Labour

Capital Calls: Ford’s threats

15 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: The $50 bln automaker’s boss suggests that a strike could have dire consequences. The problem is that workers can see the $10 billion in cash sitting on Ford’s balance sheet.

Detroit profit engine could screech to a halt

14 Sep 2023

Years-long employment contracts meant auto workers missed out on post-pandemic gains. New demands could halve Ford and GM profit. The companies may prefer one-off rewards. But unions have little incentive to accept. Instead, transition plans may be wounded, and both sides pay.

Capital Calls: Lithium M&A

4 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: Albemarle’s $4.3 bln sweetened all-cash offer for lithium miner Liontown has financial merit, as well as offering it a handy hedge against Chile’s plan to nationalise resource assets.

Capital Calls: Temps frayed

1 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: Despite adding another 187,000 jobs in August, the number of short-term workers such as event staff kept falling in the United States. It’s a sign of a weakening labor market and, history suggests, a recessionary omen.

Aussie gas strike risk has market fighting old war

24 Aug 2023

Possible industrial action on key rigs added 41% to the fossil fuel’s European price. Yet with storage nearly full, it trades at a fraction of last year’s peak. Real fear of a new supply crunch would lift it far more. No wonder Woodside and Chevron are taking talks to the wire.

Leaving the office for dead may haunt investors

23 Aug 2023

Landlords’ valuations are half pre-pandemic levels due to the boom in hybrid work. Yet looser labour markets are giving bosses more power and companies like Google want staff to spend more time in their buildings. Fund managers betting on a trend reversal may be on to a winner.

Biden has too much confidence in Bidenomics

20 Jul 2023

The president’s new slogan parades a revival of US manufacturing and jobs. Spreading the word now, however, could backfire. Sticky inflation and slower hiring are out of Biden’s control, and they could leave voters poorer or jobless by the time they reach the ballot box.

How to breathe life into zombie office property

18 Jul 2023

Lenders are steering clear of buildings that face reckonings from remote working, pushing prices down. In this Exchange podcast, real estate investor Scott Rechler argues that it will take financial and civic engagement to make empty space desirable for living – and investing.

In US, strike now or forever hold your peace

17 Jul 2023

Hollywood’s first joint walkout by writers and actors in six decades adds to a year riven by strikes. A hot labor market strengthened workers’ hands, but as hiring slows, bosses will reassert themselves. That could prompt more employees to flex their power while they still can.

China risks leaving it too late to stimulate

17 Jul 2023

The world’s second-largest economy grew a slower-than-expected 6.3% in the second quarter. Yet despite weakness in property and consumption, there are pockets of strength. Hitting the 2023 growth target looks less certain and a sharper slowdown could yet catch Beijing off guard.

Central banks’ calls for pay restraint ring hollow

29 Jun 2023

Western central bankers want workers to ask for lower raises unless firms cut their margins to compensate staff. With salaries growing less than inflation, that’s a harsh demand. Past rate rises will in time cool labour markets. Officials need to talk less and wait longer.

Supply chain scrutiny may upend EU solar ambitions

23 May 2023

Renewable groups must forgo photovoltaic components from China’s Xinjiang to comply with forced labour curbs. Yet the region produces 35% of the pure silicon needed in panels, and US firms are scooping up the non-Chinese supply. Enforcing a ban may scupper EU green targets.

Disney can play Scrooge with Florida

19 May 2023

The $170 billion media company has cancelled a $1 bln project in the state, favoring California. If political wrangling between the two sides continues to intensify, the House of Mouse’s pullback from Florida promises even more pain for Governor Ron DeSantis.

Capital Calls: BT, Mediobanca

18 May 2023

Concise views on global finance: The 14 bln pound UK telco’s vague guidance is a concern for its two big shareholders seeking to recoup losses; the 8.5 bln euro Italian bank buys its biggest boutique yet.

Why the jobs market could brush off AI threat

16 May 2023

Hiring seems to be waning in the US and Europe. Yet in this Exchange podcast, recruitment boss Sander van ’t Noordende strikes a hopeful note. The Randstad CEO explains why artificial intelligence and a possible economic slump are doing nothing to dampen demand for talent.

AI offers leisure, if not happiness

12 May 2023

Technology has outpaced economic growth for 50 years, while workers have long traded higher productivity for more leisure. These trends will continue as artificial intelligence automates more jobs. The salient question is how to distribute the gains – and the free time.

EY’s split fiasco will spark slow-motion decline

25 Apr 2023

The audit giant’s bean-counters are insulated against a rapid loss of business after its failed breakup. But EY’s more profitable consulting arm, including its prize tax unit, is less so. More reticent new clients and staff may see the Big Four become the Big Three-and-a-half.

Commercial property pain is only just beginning

13 Apr 2023

Valuations of offices and shopping malls are under threat as rising interest rates ratchet up the cost of buying real estate. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how inflation and remote working could make the crisis far worse than 2008.

European pay anger is more costly than inflation

3 Apr 2023

Workers are striking and demanding salary hikes to make up for higher living costs. Governments and central banks are warning about the risks of a consumer price spiral, but after three years of real wage stagnation, further restraint will inflict political and economic pain.

Capital Calls: Bank of England, Wonder drugs

23 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The UK central bank has joined peers in raising rates, but there’s not much room to keep hiking. Meanwhile, a drug that might help smokers’ lung is could be good for makers Regeneron and Sanofi, but even better for society.