunnels underneath the Hudson river shows there are ways to make things better, but maybe not the will. Political squabbling is an obstacle, but not the only one.

BMW has good reason to take driver seat in China

20 August 2018

The German auto group may raise its stake in its Chinese JV, after the state moved to scrap foreign ownership rules. Spending $3.6 bln now would boost margins and give it a greater share of profit from China-made cars. That’s particularly valuable given U.S. trade tensions.

Ferrari proves it can run mostly on autopilot

1 August 2018

New CEO Louis Camilleri inherits a firm in fine shape from Sergio Marchionne. While FCA cut guidance after its ex-boss’s death, Ferrari posted strong results, even if it qualified its outlook as “aspirational”. The Italian supercar maker looks nonetheless poised to motor ahead.

Ryanair budget model is being eroded

23 July 2018

The carrier’s post-tax profit fell by a fifth due to strikes and a heatwave that encouraged people to holiday at home. But these one-off problems pose less of a challenge to CEO Michael O’Leary’s low-cost business than rising staff costs and the risk of a chaotic Brexit.

Automakers’ U.S. tariff fight heads down dead end

19 July 2018

The industry argues import duties would force Americans to pay an extra $83 bln a year for new cars. There’s a chance next week’s Trump-Juncker summit will yield a deal. But the U.S. president seems determined to punish countries for past trade wrongs, real or perceived.

Norwegian Air profit breathes life into bid battle

12 July 2018

The transatlantic budget carrier reported a surprise profit. Rising passenger numbers and falling costs will help convince airlines circling the group that its unorthodox model can fly. Suitors like IAG or Lufthansa will be more wary of letting Norwegian fall into rival hands.

Tesla can beat Ford out of China trade pits

9 July 2018

Absorbing new tariffs on U.S. cars would probably have killed any chance of CEO Elon Musk hitting his goal of a profitable second half. Ford can soak them up. Strategically, the balance is different: Ford needs new ideas, while Tesla just has to get on with building a factory.

Viewsroom: Trump goes hog wild on trade

28 June 2018

The U.S. president rejected hard-liners’ calls to ban China investing in sensitive U.S. tech. Yet he’s pushing for tariffs that could cost carmakers $45 bln and is livid Harley-Davidson will no longer make EU-bound bikes in the States. Plus: tapping China’s shale reserves.

Uber leaves London pit stop with minor dents

26 June 2018

The ride-hailing app won back its permit to operate in the UK capital. Its new license is shorter than hoped, and concessions like providing drivers’ insurance will lift costs. But CEO Dara Khosrowshahi keeps his service on the road in Europe’s top market and an IPO on track.

Harley throws wrench in Trump’s tariff gears

25 June 2018

The fallout from the president’s misguided economic nationalism has prompted the $7 bln American icon to move U.S. production of its EU-bound bikes overseas. Harley’s rational response to stupid policy should allow it to cut more than enough costs to outweigh short-term pain.