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GE has become the ultimate industrial lightweight

23 Oct 2017

Earnings that even new CEO John Flannery called “horrible” put fresh pressure on a stock down over 25 pct this year. The last surviving original Dow member now has by far the lowest weighting of any share in the index. It’s an embarrassing sign of the storied firm’s troubles.

Verizon stuck in neutral as rivals shift

19 Oct 2017

The U.S. telecoms carrier reported a rise in wireless subscribers. But cable rivals Comcast and Charter are also offering mobile services. AT&T is trying to become a media company, and Sprint and T-Mobile may yet merge. A heavy debt load hobbles Verizon’s ability to quickly change lanes.

Global watchdogs may curb U.S. deregulatory push

18 Oct 2017

The U.S. Treasury will decide whether to recommend scrapping the post-crisis bank resolution regime, as some Republicans urge. But foreign regulators threaten to impose new limits on American firms if it's ditched. That reduces the chances of a major rollback of financial rules.

Goldman pips Morgan Stanley on style not substance

17 Oct 2017

Lloyd Blankfein’s firm bested its Wall Street rival on quarterly earnings, thanks mostly to lumpy gains on equity investments and strong M&A fees. Longer term, the broader diversification and stable trading business James Gorman has crafted is becoming more attractive.

Nordstrom sale season may be long time coming

16 Oct 2017

With large insider stakes and growing revenue, the $7 bln department-store chain was a prime candidate for a buyout. Now it is shelving its sale until after the holidays. It may be hoping for a higher price. But the delay suggests even risk-tolerant buyers are cool on the sector.

Communist Party assault muddles Chinese capitalism

12 Oct 2017

The government hopes to regain the private sector's confidence even as it tightens its grip, in particular on the critical tech sector. Alignment with state priorities could ease red tape, but bureaucrats make lousy CEOs, and vicious factional politics will distract executives.

Goldman necessity mothers M&A invention

11 Oct 2017

The Wall Street firm has set up a new team to cook up creative deals for big clients. Goldman is making a habit of trying new things, from retail banking to personality tests for interviewees. Given the drag in the trading business, it sounds like worthwhile experimentation.

Pfizer and Glaxo may find romance over the counter

10 Oct 2017

The $215 bln U.S. drugmaker is preparing to detach its consumer-goods unit, and its British rival is a logical owner. Folding the Advil maker into GlaxoSmithKline’s existing venture with Novartis would be logical, provided CEO Emma Walmsley can whip the business into shape.

Harvey Weinstein saga will leave filthy handprints

9 Oct 2017

Ejecting a misbehaving boss, as the U.S. film studio just did, is never simple. Corporate cultures are the offspring of their founders. While their departures can kick off a cleanup, vital skills exit with them. It's a problem enterprises like Uber and Fox are grappling with too.

Cox: P&G counting on an investor electoral college

6 Oct 2017

There's no strong reason for the insular consumer-goods titan to deny Nelson Peltz a board seat. Hedge funds will back him, but as in U.S. elections only half the retail shares may vote. That leaves Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street to play Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Trump gets Puerto Rico priorities in a muddle

4 Oct 2017

The president’s vow to wipe out the U.S. commonwealth’s debt sent its bonds plunging. The devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria may necessitate another restructuring. But it doesn’t address the island’s problems. Its citizens need money, supplies and services, not distraction.

Nestlé can pre-empt Dan Loeb with refreshed board

3 Oct 2017

The Kit Kat maker’s directors are light on consumer and digital expertise. Half of them are Swiss, a market worth just 2 percent of sales. Nestlé’s latest revamp plans are far from radical, and the activist may next seek boardroom changes. The company could beat him to it.

Central bankers’ superpowers are looking spent

2 Oct 2017

Between taming inflation, fighting the financial crisis and averting a breakup of the euro, monetary policymakers acquired an aura of omnipotence. Their responsibilities are growing and their mandates have turned into a fetish. A painful collision with reality is overdue.

Google clears deck for huge antitrust fight

27 Sep 2017

The company is separating its European shopping unit and allowing rivals to bid for ads. That solves one problem it has with watchdogs while minimizing losses and continuing an appeal. It also frees up Google to battle the EU over claims it uses Android to dominate online search.

Swedish banks unfairly left out in the cold

7 Sep 2017

The likes of SEB, Handelsbanken and Nordea are stable, well capitalised, and dull. Investors have spurned them in favour of eurozone banks. Yet the Swedes’ generous dividends are attractive – and if Nordea’s move to Finland leads to lighter regulation, they may get more so.

Record basketball price is timely bet on Houston

6 Sep 2017

The owner of the Landry's restaurant empire will pay $2.2 bln for the NBA's Rockets. Buying a trophy asset as the city rebuilds after Hurricane Harvey makes for awkward timing. And yet sports often unify a community and the big investment suggests abiding faith in a recovery.

United Tech breathes rarefied air to bulk up

5 Sep 2017

The conglomerate is paying $30 bln including debt for Rockwell Collins. The combination makes sense but, with a weak 5 pct return on investment, UTC is paying up for aerospace scale. Elusive revenue benefits or a lucrative breakup are needed to prove the deal's potential.

Vanguard slowly flexes corporate-governance muscle

1 Sep 2017

Index funds can’t choose to sell stocks. But the $4.5 trln fund giant is engaging more with companies and in the past year voted against management at Exxon Mobil, Viacom and Wells Fargo on climate change, pay and the like. It’s hardly activism but it beats pure passive investing.

These retail chains can resist the Amazon vortex

28 Aug 2017

If investor judgment is any guide, Ross Stores, Home Depot and AutoZone may have the wherewithal to withstand the apocalypse wrought by the e-commerce titan, which just swallowed Whole Foods. All of them either match or beat Amazon’s multiple of enterprise value to future sales.

An Estee Lauder auction would get juices flowing

25 Aug 2017

Unilever is weighing a bid for the $39 bln makeup firm, says a report with a whiff of summer silliness. It might have its reasons to ponder a deal. But P&G and L'Oreal wouldn't let it go uncontested. With Lauder stock already pricy, the appeal may be more cosmetic than real.