Labour

Capital Calls: Nike, Stablecoins, Meme stocks

22 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Air Jordan maker grew quarterly revenue 14% despite inventory woes and China’s slow reopening; diverging demand for Circle and Tether cryptocurrencies raises questions about how investors are assessing risk; and GameStop’s shares surged 40%.

Bad news salvo gives Bank of Japan some cover

16 Mar 2023

The collapse of U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank knocked down sovereign bond yields. Consumption remains soft, and while Japan Inc is hiking wages by 3% on average, that’s well below inflation. There’s nothing to cheer, but it takes pressure off the BOJ to adjust rates.

UK fiscal austerity may not survive next election

15 Mar 2023

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt used 24 bln pounds of budget headroom to boost investment and incentives to work. He also set a trap for the opposition: accept spending cuts after 2024 or be tagged as a high-tax party. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer doesn’t have to take the bait.

Starbucks’ union brouhaha risks Schultz’s legacy

14 Mar 2023

Employees have organized and U.S. courts found that the $115 bln latte maker broke labor laws. But operating costs may go up by just $23 mln, or 0.2%, as a result of the current unions. What’s more at risk is Howard Schultz’s legacy and the company’s worker-friendly reputation.

China’s equity watchdog gets backhanded promotion

8 Mar 2023

Beijing is elevating the China Securities Regulatory Commission in the bureaucratic hierarchy. It ought to be good news for an agency whose authority has been diluted in recent years. Yet the change sets staff up for a pay cut. More power with less money is a bad combination.

Britain can afford to pay nurses and teachers more

20 Jan 2023

UK public workers want a big raise from the government. An inflation-matching pay rise would cost 18 bln pounds; growing state employees’ salaries in line with the private sector around half that. Downing Street could fund it with a 1p rise in VAT and closing tax reliefs.

UK has wrong approach to EU-style strike limits

16 Jan 2023

British PM Rishi Sunak wants to force minimum service levels during public sector strikes, as exist in the rest of Europe. But the plan is too broad and coercive, looking like a knee-jerk reaction to the current unrest. It needs to be better thought-out, in a pacified atmosphere.

Tech mess hastens Irish economic turn inwards

11 Nov 2022

Multinationals like Meta Platforms bring in a quarter of Ireland’s $68 bln tax revenue, and the salaries they pay prop up its housing market. Now they’re shedding staff, the risk is a budget hole. Irish business may not like how a future Sinn Féin government would fill it.

Big Tech risks a reversion to Web Finance 1.0

24 Oct 2022

Meta, Alphabet and Twitter were noobs to the ad game during the last recession. Back in 2009, digital claimed just a 16% share. Now, the online giants are far more heavily exposed to deep marketing budget cuts. With costs also out of whack, it could start to feel more like 2000.

French protesters have a point on wages

20 Oct 2022

Inflation running at 10.9% is eroding European workers’ salaries. Companies benefitting from a power crisis, like 139 bln euro TotalEnergies, can afford pay hikes. For others, one-time bonuses are a better way to keep workers happy and cushion the downside of looming recession.

Capital Calls: Peloton races tough economic cycle

6 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $2.9 bln fitness company is laying off staff for the fourth time this year in a turnaround bid for survival.

Silicon Valley’s post-Covid brain drain

27 Sep 2022

Before the pandemic, 75% of venture capital was invested in California, New York and Massachusetts. In this Exchange podcast, AOL co-founder Steve Case explains that a hybrid working revolution is reversing that trend and encouraging permanent investment away from the coasts.

Italy’s first female PM is red flag for workwomen

16 Sep 2022

Ultra-right politician Giorgia Meloni is likely to become the next premier. She opposes boardroom quotas that have lifted female representation from less than 7% to 41% in a decade. Scrapping them would be a setback for a country struggling with stubbornly low female employment.

India’s military rejig offers delicate risk-return

20 Jun 2022

A move to limit service for 75% of recruits to four years has sparked violent protests. The plan will trim a $15 bln pension bill, leaving more money for equipment and weapons. It also might add to an employment problem and pile on army HR challenges as tensions with China rise.

This Chinese jobs crisis could be its worst

20 Jun 2022

Youth unemployment hit a record 18% as the national rate heads toward levels not seen since 2008. Private employers are traumatised and a strained public sector will struggle to make up the difference. Fiscal and monetary responses used previously are unlikely to work this time.

Bear market spells mauling for American workers

25 May 2022

Profitability at companies from Amazon to Starbucks is falling, and so are share prices. One of the few things they can control to try and recoup lost valuations is the size of their workforce. Gains employees have made over the past two years are now likely to go into reverse.

Toronto can teach aspiring tech hubs some lessons

9 May 2022

Many places try to replicate aspects of Silicon Valley. Favorable immigration rules and cheaper labor costs have made the Canadian city a strong contender. Some of these advantages may not endure. But success in luring giants like Meta Platforms means that may not matter for now.

Strong U.S. jobs are blessing and curse for Fed

1 Apr 2022

The unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, near pre-pandemic levels. Dining out is back, and even travel is returning to normal. That all gives the central bank room to fight inflation. But employers are still short of workers, and continued robust hiring may make price pressures worse.

Emmanuel Macron changes stripes as election nears

15 Mar 2022

The French president’s chances of winning a second term have been boosted by his performance during the pandemic and since Russia’s attack on Ukraine. But the main plank of his platform is to “protect” the French. That’s a far cry from the bold reformer who ran five years ago.

Capital Calls: Continental split

17 Feb 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $20 bln German auto supplier is eyeing a four-way separation, according to a report.