Politics

Trump’s “European Apprentice” is a real-life sequel

28 Feb 2017

The president’s support for Brexit and criticism of the European Union makes its members nervous. Though leaders publicly pledge a united front, they are privately jockeying for influence in his administration. It’s a closed-door version of the TV contest that made Trump famous.

Trump wraps U.S. budget flaws in $54 bln flag

27 Feb 2017

Boosting military spending by that sum largely at the expense of diplomatic soft power may please ardent supporters. Fixing Defense Department mismanagement would be wiser, though, and avoid a clash in the president's own party. Jingoism risks bringing higher costs in many forms.

Local election results mark peak for Theresa May

24 Feb 2017

The prime minister’s Conservatives confirmed their lead over rivals Labour with a landmark by-election victory. Acrimonious Brexit negotiations and squeezed incomes will test May’s popularity in the coming year, though. Not calling an early general election could prove a mistake.

China regulator reshuffle leaves turf intact

24 Feb 2017

The People's Republic is shaking up top financial and economic positions, with veteran watchdog Guo Shuqing poised to take charge of supervising banks. Yet there is still no sign of the much-discussed super-regulator, and central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan remains in place.

Britain’s takeover regime is worth exporting

24 Feb 2017

“Put up or shut up” rules tightened after Kraft’s Cadbury deal have led to more deals where the bidder makes a firm offer, UK data shows. Generali, currently being stalked by Intesa Sanpaolo, will be envious. It would benefit if something similar was implemented in Italy.

Hadas: Statistical tricks are easy and dangerous

23 Feb 2017

The Trump administration might take up the new autocratic practice of fiddling with standard economic measures. That’s easy to justify, because the data really are arbitrary and can be misleading. But falsifying disagreeable official numbers is a modern kind of tyranny.

Latin America trumps populism – for now

22 Feb 2017

Ecuadoreans denied a first-round election victory to their leftist president's chosen successor. As in Brazil and Argentina, that opens the door to a traditional pro-business candidate. But growing U.S. demagoguery gives the region's politicians an excuse to ramp up nationalism.

U.S. immigration crackdown bets the farm

22 Feb 2017

The new president is moving hastily to deport more illegal workers as part of his America-centric policy. In the process of trying to protect industries like manufacturing, stricter rules will hit an agricultural sector already suffering from labor shortages and falling profit.

Aramco golden ticket has risks for Western banks

22 Feb 2017

JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley may have won the contest to be lead underwriters on the Saudi oil giant's $100 bln offering. The mandate could propel them to the top of the league tables, opening doors in the kingdom and elsewhere. But an IPO flop could be fatal for their franchises.

Hong Kong budget is missed chance to spread wealth

22 Feb 2017

The city's new finance chief rolled out new spending and said occasional deficits might be permitted. The shift away from stinginess comes weeks before Hong Kong chooses a new leader. But it's unlikely to placate the protest movement; the massive $120 bln reserve stays untouched.

Le Pen’s French referendum pledge is tall order

21 Feb 2017

The far-right politician’s promise to hold a plebiscite on EU membership and leave the euro is spooking investors. To call such a vote, however, she would have to find constitutional loopholes. That would be an even bigger challenge than winning France’s presidential race.

Post-truth data will come back to bite Uncle Sam

21 Feb 2017

Donald Trump's economic team may tweak trade figures to make deficits look bigger, helping his push for tariffs. Though politicians have always cherry-picked numbers, fiddling with actual statistics threatens confidence. It also raises expectations Trump will struggle to meet.

Unilever exposes holes in UK industrial strategy

20 Feb 2017

A takeover of the Anglo-Dutch consumer giant would have tested the prime minister’s vow to defend sectors and workers from foreign buyers. Even though it’s now off, May lacks the tools to deliver on the pledge. Her party would need to ditch its scorn of French protectionism.

Italy’s decaying left is Europe’s next headache

20 Feb 2017

A leadership battle may split former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party, in another case of Europe's left-wing woes. Though intrigue and ambition are as much to blame as ideology, a schism would weaken pro-euro forces and make Italian politics even less predictable.

UK government wakes up to downside of gig economy

17 Feb 2017

Work created by the likes of Uber flatters Britain's unemployment rate. That was convenient to politicians after the financial crisis. The less palatable implications of a surging gig economy are now dawning on Westminster – a potential 3.5 billion pound gap in tax receipts.

Viewsroom: Trump’s management failures

16 Feb 2017

The president's vacillating over firing national security adviser Michael Flynn is the kind of mistake that gets corporate chiefs fired. Toshiba deals its way to a $6.3 bln loss. California's water woes are a national wake-up call. And Wall Street parties like its 2007.

Cerberus faces White House collateral damage

16 Feb 2017

President Trump may ask co-founder Steve Feinberg to review the intelligence agencies. The ensuing scrutiny would draw in past investments like Chrysler and current ownership of both a gun firm and a Defense Department security contractor. That can't be good for business.

Cox: Swamp is another name for checks and balances

16 Feb 2017

Donald Trump vowed to drain the capital's metaphorical fens. He has also redefined the objective from ridding Washington of its mosquito-like lobbyists to avoiding getting bogged down in a governance morass. The founders intended the separation of powers to be a useful swamp thing.

Italy’s bank fudge takes EU rules to the limit

16 Feb 2017

The government wants to put 5 bln euros into two small banks. That's as much as their common equity. As with Rome's Monte dei Paschi debacle, it's hard to square with European rules that only allow governments to help viable banks.

Hong Kong’s toothless election could still bite

16 Feb 2017

The city's leadership contest lacks a Le Pen or a Trump. Whoever wins the vote in March will be firmly in Beijing's shadow. How the winner manages Hong Kong's various vested interests, however, may determine how successfully the financial centre is run, and how independently.