Election

Biden win would clear multiple green roadblocks

29 Oct 2020

The Democratic nominee will rejoin the Paris agreement on emissions cuts if he wins the U.S. election. That’s good, but largely symbolic. More important are a pledge to hike clean energy spending and the scope for his administration to advance green financing and carbon pricing.

Viewsroom: What we’re expecting on election night

29 Oct 2020

If Joe Biden wins Donald Trump’s place as POTUS on Nov. 3, and the Senate turns Democrat, lots of things will change – chief among them tax and economic policy. But big tech companies and China’s Communist Party will gain no reprieve. Rob Cox, Gina Chon and John Foley discuss.

U.S. election could be Twitter’s darkest day

26 Oct 2020

The $40 bln firm, Facebook and other online platforms can’t win in the Nov. 3 ballot. Banning political ads and premature claims of victory will be controversial and messy. Breakingviews imagines Jack Dorsey proposing one radical option to Mark Zuckerberg: a temporary shutdown.

Joe Biden is private equity’s tax boogeyman

26 Oct 2020

The White House wannabe aims to eradicate the perk that mints money for buyout barons. His broader plans would add to the pain for firms like Blackstone and KKR which restructured to exploit Donald Trump's tax cuts. Shareholders, clients and staff could end up at loggerheads.

Election debate victor is big D – America’s debt

23 Oct 2020

The final televised face-off between Donald Trump and Joe Biden offered the first real side-by-side comparison of their policies. The president promised little change while his rival pledged plenty of fiscal spending. Markets will be reassured that austerity is not on the ballot.

A Trump defeat would create an even more rabid Fox

21 Oct 2020

Rupert Murdoch’s $16 bln cable group has enjoyed an unrivaled relationship with the president. Joe Biden’s victory would rob him of his biggest celebrity. Democrats could also target the channel. And Trump might go into competition. Doubling down on division may be the cure.

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.