Capital Calls: T-Mobile US, Ulta Beauty 12 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The U.S. telecom is benefiting from its merger with SoftBank’s Sprint; the U.S. cosmetics retailer revealed a tidy succession plan, but its business still faces lingering pandemic side-effects.
Europe’s payments king faces fight to keep throne 10 Feb 2021 Netherlands-based Adyen is one of the region’s few successful listed fintechs, giving it scarcity appeal. Its reliance on large customers like Facebook could one day be a problem, and competition in the bloc is hotting up. A rich $76 bln valuation leaves little room for error.
The Exchange: The long life of bad economic ideas 2 Feb 2021 From self-funding tax cuts to runaway executive pay, economists have provided intellectual support for seriously flawed policies. Reuters journalist Tom Bergin, author of “Free Lunch Thinking” tells Peter Thal Larsen how dodgy theories helped mislead politicians and the public.
Cineworld’s new release is moral hazard disaster 22 Jan 2021 The $1.3 bln movie chain wants to give executives including CEO Mooky Greidinger shares which would be worth $142 mln if they recover to pre-Covid-19 levels. It’s a skewed reward for a company which owes its survival to creditors and governments. Only investors can stop it.
Corona Capital: Peloton, BioNTech 22 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Peloton shareholders are getting a little too pumped up; BioNTech’s boss gives two reasons not to panic about the latest Covid-19 strain.
Corona Capital: Private jet deal 17 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Blackstone bets that plutocrats will be back in the air before the rest of us.
Hut Group’s long-term pay plan is far too short 19 Nov 2020 The recently listed beauty tech firm’s boss Matthew Moulding is 900 mln pounds richer after meeting bonus targets. But the company’s shares only needed to rise 30% for him to do so, and he can sell his shares in March. It’s a pretty odd way to design a long-term incentive plan.
Chieftain’s golden cuffs put Wells Fargo in a bind 16 Nov 2020 Charlie Scharf got a $44 mln package for joining the scandal-plagued bank as CEO a year ago. As the company’s stock has halved, so has the value of his sweet hello. Other bosses are in similar pickles, but few have so much on their plate, or so little room for renegotiation.
Corona Capital: U.S. state budget woes 20 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Some conservative U.S. states are hurting as much as liberal New York.
Corona Capital: Palantir presents 9 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Potential shareholders have had their first look at the data company ahead of its planned direct listing later this month. One of the more memorable moments was boss Alex Karp making his pitch from a nature trail.
GE bonus reset doubles down on bad corporate habit 21 Aug 2020 Its stock having tanked, the U.S. conglomerate has replaced Larry Culp’s original sign-on bonus with one that has much less ambitious share price targets. The award was already flawed – putting in a lower hurdle in a strong stock market makes everything worse.
Wall Street pay heads towards danger zone 17 Jul 2020 Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan socked away at least 33% more for investment-bank bonuses after bumper results last quarter. It looks reasonable given revenue gains. But huge paydays on the back of Fed largesse in an economic slump risk a return to public opprobrium.
Wirecard is argument for a Big Four pay clawback 30 Jun 2020 Audit giant EY is embroiled in the German scandal after signing off accounts when $2 bln was missing. Remedies like splitting bookkeeping from consulting or using two auditors may focus minds on finding frauds. But until pay is linked to clean accounts, scandals will continue.
Corona Capital: ZoomInfo IPO, U.S. trade 4 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: ZoomInfo goes public with a big pop despite Covid-19; and America’s goods-trade deficit with Europe will test Washington’s mood.
Corona Capital: Bank fears, Payments M&A, Coal 2 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A new U.S. regulator wants cities to reopen to prevent bank robberies. Western Union may bid for struggling rival MoneyGram. And the pandemic is hastening the decline of U.S. coal.
How Goldman Sachs walked into a pay trap 29 Apr 2020 CEO David Solomon’s $27.5 million package for last year is deservedly in the crosshairs at this week’s shareholder meeting. Goldman’s problem is the method rather than the magnitude, which isn’t out of whack with rivals. Still, it might want to borrow some of their good habits.
CEO pay sacrifices could use a pinch of altruism 9 Apr 2020 Disney, HSBC and Solvay are just a few big companies where bosses are volunteering pay. Solidarity with staff, prudence ahead of government bailouts and dwindling cash are the key motivators. Real generosity will need to come from those that are thriving amid the crisis.
BoE leaves bank traders’ virus paydays in limbo 1 Apr 2020 The Bank of England expects Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered to show restraint on future payouts. It’s ambiguous, but enough to worry bankers who profited handsomely from market moves in March. Unless the pandemic ends quickly, big bonuses will be hard to justify next year.
Buyout barons will be next to face pay backlash 6 Jan 2020 Private-equity managers can earn more than company CEOs or bankers, whose remuneration has drawn most scrutiny in recent years. The $4 trln industry is now too big to stay under the radar. A surge in company failures would make well-paid dealmakers easy targets for politicians.
Review: An economic paradigm for ordinary people 6 Dec 2019 Nicholas Lemann’s “Transaction Man” shows how the post-1980 move from stable institutions to a deal-oriented economy benefited the rich and disempowered the rest. Active interest groups and pluralism could redress the balance. So would smaller businesses and lower overheads.