Law

Opioid crisis pile-on reaches legal critical mass

17 Oct 2019

The imminent start of a key trial has precipitated $50 billion of combined settlement offers from U.S. companies. Drugmakers and distributors prefer one-off payouts to open-ended uncertainty, while localities want cash as soon as possible. That’s a recipe for deals.

EU’s Broadcom attack is a teaser for larger fights

16 Oct 2019

Antitrust boss Margrethe Vestager is temporarily halting some of the $114 bln chipmaker’s supply deals with customers. That’s a more responsive way to tackle Big Tech’s effect on competition than drawing up rules. The likes of Facebook and Google may soon face similar showdowns.

U.S. hits Turkey where it hurts with bank charges

16 Oct 2019

The Justice Department accused Halkbank of helping evade sanctions against Iran. A big fine would erode the state-owned lender’s already weak capital position. Ankara can act to contain the damage but a ban on shorting bank shares signals the government sees systemic risk.

Breakdown: California blackouts ring climate alarm

14 Oct 2019

The most technologically advanced state in the richest country on earth can’t keep the lights on. There’s plenty of blame to go around. California can fix human incompetence, foolish laws and consumer behavior – but these pale beside the challenge of climate change.

Lagardère shoots the messenger and its own foot

14 Oct 2019

The $3 bln Paris-based conglomerate wants 84 mln euros in damages from activist Amber Capital for destabilising its share price. Lagardère had been doing a good job of that on its own via its ropey strategy. Suing its third biggest investor and change agent smacks of desperation.

Send the A-Team to Saudi’s “Davos in the Desert”

11 Oct 2019

Financiers are heading to Riyadh for the kingdom’s annual money bash. Given it’s only a year since Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi agents, they’re trotting out various rationales for attending. Weakest of them all is to send junior people: just put the CEO on a plane.

PG&E faces judicial bankruptcy brownout

10 Oct 2019

Just as the California utility cut off customers to avoid wildfire risks, a judge opened the door for creditors to seize power over its restructuring. They are offering more to fire victims, and less to equity holders. Running the agenda matters: PG&E stock fell another 30%.

Nigeria’s $62 bln oil demand is bargaining chip

10 Oct 2019

That’s how much Africa’s top crude producer wants big oil companies like Shell and Exxon Mobil to cough up under a review of 1990s contracts. In theory Abuja could seize output. In reality it’s sending a message ahead of talks over deep-water production licences due for renewal.

Holding: Net neutrality needs the feds, eventually

8 Oct 2019

A U.S. court said the likes of California can require internet service providers to treat all content equally, despite conflicting federal rules. As in areas like antitrust, though, national standards provide crucial clarity. The best states can do is prod Congress to step up.

College football learns to play by market rules

3 Oct 2019

Young U.S. athletes generate $1 bln in revenue for their governing body – yet their rewards are tightly capped. When demand is high and the supply of elite talent low, as in football, something has to give. A new California law is a nod to what other industries realized long ago.

J&J plays opioid settlements to its advantage

2 Oct 2019

The $348 bln drugmaker’s low-cost deal to end a suit from two Ohio counties is a sign the painkiller-scandal litigation may cost less than expected. Financial incentives and game theory pressure hard-hit areas to come to terms quickly. Settlements may only partly cover damages.

Thiam absolved but not unscathed in spy scandal

1 Oct 2019

An internal investigation has cleared the Credit Suisse CEO of wrongdoing after his chief lieutenant hired spies to tail an ex-employee. Tidjane Thiam has now lost two key staff in three months. Worse, ignorance of key decisions in the company you run is not a good look.

Cox: The gnomes of Zurich aren’t boring enough

30 Sep 2019

Swiss banking is meant to be discreet, stable and predictable. It’s also trying to prove it’s ethical. That’s why Credit Suisse’s dumb decision to ask second-rate detectives to trail former wealth boss Iqbal Khan, who defected to rival UBS, is a national embarrassment.

Nigeria is right to fight $9 bln arbitration claim

25 Sep 2019

The African nation is refusing to honour a ruling by UK-based judges on a failed gas project. Abuja is on thin ice because it failed to appeal on time. But the contract awarded to a little-known Irish firm looks suspect. Reopening the case would be a victory for common sense.

Ghosn’s power would get lost in translation

24 Sep 2019

The SEC claims the former Nissan boss hid half his salary to avoid public opprobrium, and was able to do so because of lax controls. It’s a stark contrast to the United States, where governance is strong but social pressure over pay is weak. Both systems fail in different ways.

Johnson’s legal spanking barely moves Brexit dial

24 Sep 2019

The Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling that the government illegally shut down parliament would normally be the end of the British prime minister. But his majority has already disappeared. The most likely outcome remains as before: another Brexit extension and a bitter election.

Volkswagen’s damaged CEO remains roadworthy

24 Sep 2019

Herbert Diess has presided over a share price fall, made a Nazi joke, and may now face a criminal charge of market manipulation. Assuming he survives the latter, his recent truck IPO and focus on electric vehicles are right. Oddly, the $85 bln group would be weaker without him.

Cox: Imagine Carlos Ghosn as a human rights martyr

20 Sep 2019

The wealthy former Nissan-Renault boss who held a birthday bash at Versailles isn’t the first person to come to mind. But that’s the argument his lawyers are making in a renewed pitch to acquit him of criminal charges in Japan. As unlikely as it sounds, the case has some merit.

Holding: Insider-trading law fix is within reach

11 Sep 2019

The U.S. Congress seems closer than ever to clarifying rules that have perplexed investors, watchdogs and judges for decades. With prosecutors pushing legal limits and dodgy traders slipping through loopholes, reform is overdue. Bipartisan support suggests it may finally happen.

Opioid settlements are best sent to rehab

4 Sep 2019

Local governments may win $100 bln from drug firms over an epidemic costing society $500 bln a year. That’s akin to tobacco’s giant payments, most of which disappeared into budgets. Yet drug treatment generates sevenfold returns. Localities can’t afford to waste this windfall.