30SC

UK belatedly bares antitrust teeth over tech M&A

24 Jan 2020

Competition authorities may probe Takeaway.com’s Just Eat deal, even though the buyer doesn’t operate in Britain. As with its Amazon-Deliveroo inquiry, the regulator’s logic borders on paranoia. That’s better than the naivety it showed with Facebook’s 2012 Instagram purchase.

Italian banks will yield to M&A imperative

23 Jan 2020

A decade after the euro zone crisis erupted, the country’s lenders have shed most of their bad debt and doubled their capital ratios. The problem now is low returns. Negative interest rates and attempts to limit sovereign bond holdings make mergers with rivals more pressing.

Banks feel the heat of global warming in Davos

22 Jan 2020

Climate change is the hot topic at this year’s Swiss mountain gathering and financial institutions are in the spotlight. Large investors like BlackRock can force some changes. But regulatory pressure on lenders to manage the risks of a warmer planet may prove more effective.

Alstom-Bombardier rail M&A would face faulty track

22 Jan 2020

The $11 bln French train maker and its Canadian rival are discussing a deal, Bloomberg reported. The former’s failed deal with Siemens posed more obvious EU antitrust issues, but Brussels may still balk. And synergies that rely on big job cuts in France will be politically toxic.

Donald Trump wins most insufferable title at Davos

21 Jan 2020

It’s a high bar, but the U.S. president is in an acutely braggadocious mood. He signed a China trade deal, stocks are at record highs and Iran’s top general is dead. Impeachment aside, the global elite will be even more annoyed by him because he has real things to brag about.

UBS limp new targets invite investor scorn

21 Jan 2020

The $46 bln bank’s shares fell after CEO Sergio Ermotti announced vague returns goals. He may be cautious about low rates, or pinning his hopes on a wealth management push rather than cost cuts. If that doesn’t pay off, Ermotti – or his successor – will have to wield the axe.

The gayest Davos in history still isn’t gay enough

20 Jan 2020

Adding an LGBTQ panel to the annual outing and giving an award to a transgender artist beats the “don’t ask, don’t tell” posture of the past. But with 70 countries still persecuting same-sex relations, and many WEF corporate sponsors supportive of equality, more can be done.

Vodafone’s India demise would cause wave of pain

17 Jan 2020

Shares in the telco’s local unit plunged 25% after a court dismissed a plea to review $7 bln of levies. The government could accept delayed payment, still leaving Vodafone Idea with a heavy burden. The alternative, bankruptcy of the big brand, will hit a fragile economy hard.

Santander CEO fiasco exposes banking’s fault line

16 Jan 2020

It’s a year since chair Ana Botin reversed her decision to make UBS executive Andrea Orcel the Spanish group’s boss. Misgivings about pay and management style were rooted in the gulf between wholesale and retail lenders. A 112 mln euro lawsuit will lay bare the culture clash.

Flybe is ominous UK test flight for Johnsonomics

15 Jan 2020

Britain has rescued the struggling regional airline operator by deferring a tax bill, and more help could follow. Boris Johnson can trumpet his aid for poorer bits of the UK. But downgrading climate change and free markets sends a grim signal of the prime minister’s priorities.

Larry Fink slowly becomes part of climate solution

14 Jan 2020

The BlackRock boss says the giant asset manager will dump thermal coal-focused investments, and vote against directors who aren’t doing enough on climate change. With most of its $7 trln assets tracking indexes, the firm can only go so far. But Fink’s tone suggests a step change.

Geely’s European car collection is too eccentric

13 Jan 2020

The Chinese rescuer of Lotus and London black cabs might inject funds into Aston Martin, James Bond’s favoured ride. Founder Li Shufu had some success with Volvo, but with his home market under pressure, becoming a collector of genteel money-losers is an unwelcome distraction.

Rising fares squeeze Ryanair’s budget mantra

10 Jan 2020

The low-cost carrier lifted its full-year earnings forecast by 17% after a bumper holiday season. Boss Michael O’Leary can thank Thomas Cook’s demise and grounded 737 MAX planes for dearer tickets. But price hikes dent the halo of the self-appointed patron saint of cheap flights.

IAG dealmaking will outlast Willie Walsh

9 Jan 2020

The Irishman is disembarking after nine years at the helm of the BA and Iberia owner. The holding structure he led from its birth has been more successful than Air France-KLM and makes it easier for his successor to go shopping, say for a carrier that flies to South America.

Carlos Ghosn’s image rehab begins in wrong gear

8 Jan 2020

The ex-Renault boss used his first public statements since fleeing Japan to claim a plot involving Nissan and Tokyo prosecutors. The assertions were light on detail, though. That left too much time for missteps such as likening his arrest to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

Anglo’s tricky fertiliser bet has political hedge

8 Jan 2020

The miner is sinking $500 mln to buy Sirius’ troubled potash project in northern England. It will need to stump up an extra $3 bln to extract the mineral, whose price is murky. At least PM Boris Johnson, keen to revive poorer UK regions, should support Anglo American’s plan.

UBS goes for growth with wealth management rejig

7 Jan 2020

Fresh from hiring rival executive Iqbal Khan, the bank which oversees $2.5 trln is axing unnecessary layers to serve rich clients better and faster. Only 2% of the unit’s jobs will go, though. UBS needs to boost lending to get its cost structure into line with leaner competitors.

Aramco’s war-risk snake trumps oil-price ladder

6 Jan 2020

The threat of U.S. sanctions on Iraq should boost the oil price, and the Saudi giant’s value. Yet its shares have slumped to their lowest level since trading commenced last month. That may be because the company’s operations are more likely to be a target for Iranian retaliation.

Middle East strife’s market toll is just beginning

3 Jan 2020

Oil prices rose more than 3% and global bourses fell after a U.S. air strike killed Iran’s top military leader, Qassem Soleimani. The Islamic republic may well follow up its rhetoric of revenge with action. Investors now have a real war, not just a trade one, to fret about.

Carlos Ghosn helps the 1% end decade on-brand

2 Jan 2020

Nissan’s ex-boss didn’t like Japan’s justice system, and so arranged an escape to his former home Lebanon. The grotesque use of wealth ties a bow on a lucrative 10-year run for the ultra-rich. Leave it to a man who once partied at Versailles to rally the anti-plutocracy movement.