EMEA

Sotheby’s next hot auction: a Picasso-backed bond

11 Apr 2024

The auctioneer owned by Patrick Drahi is selling securities backed by collectors’ hoards. With only $34 bln of art-based lending, there’s scope to reach more borrowers. But there are good reasons why art, which is hard to verify and value, has resisted slice-and-dice financing.

How Boeing’s woes change everything but planes

11 Apr 2024

Grave problems with the jetmaker’s 737 MAX have sparked a crisis. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain whether rival Airbus offers a template for policymakers, the impact of a US export champion floundering, and why others may struggle to capitalize.

Société Générale CEO is pruning a decaying tree

11 Apr 2024

Slawomir Krupa agreed to sell an equipment-financing unit to local French rival BPCE for 1.1 bln euros. It’s a good price, and Krupa is right to clear out peripheral assets that languished under his predecessor. The problem is that the bank’s core isn’t alluring either.

Motor-racing deal faces quick antitrust pitstop

11 Apr 2024

F1 owner Liberty Media is doubling down on sports broadcasting rights with its $4.5 bln buy of MotoGP’s parent. CVC’s 2006 attempt to own both racing series got an EU antitrust black flag. The rise of streaming channels means mogul John Malone will have an easier ride this time.

How Patrick Drahi can clamber out of his debt hole

11 Apr 2024

The tycoon’s Altice telecom empire is straining under $60 bln of borrowings, and creditors of its French unit are gunning for a fight. Yet loose bond terms, and the debt’s low trading prices, lend Drahi an escape route. He just needs to hope investors have short memories.

Powell’s rate cuts may go from steady to steep

10 Apr 2024

Inflation hit 3.5% in March, making a June cut to borrowing costs unlikely. But Fed Chair Jay Powell is running out of time. A decrease in September would be seen to favor President Biden. The November decision is one day post-election. The only other option: take bigger whacks.

Swiss too-big-to-fail rules are too timid to work

10 Apr 2024

Following the Credit Suisse disaster, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter will give the country’s bank regulator more teeth and raise capital requirements for $100 bln UBS. It all helps. However, there’s no sign authorities will be any more willing to wind down a big bank.

Capital Calls: Philips

10 Apr 2024

Concise views on global finance: The Dutch company’s CEO Roy Jakobs secured a win by finalising a settlement with US regulators over faulty sleep aids. But myriad other potentially costly cases remain open, justifying an ongoing share-price discount.

EU tech rules bite ever-closer to Apple’s core

10 Apr 2024

As Brussels gains new powers and enforces a March music-streaming ruling, the European Union can finally force Apple to change how the iPhone works with outside developers. A US antitrust case adds pressure. Users may not like the results, which means investors should care too.

How new stock rules are boosting Europe’s startups

9 Apr 2024

Young companies in the European Union have traditionally lagged US rivals in both value and numbers. But in this Exchange podcast, Index Ventures Partner Hannah Seal explains how friendlier regulations on employee share ownership are helping EU-based entrepreneurs fill that gap.

Rabanne-owner IPO offers a scent of prestige

9 Apr 2024

Perfumes-to-skincare conglomerate Puig wants to list in Madrid. At a discount to beauty giants L’Oréal and Estée Lauder, the Spanish group may be worth $18 bln. European markets remain fragile, but premium fragrances’ rising appeal may turn the listing into a rare bright spot.

Airbus obsessives have a shaky grasp of history

9 Apr 2024

The $140 bln pan-European group is flying high as rival Boeing stutters. Now carmakers and others are wondering if similar collaboration could help them face down overseas competitors. But Airbus’s idiosyncrasies and convoluted road to success make copycat plans pie-in-the-sky.

Eclipse overshadows Texas’ solar power strength

8 Apr 2024

The Lone Star State’s grid can handle Monday’s dimming of the sun. A bigger test comes when less-predictable natural events occur. Battery storage is growing fast enough that, soon, cheap solar energy should be available when the sun unexpectedly doesn’t shine.

Vivendi gives Canal+ a South African dowry

8 Apr 2024

The French pay-TV operator has offered $1.9 bln to buy out South African broadcaster MultiChoice. Despite a significant increase on an earlier bid, the price looks reasonable. Consolidating its presence in a fast-growing market may boost Canal+’s appeal in an upcoming IPO.

ECB’s rate cuts can help bond traders – and itself

8 Apr 2024

Holders of euro zone government debt have lost 14% in three years. Frankfurt policymakers can change that by cutting rates in June, before major peers. Lower borrowing costs would have another winner: the European Central Bank, which could save $7 bln a year in interest expenses.

Next Chinese trade war could benefit the planet

8 Apr 2024

As Beijing floods the world with cheap green goods, the West will put up trade barriers. That will delay the energy transition in the United States and EU. But the glut of EVs, solar panels and the like will speed it up in China and much of the Global South.

Google will struggle with Apple-generated AI query

5 Apr 2024

Artificial intelligence presents the first serious threat to the search engine’s 25-year dominance. Parent Alphabet has the money and tech nous to fend off rivals. The bigger financial risk is its $120 bln relationship with the iPhone maker as trustbusters try to pry them apart.

UAE flips own script with $4 bln oil pipeline deal

5 Apr 2024

Abu Dhabi’s $100 bln fund, Lunate, bought KKR and BlackRock’s 40% stake in ADNOC’s infrastructure arm. In recent years the UAE has raised cash from foreign investors by selling minority stakes in its oil giant. The latest deal does the opposite.

US bid has paper-thin lead in packaging M&A race

5 Apr 2024

Tennessee-based International Paper pegged the savings from a proposed all-share deal with DS Smith at $500 mln. If they’re viable, they help keep the US group’s investors on side. The onus is now on rival bidder Mondi to offer more, or show its own cost cuts would be higher.

Ben & Jerry’s rocky ESG road bucks vanilla trends

4 Apr 2024

The purpose-driven ice cream brand is being scooped out of Unilever as corporate activism increasingly invites controversy. And yet the maker of flavors like Empower Mint has grown faster than its parent. Social values, especially when authentic, can mix well with financial aims.