Election

Joe Biden’s tax plan has a flaw: too many losers

19 Oct 2020

The presidential candidate pledges to slap new levies only on the very wealthy. But his plan to raise the corporate rate may mean that workers receive lower wages by 2030 than they would otherwise. This points to a tax system that punishes the rich without helping the poor.

Corona Capital: Vaccine yields, Halliburton, Glovo

19 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Corporate bond investors are nearly as worried about a vaccine crimping the market as they are about inflation; oil services firms get three times unlucky; Delivery Hero acts like one despite investor skepticism.

Cox: U.S. cabinet picks have never been as crucial

5 Oct 2020

Donald Trump’s Covid-19 battle is a reminder the presidency isn’t a one-man job. It takes many competent managers, overseeing dossiers from Treasury to State and beyond. Trump’s choice of talent lags that of rival Joe Biden judging by responses to our Economic Dream Team Machine.

Markets lose virus immunity with Trump diagnosis

2 Oct 2020

The U.S. president said he tested positive for Covid-19. How this will affect the outcome of the election is unknown. Ditto whether it spreads further through Trump’s cabinet. The Fed has helped prop up markets so far. Investors are on their own in this uncharted territory.

Fit M&A market sets up sprint to U.S. election

30 Sep 2020

Dealmaking hit $1 trln this summer, dismissing fears Covid-19 might hobble the market for a year or more. Rebounding stocks and CEO spirits helped. Chances are many will rush to find targets before November’s presidential vote. That’ll secure a surprisingly good year for bankers.

Debate chaos is a gift for a conflicted Biden

30 Sep 2020

President Trump turned his face-off against his Democratic rival into a messy brawl, repeatedly interrupting from the get-go. That saved Joe Biden from being put on the spot over his greatest weakness: the need to appeal to moderates while not upsetting progressives.

Joe Biden has edge in assembling economic talent

22 Sep 2020

If the former vice president wins in November, he’ll have a bevy of business execs and ex-bureaucrats to help him. Rival President Donald Trump has cycled through dozens of aides, leaving him a hollow bench. Breakingviews imagines their economic roster in an interactive graphic.

Belarus is a headache for Russia, not the world

18 Aug 2020

President Alexander Lukashenko’s future is in serious doubt after days of protests against his re-election. Minsk has limited economic ties to the non-Russian world, but Moscow has enough leverage to push for a friendly new regime. Belarus can avoid becoming another Ukraine.

Corona Capital: Telemedicine, Outdated movie rules

10 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Men’s wellness outfit Hims matches the online medical consultation trend with a financial one, namely blank-check companies; and Washington finally scraps a “Gone with the Wind”-era regulation.

Biden is political equivalent of 10-year Treasury

4 Mar 2020

The former vice president is the Democrats’ preferred candidate for president so far, after winning at least nine states on so-called Super Tuesday. His surge shows that, like investors, voters are seeking a safe haven in uncertain times. It’s bad news for the current president.

Ireland has more pressing needs than unification

25 Feb 2020

Sinn Fein, which wants to form a coalition government, aspires to unify the island. Even if Irish voters were willing to take on the costs this would entail, their Northern Ireland peers are more ambivalent. Healthcare is higher up the agenda on both sides of the border.

Viewsroom: SoftBank in the crosshairs

13 Feb 2020

Activist Elliott is targeting Masayoshi Son’s firm for poor governance and performance. SoftBank could appease the hedge fund by selling investments to finance buybacks. That could include Sprint, whose deal with T-Mobile US just got the nod. Plus: the race for the White House.

Democratic caucus mess is crying for an activist

4 Feb 2020

The party’s first test in Iowa to narrow the field of U.S. presidential candidates was a disaster. The confusing and undemocratic process aside, it couldn’t even deliver a result. If this were corporate America, a restive shareholder would quickly rattle the cage for change.

Irish election fight ducks Brexit but victor won’t

4 Feb 2020

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar may be ousted at the weekend. The campaign has been dominated by housing and healthcare concerns and politicians of all stripes are responding with spending pledges. The winner will struggle to deliver unless Britain’s EU trade negotiations go well.

Cox: Who’s afraid of a President Bernie Sanders?

3 Feb 2020

The Vermont politician is set to win big in Iowa and may lead the Democratic fight against Donald Trump. His bark scares business types. But his actions are more nuanced, as a 1980s flashback to his time as mayor highlights. And, anyway, the Senate would curb his enthusiasm.

Billionaires’ cash wins over critics in U.S. race

22 Jan 2020

Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer boosted their presidential poll ratings after doling out a total of $380 mln for political ads. That’s more than twice the outlay of all other contenders combined. But Bernie Sanders’ small-donor approach may well prove more potent in the end.

Italy’s honeymoon with EU is under threat

22 Jan 2020

Luigi Di Maio looks set to step down as head of the 5-Star Movement, the largest party in the ruling coalition. That will strain the alliance. If a crucial regional election on Sunday produces a victory for eurosceptic Matteo Salvini, it may imperil the fragile pro-EU government.

Taiwan’s revival is Tsai’s to squander

13 Jan 2020

The independence-leaning president has coasted into a second term on anti-Beijing sentiment and a strong $580 bln economy. Tsai Ing-wen can take credit for neither. After wasting an earlier opportunity, she now has another to fix poor infrastructure that threatens growth.

American election to test Wall Street’s nerves

30 Dec 2019

Whoever wins the White House in November matters more to masters of finance than 2016’s cliff-hanger if it boils down to a choice between Trump’s trade war and an assault on wealth. Breakingviews imagines a conversation among bankers at Park Avenue’s Racquet and Tennis Club.

It’s the suburbs, not the economy, stupid

24 Dec 2019

Most Americans like President Trump’s handling of the economy, which would normally bode well for re-election in November. But his overall approval rating is just 46%. That’ll shift the fight to healthcare and other issues, while handing moderate suburbanites a deciding voice.