Crime

Exclusive: FedEx drops NRA deal by snail-mail

30 Oct 2018

The shipping giant is ending discounts for the U.S. gun-lobby group’s members, eight months after other firms ditched similar schemes. FedEx says it’s an economic decision, not a response to mass shootings. Even so, it suggests offending the NRA is no longer bad for business.

In need of cool head, Brazil braces for opposite

25 Oct 2018

Far-right ex-army man Jair Bolsonaro looks set to win Sunday’s presidential runoff, riding voter anger over corruption, violence and economic stagnation. Prioritizing pension reform over strongman tactics would better address the nation’s ills. You can’t shoot fiscal deficits.

Saudi fail is fresh win for U.S. banks over Europe

16 Oct 2018

The bosses of HSBC, Credit Suisse and StanChart are quitting Riyadh’s investment conference next week. Belatedly following JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s lead cements their pre-existing status as also-rans. French banks may yet go – but any pickup in business will be tainted.

Wall Street shows Trump the way on Saudi Arabia

15 Oct 2018

BlackRock’s Larry Fink and Steve Schwarzman of Blackstone have joined other CEOs in skipping Riyadh’s “Davos in the Desert”. Private sector boycotts usually follow state sanctions. The U.S. government’s inaction reflects its reliance on Saudi Arabia, and fear of high oil prices.

Cox: Global finance has a Saudi Arabia problem

14 Oct 2018

Wall Street bosses and their European and Japanese peers are reconsidering next week’s “Davos in the Desert.” Like China, there’s money at stake. Unlike Russia there’s no guidance from above. A coordinated pullout following Jamie Dimon’s withdrawal is their least-bad option.

Saudi adviser panel may unwind faster than Trump’s

11 Oct 2018

A forum of foreign executives has seen departures amid rising political tensions, as a U.S. White House CEO council did last year. Cozying up to princes and presidents confers an air of virtue and status. When it looks like advice isn’t being heeded, it goes quickly into reverse.

Anti-OPEC bill may squeeze U.S. oil industry

10 Oct 2018

The disappearance of a Saudi journalist is helping to breathe life into a bipartisan effort to subject the cartel to U.S. antitrust law. But it may prove more useful as a threat than reality. America’s energy producers benefit from OPEC’s price-fixing, too.

“Davos in the Desert 2” faces a sophomore slump

8 Oct 2018

The possibility that a Saudi journalist was killed in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate will add to concerns foreigners harbored about attending the crown prince’s second confab in two weeks. Morality aside, the economics of going mostly appeal to bankers – and then just barely.

Cyber risks deserve top billing more often

4 Oct 2018

Global trade tensions have dominated recent economic news. Thursday’s revelations of possible Chinese computer-hardware meddling and Russian hacking of a world chemical-weapons body and sports-doping watchdogs give justified prominence to what may be a bigger threat to growth.

Infected supply chains challenge Big Tech defenses

4 Oct 2018

Apple and Amazon both denied a report they had installed servers harboring compromised chips. It speaks to a problem with global manufacturing. Ensuring the purity of goods made far from end users is difficult, especially across borders. The alternative is to make less profit.

Review: A land of milk and (plenty of) money

7 Sep 2018

"Moneyland" takes a trip to the world of super-rich super-crooks, where borders are for wimps, taxes for little people and laws don't matter. Oliver Bullough's urgent polemic is deeply reported and engaging, even if it spends more time on the problem than on potential solutions.

Skilling could have earned stripes more usefully

31 Aug 2018

The former Enron CEO was released from prison into a halfway house. During his time behind bars, corporate malfeasance flourished but prosecutions dropped. Using high-profile arrests as a deterrent doesn’t work if prosecutors don’t catch criminals. Felons could help.

Viewsroom: Turkey’s financial crisis may spread

16 Aug 2018

The feud between President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump over steel tariffs threatens to turn other emerging markets cold. Breakingviews columnists discuss the global impact of Turkey’s currency meltdown. Plus: A bad bank in China gets whacked by political risk.

Bayer’s cancer scare makes a bad deal worse

13 Aug 2018

The German group's market value fell nearly $10 bln after a court awarded $289 mln to a user of weed killer made by U.S. division Monsanto. That may overstate the likely losses, but the verdict undermines a deal that already destroyed value, and left shareholders without a say.

Danske cash gusher faces regulatory blockage

4 Jul 2018

The Danish lender may have helped launder 53 billion Danish crowns ($8 bln) in its Estonian business. The group’s healthy balance sheet helps, but a fine of 8 billion crowns or more could take the bank’s leverage ratio down to 4 percent, and risk generous shareholder distributions.

Messianic AMLO may give Mexico what it least needs

29 Jun 2018

Presidential front-runner López Obrador has pledged to root out corruption and dampen drug violence while boosting the economy and lifting up the poor. That may win him Sunday’s election, but such goals require strong institutions and fiscal nous. His rise may bring the opposite.

Audi arrest puts brakes on VW’s reform drive

18 Jun 2018

The head of Volkswagen’s luxury brand is being held over fears he may hinder an investigation into emissions cheating. The question is why the long-serving executive still had his job. The carmaker’s messy governance is still hindering new boss Herbert Diess’ cleanup operation.

Goldman VP insider rap is Goliath-beats-David tale

31 May 2018

A banker accused of using deal intel to make $140,000 was nabbed by U.S. investigators following a digital trail. Their sophistication is remarkable, but undercut by his lack of it. Either really big insider-trading fish have been successfully deterred, or they don’t get caught.

Cox: Peter Thiel’s next target should be Infowars

30 May 2018

The tech billionaire financed a lawsuit that bankrupted Gawker and said he’d help others challenging similar sites flouting First Amendment freedoms. A complaint by Sandy Hook families against conspiracy king Alex Jones provides a test for Thiel’s democratic bona fides.

Holding: $1,745-an-hour lawyers due for disruption

25 May 2018

Kirkland & Ellis billed that lofty fee in the Toys R Us bankruptcy, and on Monday scored a Supreme Court win against workers’ right to save money by suing en masse. Even cheaper firms exceed most Americans’ means. Ending attorneys’ monopoly on law could bring affordable justice.