Coronavirus

Corona Capital: Aviva’s restructuring

6 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: New CEO Amanda Blanc is reinstating the UK insurer’s dividend and is even open to selling its Asian and European businesses. That’s music to investors’ ears.

Corona Capital: Disney movie magic, “Call of Duty”

5 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The Magic Kingdom’s decision to send “Mulan” straight to streaming impressed investors, but is bad news for cinema chains; Activision Blizzard’s shoot-‘em-up game brings a profit surge.

The Exchange: Dov Seidman

4 Aug 2020

The founder of LRN, a technology and education firm that advises global corporations on culture, governance, ethics and other matters chats with Rob Cox to discuss the importance of moral leadership, an issue that has taken on increased importance during the Covid-19 crisis.

Corona Capital: PizzaExpress, Aerospace pain

4 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The UK restaurant chain’s restructuring is not that tasty a meal for creditors; Airplane-parts maker Spirit’s reliance on Boeing’s 737 MAX has it heading into worse turbulence.

GAM will struggle to shake off virus malaise

4 Aug 2020

The Swiss fund manager reported a net loss and its assets under management fell to $130 bln in the first half. CEO Peter Sanderson is cutting costs, but his medium-term targets look fanciful. His company is badly positioned to cope with the tough environment facing the industry.

Corona Capital: College mergers, UK property funds

3 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: M&A goes to the University of Arizona; Britain’s financial watchdog considers stopping property fund withdrawals.

M&A firms’ big fear is Fed-fueled fee doldrums

31 Jul 2020

Lazard, Evercore and others held up better than expected last quarter, thanks to restructuring work and robust capital markets. But if economies stumble, the uncertainty will hit M&A, while liquidity gushing from central banks could limit how many troubled firms need help.

Corona Capital: Pinterest, Tech heaven

31 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Pinterest offers a window into advertisers’ souls, while tech giants’ valuations soar.

IAG’s capital raise buys limited flying time

31 Jul 2020

The British Airways owner is tapping investors for 2.8 billion euros of equity. But the carrier is burning through 800 million euros of cash each month. Unless restrictions in its three biggest markets lift soon, a government bailout may be the only way to avoid a rough landing.

P&G cleans up nicely but doesn’t yet shine

30 Jul 2020

The company behind kitchen-paper brand Bounty grew its sales as customers waged war on dirt. Revenue grew 6% in the fourth quarter, faster than P&G’s annual target. Wipe away the effect of strange times, and P&G ended up more profitable too – but only a little.

Kraft boost may be more than a flash in the pan

30 Jul 2020

Higher sales of peanut butter and Velveeta could help the U.S. food giant out of a sticky situation – it’s more indebted than peers. Gains induced by pantry hoarding probably are temporary, but Kraft is also now talking about growth, something that was missing from its recipe.

At least U.S. GDP trajectory is a known unknown

30 Jul 2020

Output crashed at a 33% annual pace in the three months to June. The current quarter looks less bad. The size and durability of gains in activity and jobs are, though, anyone’s guess. Real-time data speeds measurement. And the Fed, and especially Congress, can shift the outcome.

Corona Capital: Ford narrows the gap

30 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The Detroit automaker put in a better second-quarter performance than expected. That’s good news for under-pressure CEO Jim Hackett – and allows Ford to close some of the distance to rival GM.

Weakened Shell offers dim hope for pre-virus glory

30 Jul 2020

The $122 bln oil major’s sales fell nearly two-thirds in the second quarter, as the pandemic hurt crude prices. A dividend cut looks prudent. But a legacy of high debt, less investment and weak demand for fossil fuels mean investors are unlikely to see fat payouts restored soon.

VW’s China acceleration leaves Renault in the dust

30 Jul 2020

An uptick in Middle Kingdom car sales helped Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess restate a pledge to make an annual profit, following a half-year loss. By contrast, the French carmaker is losing money and market share. New Renault CEO Luca de Meo’s cost-cutting plan needs more fuel.

Mumbai’s slums test lockdown logic

30 Jul 2020

Nearly 60% of people in densely packed areas have had Covid-19, a study found, suggesting a low fatality rate. About 40% of the Indian financial capital's residents live in similar settings. The city’s strict shutdown may now be impoverishing more than protecting the poor.

China’s economic recovery looks squiggle-shaped

30 Jul 2020

Budweiser, KFC and Rio Tinto point to reviving sales in beer, fried chicken and steel. Industrial profit is up too. But the rebound is unevenly distributed across sectors and regions, and employers are still shedding jobs. As pent-up demand is sated, the optimism might fade.

Ad problem shifts from newspapers to Facebook

29 Jul 2020

News organizations struggled as ads shifted to digital platforms like Facebook – which benefits from journalism but doesn’t pay for it. A new law could change that, helping newspapers but leaving the social network with a growing dependence on the one source proving tenuous.

Bank branches will be down, not out, post-pandemic

29 Jul 2020

During the Covid-19 crisis, even the last holdouts to digital banking had to throw in the towel. While that means banks like Italy’s UniCredit or Japan’s MUFG can accelerate branch closures, IT costs will limit savings as a hybrid, branch-lite future arrives sooner than expected.

Europe’s FICCy bank traders flatter to deceive

29 Jul 2020

Revenue in Barclays and Deutsche’s markets businesses rose 49% and 39% year-on-year. But declining volatility since the second quarter implies the trading boom is ebbing. Lacking U.S. rivals’ scale, the region’s investment banks will soon be a drag on group returns once more.