Manufacturing

EU joint debt will reappear despite French squalls

18 Dec 2024

Covid-19 saw the European Union ditch its qualms about issuing bonds backed by the 27-state bloc. Ukraine could spur a similar leap forward. France’s political turmoil is a problem, but Russian aggression and US inaction could force member states to club together to fund defence.

US-China tech war will hold Asian allies hostage

16 Dec 2024

Washington’s curbs on semiconductors and other goods are starting to elicit a response from the People’s Republic. New export control rules offer a way for Beijing to retaliate. Its leverage over giants like Japan’s Toyota or South Korea’s SK Hynix make them prime targets.

India’s slowdown flashes an early-warning signal

2 Dec 2024

GDP growth slipped to 5.4% last quarter, the slowest pace in nearly two years, on weak manufacturing and spending. Perhaps it’s a blip. But the Adani fallout, Trump tariff threats and China stimulus could all deal blows to rosy assumptions about the world’s fifth-largest economy.

European pharma’s growth prescription: pivot to US

28 Nov 2024

Novartis, Novo Nordisk and regional rivals lost $86 bln in value over concerns about tariffs and other possible measures by President-elect Donald Trump. Stateside M&A and manufacturing moves could ease the pain and boost revenue. But hopping across the pond will mean paying up.

An $11 bln concrete deal is about unset options

25 Nov 2024

Quikrete is buying building materials peer Summit at a so-so multiple, despite a rush of subsidy-bolstered US construction. If the pace keeps up amid easing interest rates, it’s smart vertical integration. If a new Trump era wrecks that forecast, there are obvious units to sell.

Europe’s Starlink-lite is a worthwhile also-ran

21 Nov 2024

EU satellite players like Eutelsat are debt-laden minnows compared to Elon Musk’s SpaceX-owned behemoth. But given Starlink now owns more than 60% of all working satellites, Europe has to start somewhere. Investors shouldn’t count on galactic returns, though.

Melrose flags a way through aerospace turbulence

18 Nov 2024

The $8 bln aero supplier’s shares jumped after it reported improved revenue and reaffirmed targets. Melrose’s focus on planes has coincided with big customers slowing the supply of new jets. The good news is that demand for older aircraft repairs is rising sharply.

ASML’s sunny AI destination has a cloudy roadmap

15 Nov 2024

The $270 bln semiconductor equipment maker has stuck to its 2030 sales guidance, thanks to growing data centre needs. But chipmakers’ strife, politics, and weak smartphone demand remain near-term headaches. Investors may like ASML’s destination, but the route there looks bumpy.

German M&A flurry is powered by lasting tailwinds

4 Nov 2024

Teutonic deal volumes are below their 2021 peak, like everywhere else. Yet a burst of activity, including the $15 bln privatisation of DB Schenker and $16 bln Covestro sale, show signs of life. Radical changes to the country’s industrial model imply an enduring rebound.

Grim VW numbers give CEO a mandate for shake-up

30 Oct 2024

The 46 bln euro carmaker reported a 21% year-on-year operating profit slump in the first nine months of 2024. That may help boss Oliver Blume push through a restructuring of its ailing core brand. It’s a necessary but risky move, and other problems, like China, are getting worse.

Ford’s ride-the-brakes strategy is hard to steer

29 Oct 2024

The Detroit carmaker has trimmed electric vehicle plans that nonetheless lost $1.2 bln last quarter. Meanwhile, the airbag of gas-guzzler profit is deflating on quality and supply issues. Boss Jim Farley says it’s safer to forestall the future. He’s struggling to prove it.

Tesla gives its faithful just enough good news

23 Oct 2024

Shares in Elon Musk’s $700 bln carmaker surged as operating profit rose 54%. That owes more to cost cuts than growth, but along with heady sales predictions, it overshadowed a disappointing robotaxi reveal. The rub is whether that’s enough to justify investors getting charged up.

GM clings to its first in class status

22 Oct 2024

The $60 bln carmaker beat expectations for the third quarter in a row. Electric investments are paying off, high prices haven’t scared consumers and it has a path back to robotaxis. Right now, GM is golden. Yet from subsidies to tech breakthroughs, its ranking may be challenged.

Boeing starts to tick off its pre-flight checklist

21 Oct 2024

If workers and markets go along, the $100 bln jet-maker’s new labor contract and a capital raise would stabilize its finances. Next to fix are cultural and technical woes that mired it in a government-capped production slump. The union compact and smart downsizing can help both.

Boeing cash patch will be ripped off

15 Oct 2024

The aviation giant will raise money to fill a hole caused, most recently, by a worker strike. Debt weighs heavy and selling $12 bln in stock would help. But additional funds offset new problems, rather than fix Boeing’s plentiful existing ones. The cost of dilution will be high.

China’s EU reply cuts odds of damaging tit-for-tat

8 Oct 2024

Days after Brussels voted for electric-vehicle tariffs, Beijing penalised European brandy. Pork, dairy and pricey cars may be next. Yet the moves are well-flagged. And more damaging retorts, like hitting luxury or $9 bln of aircraft-linked imports, seem unlikely for now.

EV tariffs are only the first step in EU-China war

4 Oct 2024

Despite internal squabbles, member states voted for levies on imported Chinese battery cars. That may help onshore production, but doesn’t tackle China’s clout in hybrid vehicles and batteries. New trade battles are likely: autos and their supply chains are in the firing line.

Autos’ car crash ups the likelihood of EU airbags

30 Sep 2024

Stellantis and Volkswagen delivered big profit warnings, amid falling demand for cars. Their woes may encourage policymakers to vote through tariffs on Chinese rivals and go easy on EU carbon fines. But falling output and strained consumers mean carmakers need self-help too.

Mercedes’ China motor hits one of two roadblocks

20 Sep 2024

The $64 bln German carmaker warned of collapsing profitability this year, as a real estate bust in its key Chinese market hurt demand. Lower margins weaken scope for big shareholder payouts. Yet political tensions also raise the risk of unpleasant future tariff surprises.

ASML faces bigger problems than China

16 Sep 2024

Fears of US tech export curbs have pummelled the $320 bln Dutch firm’s shares. A longer-term worry is that the growth of AI leads to new technologies, and less need for ASML’s machines that make chips smaller and efficient. That, more than trade wars, may hurt its rich valuation.