Money‚ Politics

Wall Street cues a lesson in Ivory Tower finance

20 Oct 2023

Billionaires Marc Rowan and Bill Ackman are angry about Middle East positions taken by their alma maters, UPenn and Harvard. The backlash inadvertently spotlights the power big donors wield on campus. It’s a chance to revisit the business model and make college a freer market.

Green turn will extend China’s Belt and Road trek

20 Oct 2023

Ten years on, Beijing’s $1 trln infrastructure plan has gone global. While the West has largely shunned the scheme fearing debt bondage and political meddling, developing countries have rushed to join. Their lack of cash to fund the clean transition will keep the project alive.

Putin and Xi’s strengthening bond has a weakness

17 Oct 2023

The Russian president’s expected meeting with his Chinese peer re-ups their “no-limits” friendship. Beijing is gorging on cheap crude and sending goods to its sanctions-hit neighbour. However, the thriving $190 bln bilateral trade is eroding Moscow’s economic sovereignty.

Australia’s China détente is a tough one to copy

12 Oct 2023

Beijing freed an Aussie journalist and has lifted import bans on goods like coal and hay. High commodity prices propped up Canberra’s coffers, while a less bellicose administration and a scant manufacturing base helped reconciliation. The US and the EU can’t use such a blueprint.

US linkup with Saudi could cause OPEC shift

10 Oct 2023

Spiraling conflict in the Mideast could spur tougher US sanctions on Iran. That might lead to a US-Saudi rapprochement. Power, then, moves away from the rest of OPEC. Saudi is in a tough spot, but the US could grow even mightier in the fossil fuel market.

Israel flashes geopolitical warning at shaky time

9 Oct 2023

Bloody attacks in the Middle Eastern country raise the risk of contagion, possibly involving Iran. It’s a bad time for the region to join Ukraine as a conflict hotspot. And it’s yet another concern for a global economy grappling with inflation and rising borrowing costs.

Capital Calls: US budget

21 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is siding with hardline conservatives to fund the government. Empowering the further-right flank narrows the already slim odds of new Ukraine aid, cannabis reform and crypto clarity.

Capital Calls: Four-day workweek

19 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: US Senator Bernie Sanders joined striking autoworkers in urging a conversation about shortening the workweek. Rising productivity has long enabled labor to win fewer hours. With disruptive new technologies rising, bigger victories make sense.

Big oil lawsuits are riskier than quitting tobacco

18 Sep 2023

California is suing fossil-fuel companies, alleging tens of billions in climate-related damages. Decades of litigation forced tobacco firms to pay up. The tension is that, while global warming’s ravages imply higher costs, US oil production is crucial amid tightening supply.

Deaths haunt Corporate America via labor strikes

15 Sep 2023

Auto workers, pilots, and truck drivers have had upper hands in labor strikes. That’s despite labor supply healing. One reason may be that men have left the workforce. Opioids and Covid are partly to blame. But it highlights the dangers of demographically concentrated jobs.

Flood insurance swamps US government

11 Sep 2023

A federal scheme to back policies for water-logged homes is set to be renewed. Failing to do that would worsen a housing shortage. But the program is already laden with debt. Fixes like flood-prevention infrastructure can lower costs for the government and homebuyers alike.

Republican hopefuls’ deficit goals are all talk

24 Aug 2023

Conservatives vying for the Republican nomination vowed to slash the deficit in a debate. After years of spending under conservative leadership, it’s a throwback. Yet tax cuts and other costly projects are still key talking points. Worsened US finances make the agenda impossible.

DeSantis chose wrong Disney battle, right war

22 Aug 2023

Homing in on the $157 billion entertainment company was politically foolish. But the Florida governor is right that Disney's sweetheart deal doesn't make sense. Other similar arrangements are finite and fairer, and still end up bad for states' finances.

Next job-market challenge: the Great Unresignation

4 Aug 2023

Recent labor shortages pushed up hiring costs for US companies. But firms including Wells Fargo and State Street now say fewer staff quit than they expected, so they’re having to give them a push. It’s the kind of wrinkle that makes seemingly healthy jobs data harder to read.

The BRICS are better off disbanding than expanding

31 Jul 2023

Developing countries are understandably unhappy that rich nations don’t address their needs. But they won’t get much from a club including giant China and near-pariah Russia. Brazil, India and other emerging economies might achieve more by creating a new group, says Hugo Dixon.

Singapore’s clean reputation gets a timely test

18 Jul 2023

Officials arrested a cabinet minister and a prominent hotel tycoon without saying why. Corruption cases are rare in Singapore. But as the hub becomes a favourite destination for the rich, the investigation is a useful opportunity to burnish its reputation for tough enforcement.

Disney Vegas would have a nice ring to it

7 Jul 2023

The $162 bln media company’s boss Bob Iger is feuding with Florida's governor despite having committed $17 bln investment to the state. Disney could send a message by taking portions of that to Sin City, which is becoming family-friendly and may welcome the income boost.

Weaker China offers opportunities to US and allies

3 Jul 2023

The mutiny against Russia’s Vladimir Putin is a blow for Beijing, while the Chinese economy is weak. The People’s Republic is still a threat, notably to Taiwan. But the US and its partners should grab any chance to work with China on issues like climate change, says Hugo Dixon.

China’s world banks are geopolitical victims

15 Jun 2023

Canada suspended activity at the AIIB after a senior employee claimed it has become an instrument of the Chinese Communist Party. The Beijing-based infrastructure lender tried to play by global rules, but multilateral funding models are struggling to evade diplomatic tensions.

How Modi can grab India’s geopolitical “moment”

3 Apr 2023

India has a big opportunity not least because the US wants to build up the country as a counter to China. The prime minister can make the most of the chance if he moves closer to the West, addresses alleged human rights issues and is more open to trade, says Hugo Dixon.