Beverages

Corona Capital: A tax on martinis

24 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Uncle Sam has bad news for those enjoying the libation during lockdown as it’s putting up import duties on gin, vodka and olives.

Corona Capital: Payments systems, Shale

22 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Payments systems get some good news, shale oil drilling’s double whammy.

Unilever’s reverse reunification is win for FTSE

11 Jun 2020

Two years after UK shareholders rejected plans to create a single parent company in Rotterdam, the $143 bln Anglo-Dutch giant is unifying around a London listing. Investors in the Netherlands will struggle to throw up the same obstacles. The payoff is more M&A flexibility.

Corona Capital: U.S. recession, Grubhub, Airlines

8 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. falls into a recession, Grubhub looks for leverage, airlines have optimistic investors.

Corona Capital: ZoomInfo IPO, U.S. trade

4 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: ZoomInfo goes public with a big pop despite Covid-19; and America’s goods-trade deficit with Europe will test Washington’s mood.

Corona Capital: Bank fears, Payments M&A, Coal

2 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A new U.S. regulator wants cities to reopen to prevent bank robberies. Western Union may bid for struggling rival MoneyGram. And the pandemic is hastening the decline of U.S. coal.

Corona Capital: Saving/not spending, Pandemic Pig

29 May 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: what to make of falling spending and the growing taste for meat alternatives.

JAB’s $23 bln coffee unit is priced to take away

26 May 2020

The investor is offering shares in JDE Peet’s at a decaffeinated 20% discount to Nestlé. Consumers stuck at home are giving packaged brands like Kenco a boost, but prices per cup can still grind higher when cafes reopen. Europe’s biggest float this year can brew a robust return.

Moscow finds oil and vodka make a poor cocktail

21 May 2020

The former owners of Yukos, the energy group founded by Vladimir Putin foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky, are going after the Kremlin by grabbing trademarks for brands like Stolichnaya. These won’t make up for their lost $57 bln but may give aggrieved investors some negotiating leverage.

Diageo can go on India bender for virtual pittance

20 May 2020

The liquor giant has built up a 56% stake in $5 bln United Spirits, which accounts for almost a fifth of its global sales and is growing fast. With the virus hitting the Indian firm’s valuation, Diageo has a chance to buy out minorities - even if it might cost its dividend.

Keeping it local gives Nestlé a temporary lift

24 Apr 2020

Sales grew 4.3% in the first quarter as consumers in Europe and the U.S. stockpiled products like coffee and pet food. The $320 bln Swiss giant’s localised production and inventory helped it meet increased demand. But lower sales in Asia suggest the bounce will not last.

Corona Capital: Extended Stay, Victoria’s Secret

22 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Blackstone checks back into one of its favorite old haunts, hotel chain Extended Stay; while another private-equity shop, Sycamore, tries to dump its proposed investment in lingerie seller Victoria’s Secret.

Hoarding to extend sell-by date of tired brands

17 Apr 2020

Consumers stockpiled pantries and freezers with long-life grub, boosting dowdy products like frozen Hot Pockets. Unilever and Nestlé had been tilting towards higher-end brands. Lockdowns will force CEOs and investors to reconsider the value of what’s in their cupboards.

Corona Capital: American football fail

14 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The NFL has better finances and sturdier supporters than the XFL, which just filed for bankruptcy right after its reboot. But the Super Bowl operator’s future also rests on coronavirus-induced physical distancing.

Viewsroom: Vices and more

9 Apr 2020

Breakingviews columnists in Ireland, New York and Lantau check in with Editor Rob Cox to discuss Jamie Dimon’s annual letter and coming earnings onslaught, fraud at Luckin Coffee and, everybody’s favorite coronavirus obsession: a boom in sales of porn, weed, booze and junk food.

Corona Capital: Expressive earnings

9 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The U.S securities regulator encourages companies to ditch the boilerplates, ahead of what’s likely to be an unusual earnings season.

Luckin spills hot bezzle over credulous investors

2 Apr 2020

Fraud expands with good times and emerges in bad. A U.S.-listed Chinese coffee-shop disruptor once worth $13 bln just said much of its revenue last year may be fictitious. In this case, it didn’t take a downturn, just auditors doing their job. Just wait until the tide goes out.

Corona Capital: Ackman’s hedge, Oil stockpiles

26 Mar 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout, including investor Bill Ackman’s surprise reversal of fortune, and the U.S. shale oil bailout that wasn’t.

Consumer giants take rosy view of epidemic damage

26 Feb 2020

Spirits maker Diageo reckons the coronavirus outbreak could cost it 325 million pounds in sales this year, while Danone is forecasting a 100 million euro hit. But neither is factoring in the effect of the disease spreading much beyond Asia. Investors are already more bearish.

Campari serves up flat dealmaking cocktail

19 Feb 2020

The $11 bln Aperol maker is adopting a Dutch loyalty share plan to give the Garavoglia family more clout. They could pursue bigger targets without losing control. Yet competition for good brands will be fierce, and the risk is that the governance changes deter potential partners.