Society

Capital Calls: Biden’s deficit, Austria lockdown

19 Nov 2021

Concise views on global finance: A nonpartisan analysis finds a $160 billion hole in the U.S. president’s social programs; while new Covid restrictions spark selloff in European airlines and hospitality.

Chancellor: Investors unprepared for carbon crunch

18 Nov 2021

Markets aren’t effectively factoring in a potential hydrocarbons scarcity. It’s not just that the world is trying to get off fossil fuels. They’re increasingly expensive to extract as supplies reach their peak. It’s another downside risk investors need to consider.

Europe’s vaccine bazooka is more like sniper rifle

18 Nov 2021

Germany may join Austria in imposing curbs on the unvaccinated to tackle soaring Covid-19 infections. Restricting freedoms is harsh but worked in France and the United States, which both saw inoculation rates pick up. It also avoids the economic pain of blanket lockdowns.

Ariston IPO is enticing play on green energy wave

17 Nov 2021

The family-owned maker of heat pumps and water heaters is going public in Milan at a valuation of up to 4 bln euros. With demand for energy-efficient heating systems set to boom, it’s in a sweet spot. A discount to rivals A.O. Smith and NIBE Industrier should help inflate demand.

Capital Calls: CalPERS and private equity, Art market

16 Nov 2021

Concise views on global finance: The biggest U.S. public pension fund is taking on more risk; works collected by the Macklowes sold for $676 million on Monday in a reminder that the richest have prospered through the pandemic.

Bad trips reinforce psychedelic industry’s worth

10 Nov 2021

A study showed magic-mushroom drug psilocybin can treat depression. But 5% of patients suffered side-effects like self-harm, hammering shares in $1.5 bln Compass Pathways, which ran the trial. Beating this will take time, money and expertise. Whoever does, has a path to profit.

Tech gabfest shows conferences a real-world future

8 Nov 2021

To see how the pandemic has changed the conference business it makes sense to observe the tech-savvy. The 43,000 people who descended on Lisbon for last week’s Web Summit showed face-to-face gatherings have enduring value, even for those making their living in the digital realm.

Sudan coup throws rock into choppy Nile waters

28 Oct 2021

The army has seized power in Khartoum, pushing it back into diplomatic isolation. Sudan and Egypt had existing gripes with Ethiopia over the damming of the mighty river. Removing Khartoum’s veneer of civilian rule risks future spats over Nile water use spiralling into conflict.

Capital Calls: McDonald’s, GM, Worldline

27 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: The $177 bln fast-food chain boosted sales by making it easier to get burgers and nuggets; supply shortages are exacerbating the carmaker’s heavy investment bill; shares in the French payments group tumbled despite ambitious growth targets.

Capital Calls: Pet retail scrap, Chubb, Czech IPO

8 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Buyout firm Hellman & Friedman matches EQT’s 3.4 bln euro bid for Germany’s Zooplus, putting the onus on its rival; the U.S. insurer buys the Asian assets of Cigna for $5.8 bln; haulage-fleet manager Eurowag makes a chaotic market debut.

Malaria vaccine can protect kids and economies

7 Oct 2021

The WHO approved its first jab for the deadly disease. Its primary target is the 274,000 mostly African children who die each year. But malaria also inflicts $12 bln of economic pain. That makes the shot’s roughly $1 bln annual cost one of the smartest sub-Saharan investments.

Capital Calls: Facebook, TeamViewer, Audio M&A

6 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Whistleblower Frances Haugen’s polished rollout is a warning for Big Tech; the video software specialist’s 25% share price fall shows the perils of growth stocks; hearing aid group GN snaps up headset maker SteelSeries for $1.3 bln.

Capital Calls: Biodiversity, Email, Gene IPO

30 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures gets a nature-based counterpart; Sweden’s Sinch clinches its fourth communication-software deal in seven months; a 40% bounce on Oxford Nanopore's market debut puts some life into London.

Stagflation jitters are at least half wrong

29 Sep 2021

High inflation and stagnant activity would be a noxious mix for markets. Central bankers have the tools, and likely the will, to combat the former. But when price pressures are a symptom of supply shocks, as now, monetary policy is a crude weapon that will lead to weaker growth.

Amplifon within earshot of Luxottica-like success

13 Sep 2021

The Italian listening-device maker is positioning itself to do for the hard of hearing what the $89 bln eyewear giant did for the sight-impaired. It’s just one-eighth the size but has ageing societies and a new generation of customers banging their eardrums to look forward to.

Smart specs are a solution in search of a problem

13 Sep 2021

Facebook and Apple are working on so-called augmented-reality glasses, the latest addition to an $81 bln wearable accessories market. Like watches, such gadgets help tech giants hoover up data and lock in customers. The hard part is convincing people they’re actually useful.

Review: Navalny explores limit of Russian activism

10 Sep 2021

The jailed politician used tactics borrowed from investors to challenge Vladimir Putin, the authors of “Navalny” explain. Even though he can’t run in elections or appear on TV, 75% of Russians know who he is. But if they keep shrugging off corruption, his nemesis will prevail.

Capital Calls: UK interventions, Post-virus reset

7 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: U.S. bidder TransDigm’s withdrawal from the $8.7 bln race for Meggitt removes a tricky decision for the government; Boris Johnson’s new proposals will address social care but not generational wealth divides.

Review: Covid-19 and the crises yet to come

3 Sep 2021

2020 was one of the most seismic years in world history. Adam Tooze’s “Shutdown” recaps how the pandemic exposed the fragility of an interconnected world, while uncovering some pockets of strength. It’s a troubling test run for future challenges, most notably from climate change.

Business travel fixes risk grounding recovery

27 Aug 2021

The $1.4 trln industry of selling expensive plane tickets and hotel rooms to itinerant executives faces a bleak future as firms like HSBC slash travel budgets. Making ordinary customers pay more would bolster margins. But raising prices may also dampen an already slow revival.