Airlines

Capital Calls: American Airlines, Crypto PayPal

8 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The U.S. carrier is issuing new debt and hocking some airline miles to pay back the U.S. Treasury loan that carried restrictions on pay and dividends; PayPal investors give a shrug over another dive into bitcoin-land.

Capital Calls: Sarkozy’s trial

1 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: the former French prime minister’s conviction for trying to bribe a judge creates a new dilemma for the companies on whose board he sits, including hotel chain Accor.

Capital Calls: Petrobras CEO, Kohl’s

22 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro nominates a former general to replace the oil group's market-friendly boss, tanking the shares; and U.S. department store Kohl’s has some unhappy shareholders.

Europe’s airlines may need financial refuelling

12 Feb 2021

Delayed vaccines and mutating virus strains are threatening another peak tourist season, hitting carriers like Lufthansa as well as low-cost rivals such as easyJet. With debt soaring, shareholders, including governments, may need to fork out again. If so, better to beat the rush.

Corona Capital: Universal Music

1 Feb 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A Universal Music IPO could close Vivendi’s conglomerate discount.

HNA’s final agonies deserve investor study

29 Jan 2021

The indebted Chinese travel group looks set to enter bankruptcy. That’s unusual but unsurprising: Beijing already let a bank go under last year, and allowed market-rattling bond defaults. Given the empire’s complexity and broad creditor base, distributing haircuts could get ugly.

Airlines’ virus parachutes warrant minimal padding

29 Jan 2021

Quarantines could mean carriers like easyJet face further losses over the summer boom months. In extremis, they can flog planes or tap investors for cash, although neither are ideal. Given CO2 emissions and their non-strategic nature, they don’t merit special treatment.

Corona Capital: Vaccines, Dr. Martens

29 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Quantity matters with vaccines, while Permira gets an extra kick from the bootmaker.

If only American Airlines’ stock pop helped it

28 Jan 2021

Shares of the struggling government-supported $10 bln airline surged 60% in premarket trading after a mention on the same online forum that boosted GameStop. Ideally, American could issue equity at a pumped-up valuation. But the phenomenon may be too fleeting to take advantage.

Corona Capital: UK’s quarantine, U.S. prisons

27 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Britain’s new quarantine rules are weak, but will still hurt the travel industry; and for-profit prisons lose business to the U.S. government.

Corona Capital: Music deals

26 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Warner Music may take a stake in the music business owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Corona Capital: Food delivery, Video games

25 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Hedge fund Tiger Global gets a taste for food-delivery investments; and Jagex, developer of fantasy game “RuneScape,” is flipped to Carlyle less than a year after its last sale.

Corona Capital: Intel, Run on guns

21 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Intel’s new boss gets closer to his big debut. Meanwhile, gunmakers are riding high on social tensions and pandemic angst, but could soon find they have fewer friends in high places.

Corona Capital: ESG investing, U.S. moves, P&G

20 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: ESG opens up investing opportunities; home values in U.S. resort towns rise faster than rural areas; and Procter & Gamble cleans up.

Corona Capital: Inflation, Poshmark

14 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Breakingviews panel predicts the end of the free-money era; and Poshmark’s IPO looks overdressed.

“Big Four” U.S. airlines will go down to three

4 Jan 2021

Stricken travel is worsening carriers’ positions. They’ve already slimmed staff, and restructuring is next. But U.S. taxpayers are invested in them succeeding, and have already benefitted from a long descent in ticket prices. A merger stamped by the government is on the horizon.

Viewsroom: Predictions and prescriptions (Part 1)

23 Dec 2020

Governments will become activist investors; U.S. airlines will merge; data centres will be the new ESG target; energy giants to consider renewable spinoffs; Tesla will buy Daimler; European soccer gets more American and more. Rob Cox, Peter Thal Larsen and Lauren Silva weigh in.

China Inc will recycle used white guys

21 Dec 2020

American firms are pushing to make rosters more inclusive. That, plus downsizing, will shove skilled – if Caucasian – older male managers and experts into the job market. Chinese firms seeking IP and insight into U.S. markets will scoop them up. It could work better than M&A.

U.S. airlines need rules as well as rescues

17 Dec 2020

They could get another $17 billion if Congress approves a new relief bill. Since American Airlines and its peers merit taxpayer rescues, bailouts ought to come with tighter strings. That could mean limits on debt, or ensuring they have enough cash to remain aloft for longer.

Corona Capital: Private jet deal

17 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Blackstone bets that plutocrats will be back in the air before the rest of us.