Air Transportation

Corona Capital: Warren Buffett, Burger boost

9 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Rising share prices take the sting out of Berkshire Hathaway’s Covid-19 profit hit; and McDonald’s reports a good quarter for American nugget-lovers.

Corona Capital: GM earnings, Third-quarter readout

5 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: General Motors swerves around Covid-19 potholes; and U.S. companies look to have emerged from a difficult three months in better shape than expected.

Corona Capital: Netflix price hike

30 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The streaming-video service hiked the price on subscriptions as binge-watching booms during the pandemic.

Corona Capital: Drugmaker’s pick-me-up, Golf M&A

28 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Drugmaker GSK sees a recovery in vaccinations against old-school ailments; meanwhile Covid-19 turns out to be a handy driver when it comes to golf-related dealmaking.

Off-colour IAG points to prolonged air-sickness

22 Oct 2020

The owner of British Airways lost 1.3 bln euros in the third quarter. Rising infections and new lockdowns mean the next three months will be little better, dashing new CEO Luis Gallego’s hopes of breaking even by Christmas. He won’t be the only airline boss feeling queasy.

Cathay is still overweight after layoffs

21 Oct 2020

Hong Kong's flagship airline will cut 8,500 jobs and ditch its Cathay Dragon brand. That's less aggressive than some other carriers, although shareholders took it well. The cuts will only slow the cash burn rate to around HK$1.5 bln per month. More savings will have to be found.

Boeing has got a bigger than MAX problem

16 Oct 2020

Europe’s aviation regulator said the troubled 737 is safe to fly, sending the $92 bln aircraft producer’s shares up 5%. Even when sales return, ongoing reductions of flight schedules due to Covid-19 will make Boeing’s woes linger. There’s a chance they become permanent.

Corona Capital: Kazakhs, Norwegians, Airlines

15 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Kaspi gives ECM bankers something to smile about; Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has a so-so third quarter; and United Airlines has more bad news on jobs.

Corona Capital: Black Friday, JPMorgan’s new tower

14 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Walmart’s Black Friday rejig makes for a curious experiment; JPMorgan goes all-in on New York real estate.

Corona Capital: Oil, Delta, Hunger

13 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: OPEC and the International Energy Agency issue forecasts that bode ill for crude demand; the U.S. airline steers through turbulence; and a food crisis is exacerbating problems facing the most vulnerable in society.

Corona Capital: NBA, Polish e-commerce, Tesco

12 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A major basketball bake-off fails to pull in the online crowds; Poland’s biggest e-commerce company flies from the shelves; and UK grocer Tesco wrestles with supply chain problems.

Corona Capital: Tech upgrades, Ruby Tuesday

7 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Indian IT giant TCS is betting the work-from-home boost to its earnings marks the beginning of a years-long boom; U.S. restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday’s bankruptcy offers a lesson in creative culinary destruction.

Airline employees are pawns in U.S. bailout debate

1 Oct 2020

American is going forward with 19,000 job cuts, at least temporarily, as Congress tries to agree on a bailout. Even if the carrier shrinks permanently, many of those jobs should return. That means Washington can justify helping rather than keeping workers in stressful limbo.

Corona Capital: NYC

30 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: New York City’s economic reboot comes up against a new outbreak.

Rolls-Royce repair job has 18-month warranty

29 Sep 2020

The UK jet engine maker wants to raise 2.5 bln pounds from existing and new investors, including sovereign funds. That should keep it aloft even if the airlines that use its kit have a bad 2021. Beyond that, a slow recovery could mean more financial warning lights.

American Airlines bailout plea looks cheeky

24 Sep 2020

The company wants more public money to avoid furloughing 19,000 workers. But it should have $13 bln of liquidity by the end of the quarter, including discounted loans competitors eschewed. Even if American can’t stay afloat, there’s Chapter 11. The time for handouts is over.

Corona Capital: Newspaper rivals, College football

17 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: the Wall Street Journal hits up the New York Times’ printing presses; U.S. college football’s Big Ten makes a comeback.

Corona Capital: Fed’s optimism, Package holidays

16 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Jay Powell and crew at the U.S. central bank reckon the nation’s economy is doing better, just, than they expected; Anglo-German travel company TUI may raise 1 bln euros as the virus whacks new bookings.

Corona Capital: Banks and government, Ryanair cash

4 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak could hurt taxpayers by forcing lenders to chase pandemic borrowers; and the Irish airline’s war chest will come in handy if rivals go under.

Ethiopian swoop would seal South Africa’s descent

4 Sep 2020

Pretoria’s bankrupt state airline may secure a parachute from Addis Ababa, a stunning reversal of fortunes from the 1990s. After apartheid, South African firms blazed trails across the continent. With corruption and dogma hobbling their home base, the tables are turning.