People

Bank of Japan’s Kuroda bags a tricky second term

16 Feb 2018

Continuity in Japan contrasts with a changing of the guard at U.S. and European central banks. Haruhiko Kuroda is unlikely to wind up asset-buying or ramp it up a lot. But he must handle the backdraft from policy changes elsewhere and has limited scope to fight the next crisis.

Swire wisely calls on family to steady the plane

9 Feb 2018

The venerable Anglo-Asian conglomerate named a family member as chairman of its flagship Hong Kong unit. That signals it is taking problems at Cathay Pacific Airways and in oilfield services seriously. This could be good news for long-suffering Swire Pacific investors.

Romer exit flags World Bank’s human capital limits

25 Jan 2018

The academic known for his work on economic growth is leaving the bank after just 15 months. The attempt to shake up a staid institution fits his theories’ emphasis on new ideas. But his brash manner shows how organisations can be less than the sum of their inputs.

Cox: Klaus Schwab remakes Davos as The Apprentice

22 Jan 2018

To ensure intrigue when world leaders and CEOs are locked in the Swiss mountain resort, the World Economic Forum mastermind is employing reality TV tricks that made Donald Trump a star. This year's gathering may rival the business show for ratings-boosting drama. But it's risky.

UBS executive reshuffle fires up succession race

14 Dec 2017

Martin Blessing has replaced Juerg Zeltner as head of the Swiss group’s private bank. The ex-Commerzbank boss has good timing: tax issues are mostly in the past. If he can fend off rivals in Asia and reignite European growth he boosts his chances of replacing CEO Sergio Ermotti.

Leonardo is a masterpiece of Saudi contradictions

7 Dec 2017

Crown Prince Mohammed bought the $450 mln “Salvator Mundi,” a report says. The heir to an absolute monarchy professes to be a reformer and corruption fighter, yet is spending with unseen extravagance. That may not go down well at home, or with potential investors in Aramco.

Wanda’s asset shuffle buys brief Beijing reprieve

5 Dec 2017

The indebted Chinese conglomerate is shuffling assets around, including a $470 million cash injection from its founder, as officials pressure firms to deleverage. The cash will help pay down $1.7 bln in offshore loans, but it will take more to escape the government penalty box.

Indian family writes its own philanthropic code

24 Nov 2017

The Bhartis are donating $1.1 bln to their own foundation. Though the sum pales next to other billionaire pledges, there's a creative twist. Money will be used to start a university to teach AI and robotics, free to poor kids. There's no global playbook when it comes to giving.

China’s autocracy puts end to reform illusions

25 Oct 2017

As China's Communist Party tightens its grip, Western hopes that rising incomes would produce more economic and political opening look like wishful thinking. Delusions about inevitable reform are best set aside. For foreign capital this "new era" looks riskier than the last.

Xi’s new stature can overawe China’s market forces

25 Oct 2017

The president emerges from a key party congress with his name in the constitution, no successors in sight, and a mandate to push his agenda faster. Xi Jinping still talks reform, but this intimidated system may become more responsive to his whim than supply and demand.

Hong Kong’s new leader clears first hurdle

11 Oct 2017

In her maiden policy address, Carrie Lam unveiled lower taxes for small firms and more affordable housing for the middle class. Her proposals mark a decent start for tackling the city’s economic divide. If she follows through, Lam could earn support tackling more divisive issues.

India will miss its top banking chief

4 Oct 2017

Arundhati Bhattacharya’s four years atop the country’s largest lender have seen bad debt rise and the shares underperform. But she has made State Bank of India the best of an ailing bunch and stood up to errant tycoons. She sets a high bar for any successor.

Rivals circle Taiwan’s TSMC in new chip era

3 Oct 2017

Morris Chang, father of Taiwan's chip sector, is retiring at 86. His successors were groomed for years to take over the $189 bln behemoth Chang founded three decades ago. They'll need to work hard to defend TSMC's dominance against Samsung and rising mainland competitors.

UK CEO pay cut exposes compensation guesswork

3 Aug 2017

The average boss of a FTSE 100 company took home 17 percent less last year despite buoyant markets. Paying corporate leaders less assuages public opinion but underscores the challenge of linking pay to performance. Besides, CEOs still benefit from higher share prices.

Jain’s low-key Cantor role pins hopes on upside

3 Jan 2017

Ex-Deutsche Bank boss Anshu Jain is joining scrappy capital markets firm Cantor Fitzgerald. Though not the high-profile job he might have coveted, the German lender's travails during his stint in charge suggest why. Privately-held Cantor can grow outside the limelight.

New Pemex boss is emblematic of company’s curse

9 Feb 2016

Jose Antonio Gonzalez is a Harvard-educated economist who knows cost cutting and pensions. Making him CEO, rather than an industry veteran, points to the nature of the Mexican giant’s deep-seated woes. Because it’s more than just an oil company, it’s also less than one.

StanChart’s board clearout is nearly complete

8 Jan 2016

Deputy CEO Mike Rees will step down from the emerging market lender in April. His long-anticipated departure removes a key figure from StanChart’s discredited former regime. Now the bank just needs to announce a replacement for outgoing Chairman John Peace.

Ivan Glasenberg may be mining’s last man standing

31 Dec 2015

The Glencore chief outlasted his peers when the commodity boom turned in 2013. The sector may be due another shakeout in 2016 if prices keep falling. But Glasenberg’s big stake in Glencore and his newfound dash of humility mean his copper plating should last another year.  

CIT’s John Thain blazes trail for Jeff Immelt

22 Oct 2015

The boss of the once-struggling shadow lender is retiring after turning the firm into a decent bank. GE’s CEO is dismantling his company’s finance unit to get out from under onerous regulations applicable to lenders. A big reorganization offers a good chance for a graceful exit.

Bill Gross gets both personal and legal with Pimco

8 Oct 2015

The former boss of the $1.5 trln investment firm has sued over his exit last year. He paints former colleagues like Mohamed El-Erian as greedy and duplicitous and argues he’s entitled to more of an expected $250 mln 2014 payout than he received. No one comes out looking good.