Government & Agencies

Ukraine loan is matter of politics and accounting

25 Mar 2024

Lending the country $300 bln backed by its claim for war damages against Russia has several benefits compared to rival ideas for unlocking support. Kyiv’s allies would still need to find the cash, though. Here is how they could navigate the political and financial obstacles.

China and foreign CEOs dance ever trickier tango

25 Mar 2024

Premier Li Qiang welcomed 100 bosses from giants like Apple to a Beijing business confab. Yet Tim Cook is shifting iPhone supply chains elsewhere, while China is pressing ahead with phasing out overseas tech like chips. The increasingly uneasy relationship is primed for missteps.

Capital Calls: Wegovy gets a booster

22 Mar 2024

Concise views on global finance: The US government’s decision to pay for weight-loss drugs for some older patients is a big step for makers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Not because it will boost their share prices, but because it makes current valuations less far-fetched.

Middle East AI dream depends on luring brainpower

22 Mar 2024

An abundance of cheap energy to power data centres gives artificial intelligence startups reason to consider the Gulf. But to become a force in AI, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will have to design their own advanced chips. Attracting talent to the region will require more than money.

Samsonite books a test flight out of Hong Kong

22 Mar 2024

The $6 bln luggage maker is planning another listing in addition to the Asian financial hub where its shares have long suffered from low liquidity. A resulting valuation uplift might be enough to convince potential suitors including KKR and Carlyle that a buyout could make sense.

Macron’s fiscal chickens come home to roost

21 Mar 2024

The French president is scrambling to deal with an official report likely to show dismal public finances and a deficit near 6% of GDP. He ignored warnings as debt topped 110% of economic output. Bond investors are relaxed but spending cuts will be the price of his insouciance.

‘Twin peaks’ can keep EU capital market push alive

21 Mar 2024

A two-pronged approach can aid Europe’s drive for a single financial market. By splitting oversight of the system’s safety from the policing of daily operations, Brussels can avoid a David Lynch-style mystery on who killed its plan to boost investments and savings across borders.

Japan’s first step to new normal is the easiest

19 Mar 2024

The central bank raised interest rates, ending 26 years of unconventional stimulus. Policymakers hinted they will keep borrowing costs steady for a while but the pressure to curb inflation, rather than unleash its virtues, may rise fast. The hard work for the country starts now.

China property’s Enron damp squib may yet surprise

19 Mar 2024

Markets shrugged as a watchdog accused Evergrande of inflating sales by $78 bln over a two-year period. The US firm’s 2001 demise, by contrast, had broad impacts. More fallout in China is likely, potentially ensnaring banks and auditors like PwC. Investors are too sanguine.

UK media muddle is fresh turn-off for foreign cash

14 Mar 2024

Hurried Westminster amendments are set to block an Abu Dhabi-backed bid to buy the Telegraph. It’s OK to stop foreign states owning domestic media, and it may not even upend UAE relations. But making policy on the hoof so flagrantly offers a new reason to swerve UK assets.

ByteDance’s TikTok woes are never-ending sideshow

14 Mar 2024

US lawmakers edged closer to banning the short-video app. Co-founder and CEO Liang Rubo has grappled with the epic four-year-long fight while rejigging the business at home to focus on e-commerce. ByteDance remains in IPO limbo but its fortunes have not fallen too far.

EU’s spending snags spoil joint borrowing success

12 Mar 2024

Europe’s 800 bln euro stimulus plan is stuck. The bonds that finance it sell like hotcakes, but so far it has paid out only 225 bln euros as countries struggle with projects. Unless the bloc can show it can use the money it raises from investors, it will lose much-needed funds.

Escaping Hong Kong’s value trap is far from cheap

12 Mar 2024

L'Occitane, Samsonite and ESR may be buyout targets as stocks languish in the financial hub. These businesses are broadly doing well and could command a higher multiple on another bourse now or later. That means shareholders can demand a generous premium from any buyer.

Korea Inc’s Japan makeover only scratches surface

12 Mar 2024

South Korea is copying its neighbour's corporate reform drive to lift anaemic valuations. But voluntary disclosures and tax breaks are unlikely to spur change among chaebol like Samsung which dominate the $1.9 trln stock market. Seoul's push requires more stick than carrot.

IMF’s Egypt bailout chooses hope over experience

11 Mar 2024

Cairo has received an $8 bln IMF loan after a $35 bln cash injection from the United Arab Emirates. If President Sisi does not justify the Fund’s optimism about reforms, a painful restructuring of the $165 bln external debt lies ahead.

China can afford to holster monetary bazooka

11 Mar 2024

Consumer prices rose 0.7% in February, the most in nearly a year but far below Beijing’s 3% target. Still, the central bank's piecemeal easing is starting to add up. Expected US rate cuts will make it easier for China to stimulate the economy and avoid a deflationary doom loop.

Biden’s imperfect pitch is pleasantly concrete

8 Mar 2024

The US president made a strong case in his annual address that his tenure saved the economy. Distinctly Democratic initiatives were surprisingly effective, but the next four years may leave less in any president’s control. At the very least, Biden has set the terms of the debate.

American healthcare is a perfect cyber-hostage

7 Mar 2024

A hack at the biggest processor of insurance claims snarled billions of dollars of payments to US hospitals. The healthcare system’s interdependent web of middlemen means none can be allowed to fail, making it an ever-more-obvious target for the growing onslaught of ransomware.

A year on, SVB’s killer is still at large

7 Mar 2024

Twelve months after Silicon Valley Bank’s demise, investors worry more about real estate than flighty depositors. The disjointed system that enabled a crisis remains intact, though, with patchy oversight, incomplete safety nets and ambiguity over who loses if a lender fails.

UK ‘non-dom’ slap is right move for wrong reason

6 Mar 2024

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt scrapped tax benefits for people living in the UK but officially domiciled abroad. That improves fiscal fairness and may raise over $3 bln per year. But the benefits are uncertain and the funds went to pre-election giveaways, not public services.