Management & Leadership

Saudi stock market’s “MbS discount” to get worse

22 Nov 2018

Since Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in October, foreigners have dumped Riyadh-listed assets. Donald Trump’s indifference to the crown prince’s alleged role in the killing offers some reprieve. But the kingdom’s stability and long-term economic progress have been permanently impaired.

Investors can do more to rein in UK executive pay

22 Nov 2018

Shareholders want boards to stop granting bosses more generous pensions than workers, and to claw back awards when things go wrong. That’s a sensible response to an outbreak of investor revolts. To avoid egregious payouts, though, companies also need to put a cap on compensation.

France can best help Renault by cutting it free

21 Nov 2018

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire wants to consolidate the carmaker’s alliance with Nissan, which risks fraying after boss Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Japan. Selling the state’s 15 pct stake in the company is politically hard but would remove a big hurdle to a much-needed merger.

Renault is biggest loser in Carlos Ghosn debacle

19 Nov 2018

The French carmaker’s CEO is being ousted as chair of alliance partner Nissan. Were cross-shareholdings unwound, Renault might enjoy a valuation boost. What is more likely before then is that a lopsided partnership will be recalibrated to the disadvantage of the Gallic company.

Renault-Nissan pays price for Ghosn key-man risk

19 Nov 2018

Both carmakers’ shares tanked after Nissan said its chairman had understated his income and might leave. With Carlos Ghosn also Renault CEO, the two groups are reliant on one big hitter to solve their lopsided partnership. That’s a big problem if he’s no longer there.

Telecom Italia’s new boss faces old challenges

19 Nov 2018

Luigi Gubitosi has replaced Amos Genish as head of the Italian telco. With backing from activist investor Elliott, he will try to engineer a complex network breakup and sell assets. But bitter opposition from 24 pct shareholder Vivendi will make the strategy hard to execute.

Mark Zuckerberg pushes wrong kind of independence

15 Nov 2018

Facebook’s CEO is setting up an external committee to police fake news and hateful content after more revelations about how he and others dealt with Russian meddling. But outsourcing decisions won’t fix Facebook’s culture. Removing Zuckerberg as chair would be a good first step.

GE may be canary in credit market’s coal mine

15 Nov 2018

The firm’s bonds tanked this week even as an asset sale briefly lifted its shares. That’s a warning shot for all credit investors. U.S. companies carry more debt than ever, and quality has deteriorated. Rising interest rates and slowing growth could make this a big problem.

Jeff Bezos spreads jobs and disappointment

13 Nov 2018

By splitting his ballyhooed HQ2 between New York City and greater Washington, the Amazon boss can tap deep pools of tech talent. But the unconventional choice aggravates the socioeconomic divisions that plague America. It also exposes the year-long exercise as somewhat of a sham.

GE eases blow with Baker Hughes share sale

13 Nov 2018

The $70 billion industrial company is selling a chunk of its 62 percent stake in the oil-services firm a day after it said it urgently needed cash. The timing isn’t optimal. But it is better to do something than nothing, and GE can test the waters while saving dignity.

CEO exit will escalate Telecom Italia brawl

13 Nov 2018

The board’s decision to sack Amos Genish reflects heightened tensions between activist Elliott and top shareholder Vivendi over the Italian telco’s future. Their next battle will be over the mooted breakup of the group. With competition at home, the timing could hardly be worse.

GE boss could face his own goodwill writedown

12 Nov 2018

The firm’s stock sank anew on Monday despite Larry Culp’s vow to speed asset sales. Repeated failures to draw a line under power woes and other liabilities have shredded GE’s credibility. The new chief risks falling into the same trap, and losing investors’ confidence.

Coty proves bad M&A happens to good people

12 Nov 2018

Its CEO is out and Bart Becht has resigned as chair of the perfumier, which fumbled a $12.5 bln deal. A fresh start is good, but such chaos doesn’t befit a company with so many consumer-goods experts on its board. It does no favors for main owner and serial dealmaker JAB, either.

P&G lathers up for a close shave

9 Nov 2018

The $230 bln consumer-goods giant is reorganizing into six groups, each with its own CEO. Boss David Taylor argues that’ll give them greater focus. But it also makes it easier to trim off any groups that fail to perform. Grooming may be first for the barber’s chair.

Colony Capital’s village is built on shaky ground

8 Nov 2018

The $3 bln real estate firm is gambling Tom Barrack can still build. Yet the founder helped erode nearly half the group’s value with a 2016 merger. Making Middle East introductions for his pal, President Donald Trump, has been a distraction. His best investing days may be over.

New Tesla chair will have to get tougher

8 Nov 2018

Robyn Denholm, CFO at Aussie telco Telstra, is moving from her boardroom seat at the $60 bln electric-car maker to the head of the table to oversee erratic CEO Elon Musk full-time. Splitting the top jobs is good, but Denholm has been part of a group unable to rein him in so far.

Italy will get few favours from EU’s new bank cop

7 Nov 2018

The European Central Bank picked respected regulator Andrea Enria as its top banking supervisor. The industry’s chronic low profitability and poor money-laundering controls are his main challenges. The Italian is unlikely to take a softer line on cleaning up lenders’ bad debts.

Persimmon flags need for force majeure pay clauses

7 Nov 2018

The UK housebuilder got in a mess because it couldn’t legally peg back departing CEO Jeff Fairburn’s ballooning incentive scheme. Remuneration committees need a way to block inflated pay to prevent hits to their reputations. Otherwise other groups will have theirs shredded.

Citi hits a twofer with its new chairman

5 Nov 2018

The $163 bln bank isn’t just sticking with governance best practice by replacing Michael O’Neill with another independent board boss. It’s also, in John Dugan, putting a former regulator in charge. With Citi’s history of lurching from one crisis to another, that’s a smart move.

Barclays endorses status quo with new chair

2 Nov 2018

The UK lender has appointed Rothschild’s Nigel Higgins to take over as chairman in May. That signals a defence of CEO Jes Staley’s plan to grow the investment bank despite activist concern. Higgins has picked a good time to join, but that doesn’t mean his job will be easy.