Healthcare

China’s 2003 auto recovery will be instructive

16 Apr 2020

Sales got a bump at the height of SARS, as consumers avoided public transit and purchased cars for the first time. That psychology could soon play out in India and other markets where ownership is low. But the drag of congestion and spending power may be bigger this time.

Guest view: Venezuela is least equipped for virus

15 Apr 2020

The country’s health, water, electrical and economic systems were under immense pressure before Covid-19. With 5 mln refugees from the Maduro regime displaced in the region, the U.N., IMF and others need to brace for a wider humanitarian crisis, warns a WHO epidemiologist.

Trump’s WHO slight opens door to U.S. philanthropy

15 Apr 2020

The U.S. president is halting funding to the health body, accusing it of pro-China bias over coronavirus. Playing politics in a global crisis is irresponsible and trashes Washington’s image. Time for the uber-rich likes of Michael Bloomberg to fill the moral and financial void.

Corona Capital: Airbnb

15 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Airbnb’s new $1 bln loan doesn’t come cheap, especially when compared to Booking Holdings. But the home-renting unicorn has troubles, from few assets to offer as security to how to ensure properties are virus-free.

Virus sets off China Inc’s biggest clash

14 Apr 2020

Alibaba, Tencent and Ping An dominate e-commerce, video games, and insurance, respectively. Now the trio, worth a combined $1 trln, is converging on the healthcare system, which is due an urgent upgrade. Financial and regulatory risks abound, but patients will be better off.

Guest view: Can we achieve gender equality?

8 Apr 2020

In an unequal world, the coronavirus pandemic hurts women disproportionately. They are on the frontlines of the fight caring for the sick but are more exposed to hardships. Women might end up suffering the most while saving the world. Leaders can respond now to fix the equation.

TikTok is a winner in global viral challenge

8 Apr 2020

Millions of bored people are hooked on the video app for the latest dance moves and more. Owner ByteDance is getting a goldmine of user data and a bigger audience for a follow-up hit. But the unprecedented global success for a Chinese startup comes with uncharted risks.

Coronabonds can issue social goods

8 Apr 2020

Indonesia sold $4.3 bln worth of bonds, partly to tackle Covid-19. It copies a Chinese template. And an unusually long 50-year tranche found favour with life insurers. Investors welcome spin that makes portfolios look responsible, and this one may go viral faster than most.

Japan goes deeper into unknown with $1 trln binge

7 Apr 2020

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is preparing a stimulus worth 20% of GDP as his government announces a state of emergency to combat the coronavirus. Already at the edges of unconventional monetary policy, Tokyo will now further test new frontiers for public debt in peacetime.

Corona Capital: Saudi/Carnival, PG&E

6 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Today, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund takes an 8% stake in beleaguered cruise outfit Carnival, and the coronavirus may dislodge one of the moving parts in California utility PG&E’s plan to exit bankruptcy.

Beijing tries to fake it ’til it makes it

6 Apr 2020

Local officials and state media are portraying a China back at work. Reassuring consumers is critical to supporting domestic demand as exports crash. But this rosy picture is blurred. Outsiders trying to model a recovery must be more discerning than ever reading the tea leaves.

Seoul’s virus tests yield false economic positive

2 Apr 2020

Laudable containment efforts that helped save lives aren’t sparking obvious wider benefits. Domestic demand is weak and a global recession probably will cause South Korea’s $1.6 trln economy to contract this year. Export dependence means waiting for the rest of the world to heal.

China’s missing phone customers stir viral concern

2 Apr 2020

Some 20 mln of them mysteriously vanished from $150 bln China Mobile and its two biggest rivals in February. It may be the first time all three carriers lost subscribers at once. Theories range from the conspiratorial to the more plausible. None of them is reassuring, though.

Australia fuels global race to flatten jobs curve

1 Apr 2020

Prime Minister Scott Morrison proposes spending some $80 bln subsidising wages for six months. That would cover about 70% of median pay for most and equal 6.5% of GDP. Increasingly generous pandemic stimulus measures in one country ultimately could help workers in another.

Hong Kong rues taking off its face mask

31 Mar 2020

A fresh wave of Covid-19 infections has forced the Asian hub into a crushing second phase of lockdown. It illustrates the challenges of getting back to business as usual, especially for more outward-facing economies. Breakingviews looks at life in a city beating a fresh retreat.

Private equity healthcare bets go from ill to ICU

30 Mar 2020

KKR and Blackstone gambled big on rising medical expenditures, buying emergency room staffing firms Envision and TeamHealth. Wars with insurers over aggressive billing practices left both companies weak. Cancelled procedures from Covid-19 will put both in critical condition.

Virus clarifies case for universal U.S. healthcare

25 Mar 2020

The debate in America tends to get bogged down in how to change the system, losing sight of why. Other developed-country governments guarantee basic medical care for everyone. The Covid-19 pandemic shows why the benefits transcend wealth, politics and geography.

States have upper hand in health vs. economy row

24 Mar 2020

Donald Trump may end U.S. federal social-distancing restrictions earlier than medical experts advise with economic damage mounting. But lifting curbs is mostly up to governors and they'll shoulder health crises if they go too soon. Many businesses may prefer to play it safe, too.

Corona Capital: India on lockdown

24 Mar 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, tells 1.3 billion people to stay at home as the country grapples with the early stages of an outbreak.

Chancellor: Coronavirus crash is inverted bubble

24 Mar 2020

Financial manias are often described in epidemiological terms, with “contagion” leading investors to become “infected” with speculative “fever”. In a sense, the response to Covid-19 may be a mirror image where fear replaces greed and errors of pessimism replace those of optimism.