Employment

Corona Capital: NBA’s Covid test

17 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The NBA pays it forward and back with its cheap Covid-19 test.

Helping private equity is necessary Covid-19 evil

17 Aug 2020

The UK government may offer loans to some highly leveraged companies that are owned by buyout barons. Aiding the latter feels perverse. But protecting jobs is the right priority. Authorities have had decades to fix PE flaws. The best they can do for now is to limit profiteering.

Corona Capital: U.S. Jobs, Drugs

7 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: More Americans went back to work in July, though it’s a slowdown from June and Washington is still dithering over job relief aid; and President Trump wants to bring pharmaceutical production back home.

U.S. white-collar jobs hit demands bailout rethink

6 Aug 2020

Low-wage workers have been hurt the most in the pandemic. But the infection has spread to higher earners in tech and other sectors where hiring has also fallen sharply. If lawmakers debating aid for the most vulnerable don’t widen its reach, they risk a slower economic recovery.

U.S. economic reboot menaced by bug in the system

2 Jul 2020

Almost 5 million Americans found work in June as the unemployment rate fell to 11%. But the recovery could easily crash again, or freeze, because of coronavirus spikes caused by premature reopenings. Infections, not jobs, are the better numbers to track.

U.S. jobs surprise mixes hope with division

5 Jun 2020

The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in May despite continuing lockdowns. That revives hopes of a V-shaped recovery and makes roaring stock markets look less out of touch. But 21 mln Americans are still out of work, with minorities in a protest-hit country faring worst.

Ugly U.S. jobs data hides as much as it reveals

8 May 2020

The awful April report brings the jobless rate to almost 15%. But just as February’s super low 3.5% was misleading, Friday’s figure leaves much out. Stimulus alters the income story, and what matters most is how and whether demand returns to the economy.

Hong Kong’s jobless rate understates harsh reality

6 May 2020

The 4.2% figure is implausibly low given the protests and the pandemic. With U.S. unemployment expected to reach 20%, the Asian financial hub’s distorting omissions of many classes of workers are left exposed. Restaurant receipts and retail sales hint at the true economic damage.

Eerie currency calm jeopardises more banking jobs

30 Jan 2020

Major exchange rates have been relatively stable because economies are moving in synch and global monetary policy is broadly accommodative. That makes foreign exchange less of a money-spinner for banks. Expect the ranks of FX traders and sales staff to shrink further.

Review: India can reimagine tech and jobs, again

29 Nov 2019

Tata shook up the way people and technology work. Now artificial intelligence can help create employment, the Indian group’s Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran argues in “Bridgital Nation”. It’s a refreshingly contrarian view on the problem, even if many questions go unanswered.

Stand-in HSBC boss passes first interview question

7 Oct 2019

Noel Quinn may cut 10,000 jobs at the UK bank. A decisive move on costs would mark him out from predecessor John Flint and marginally boost pathetic returns in Europe. A bigger test of his suitability for the full-time job is whether he can sort HSBC’s struggling U.S. business.

Weaker Aussie jobs clear fiscal spending path

19 Sep 2019

More people worked Down Under in August, mostly because of an increase in part-time positions. Overall unemployment ticked higher to 5.3%. It makes another interest rate cut more likely, but goosing government outlays would be a more effective option for the cooling economy.

Facebook sets diversity goals for others to follow

10 Jul 2019

The $570 bln social network wants at least half its staff to be women or from minorities in the next five years. Aside from being more representative, a more inclusive staff can help the bottom line. Facebook is not aiming for the stars, but it’s doing more than many companies.

Deutsche Bank accidentally boosts boutique model

10 Jul 2019

The lender’s enforced decision to shut its cash equities business raises the question of whether investment banks need armies of traders and analysts to back up stock offerings. A leaner platform could show they don’t. That would be a shot in the arm for smaller rivals.

Andrea Orcel could benefit from his own advice

5 Jul 2019

The former UBS investment bank boss is suing Santander for 100 million euros after the Spanish bank yanked an offer to make him CEO. A lengthy battle will further cloud the rainmaker’s future career. Breakingviews imagines what counsel the hard-charging banker might give himself.

Review: The conundrum of no good jobs

5 Jul 2019

Low unemployment in the U.S. and UK hides a grimmer reality, economist David Blanchflower argues in his new book. Weak wage growth and widespread despair have prompted people to turn to populist leaders. He makes a compelling case for why policymakers can still rev up growth.

Canopy ouster catapults cannabis into adolescence

3 Jul 2019

The biggest producer of legal weed has fired founder and co-CEO Bruce Linton amid widening losses and tensions with biggest investor Constellation Brands. Capital has rolled into cannabis based on little more than grand ideas. Fighting over how it’s spent is part of growing up.

Deutsche Bank blood-letting is a necessary start

1 Jul 2019

The German lender is considering axing up to 20,000 jobs. Ditching one in five workers would show boss Christian Sewing is prepared to take tough decisions to raise profitability. Return on equity would improve, provided the departing staff don’t take too much revenue with them.

Cool U.S. jobs report helps Fed run economy hot

7 Jun 2019

Employment gains in May were weak. The volatile data doesn’t yet reflect the latest trade tensions. Meanwhile, traders are betting the central bank will soon cut rates rather than stand pat. Weak inflation and rising productivity give the Fed room to do so, but it may take time.

Review: Rockonomics nicely reflects the real world

7 Jun 2019

Alan Krueger’s posthumous work on the finances of rock and roll functions in equal parts as a basic industry primer, a textbook on broader economic concepts and a guidebook for musicians wanting to start a band. It’s also a window, if an imperfect one, into the author’s soul.