Education

China cuts its private sector much-needed slack

9 Dec 2024

Crackdowns on education and other industries crushed businesses like tutoring firm New Oriental. But the $10 bln firm's recent revival shows Beijing is loosening its grip to boost consumption and create jobs. The shift will hand private giants a bigger role to reboot growth.

Companies bear brunt of Britain’s fiscal trade-off

30 Oct 2024

New finance minister Rachel Reeves raised 40 bln pounds through higher levies, mostly on employers, to fund public services like health. She also changed debt rules to borrow more. It’s a bet that fiscal rectitude will help revive growth. But the ailing UK has few other options.

EQT defers exit brainteaser with school deal

22 Oct 2024

Swedish firm EQT is reinvesting in education group Nord Anglia alongside Neuberger Berman for $14.5 bln, instead of a sale or listing. It highlights how buyout groups are keeping assets for longer. In this case, that comes with rising regulatory risks, and limited exit options.

Aussie exports could do without education squeeze

30 Aug 2024

The government wants to cap visas for new overseas learners, its fourth-largest source of foreign income. The policy has some merit but makes immigration, which includes student visas, a scapegoat for economic woes. With top exports like iron ore under pressure, it’s ill timed.

College Inc gets Stakeholder 101 crash course

3 May 2024

From Columbia to UCLA, universities are grappling with violent protests over Israel and Gaza amid final exams and graduations. As ever, a lot of money is at risk. There’s a corporate blueprint for diffusing activists, but campuses cater to an even wider array of constituents.

Harvard ouster is a win for activists, not activism

5 Jan 2024

Corporate cage rattler Bill Ackman won his bid to oust President Claudine Gay from the elite US university. The process was different from activism at companies, where boards rather than CEOs are the natural target. Corporate change is laborious; investors should be glad of it.

Big College is ripe for the full Bill Ackman

8 Dec 2023

Harvard, Penn and MIT presidents were hauled before Congress over campus antisemitism, after the hedge fund boss helped bring attention to the cause. The lack of accountability displayed suggests Ivory Towers would benefit from being stormed the same way as corporate boardrooms.

NCAA gets B for paying jocks; for an A, drop the C

6 Dec 2023

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s plan to uncap amateur earnings while attending school is a long-overdue change for good. Its blueprint has flaws, however, and keeps control in the hands of a few. A good next step would be to separate sports from higher education.

Wall Street cues a lesson in Ivory Tower finance

20 Oct 2023

Billionaires Marc Rowan and Bill Ackman are angry about Middle East positions taken by their alma maters, UPenn and Harvard. The backlash inadvertently spotlights the power big donors wield on campus. It’s a chance to revisit the business model and make college a freer market.

Byju’s restructuring leaves one big job untouched

27 Sep 2023

India’s troubled edtech star may slash 5,000 roles in its overhaul. That’s easy work compared to solving its $1.2 bln loan dispute. Co-founder Byju Raveendran remains CEO. Starting a new chapter with old hands is tough but it reflects a hard reality for the Prosus-backed group.

Capital Calls: Diversity initiatives

23 Aug 2023

Concise views on global finance: The group that got the Supreme Court to overturn affirmative action at universities is suing financial firms to end programs for diverse applicants. It will make companies rethink recent diversity initiatives.

Byju’s blowup makes its investors look bad

7 Aug 2023

The Indian edtech startup is wrestling with lenders over a $1 bln loan, and a US hedge fund is forcing changes at a prized asset. Investors Prosus and Peak, formerly part of Sequoia, quit the board, but as the situation worsens so does the mark against those who propped it up.

Capital Calls: Cathay, Telecoms kit makers, Byju’s

14 Jul 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Hong Kong carrier expects to turn a profit; a push into 5G has caught European telecoms gear makers like Nokia and Ericsson short; India’s troubled ed-tech giant appoints a top former banker to a newly formed advisory council.

Resetting student loans brings Econ 101 lessons

30 Jun 2023

Some 43 mln college grads may feel less confident financially with the Supreme Court striking down President Joe Biden’s debt forgiveness plan. Big chunks of income are no longer freed up. Payments also start anew soon after a Covid hiatus, adding another drag for many consumers.

Fail with big backers signals messy Byju’s unwind

23 Jun 2023

Auditor Deloitte is walking away from the self-claimed world’s largest education tech firm, and investors including Prosus and what was Sequoia India appear to be following. It implies talks with lenders over a $1.2 bln loan are at a dead end and ups the pressure for a breakup.

Capital Calls: Intel Outside, Amazon Prime beef

21 Jun 2023

Concise views on global finance: The chipmaker struck a deal to sell 20% of a tool-making subsidiary, which should benefit from being put on a path to independence. Meanwhile, the $1.3 trln e-commerce company’s subscription service is unlawfully hard to cancel, says the US FTC.

Byju’s fight with lenders is a lose-lose scenario

13 Jun 2023

Creditors want the Prosus-backed education tech company – once India’s most valuable startup – to repay its punchy $1.2 bln loan early. It’s a technical default at most but digging very deep to clear the debt might help founder Byju Raveendran improve his company’s mixed marks.

Big Tech’s AI victims will fall fast

12 May 2023

Online education company Chegg is suffering as students lean on artificial intelligence to help with homework. Hollywood writers are paranoid. While AI is accruing value to Big Tech, smaller companies will quickly – and once again – be annihilated by well-capitalized tech firms.

Capital Calls: AI goes back to school

17 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: Chegg’s sagging shares perked up on news that the education software developer is working with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to create a safer automated tutor. For companies at risk of obsolescence, working with chatbots is a better bet than beating them.

Capital Calls: Disney, Jobs, Aesop

4 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: Boss Bob Iger accused Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of ill will, but plans to spend plenty in the Sunshine State; US job openings data might be skewed by fake postings; Natura’s $2.5 bln Aesop sale is a blueprint for stressed M&A.