Regulation

Macquarie’s trading mess warrants some perspective

14 May 2025

An Australian watchdog is suing the $50 bln bank for misreporting short-selling transactions for over 14 years, the latest in a string of issues. For now, these don’t appear the stuff rivals’ multibillion-dollar losses are made of, but they tarnish Macquarie’s golden boy image.

Apple’s China detox is painful and overdue

13 May 2025

Geopolitics and trade wars have upended the iPhone maker's lucrative dependence on the People's Republic. As CEO Tim Cook seeks other supply chains, Beijing has reason to keep the giant onside. Spreading the $3 trillion company’s risks will be costly and time-consuming.

China’s economy sails into dense trade war fog

6 May 2025

Trump’s levies will blast $440 bln in direct exports to the US - 3% of GDP. But the full hit is probably worse, as many Chinese manufacturers have reconfigured supply chains and shipments to other markets that also face tariffs. That makes Beijing's growth goal a moving target.

CK Hutchison deal is test of Chinese hospitality

1 May 2025

The Li clan is facing political hurdles as it tries to offload the docks business to BlackRock for $23 billion. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why China objects, and why it might create bigger problems for inward investment.

Oz vote raises $2.7 trln issue for buyout barons

1 May 2025

Apollo, Blackstone and others love Australia’s retirement savings scheme, known as superannuation, whose managers invest heavily in illiquid private equity and infrastructure funds. A policy idea, of letting new homebuyers tap their pensions, puts that lucrative model at risk.

India bank mess crystallises perils of competition

30 Apr 2025

The CEO of $8 bln IndusInd is out after accounting and lending woes nixed almost half its market value. The shambles is the most high-profile fallout of the banking industry's intense fight for deposits in the country that has wrong-footed executives, shareholders and watchdogs.

US-China trade deal would be tricky and tenuous

24 Apr 2025

Investors hope that Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping can cut their triple-digit levies. But a 2020 agreement between the two failed, complicating a repeat. The sheer size of the $295 bln US deficit, and fear of China’s tech ambitions, mean tariffs and sanctions may persist.

EU’s Big Tech softball may yet become hardball

23 Apr 2025

Brussels’ $570 mln and $228 mln fines for Apple and Meta via its Digital Markets Act may look like a once robust regulator caving to Donald Trump. But the EU doesn’t want to fight tariffs with the DMA. And Big Tech’s US legal woes offer cover for Europe to be tough in other ways.

Tariffs leave China with even more mouths to feed

16 Apr 2025

GDP grew 5.4% last quarter, but Trump's trade war means it's downhill from here. Beijing needs a plan to support exporters, as well as consumers and property. With officials now equating the economy with national security, a long-touted big stimulus package may finally emerge.

US tariff mania keeps everyone on edge

10 Apr 2025

President Trump’s import-levies bonanza, however it evolves, is arbitrary enough to upend easy assumptions about how the White House, the Federal Reserve and American trade partners can or will proceed. In this week’s Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists gauge the fallout.

Banks are dubious savior for US government debt

9 Apr 2025

The 10-year yield stayed high at 4.3% after a tariff pause. It adds urgency to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s quest to relax capital rules so that lenders can buy more bonds. The timing, with investors fleeing, flags the risk. SVB found that safe assets can cause problems.

China will struggle to deal with its overcapacity

8 Apr 2025

Exports will be squashed with or without the US threat of an extra 50% tariff. Chinese consumers cannot absorb the slack. If Beijing responds by lowering trade barriers with the rest of the world, its domestic problem will be worse. The case for boosting fiscal spending is solid.

‘Pro-growth’ M&A policing is a misnomer

27 Mar 2025

The transatlantic trustbusting consensus forged by Lina Khan and Margrethe Vestager is already fraying. In this week’s Viewsroom, Breakingviews columnists discuss if it will lead to mergers involving national champions such as GSK and BP, and in turn remedy some economic ills.

ECB bank snub is good for Orcel, bad for M&A bulls

26 Mar 2025

The supervisor has queried Banco BPM’s use of the ‘Danish Compromise’ in its swoop on fund group Anima. That’s bad for the acquirer. But it’s good for UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel, who wants to buy BPM – and for those who want M&A to be based on logic, not capital arbitrage.

Ignoring US white-collar crime will run up big tab

25 Mar 2025

The Trump administration is vowing to turn a blind eye to bribery, money laundering, tax avoidance and other fraud. CEOs will be wary of flouting laws left on the books, but there’s scope for backsliding. Lower standards will test investor faith and keep future prosecutors busy.

Sustainable fuel surge may mean fewer UK flights

24 Mar 2025

Britain wants airlines to ramp up use of sustainable aviation fuel at a faster pace than in the EU. That’s laudable, with the hard-to-decarbonise sector accounting for 2% of global emissions. But the margin hit for short-haul carriers like easyJet may risk them flying elsewhere.

China Cosco may be shipping war’s first casualty

24 Mar 2025

The world's top shipping group doubled 2024 earnings but Washington's proposed docking fees on China-linked vessels and tariff salvo will dent demand for Cosco services. Rival CK Hutch's $23 bln ports sale also suggests trade will reroute to Western peers. It’s a perfect storm.

UK antitrust U-turn will awaken no-go megadeals

21 Mar 2025

The Competition and Markets Authority is reviewing how it probes M&A and faces a possible new law curtailing its powers. A laxer stance from the watchdog might resuscitate old ideas like Sainsbury’s $9 bln Asda bid. It may also boost new ones, like Shell-BP.

Ports deal puts China’s investment case to test

21 Mar 2025

Beijing’s displeasure with CK Hutchison’s $23 bln sale of its docks business to BlackRock comes just as overseas money managers' confidence in the People's Republic was returning. Defending geopolitical interests while wooing foreign capital will require a delicate balancing act.

Oval Office attacks on US law come at a price

19 Mar 2025

The Trump administration’s blitz on judges, independent agencies and contracts destabilizes the governance that underpins investors’ confidence. Even if courts mute some of the tumult, the country’s risk-free status is quickly eroding. A 0% debt premium is no longer warranted.