Management & Leadership

Wells Fargo CEO creates rod for own back

12 Jan 2018

Tim Sloan reckons his beleaguered bank is in better shape than a year ago, and will be better still 12 months from now. Bolstering revenue, cutting costs and catching up on rivals' stock gains are key. But so is changing the bank's culture. That's harder to prove.

Buffett’s next act is a disappearing trick

10 Jan 2018

The boss of $500 bln Berkshire Hathaway has promoted two deputies in a nod to succession. Replacing a legend is nigh on impossible, so it would make sense to split the investor’s job into several. Buffett’s task now is to fade away gracefully and let his successors run the show.

Domino’s CEO will take some topping

10 Jan 2018

The company’s stock fell 5 percent after turnaround guru Patrick Doyle said he would step aside in June. Doyle not only reshaped Domino’s, he also put a fat crust on the pizza joint's valuation. His successor might add value in a different way: by finding a buyer.

Wells Fargo, Under Armour may attract activists

10 Jan 2018

They at least were the favorites in two informal Breakingviews polls on Tuesday. Fallout from the big lender’s scandals and the athletics brand’s stock-market loser status in 2017 are among the reasons. By investor Nelson Peltz’s criteria, though, both have drawbacks as targets.

Drahi U-turn makes Altice’s problems easier to see

9 Jan 2018

Patrick Drahi is spinning off his cable group’s U.S. unit, raiding it for 900 million euros, and re-organising a struggling European business. The new structure will show whether he is doing enough to tackle slow growth, high debt, and a questionable content strategy.

Can Nelson Peltz clean up at P&G?

8 Jan 2018

Now that Trian Management founder Nelson Peltz is on the board of consumer-goods giant Procter & Gamble, Breakingviews has created a calculator to show how the market value of the $230 billion group could increase if revenue growth and margins improve.

Deutsche Bank is portent of investment bank gloom

8 Jan 2018

The German lender says fourth-quarter sales and trading revenue was 22 percent lower than a year earlier. Low volatility and weak trading revenue suggests rivals can expect similarly lacklustre results. But Deutsche’s dependence on trading income makes it especially vulnerable.

Peltz may go from nice to nasty at P&G

8 Jan 2018

The activist, now on the $230 bln consumer-goods giant’s board, has said P&G should slash costs and steal market share. That may boost the stock by over 10 pct, Breakingviews calculates. To get much more, Peltz might suggest a deeper cut: offloading razor maker Gillette.

Bannon woes gift Rupert Murdoch a Happy New Year

5 Jan 2018

Fresh from his Disney deal, the media mogul may benefit from a new book about White House dysfunction. The exposé is ripping apart the alliance between President Trump and his former aide and Breitbart News boss. That may hobble a major rival just as Murdoch launches New Fox.

Guest view: Proxy fights as commonplace in 2018

5 Jan 2018

Though 2017 was the year of big-time contests like Trian versus P&G, get ready for more contentious and expensive battles for control of Corporate America, argues Columbia Business School's Wei Jiang. She offers four key factors that boards and investors should consider.

Elon Musk plays chicken with his own investors

4 Jan 2018

Tesla is missing output targets for its mass-market Model 3 yet again. Repeated delays risk denting the electric-vehicle brand and guzzling cash faster than expected. The combination could test shareholders’ loyalty just when Musk needs more capital for trucks and other projects.

Viewsroom: Debt markets set for wild ride

4 Jan 2018

More government borrowing and less central bank buying will force bondholders to fend for themselves, Breakingviews predicts. Plus, passive funds will force out a CEO, electric vehicles give gasoline cars a run for their money and soccer clubs’ spending splurge will intensify.

Viewsroom: Investors target sexual misconduct

29 Dec 2017

Companies that sweep settlements for bad behavior under the carpet will feel shareholder ire in 2018, Breakingviews predicts. Plus, Apple will float past the EU’s roving eye, splintering political parties are a ticking U.S. time bomb and bank bosses may hang up their hats.

Wells Fargo boss will vault over bank’s woes

28 Dec 2017

Tim Sloan will contend for banking’s comeback award in 2018. He struggled in his first year to contain fallout from the lender’s fake-accounts fiasco, but he’s cleaning up the company and, crucially, its culture. That should get investors, regulators and customers back onside.

Taxes done, Paul Ryan has pick of Midwest boards

22 Dec 2017

The U.S. House speaker just delivered Corporate America its biggest gift ever by cutting rates to 21 pct. As he considers his next move, Ryan's wonkiness wins out over his schmoozer credentials, making Wall or K Streets a bad fit. Breakingviews imagines a recruiter's pitch.

China pulls disappearing debt trick

20 Dec 2017

Beijing talked up better-quality growth and risk management in its latest annual economic preview. But reducing the country’s $30 trln debt load, last year’s “top priority,” was barely mentioned. It’s a worrying sign if China’s leaders can’t kick the country’s credit addiction.

Wall Street’s next challenge: graceful retirement

20 Dec 2017

Investment banks face a triple bonus of tax cuts, rules rollbacks and rising rates. They’re on the most solid footing in a decade. That makes this the perfect time for some long-serving bosses to step back. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon is the logical first choice.

LSE needs plan for itself, not just its bosses

20 Dec 2017

Hedge fund TCI's aggressive campaign to remove Chairman Donald Brydon failed. Yet the bruising soap opera over ex-CEO Xavier Rolet has exposed a lack of forethought. As well as its two top jobs, the exchange group needs to consider acquisitions – or selling itself.

Steinhoff meltdown has silver lining for hedgies

20 Dec 2017

The S. African retailer’s bonds collapsed amid an accounting mess. But investors are not suffering equally. Steinhoff's fondness for convertibles means more of them are now being sold, pushing them to lower prices than potentially riskier paper. Nimble traders can take advantage.

Steinhoff creditors face a shrinking pot

19 Dec 2017

The South African furniture retailer lost nearly a fifth of its market value after failing to clear up accounting issues. Its debt levels are increasing and insurers are withdrawing credit guarantees. The risk is that there’s less and less for creditors to fight over if it fails.