Americas

Europe’s Starlink-lite is a worthwhile also-ran

21 Nov 2024

EU satellite players like Eutelsat are debt-laden minnows compared to Elon Musk’s SpaceX-owned behemoth. But given Starlink now owns more than 60% of all working satellites, Europe has to start somewhere. Investors shouldn’t count on galactic returns, though.

Gautam Adani’s key man risk is hard to contain

21 Nov 2024

US bribery accusations will narrow financing options for the tycoon’s $146 bln conglomerate more than a short-seller attack did. Other countries may get involved, too. Adani can limit damage by stepping down, but his tight ownership of the empire he built complicates matters.

Gulf states wedge AI efforts between superpowers

21 Nov 2024

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are building home-grown silicon smarts and forging links with the likes of Microsoft. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how the region is muscling its way into a technology arms race between China and the US.

Itochu is a complex partner for 7-Eleven buyout

21 Nov 2024

The $71 bln trading house may join a white-knight purchase of the convenience store's owner Seven & i. Itochu owns rival FamilyMart and has business ties to the target. Its involvement in any deal may come down to a trade-off between competition and efficiency in Japan.

Market’s Trump trades at risk from bond vigilantes

20 Nov 2024

US consumer prices have risen 21% since 2020, helping President-elect Donald Trump win the White House. His policies, though, may stoke inflation. Stocks, bitcoin and the dollar like a hot economy. But a rising deficit could upset debt investors and hit the current market stars.

Comcast rescripts its stale convergence plotline

20 Nov 2024

The $160 bln cable operator is spinning off CNBC and other networks while heralding integration. In truth, it’s a concession that the logic behind its bold NBC Universal deal has changed. At $12 bln, per Breakingviews estimates, the unit is small but nevertheless significant.

Brookfield has room to sweeten Spanish drug deal

20 Nov 2024

Grifols rejected a 6.5 billion euro offer from the Canadian firm and its founder family. That’s not surprising, given the offer is far from generous and the pharma company’s sales are recovering. Bruce Flatt’s group can afford to pay more and still clear an acceptable return.

Amcor’s cheap packaging deal hides a fragile item

20 Nov 2024

The Switzerland-based company is paying $8.4 bln for US rival Berry. It’s a low price when compared with the cost savings on offer, but the target brings with it debt and a business that is struggling to grow. Rapid consolidation among peers also raises the pressure to merge.

Buyout barons salivate over uncertain wealth prize

20 Nov 2024

Blackstone says $80 trln is up for grabs from coaxing individual investors into private-market assets. KKR puts the figure at $200 trln. The range reflects the variety of people whose nest eggs the firms are targeting, and regulatory hurdles. Shareholders aren’t counting on it.

Walmart streak suggests it can weather Trump toll

19 Nov 2024

The $700 bln giant hiked its annual sales outlook as more people shopped at its stores. Despite being a big importer from China, it powered through the incoming president’s first trade war. With shares at an all-time high, investors are betting it can cope with another outbreak.

US oil spigot bypasses the White House

19 Nov 2024

President Trump promises to 'drill, baby, drill'. Yet the correlation between US oil production and the occupant of the Oval Office appears close to zero. With investors demanding dividends, consumption flat, and the world oversupplied, wishes for new wells may go unfulfilled.

Ukraine support is cheaper option for Europe

19 Nov 2024

New US President Donald Trump could cut aid to Kyiv. But the Old Continent has the means, and reasons, to pay up. Letting Russia win would mean more defence spending, a refugee crisis and geopolitical strife. That’s a bigger toll than the 0.4% of GDP the bloc would need to spend.

Ireland’s $25 bln tax bounty reveals OECD flaws

19 Nov 2024

Dublin expects a record budget surplus in 2024 thanks to a cash deluge from tech giants. In this episode of The Big View podcast, Pascal Saint-Amans, the architect of a landmark 2021 tax treaty, explains how the US’s failure to ratify the deal allows havens to rake in billions.

Friendshoring is set to become friendshoving

19 Nov 2024

India benefits from firms like Apple moving production beyond China. Under Trump, the country may get whacked by reciprocal US tariffs, dinged for its trade surplus and for a tightly managed currency. The flaws in rerouting supply chains are about to become apparent.

Trump’s ideal Treasury pick: squarer of circles

18 Nov 2024

The president-elect wants tariffs that could up inflation by 75 bps, but also booming stocks and calm bonds. Jostling is underway between banker Howard Lutnick, investor Scott Bessent and others to be this agenda’s key emissary. But personnel cannot resolve policy tension.

Trump 2.0 will see more European firms do a Holcim

18 Nov 2024

The $56 bln Swiss building materials group is splitting off its US unit and listing it separately. Some CEOs may think President-elect Donald Trump will spur a growth spurt. Fear of missing out, and a huge valuation gap, will make other European companies ponder similar moves.

Nvidia’s growing cash hoard points to M&A

18 Nov 2024

The chip designer could have $175 bln on hand in two years, surpassing even Apple’s giant pile of liquidity. Combined with a more deal-friendly US president, it opens up acquisitions. Founder Jensen Huang’s broad ambition means optics, healthcare and robotics are possible.

Charlie Ergen drowns in two kinds of debt

15 Nov 2024

The EchoStar founder may lose a deal to merge his satellite TV service Dish with rival DirecTV after bondholders balked at a $1.5 bln haircut. Years of bidding up assets and finagling the financial burden has tried creditors’ patience. It would be wise to come to the table now.

Biden trustbusters keep new ideas on life support

15 Nov 2024

The DOJ is suing to stop UnitedHealth’s $3 bln deal for in-home care rival Amedisys, arguing it would hurt patients. As with other recent US litigation, it targets issues beyond price, in this case quality and capacity. It’s a parting shot at codifying novel competition theory.

Investors ignore the law of long-term averages

14 Nov 2024

US stocks are trading at 38 times cyclically adjusted earnings, near the most expensive level ever on that measure. For more than two decades, equities have defied predictions that valuations return to the historical mean. Yet conditions which enabled juicy returns are fading.