Society

Capital Calls: Soho House, Aston Martin

25 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The private members’ club shrugs off lockdowns to plan a New York IPO; The loss-making luxury carmaker’s shareholders need to buckle up.

Putin has the cash to ease one driver of protests

22 Feb 2021

Anger at the Kremlin is about falling living standards as well as Alexei Navalny. Fiscal rules have complicated efforts to help the poorest Russians. But higher oil prices make it easier to placate those opposition supporters whose gripes are economic rather than political.

Review: Bill Gates engineers climate risk clarity

19 Feb 2021

In “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” the Microsoft founder argues states should throw money at climate change research. Technology will indeed be critical in figuring out how to eliminate carbon emissions. But his book’s main quality is to define the challenge in a graspable way.

The Exchange: Editorial lessons from Lionel Barber

16 Feb 2021

The former Financial Times editor discusses his views on journalism in the post-Trump, post-Brexit, post-print era with Rob Cox. He also shares some of the juicier stories from his memoir, “The Powerful and the Damned,” like the time he told off Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman.

Capital Calls: Deloitte castoff, Banks and Brexit

15 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The UK auditor chooses an unfortunate moment to offload its lucrative restructuring practice; The Bank of England pours cold water on the idea of a regulatory bonfire after Britain leaves the European Union.

Review: Bellingcat’s model upends journalism

12 Feb 2021

Eliot Higgins’ book describes how the open-source investigator used online images to reveal who downed a plane in Ukraine and poisoned a Russian defector in Britain. His donor-funded and volunteer-driven approach offers broader lessons for the newsgathering business.

Breakdown: Slaying virus Hydra is Herculean task

12 Feb 2021

Like the Greek serpentine monster, Covid-19 is mutating. Though vaccines are effective at defeating the original virus, their ability to protect against new variants is uncertain. Breakingviews explains why the world faces a prolonged fight to get back to normal.

Capital Calls: Third Point, Kraft Heinz/Hormel

11 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Dan Loeb’s hedge fund gets a good start in 2021, while Hormel Foods buys peanuts, but pays anything but.

Capital Calls: Jay vs. Larry

10 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Jerome Powell takes on Larry Summers in the inflation debate.

EQT leaves hot markets behind with $15 bln pet LBO

10 Feb 2021

Instead of floating vet group IVC Evidensia, the buyout shop is selling it to its new fund, and Silver Lake. Stock valuations may be choppier when it finally lists, but the company’s rapid growth should help. Even in an IPO rush, private equity is hanging on to the best assets.

The Exchange: Economic roots of Russia’s protests

9 Feb 2021

Police cracked down on mass demonstrations in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after his alleged poisoning and arrest. Exiled economist Sergei Guriev explains how lower real incomes, corruption and YouTube drove people to the streets – and what could happen next.

Guest view: Virus teaches the limits of economics

8 Feb 2021

Faced with ballooning deficits, governments are reversing decades of reduced corporate taxes. It’s an overdue recognition the policy never delivered the promised benefits, argues Tom Bergin. Other misguided theories, from labour taxes to tobacco levies, are also due a rethink.

Review: “Empireland” puts modern Britain on couch

5 Feb 2021

From curries to its health service, Sathnam Sanghera shows how today’s UK is entwined with its imperial past. Yet its inhabitants have, at best, a lopsided, jingoistic grasp. Without education and a proper reckoning, this skewed identity will spawn mistakes beyond Brexit.

Review: Mission economy may be mission impossible

29 Jan 2021

Mariana Mazzucato wants states to embrace the 1960s spirit of the U.S. moon race to improve the planet. The race for a Covid-19 vaccine and the 750 bln euro EU recovery fund come close to her vision. Yet the pandemic also shows politicians can be unfit to tackle big challenges.

Corona Capital: Vaccines, Dr. Martens

29 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Quantity matters with vaccines, while Permira gets an extra kick from the bootmaker.

Brexit is a flawed gift for Scottish secessionists

27 Jan 2021

Britain’s departure from the EU may encourage remain-voting Scotland to quit the UK. Yet the main lesson from the divorce is that a big economic bloc can force its view on a smaller one. “Scoxit” makes more sense than in 2014, but the risks are harder to brush under the carpet.

Corona Capital: UK’s quarantine, U.S. prisons

27 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Britain’s new quarantine rules are weak, but will still hurt the travel industry; and for-profit prisons lose business to the U.S. government.

Corona Capital: Music deals

26 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Warner Music may take a stake in the music business owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Review: “Work Won’t Love You Back”, so compromise

22 Jan 2021

Sarah Jaffe explains how a devotion to jobs isn’t working for today’s employees. She’s right that loving your profession can mean forgoing salary, lifestyle or security. Inadvertently she makes the case for dropping the pursuit of purpose for good pay and a more balanced life.

Corona Capital: M&A boost, Purell

22 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and other banks collectively reaped billions in fees related to advice on transactions with the expectation the money will keep rolling in; hand sanitizer makers hope good habits linger.