Society

Missing Chinese spenders deal Macau a losing hand

20 Aug 2024

Mainlanders are tightening their purse strings amidst a sluggish economy and preferring to stay closer to home. That’s weighing on the $23 bln casino enclave and companies such as SJM and Sands, which are relying on middle-class holidaymakers for a long drawn-out Covid recovery.

Mpox drugmaker’s shares may provide false comfort

16 Aug 2024

Bavarian Nordic, which makes a vaccine for the virus, gained $1 bln in value over the past week as the disease spread beyond Africa. The increase is equivalent to several million extra doses. That view, which implies a contained outbreak, may be too benign if mpox keeps mutating.

UK riots present ‘gilet jaune’ threat to Starmer

8 Aug 2024

Britain’s anti-immigration riots pose a big challenge to new PM Keir Starmer. Spending his limited budget on prisons and police is his best hope of avoiding future violence. If he fails like France’s Emmanuel Macron did with anti-tax protesters, his premiership may never recover.

Bangladesh becomes global firms’ next big unknown

6 Aug 2024

Protests may ease now Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has fled. But her ouster after 15 years of iron-fist rule leaves the economically struggling country of 170 mln vulnerable. Companies like H&M and Inditex that depend on it for garment-making face an anxious time ahead.

UK ratesetters can stop worrying and start cutting

31 Jul 2024

Markets are split on whether the Bank of England will lower borrowing costs from a 16-year high of 5.25% on Thursday. Governor Andrew Bailey worries about services prices, wages and growth. But a glimpse into the future shows that those bugbears are less scary than they look.

Rose-colored Ray-Bans shade brand rehab realities

26 Jul 2024

EssilorLuxottica is paying $1.5 bln for Supreme, whose cachet suffered under Vans owner VF. Streetwear strays from the buyer’s eyewear expertise and the imputed return on capital looks modest. American Apparel also serves as one of many cautionary tales on fashion after it frays.

Paris Olympics warrant medal for budget restraint

26 Jul 2024

The French capital has forked out $9 bln on the Games, but compared to some previous hosts the cost overruns have not been excessive. Pre-existing infrastructure helped. Given France’s political ructions and high deficits and debt, such relative sangfroid is well timed.

Consumer titans have Covid-era issue, in reverse

26 Jul 2024

In the pandemic, Nestlé and Unilever’s higher prices were accompanied by falling sales. Now they are tempting consumers to buy more products, but prices are harder to budge. One issue hasn’t changed: the giants’ vulnerability to cheaper and healthier eating habits.

China’s slump hints at a unique liquidity trap

25 Jul 2024

Record money supply has failed to revive growth. As the impact of monetary loosening fades, Beijing is ready to spend on welfare to encourage savers to consume. Inspiring the private sector to invest in a ‘socialist market economy’ is a trickier part of the problem to solve.

Big business curbs India’s populist instinct

22 Jul 2024

Bengaluru's home state of Karnataka backed down from a plan to force firms to hire more locals following a strong industry backlash. It's a relief for employers from Goldman Sachs to AB InBev. But pressure from the jobs crisis is building and will keep rearing its ugly head.

UK growth fix can start with pampered rich savers

19 Jul 2024

New Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to unblock Britain’s dismal economy. One aid would be to raise revenue by cutting superfluous tax perks for wealthy savers. Another is to find a way to deploy UK savings in more growth-enhancing assets than is currently the case.

Booze-free beverages are no small beer

11 Jul 2024

Carlsberg’s $4 bln deal to buy soft-drinks maker Britvic is just the latest foray by a big brewer into serving the alcohol-averse. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss whether it’s a seismic tobacco-like shift or a frothy attempt to fizz up profit margins.

EU’s China trade weak spots hide in plain sight

9 Jul 2024

Beijing may retaliate after Brussels imposed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Of the 5,000 product groups the People’s Republic imports from the EU, many are too crucial or too small to bother with. But luxury goods, petrol cars and some foods are plausible targets.

Big Beer’s low-alcohol Plan B has too much froth

9 Jul 2024

Carlsberg, AB InBev and Asahi have set toppy targets for their teetotal products. Health concerns and Gen Z’s aversion to alcohol imply that’s a safe bet. But at $13 bln the market is still puny – and if the likes of Coca-Cola muscle in there will be a smaller barrel to share.

Why AI may fail to unlock the productivity puzzle

4 Jul 2024

The world’s richest economies are grappling with slowing growth in output. Many investors believe artificial intelligence can provide a much-needed boost. But four features of the technology suggest the benefits will be limited – and might even achieve the opposite outcome.

UK elections herald return to tarnished stability

4 Jul 2024

Polls suggest voters will hand Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party a historic defeat. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how a new government might pick up the pieces amid the legacy of a now-immutable Brexit and political turmoil engulfing global peers.

New UK government can claim competence dividend

2 Jul 2024

Eight years of political upheaval and economic uncertainty raised the risk premium for investors. Now the centrist Keir Starmer is set to take over, while France and the US face electoral turmoil. For the first time since the Brexit vote, the country looks a relative safe haven.

Far-right win leaves France amid shock and chaos

30 Jun 2024

Marine Le Pen’s party received 34% of the votes in French parliamentary elections, according to exit polls, and could win a majority of seats in the second round. If it doesn’t, the ensuing stalemate might be preferable to a government playing fast and loose with the economy.

French left is too divided to soak the rich

27 Jun 2024

France’s leftist parties have vowed to lift wages and control prices if they win the upcoming election. That would cost 150 bln euros and be funded by higher taxes on the wealthy. Yet fierce splits between moderate socialists and hardliners mean the well-to-do can rest easy.

UK investment crisis calls for taxes and U-turns

25 Jun 2024

Budget strictures could see public expenditure sink from 2.4% of national income now to 1.8% by 2029. Businesses are unlikely to pick up the tab. The winner of Britain’s July 4 election can redress domestic underinvestment by taxing more – and moving the fiscal goalposts.