Management & Leadership

Credit Suisse princelings lack sting in Trump era

6 Jul 2018

The Swiss bank is paying $77 mln to settle U.S. probes into hiring friends of Chinese officials to win advisory work. It’s contemptible behaviour, but there are conflicts of interest around the White House too. Without the moral high ground, such punishments come off weaker.

Viewsroom: Is Silicon Valley getting nervous yet?

4 Jul 2018

The tech hub is getting squeezed by new policy restrictions amid a looming trade war between the U.S. and China. How is the Valley holding up? Plus: India's state lenders are losing CEOs. Is running these banks into the ground part of the plan?

Chairman’s death intensifies HNA uncertainty

4 Jul 2018

The accidental death of co-founder Wang Jian adds to questions about the future of the embattled conglomerate. His precise remit at the closely held group was not clear. Unlike some other big private Chinese outfits, however, HNA was not reliant on a single leader.

Lloyd’s of London next CEO faces many perils

3 Jul 2018

Inga Beale will leave the insurance marketplace next year. The 330-year-old business’ first female boss banned lunchtime boozing and modernised underwriting. Her successor must navigate the fallout from Brexit, losses from climate change, and tackle Lloyd’s bloated cost base.

Aging fashion labels battle in bargain basement

2 Jul 2018

The founder behind Perry Ellis wants to take the clothing company private. An interloper that licenses brands for accessories is offering investors a premium – all of 50 cents a share. When the target is a grab bag of department-store merchandise, upping the ante is cheap.

Tesla upshift puts focus on bigger battles

2 Jul 2018

Elon Musk had to pull out all the stops to hit his oft-postponed Model 3 production target. It will cheer his faithful followers and make it easier to raise capital. But for the electric-car maker to really cruise, he must prove he can sustainably increase output and make money.

Dell gets more real by deleting virtual stock

2 Jul 2018

It’s buying shares that mirror those of its VMware division for $21.7 bln. The 29 pct premium is ample but still gives away less than half the discount at which the tracking stock traded. The sensible simplification takes the IT firm closer to a full return to the stock market.

Premier Foods’ Japanese flavour has turned stale

28 Jun 2018

Top shareholder Nissin’s stake in the Mr Kipling maker has fared poorly, but a beneficial commercial deal ensures its support. With activist Oasis pushing for CEO Gavin Darby’s ouster, it’s time for the Tokyo-based company to start thinking like an investor.

Conagra boss finally gets his Hungry-Man and more

27 Jun 2018

With an agreed $10.9 bln purchase of Pinnacle, Sean Connolly seals the deal on a takeover of the motley crew of slow-growth grocery goods he has pursued since 2014, when he ran Hillshire. But it’s a high price and ambitious cost cuts don’t cover the premium he’s paying.

Chairman exit lays bare Carige’s governance knot

27 Jun 2018

Giuseppe Tesauro left the wobbly Italian lender after clashing with management. The departure highlights a squabble between top investor the Malacalza family, and financier Raffaele Mincione, who wants a merger. A boardroom feud risks delaying Carige’s much-needed turnaround.

Intel scandal matters little today, a lot tomorrow

21 Jun 2018

The ouster of CEO Brian Krzanich for a relationship that breached company policy need not be a disaster. It shows the relevant rules apply to all, and Intel can run itself smoothly for a while. Mounting tech challenges, however, make it critical to find the right replacement.

Buffett and pals pick good medic for U.S. tapeworm

20 Jun 2018

Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon and JPMorgan chose Atul Gawande to lead their fight against rising medical bills. The surgeon has written extensively on how the system rewards excess, but not outcomes. Changing this focus would be a good start, even if neither easy nor sufficient.

Carrefour tin ear puts fat cats in Macron’s sights

18 Jun 2018

The supermarket’s ex-boss forwent part of a 13 mln euro payoff after pressure from the French government. It shows that the ex-banker President Emmanuel Macron is no slave to laissez-faire economics. His move to liberalise firing rules makes corporate excess a legitimate target.

Renault M&A race sidelines governance niceties

15 Jun 2018

Investors backed CEO Carlos Ghosn’s pay despite the French state’s opposition. His 7.4 million euro package was greased with soft targets. Yet the high proportion of shares at least gives Ghosn an extra incentive to push for a value-boosting merger with Japan’s Nissan.

Zell has financial reason to speak better of women

15 Jun 2018

The real estate mogul made tone deaf comments about women at a conference – not for the first time. Sam Zell has a history of speaking off the cuff, offset by a reputation as a skillful asset trader. His female-run REIT, an outperformer, shows why he ought to rein in his speech.

Rolls-Royce investors wisely keep the seat belt on

15 Jun 2018

The plane engine-maker aims to generate 1 pound of cash per share over the mid-term, quadruple this year’s estimate. Despite the bullish new target, shareholders don’t look to be pricing it in fully. A distant horizon and history of one-off costs explain why.

Comcast throws $65 bln of caution to the wind

13 Jun 2018

The cable firm is offering 19 pct more than Disney to buy bits of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox – potentially leaving it slathered in $170 bln of debt. Boss Brian Roberts is normally a careful dealmaker. Embarking on this expensive, hostile pursuit suggests a serious fear of missing out.

Ralph Lauren’s growth track runs through China

12 Jun 2018

The clothier aims to boost revenue by $1 bln by 2023. The 16 percent target seems bold given the label’s recent woes and upheaval in the retail sector. But the quintessential American brand’s provincialism may be its saving grace. It has room to expand in the People’s Republic.

Deutsche Bank’s misleading CDS hide a wider truth

12 Jun 2018

The cost of insuring the German bank’s debt has doubled this year and unlike peers stayed elevated after recent Italian tensions. In the short term this doesn’t affect Deutsche’s funding as much as it might look. But it still highlights the weakness of the lender’s outlook.

Invesco mounts quixotic defence of high fees

11 Jun 2018

The fund group wants to replace directors of a $160 mln trust it manages following a spat over fees. Its argument looks weak given that competitors were willing to do Invesco’s job for less. The niche battle shows the rising pressure on managers to deliver value for money.