Society

Capital Calls: TCI’s railroading tactics

26 Jan 2022

Concise views on global finance: The fund run by Chris Hohn has settled with Canadian National after a messy battle for the board.

Japanese inequality lives in a retirement home

26 Jan 2022

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants to shrink the widening wealth gap. One big factor is decaying elderly finances as inflation ticks up and fiscal coffers shrink. More transfers to retirees would be smart politics, yet young Japanese pay too high a price supporting the old.

China plays lonely game of Covid whack-a-hamster

19 Jan 2022

As Hong Kong culls 2,000 of the rodents, Beijing is blaming overseas mail for spreading Omicron. Dogged devotion to Covid-zero and the resulting disruptions are becoming increasingly farcical, and costly, as the rest of the world learns to live with the virus.

Demographic flatline will test China’s generosity

18 Jan 2022

The population may have peaked in 2021, far earlier than expected. Beijing might prefer to continue to tackle root causes including high living costs, but a desire to prop up the economy in a key political year makes less disruptive, clumsy fixes like cash subsidies practical.

Power windfall tax is bad idea whose time has come

17 Jan 2022

European leaders are under pressure to help households with soaring power bills. Taxing energy companies is potentially ineffective and replete with unwise incentives. The idea could nevertheless catch on, and oil giants like BP and Shell may need to take the strain.

Stressed Beijing will buck Fed’s tightening trend

17 Jan 2022

China's reported output grew 8.1% in 2021, well above target, but activity slowed sharply at the end of the year. Monetary easing has been restrained by debt concerns, but the central bank surprised markets with a rate cut on Monday. Low inflation and a strong yuan give room for more.

Big transitions are better embraced than resisted

4 Jan 2022

The extraordinary actions required to make epochal shifts, like eradicating hydrocarbons or vanquishing Covid-19, are being taken now. Central banks are removing punch-bowl money. Digital is crushing everything. And without social inclusion, it all falls apart. Welcome to 2022.

Kazakh oligarch shakeup may give foreigners a shot

12 Jan 2022

President Tokayev needs to consolidate power after unrest and raise cash to placate his citizens. Billionaires allied to his predecessor are obvious targets. Since he lacks a go-to gang to take over mining assets, he may favour gradual redistribution and more external investment.

Capital Calls: Crocs knows how to pandemic

11 Jan 2022

Concise views on global finance: The rubber-clogs maker’s sales are going gangbusters, and it has used lockdown success smartly to expand with a trendy acquisition.

Pricey oil gives Kazakh investors emergency cover

7 Jan 2022

Russia sent troops to quash a revolt in its neighbour. Even if President Tokayev keeps his job, energy majors like Chevron and Shell will fear fallout from the unrest. With the state reaping the rewards of oil at $80 a barrel, there’s less incentive to renegotiate their terms.

Kazakh gas revolt is timely canary in the coalmine

5 Jan 2022

The central Asian state’s government has fallen after it removed a price cap on liquefied petroleum gas. Kazakhs have a host of local grievances other than energy costs. But commodity spikes will also cause fireworks in European states unless politicians cushion the blow.

Capital Calls: Beyond Meat’s faux chicken

5 Jan 2021

Concise views on global finance: The plant-based meat company’s shares jumped 5% on news KFC will offer its product. The extra value assumes benefits beyond selling buckets of substitute fried chicken.

Capital Calls: BlackBerry’s demise is a warning

4 Jan 2021

Concise views on global finance: Life support ends on Tuesday for the once ubiquitous phone's operating system. When cult gadgets lose their edge to devices that do much more, the descent can be inexorable.

What our columnists got right and wrong in 2021

31 Dec 2021

We look back at a year as unpredictable as its predecessor. We foresaw an M&A surge, even if some of the deals we called for, like Tesla buying Daimler, failed to materialize. But we nailed a few biggies, like Grab’s moment in the limelight, inflation’s return and mRNA’s success.

Mammoth re-engineering project begins: Germany

28 Dec 2021

Its manufacturing-led, carbon intensive economy is ill-suited to the 21st century. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and firms like Volkswagen will spend more on green and digital investment. The trick will be to plough on despite short-term supply chain problems and rising labour costs.

Climate-change money will flow freely to Plan B

24 Dec 2021

COP26’s so-so outcome makes damaging temperature rises more likely. At some point, optimal portfolios may require guns and canned food. Until then investors will lean towards shares in Syngenta, Veolia and other companies that aid adaptation to global warming not just mitigation.

Zuckerberg has metaverse rivals who mean business

23 Dec 2021

Meta Platforms and Epic Games are trumpeting visions of an immersive, 3D internet. But even ignoring the technological challenges, consumers’ appetite for full-on virtual socialising is uncertain. The corporate world is a more manageable target – and that is Microsoft’s domain.

Rishi Sunak picks bad time to play Scrooge

21 Dec 2021

Britain’s finance minister has offered 1 bln pounds to companies hit by the new Omicron variant. The package looks meagre compared to his previous offerings and France’s support measures. Given the UK is raising rates, Sunak could have deployed a bit more fiscal firepower.

Riyadh will flip from No-Go to FOMO for business

21 Dec 2021

Lifestyle reasons mean bosses have long preferred Dubai to the Saudi capital as a Gulf HQ. A mix of the kingdom’s financial promise and government strong-arming means that could start to change. The city’s social scene is already slowly making it less of a punishment posting.

Live now, pay later is fintech’s latest extension

21 Dec 2021

Instalment financing, rebranded as “buy now, pay later,” has been the hot consumer financial innovation powering groups like Klarna and Afterpay. Look for the next iteration to entice consumers beyond shopping and leisure, including doctor’s visits, utilities and even taxes.