Americas

Infineon U-turn is canary in Trumpian coal mine

9 Feb 2017

The German semiconductor group abruptly warned its Wolfspeed deal could be blocked by the U.S., a week after saying all was well. American regulators have tended to get antsy when Chinese deals are involved. A protectionist in the White House implies this could now be broadened.

Aramco fails to make a mountain out of Moelis

8 Feb 2017

The boutique's role advising the oil giant's mooted IPO added over $100 mln to its market value. That may seem like a big jump off one mandate. The opposite could be true though – investors may be underestimating the boost to Moelis's stature from its trophy deal.

Curing myopic CEOs requires playing long game

8 Feb 2017

A new McKinsey study finds that companies that focus too much on quarterly results badly underperform rivals with more distant horizons. It's just correlation not causality, but the research is a compelling start. Persuading investors might in time convince Corporate America.

Nordstrom handed a presidential gift certificate

8 Feb 2017

The higher-end U.S. retailer added some $300 mln in market value after Donald Trump deemed a business decision to discontinue his daughter's clothing line a personal attack. By overstepping his boundaries yet again, the president managed to turn shopping into an act of protest.

Winning with sports on TV becomes tougher game

8 Feb 2017

Fox and Disney blamed the price of broadcasting basketball, baseball and football for weighing down profit. The NFL and other leagues also are on the hunt for new sources of revenue, in another sign of how the television business model is no longer the slam dunk it once was.

Dan Loeb gets a little too bullish on bank stocks

8 Feb 2017

The high-profile hedge-fund manager reckons rate hikes will bolster lending and trading enough to jack up returns before tax cuts or deregulation. But sticky rules, the Trump rally's fragility and the fuzzy link between tighter monetary policy and fatter earnings warrant caution.

Gilead’s boom-bust presages gene therapy’s future

8 Feb 2017

A rapidly shrinking market for treating hepatitis C vaporized $9 bln of the biotech's value. A race by rivals to find and treat remaining patients could lead to further price cuts. It's a glimmer of how extraordinary success at treatment may pose a bottom-line conundrum.

GSK CEO leaves successor with scope for encore

8 Feb 2017

Departing chief Andrew Witty's final results beat expectations. He steered the drug giant through scandal and patent losses, but did smart deals, and created value. His vision of a diversified group is still unfinished, though, leaving successor Emma Walmsley plenty to do.

Crisis anniversary offers $30 trln sanity check

7 Feb 2017

That's one estimate of the cost of the financial meltdown that started 10 years ago with HSBC's $1.8 bln subprime mortgage loss. With talk of a regulatory rollback in the air, the anniversary offers a timely reminder that exuberance and loose standards can cause painful damage.

Silicon Valley fights for its life on immigration

7 Feb 2017

Over 100 tech firms, including Google and Apple, have joined the legal battle against President Trump's travel ban. They argue that the restrictions interfere with hiring and business operations. For an industry dependent on immigrants, the case represents a fight for survival.

Jose Cuervo IPO can drink to weak peso

7 Feb 2017

The U.S. election outcome put the Mexican tequila maker's stock float on ice. It's now back at a mooted valuation of over $5 bln with a Singaporean investor ready to take a shot. New tariffs in Jose Cuervo's biggest market are a threat, but a cheap currency may be just the tonic.

GM steers itself right to White House door

7 Feb 2017

The latest results from America's largest carmaker reveal it to be raking in even more from trucks and SUVs. That's good for margins and U.S. jobs. The implication, though, is that the new administration will have to ease off on emissions standards to keep the good times rolling.

China shows U.S. banks self-serving generosity

7 Feb 2017

JPMorgan and Citi have won coveted licences in China's onshore bond market. China's real goal might be to get inclusion in global bond indexes, which would bring stable foreign investment. But restrictions on capital flows make such bonds less appetizing than they could be.

Tiffany CEO exit takes ring off luxury finger

6 Feb 2017

Frederic Cumenal is out after less than two years, just after Ralph Lauren ditched its new boss. Having Tiffany's flagship store next to Trump Tower doesn't help. But both suffer from a long-term sales slump and a lack of new products and ideas. A fix requires more than a new CEO.

Dodd-Frank rewrite could disappoint everyone

6 Feb 2017

U.S. bankers are now hopeful Donald Trump will roll back the 2010 law. In reality, Trump's call for a review does little, and a repeal of Dodd-Frank looks a long shot. Meanwhile any talk of dilution has Democrats howling. Neither banks nor their critics will get what they want.

Disney boss risks overstaying his welcome

6 Feb 2017

Bob Iger may delay ending his 12-year reign atop the House of Mouse, a sign the firm has failed to find an heir since Tom Staggs left last year. CEO longevity has its uses. But as Lehman's Dick Fuld and Iger predecessor Michael Eisner can attest, clinging to power can get messy.

Audi’s gender equality plea lacks horsepower

6 Feb 2017

The German premium carmaker made an emotive call for gender pay equality in a Super Bowl TV commercial. The cause is honourable. But the message came from a company with no women on its executive board. Binding legal rules are needed to turn fine ideals more quickly into action.

Gary Cohn has Trump drinking Wall Street Kool-Aid

3 Feb 2017

The White House economic adviser and ex-Goldman No. 2 says the president will roll back regulations to make U.S. banks globally competitive and enable them to lend more freely. As the 10th anniversary of the financial crisis nears, there's little evidence big lenders need help.

Review: The hollow promise of ending GDP worship

3 Feb 2017

Switching from the touchstone of economics to broader measures of value would be more truthful and could make the world a fairer place, Lorenzo Fioramonti argues. But his optimistic vision overlooks the inevitability of growth and integration – and humans' competitive drive.

Presidential orders can’t fix slow factory hiring

3 Feb 2017

The U.S. economy notched 227,000 jobs in January, Obama's final tally. Trump vows to rev up the pace, especially in manufacturing, but automation is limiting the growth of that line of work. The president's bully pulpit is of little use in the face of that long-term trend.