Law

Macquarie’s trading mess warrants some perspective

14 May 2025

An Australian watchdog is suing the $50 bln bank for misreporting short-selling transactions for over 14 years, the latest in a string of issues. For now, these don’t appear the stuff rivals’ multibillion-dollar losses are made of, but they tarnish Macquarie’s golden boy image.

EU’s Big Tech softball may yet become hardball

23 Apr 2025

Brussels’ $570 mln and $228 mln fines for Apple and Meta via its Digital Markets Act may look like a once robust regulator caving to Donald Trump. But the EU doesn’t want to fight tariffs with the DMA. And Big Tech’s US legal woes offer cover for Europe to be tough in other ways.

Defiance of US Supreme Court is tricky to price

17 Apr 2025

Team Trump says it can’t comply with an order to return a wrongfully deported man. Conflict between co-equal government branches risks the legal stability underpinning US markets, where foreigners own $30 trln of assets. If rule of law fractures, investors face a grave quandary.

BlackRock debt deal is half a coup for Adani

17 Apr 2025

The world's largest money manager bought one-third of a $750 mln bond issued by the Indian group, its first since tycoon Gautam Adani was hit by US charges. Other backers are yield-hungry types. The conglomerate is paying a price for its problems, albeit not a large one.

Marine Le Pen election ban worsens French chaos

31 Mar 2025

The right-wing leader was handed a jail sentence and banned from standing for public office in an embezzlement trial. Her party’s anger could push the hung parliament into further disarray. France will find it even harder to take crucial decisions on the budget and defence.

Sustainable fuel surge may mean fewer UK flights

24 Mar 2025

Britain wants airlines to ramp up use of sustainable aviation fuel at a faster pace than in the EU. That’s laudable, with the hard-to-decarbonise sector accounting for 2% of global emissions. But the margin hit for short-haul carriers like easyJet may risk them flying elsewhere.

Paul Weiss rewrites art of the deal under duress

21 Mar 2025

A US president vindictively targeting an eminent corporate law firm with $2.6 bln in revenue would typically run into resistance. Instead, Chair Brad Karp settled matters with a $40 mln promise. Clients fearing their own retribution will probably be more impressed than outraged.

US markets’ exceptionalism goes into reverse

20 Mar 2025

After years of setting the global pace, the S&P 500 Index has dropped 9% from its peak while Hong Kong and Europe benchmarks rise. In this week’s Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss whether trade wars and threats to the rule of law portend a durable shift.

Why financial warfare could backfire on the US

18 Mar 2025

Washington has sharpened the dollar and technology into powerful weapons. Now erstwhile allies fear they are targets. In this episode of The Big View podcast Edward Fishman, the author of ‘Chokepoints’, explains how economic interdependence is increasingly at odds with security.

Bank investors bet on car loan scandal airbags

13 Mar 2025

A court verdict on mis-sold motor loans could pave the way for large fines for lenders like Lloyds. Yet that would undermine chancellor Rachel Reeves’ growth agenda, and the regulator has ways to limit the damage. Current stock prices imply a dent rather than a pile-up.

EU banks’ M&A secret weapon nears sell-by date

3 Mar 2025

The ‘Danish Compromise’ lets Europe’s lenders buy insurers while shielding the capital hit. Yet Italy’s battle over $15 bln Banco BPM suggests the tool can also be hard to deploy. If financial groups fear regulators could withdraw the wheeze, maybe it’s no longer much use.

Trump reciprocal tariffs are key test of EU unity

19 Feb 2025

The president’s threat to match foreigners’ US levies may mean he targets individual European Union member states. The EU’s common approach to trade complicates retaliation. If some countries in the bloc stop others from fighting back, it could ramp up internal strife.

Europe and Trump risk Russian sanctions showdown

17 Feb 2025

The US president’s wish for a quick truce in Ukraine could prompt him to lift the measures slapped on Russia by Washington since 2014. The EU and UK would be loath to follow suit, but that would leave them in a tight spot, notably if it helps Putin rebuild his military.

Separation of powers is on trial in the US

14 Feb 2025

Federal judges have for now blocked White House bids to eliminate agencies and freeze $3 trln in funds, setting up a Supreme Court showdown. A bigger risk is that Donald Trump’s administration ignores adverse rulings, damaging government promises and the bedrock of open markets.

Trump’s graft leniency sets bad global example

13 Feb 2025

The US president has suspended the enforcement of a key anti-corruption law banning the bribing of foreign officials to obtain business contracts. Western countries with similar regulations will feel pressured to show similar tolerance. And law-based trade will take another hit.

Unsung rebels fend off US policy whiplash

30 Jan 2025

Legal authorities nationwide helped block the White House’s $3 trln funding freeze, a reminder of how federalism curbs power even if one party rules Washington. During Donald Trump’s first term, states won 83% of cases against him. It’s a valuable political, and economic, buffer.

Trump’s day-one flurry buries plenty

23 Jan 2025

The new US president began his term with a rush of orders signaling an immigration crackdown, shifting energy policy and more. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate how much will stick and why the trade barriers at the heart of his agenda are missing.

Big Booze speeds towards low-growth tobacco status

7 Jan 2025

The US surgeon general wants health warnings on alcohol bottles. Declining drinking rates have already shrunk the valuations of brewers like Carlsberg to 12 times forward earnings, nearing tobacco levels. Higher-rated spirits groups like $70 bln Diageo may have further to fall.

Warnings and worries haunt best-read views of 2024

31 Dec 2024

This year our readers fretted about imploding stocks, regulatory shocks and Washington’s new status quo, even as the S&P 500 Index hit record highs. Incoming President Donald Trump, Tesla boss Elon Musk, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and Britain’s royal family all added to the drama.

Art of the 2025 deal will be postBidenism

30 Dec 2024

A new US president probably means laxer trustbusters, adding fuel to lower borrowing costs and corporate quests for growth. Exxon, Comcast, Rivian and Google are primed to dust off older M&A plans or craft new ones. Even the White House is positioned to orchestrate a merger.