People

European boards have too little skin in the game

17 Jul 2024

Non-executive directors at big US companies get 60% of their pay in equity. That’s rare in Britain, France and Germany, where many board members own a slither of stock. Cash fees warp incentives, discourage engagement, and risk making Europe’s capital markets less competitive.

European board pay requires a US-style overhaul

16 Jul 2024

Non-executive directors at UK and EU-based firms own little equity in the companies they oversee. In this Exchange podcast, Liad Meidar of the hedge fund Gatemore argues that this is a problem, while Peter Boreham of the pay consultancy Mercer explains why it’s hard to change.

Life-or-death moments embolden ‘America First’

14 Jul 2024

After a failed attempt on the life of presidential hopeful Donald Trump, his oft-fractious party is rallying. The effect on a race until now defined by broad public disdain is unclear. But as Trump’s support hardens, so too will polarization, both within the country and overseas.

Ambani wedding allows rich Indians to flaunt it

12 Jul 2024

Anant Ambani's Mumbai nuptials this week cap seven months of extravagant, star-studded celebrations. For many in the deeply inequitable country, the family’s public display of wealth sparks aspiration, not anger. Unlike in China, officials are happy for them to show it off.

Salesforce signals CEO pay is easy come, easy go

2 Jul 2024

In 2023, the $246 bln software giant’s stock price returned four times the S&P. Year-to-date, it has underperformed. Now shareholders have rejected boss Marc Benioff’s pay plan. A shift in spending to AI is haunting Salesforce. Shareholders get antsy when bosses get complacent.

European bosses can only envy Elon Musk

20 Jun 2024

The Tesla chief’s $56 bln pay package is particularly vertiginous, but even less-blessed US CEOs do far better than their European peers. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how the pay gap shapes executive habits across the Atlantic.

Carlos Slim’s BT stake may just be a prelude

13 Jun 2024

The Mexican billionaire has taken 3% of the $17 bln UK telco. Nationalism, and Slim’s failed 2012 tilt at Dutch peer KPN, imply he won’t launch a full bid. But BT investors Patrick Drahi and Deutsche Telekom may sell their shares if he gets even keener on the group’s turnaround.

Stock handouts might help save the US ruling class

13 Jun 2024

The top 0.1% Americans own a quarter of the $40 trln in share-based wealth while the bottom half has just $400 bln. It’s therefore encouraging to see GE, Walmart and Blackstone-backed firms giving workers equity. Less inequality will better align the interests of poor and rich.

India’s inequality deserves a bigger risk premium

12 Jun 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi suffered his biggest electoral blow in one of the nation’s poorest states. By one measure, the gap between haves and have-nots is wider than during British rule. Closing it is tricky. Without change, though, stability will hang by a thread.

India breezes through its first continuity test

11 Jun 2024

Leader Narendra Modi began his third term by keeping nearly all his top ministers, defying speculation he'd cede key posts to allies. The resilience of markets following the shock election result underscores stability too. The costs of coalition rule, if any, may show up later.

Modi’s allies will be new defining force for India

7 Jun 2024

Coalition partners may demand special funds for their regions, and ask for key ministries, for supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new government. Handouts can give states an edge to court companies like Tesla. The resource-grab will create tension in the halls of power.

India’s resilient democracy comes with a cost

6 Jun 2024

Narendra Modi will have to rely on a coalition government after a shock upset in the national elections. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why politicians may dig deeper to support the poor and how power sharing may create challenges for big business.

EU vote is prelude to Europe’s real choice

5 Jun 2024

Some 370 mln voters from 27 member states are set to pick a new assembly. The result will influence how EU government leaders decide who should lead the next European Commission. Backing incumbent Ursula von der Leyen to avoid a chaotic deadlock is in the bloc’s best interest.

Moscow’s war yields a new type of Russian oligarch

5 Jun 2024

Vladimir Putin has long tamed his country’s 1990s-era billionaires, and a later cadre of ex-KGB moguls. Now the Russian president has picked a third generation of businessmen to own and manage confiscated Western assets. They won’t be any less subservient to his whims.

India may no longer be Narendra Modi’s

4 Jun 2024

His party is on course to lose its majority and will be at the mercy of allies to form a government. It ends a decade of extraordinary stability in the world’s fifth-largest economy. A market selloff hints at the costs of coalition rule. Growth may slow but there are some gains.

Modi 3.0 offers limited opportunities for the West

3 Jun 2024

Western leaders’ hopes for India as a bulwark against China outweigh their concerns about Narendra Modi’s authoritarian streak. They will have more scope to work with the prime minister during his expected third term. But the overlap of interests and values is limited.

Korea’s music industry has more than a BTS problem

31 May 2024

Shares in entertainment firms like Hybe and SME have slumped along with CD sales since members of top K-pop group BTS left for military service. They reunite next year, but a sluggish economy and shaky China sales mean top labels can’t afford to assume business is bulletproof.

Niel can be less stingy to fulfil his salsa dream

30 May 2024

The French Iliad owner may buy out Millicom, a $4 bln Latin American telco in which he owns a 29% stake. His potential $24-a-share bid implies a tiny 2% premium. Even with the stock up nearly 40% this year, he can offer more for a growing, profitable company.

Royal Mail deal defies nationalist anti-M&A trend

29 May 2024

Czech tycoon Daniel Kretinsky agreed a $4.6 bln buyout of the UK postal service’s parent group. Britain’s likely next government seems OK with it despite the chance of jobs cuts and a breakup. As countries pull up the drawbridge on sensitive takeovers, there are still exceptions.

Technocrat PM will save Dutch voice inside the EU

29 May 2024

By choosing civil servant Dick Schoof, The Hague put pragmatism before politics in the premier’s slot. Far-right Geert Wilders won at the polls but elected to pass on the job. This will help the Netherlands keep its sway over key issues like EU debt and the green transition.