Autos

Macquarie hits limits of diversification

6 Nov 2020

The $34 bln Aussie financial conglomerate suffered a 32% fall in half-year net profit as its investment bank generated a rare loss. Boss Shemara Wikramanayake likes to trumpet the array of revenue sources, but even done well, the business model provides only so much of a buffer.

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.

Carmakers head towards Wile E. Coyote moment

2 Nov 2020

The cartoon character is noted for hanging suspended before falling to earth. Similarly, soaring second-hand sales are shoring up used-car values and carmaker balance sheets. As and when state support for workers rolls off, a wave of defaults could send both downwards.

Ford accelerates turnaround with pickup pricing

29 Oct 2020

The $30 bln automaker blew past third-quarter estimates, reporting $2.4 bln in earnings. Vehicle prices benefited from low Covid-affected supply and hearty demand. That's a helpful bequest from the old CEO. It's now down to the new boss to deliver on electric-vehicle promises.

Corona Capital: Utah Jazz, Comcast, Kraft

29 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Utah Jazz’s owners sign off with a respectable return; Comcast shoots the light out on broadband; and Kraft rides the stay-at-home wave.

Fiat and Peugeot need each other more than ever

28 Oct 2020

Jeep-maker FCA made a strong profit in its key North American market. That’s helpful for marriage partner Peugeot, whose European heartland faces new pandemic lockdowns. Neither has much business in rebounding China. Their 5 bln euros of merger savings can’t come soon enough.

Daimler bags lux joyride on Aston Martin’s dime

28 Oct 2020

The $59 bln Mercedes-maker has traded some of its technology for a 20% stake in the James Bond marque as part of a wider 1.2 bln pound rescue. In return for access to battery-operated cars, CEO Ola Kaellenius gets a free option on a super-premium brand. It’s a trip worth taking.

Renault acceleration just leaves it further adrift

23 Oct 2020

Strong pricing means the French carmaker now forecasts positive free cash flow for the second half of 2020. But German rival Daimler’s greater Chinese presence means its operating profit for the year will be level with 2019. Worse, Renault doesn’t even look particularly cheap.

Hyundai is primed for a chaebol tune-up

23 Oct 2020

Days after heir Euisun Chung officially ascended to run the South Korean conglomerate, it warned of another $3 bln charge for engine problems. The results, however, should show how electric cars are paying off. That would provide momentum to tackle a broader restructuring.

Viewsroom: Asia’s richest man, China dependency

22 Oct 2020

Mukesh Ambani can divide his $200 bln Reliance Industries and still rule, says India editor Una Galani. Meantime, European and U.S. multinationals are growing increasingly reliant on Chinese growth, seeding future financial and political risks, Rob Cox and columnists discuss.

The world can safely love the Tesla bubble

20 Oct 2020

The $400 bln electric-vehicle firm’s earnings won't justify this year’s fivefold share price spike. But froth is pushing investment toward EVs at startups and old-school automakers alike. As in past bubbles, that may benefit everyone except shareholders caught in the bust.

Corona Capital: Greenwich, CT real estate

16 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Home sales in the swank New York City suburb preferred by bankers have soared while Manhattan apartment sales crater.

VW bid for Tesla’s crown rests on shaky optimism

14 Oct 2020

The German carmaker has launched its first mass-market electric SUV to take on Elon Musk and hit CEO Herbert Diess’s goal of selling 3 mln EVs by 2025. VW has scale and is big in China. But Tesla has 15 years of battery know-how and no legacy auto business. It gives Musk an edge.

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: 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.

Daimler drives into faster lane with luxury refit

6 Oct 2020

The German automaker plans to cut costs by 20% at its Mercedes brand by 2025 and double sales of Maybach luxury cars. Hitting the goals could grow operating profit by nearly two-thirds. Even so, boss Ola Kaellenius may at best catch up with, rather than overtake, rival BMW.

LG Chem will get a charge from battery spinoff

6 Oct 2020

The $40 bln South Korean conglomerate’s separation plan failed to energise investors. Although it’ll take time for the structure to take shape, it’s fairly clear the Tesla-supplying division’s true value is lost inside a chemical maker. There’s an electric-car spark yet to come.

Preferred wheels of nouveau riche worth a fortune

1 Oct 2020

Volkswagen is mulling a sale of Lamborghini, the beloved marque of crypto-traders and youthful sheikhs, Reuters reports. It might fetch $8 bln – a fat return on the reported $100 mln VW paid in 1998. CEO Herbert Diess’s battery-car focus makes disposing gas guzzlers an easy call.

Evergrande can charge up its car fantasy, and more

30 Sep 2020

The property giant’s $22 bln electric-car unit plans to add a Shanghai listing. Acquisitive boss Hui Ke Yan is accelerating plans to build a vertically integrated auto group. It’s the quirkiest of China’s Tesla-wannabes. It’s daring for investors too, given the parent’s debt woes.

Corona Capital: Shale merger, Logistics startup

28 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Two Permian Basin oil drillers agree to merge to share their coronavirus demand-shock woes; and delivery upstart ShipBob gets some SoftBank cash to help it compete with Amazon.