Exchanges/Platforms

UK sends mixed message with London IPO veto

26 May 2021

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is seeking powers to block stock market offerings that threaten national security. Even if used rarely, the move is at odds with his drive to lure firms to list in London after Brexit. It’s another sign of the government’s ideological inconsistency.

The Exchange: South Africa’s prospects

25 May 2021

Johannesburg Stock Exchange CEO Leila Fourie tells Swaha Pattanaik how South Africa’s economy has coped with Covid-19. In an interview recorded for the International Economic Forum of the Americas, she also flags sectors that will rebound fastest and discusses ESG investing.

Crazy metal prices inflate miners’ capex conundrum

14 May 2021

Sky-high copper and iron ore values should make the likes of Rio Tinto and BHP invest in extra supply for the green energy transition. But shareholders wary of past write-downs want dividends, not risky new projects. The higher prices climb, the starker the disconnect.

Viewsroom: China’s baby bust, European SPAC boom

13 May 2021

China’s census data showed the population grew just 0.53% every year in the decade to 2020, with fertility rates dropping to Japanese levels. That’s bad news for growth. And European rainmakers like Claudio Costamagna and Ian Osborne offer market-friendlier blank-check deals.

Dogecoin needn’t be any sillier than bitcoin

12 May 2021

The canine cryptocurrency lacks bitcoin’s supply limit, ethereum’s usefulness, and the heft of both. But it’s hyped by Elon Musk and others, which could help what started as a joke compete with other digital coinages. Crypto is young enough that there’s room for an underdog.

Naspers goes all-in to crush South Africa discount

12 May 2021

The $100 bln internet group will swap shares with Dutch offshoot Prosus, removing some pressure on its stock. The resulting cross-shareholding is as far as CEO Bob van Dijk can go. Shrinking Prosus’ persistent shortfall to its $212 bln stake in China’s Tencent is a harder task.

Europe’s late SPAC boom turns kinder to investors

11 May 2021

Italian banker Claudio Costamagna and British investor Ian Osborne are listing blank-cheque companies on the Continent. Their offerings try to better link founder rewards to shareholder returns. With the market for SPACs looking crowded, fairer structures will be more common.

Commerz equities deal holds lesson for big rivals

11 May 2021

The German lender is outsourcing share trading to regional broker ODDO. It’s a neat way to quit a low-margin business while keeping corporate clients happy. The logic of a consolidating sector may force others with subscale markets units, like SocGen and HSBC, to follow suit.

Capital Calls: KKR

6 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The private equity firm is investing in Charter Next Generation in an employee-friendly deal.

Capital Calls: Chubb and Hartford, Swimming pools

22 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: The company led by Evan Greenberg twice raised its bid for its Connecticut rival, but so far to no avail; a blowout quarter for private-pool maker Pool Corp points to buoyant wealth and spending trends, but only for some.

Chancellor: Regulators will kill the SPAC frenzy

20 Apr 2021

Like “Bubble Companies” of 1720 England, today’s blank-cheque vehicles are “carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is.” That speculative era ended when authorities stepped in. The SPAC bubble may be more rational but will meet a similar fate.

Capital Calls: Goldman Sachs, U.S. currency report

16 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Wall Street bank’s communications veteran, Jake Siewert, goes back to the future, sort of; Taiwan is dubbed a forex interventionist but avoids manipulator label.

Capital Calls: Cellebrite good times

8 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The Israeli cracker of mobile-phone encryption is going public via a SPAC at a $2.4 billion valuation.

Naspers remains strapped to Tencent roller coaster

8 Apr 2021

Selling a $14.6 bln stake in the Chinese internet giant restocks the South African group’s war chest. But its residual $220 bln shareholding towers over other investments. The best hope for investors is that Naspers finds a way to shrink its weighting on the Johannesburg bourse.

Chancellor: Hwang has company in Keynes and Graham

6 Apr 2021

Long before the failed Archegos manager was even born, Benjamin Graham, tutor to Warren Buffett, and J.M. Keynes were teaching the perils of speculating on stocks with oodles of debt. It’s worth remembering their stories as Credit Suisse, Nomura and others count their losses.

Viewsroom: Everything we know about Archegos

1 Apr 2021

The extraordinary unwinding of Bill Hwang’s family office was one of those rare stories that connected Breakingviews columnists from Hong Kong, New York, Zurich, London, Melbourne and Washington into one big, hard-working family. Here are some of the lessons they learned.

Deliveroo is unsavoury appetiser for UK IPO revamp

31 Mar 2021

The food delivery group’s shares dropped up to 30% on their stock market debut. Hefty losses, a punchy valuation and founder Will Shu’s super-voting stock proved a turnoff. The flop should prompt a rethink of the government’s rushed plans to lure more such companies to London.

Chancellor: Value investing’s day is coming soon

30 Mar 2021

Between 1926 and 2009, lower-rated stocks outperformed more expensive “growth” shares by over 4% a year. Shifts in recent years to passive investing and tech stocks changed that. But a new study shows they outperform when stock market bubbles burst – as this one inevitably will.

Robinhood IPO comes with forest of perils

30 Mar 2021

The U.S. retail brokerage has expanded its user base and profile fast. But its main revenue, payments from market makers, is under pressure from regulators and rivals. Other parts of the top line are under pressure too. It’s hard to square that with a $30 billion valuation.

IPO laggards pay price for predecessors’ chutzpah

30 Mar 2021

Miner GV Gold, defence firm Leonardo DRS and soccer team Club Brugge shelved their listings. Investors have been stung by the poor performance of a wave of richly valued tech floats earlier this year. With the pipeline still full, hopeful issuers will now have to offer bargains.