Politics

Tillerson misses chance to overcome Putin problem

11 Jan 2017

A U.S. Senate hearing mostly made the nominee for secretary of state look like a model candidate. Mealy-mouthed answers on sanctions against Russia, though, and his concern for their impact on businesses, betrayed his decades at Exxon. It's a flashpoint even for some Republicans.

Trump business-conflicts failure lines up gridlock

11 Jan 2017

Restricting dealmaking and putting his sons in charge of his firm falls short of the blind trust ethics standards demand. It's a gift to Senate Democrats, whose criticism of any lapses could stymie the president-elect's plans for everything from the economy to the Supreme Court.

Beware cracks in Trump’s infrastructure plan

11 Jan 2017

Two of the president-elect's advisers have drafted a superficially appealing outline, but tax credits involved are giveaways to businesses and investors. The assumptions are fanciful, too. While new ideas are welcome, spurring $1 trln of funding demands a bigger government role.

Holding: Dealmakers can expect big MAC attack

11 Jan 2017

Unnerving tweets and fickle policy ideas from Donald Trump add to angst already undermining mergers like Abbott's $5.8 bln bid for Alere. Buyers invoke material adverse change clauses for escape purposes, but they're almost never enforced in court. That may be about to change.

Ma’s job offer to Trump is no Chinese peace pipe

11 Jan 2017

Alibaba founder Jack Ma met with the U.S. president-elect and pledged to create 1 mln jobs. Trump, well-pleased with this tribute, says he and the Chinese e-commerce tycoon will do "great things" together. There is less to both statements than meets the eye.

Trump enforcer hearing leaves Wall Street no wiser

10 Jan 2017

U.S. senators grilled attorney-general pick Jeff Sessions on immigration, civil rights and the president-elect. Controversial M&A like AT&T's $85 bln takeover of Time Warner and insider-trading issues were largely ignored. The financial world will just have to read the tea leaves.

Bets against Iraq’s OPEC cuts are premature

10 Jan 2017

Traders may have jumped the gun betting Baghdad won’t stick to an output deal. The cartel's second-largest producer has little to gain reneging on the pact and could struggle to maintain record shipments without investment. Higher prices help its cause more than extra barrels.

India’s next big experiment could be basic income

10 Jan 2017

A direct cash transfer to citizens could replace a plethora of subsidies and benefits. That would reduce corruption and waste, especially if the handout only goes to the poor. But identifying the worthy will be tough, even with India’s impressive biometric identity database.

U.S. nuclear closure points to economic meltdown

9 Jan 2017

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hailed a decision to shut down the Indian Point facility as a win for the environment. Low natural gas prices are what really pulled the plug. Carbon trading might give nuclear energy a fighting chance, but good luck with that under President Trump.

Trump boardroom fails early due-diligence test

9 Jan 2017

Nine of the president-elect's cabinet picks face a Senate grilling this week. The likes of former Exxon boss Rex Tillerson and billionaire Wilbur Ross were chosen for their investment nous. Conflicts of interest and missing financial disclosures, however, can be bad for business.

Anglo-U.S. trade exposed to specialness deficit

9 Jan 2017

The UK’s “special relationship” with America gets more crucial as it moves towards a clean break with Europe. Transatlantic imports and exports are balanced – which should please President-elect Donald Trump – yet Britain has more to lose. Finance looks particularly vulnerable.

Obama leaves Trump with a tough job on jobs

6 Jan 2017

Creating nearly 16 mln new positions since the post-crisis nadir is pretty good. So is an unemployment rate under 5 pct. Not all labor indicators are so positive, but wages may finally be on the march. The new president's bold plans could clash with late-cycle economic realities.

NYC infrastructure plan years late, billions short

9 Jan 2017

The New York-New Jersey transport quango has set out a $32 bln plan to upgrade airports, railroads and tunnels. These and ongoing projects like new subways are overdue – and influenced too much by politics rather than real needs. Like trains, officials need to move faster.

Carmakers rattled by Backseat-Driver-in-Chief

6 Jan 2017

President-elect Donald Trump's attacks on imports soured the mood ahead of next week's industry jamboree in Detroit. Scrapping a Mexico plant, as Ford did, is easy. Bigger upheavals could spell trouble, though, as a slowing market and autonomous driving jolt financial prospects.

Regional pain makes UK consumer credit risks real

6 Jan 2017

The BoE's chief economist says a merely moderate rise in housing finance means consumer borrowing risks are contained. But unemployment is up in Scotland and northern England, where faster-growing personal loans matter more. Banks' pricing competition could worsen the reckoning.

Brexit could derail UK’s anti-corruption push

6 Jan 2017

Britain's keenly awaited anti-graft strategy has been delayed. The UK had looked to be making headway in reducing the billions of pounds laundered through London. The risk is this gets lost in the rush to quit the EU - or even that UK shadiness is seen as worth clinging to.

Sports Direct undercuts exec pay ideals

6 Jan 2017

The retailer’s bosses receive an apparently model mix of low salaries and performance-based awards. The former CEO’s fixed pay was less than a twentieth of Martin Sorrell’s at WPP. Yet an exemplary pay mix has failed to deliver either shareholder returns or good governance.

Toyota tantrum may mark peak Twitter-Trump

5 Jan 2017

The president-elect got his facts wrong tweet-threatening tariffs if the carmaker sells Mexican-made Corollas in the US. Hence the stock's limited reaction. A contrasting crash in Constellation Brands shares shows investors starting to focus on more concrete cross-border issues.

It’s past time for Japan to tackle overwork

6 Jan 2017

A suicide at a top advertising firm shines an ugly spotlight on Japan's dangerously long hours. Relaxing a culture of workaholic conformity won't be easy. But official plans to curb overtime are a good start. And a better work-life balance would bring real economic dividends.

Amazon may hold Trump card in retail mess

5 Jan 2017

The e-commerce giant is mulling a bid for bankrupt American Apparel as Macy's and others lose sales and staff. CEO Jeff Bezos would bag a clothing brand to help his fashion ambitions and show a president-elect suspicious of Silicon Valley that he's saving thousands of U.S. jobs.