Management & Leadership

Capital Calls: U.S. inflation, French cloud outage

13 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: U.S. consumer prices rose 5.4% in September as the White House weighs the Federal Reserve chief’s re-nomination; OVHCloud’s network went down the day before the cloud-computing group is due to price a 3.6 bln euro Paris listing.

IMF boss has new reason to push ambitious agenda

12 Oct 2021

Kristalina Georgieva has ridden out data-rigging allegations. Damaged trust may make it harder to forge a global consensus to fight inequality and climate change. But the fracas would motivate any leader with an eye on her legacy to aim for some big successes to bury its memory.

KKR puts Blackstone in governance minority of one

11 Oct 2021

Henry Kravis and George Roberts are stepping aside as CEOs of their $56 bln buyout firm and giving up their supervoting shares, albeit slowly. That leaves their rival Steve Schwarzman as a private-equity outlier. While Blackstone’s high returns continue, he can afford to be.

Capital Calls: Green investors, ASOS, Renren

11 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Al Gore’s asset manager finds listed equities can influence a larger chunk of global emissions; the online retailer parts company with its CEO; the startup investor’s $300 mln settlement with aggrieved investors is likely to be an exception.

Review: PepsiCo CEO memoir leaves work unfinished

8 Oct 2021

In “My Life in Full”, former boss Indra Nooyi describes fending off activists and making big acquisitions at the soda giant. She traces her path from southern India to hobnobbing with world leaders with humility. Her vision of an ethical consumer group looks far off, though.

Time for bank holdouts to join Carney’s green club

8 Oct 2021

Most big western lenders have joined the ex-BoE boss’s GFANZ group pledging tough climate targets. Yet those run by Jamie Dimon, Charlie Scharf, Andrea Orcel and David Solomon have yet to do so. As with taking state capital in 2008, taking part makes more sense than holding out.

Viewsroom: Electric-car global roundup; Facebook

7 Oct 2021

Rivian drops its IPO prospectus, Volvo readies its public market return, Hertz brings on a car guy and GM gets a thumbs up from Engine No. 1. Antony Currie puts it all together. And what does Facebook’s outage mean for shareholders? Gina Chon and Richard Beales weigh in.

Hong Kong tycoons laugh off Xi’s inequality push

7 Oct 2021

Real estate is overheating while residents get gouged at the grocery store. Leader Carrie Lam wants to increase housing supply but has propped up home prices and left elite monopolies alone. So far President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” drive is steering around the city.

Capital Calls: Facebook, TeamViewer, Audio M&A

6 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Whistleblower Frances Haugen’s polished rollout is a warning for Big Tech; the video software specialist’s 25% share price fall shows the perils of growth stocks; hearing aid group GN snaps up headset maker SteelSeries for $1.3 bln.

India’s promoter capitalism gets a timely bashing

6 Oct 2021

Shareholders are stirring up resistance at Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, broadcaster Zee and lender PNB. Some of the uprisings will be quelled, but they underscore a welcome shift toward more investor-friendly forces. It’s an overdue development just as interest in the market surges.

Solvay activist’s Greenpeace costume doesn’t wash

4 Oct 2021

Smug from shaking up Danone, Bluebell Capital is chiding the chemicals group for dumping limestone on a Tuscan beach. With only token economic exposure, its bid to oust boss Ilham Kadri lacks heft. It’s also unclear what other investors gain from joining its eco-warrior campaign.

Viewsroom: Basket-case Britain; Gambling in Macau

30 Sep 2021

Trucker shortages, partly thanks to Brexit, have been blamed for all manner of UK economic hardships, from toilet paper scarcities to long queues at petrol stations. Ed Cropley and Peter Thal Larsen explain. And our columnists in Hong Kong discuss casinos and investment banking.

Japan’s leaders stubbornly embrace status quo

29 Sep 2021

Fumio Kishida is set to replace Yoshihide Suga as prime minister after securing leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. His conservative fiscal tendencies make him an unpopular choice for investors. It is likely a setback for hopes of economic and market momentum.

Morgan Stanley’s Asia shift signals new China era

28 Sep 2021

Long-time regional co-CEO and China boss Wei Christianson is retiring, leaving Gokul Laroia in sole charge. Few combine her banking nous and network. The Wall Street firm will now rely on unit heads for the mainland, suggesting a maturing market as well as one growing in clout.

Capital Calls: U.S. debt, Hollywood, Blue Prism

28 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: Republicans have blocked additional federal borrowing, bringing a default closer; talent agencies CAA, ICM, and Endeavor take different strategic directions; private equity group Vista seems to be getting UK software group Blue Prism cheaply.

BP’s hard baptism goes with transition territory

20 Sep 2021

The UK oil major has sold choice assets to control debt since embarking on its green pivot a year ago, and CEO Bernard Looney just replaced the boss of his key renewables arm. If he needs a boost, Danish wind star Orsted looked equally bumpy at a similar stage of its evolution.

World Bank has a shareholder-engagement problem

17 Sep 2021

Leaders, including now-IMF head Kristalina Georgieva, pressured staff to boost China’s ease of doing business ranking, a probe said. This isn’t realpolitik mitigating inherent U.S. bias. Such tactics detract from the bank’s work, damage credibility and impair its future role.

Buyout sweeteners are symptom of limp boards

14 Sep 2021

Hellman & Friedman offered 18% more for Zooplus a month after the German retailer backed a $3.5 bln takeover. Blackstone and CD&R also paid more for listed targets than initially intended. Recommending a bid can flush out rival suitors. But boards should be negotiating harder.

Generali needs stable owners more than a new boss

14 Sep 2021

Under Philippe Donnet, the $33 bln Italian insurer’s stock price has kept up with Allianz and bested Axa, although he failed to clinch big acquisitions. Grumbling old Italian billionaires in its shareholder roster, fighting with rival owner Mediobanca, are its bigger weakness.

Amplifon within earshot of Luxottica-like success

13 Sep 2021

The Italian listening-device maker is positioning itself to do for the hard of hearing what the $89 bln eyewear giant did for the sight-impaired. It’s just one-eighth the size but has ageing societies and a new generation of customers banging their eardrums to look forward to.