Society

Corona Capital: Movie releases, Ads, Running

4 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: HBO Max uses its muscle on movie releases; advertising wins some and loses some; Brooks’ beast year.

Pet craze may pump up puppy-sized financial bubble

4 Dec 2020

Dog demand has soared under Covid-19, doubling the average UK pooch price to 1,875 pounds. Unlike tulip bulbs or South Sea Company shares, furry friends yield real non-financial returns. But a surge in supply arriving just as hard times bite is a recipe for a canine crash.

Hershey cocoa spat tests limits of investor ethics

4 Dec 2020

Ghana and Ivory Coast may stop selling sustainable beans to the Reese’s maker, accusing it of dodging payments for impoverished farmers. That could make it harder for the $31 bln group to flaunt its sustainability kudos. The snag is that so far shareholders don’t seem to care.

Vaccine bottlenecks are main obstacle to recovery

3 Dec 2020

Rolling out Covid-19 jabs, as the UK will do next week, protects the vulnerable and lets authorities ease restrictions. But the logistical challenge means it could take a year to immunise two-thirds of the population. Other governments, too, will struggle with a sceptical public.

The Exchange: Eating worms is good for the planet

1 Dec 2020

Growing global demand for food is putting a squeeze on available land and one French startup says it has the answer: indoor insect farming. Ynsect co-founder Antoine Hubert on how growing mealworms for fertilizer will benefit the environment – and eventually our diets too.

Corona Capital: Bitcoin, Lonely Planet

1 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Bitcoin hit a record, buoyed by inflationary fears, new fans and plain old speculation. Meanwhile Lonely Planet has found a new owner, as it wrestles with an anything-but-lonely market for travel information.

Corona Capital: Cyber Friday and Monday

30 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Online holiday shopping hits new records.

AstraZeneca’s messaging warrants a review, too

27 Nov 2020

The $134 bln drug giant may do a new trial of its Covid-19 vaccine to clear up uncertainties over its effectiveness. Even if rivals’ look better, AstraZeneca has a good story to tell. Still, a share price dip this week reflects that overegging results is not where you want to be.

Corona Capital: Skis, Italian banks, Dividends

26 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Europe’s hopes for a common ski policy hit a mogul; Italian lender Credito Valtellinese faces a lonely bidding war; Aviva’s payout cut is less stingy than it looks.

Corona Capital: Record Dow, Basketball, GoCompare

25 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Vaccine optimism shunts the blue-chip Dow Jones index through 30,000; U.S. college basketball gets back on the court; and UK publisher Future snaps up the bargain-hunting website.

Corona Capital: Tiffany, Biden, Vaccines, Cash box

24 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The cut-price jeweller issues less-than-sparkling results; the U.S. president-elect gets to start tackling the pandemic; Russia touts its discount vaccine; and UK firms gorge on shareholder-unfriendly equity issues.

Corona Capital: Dimon weighs in, Gen Z

18 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: JPMorgan’s chief executive calls for U.S. politicians to “just split the baby” on stimulus; and Generation Z deals a new body blow to the idea that office life will emerge from the pandemic unscathed.

Corona Capital: Lyft, Vaccine minefield, Peru

11 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The U.S. ride-hailing company is tempted by food delivery; Pfizer could face high demand for its coronavirus vaccine; and Peru gets another leadership shuffle just as Covid-19 cases soar.

Pfizer jolt delivers taste of post-Covid markets

9 Nov 2020

The pharmaceutical giant said its vaccine may be over 90% effective. Stocks surged and bond yields rose. How long that level of immunity lasts isn’t clear, and inoculating enough people will take time. But the prospect of a return to normality is a potent market stimulant.

Corona Capital: Warren Buffett, Burger boost

9 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Rising share prices take the sting out of Berkshire Hathaway’s Covid-19 profit hit; and McDonald’s reports a good quarter for American nugget-lovers.

Bank investors blithely bet on benign EU lockdowns

6 Nov 2020

Shares in lenders like Deutsche Bank, Lloyds and BNP are higher than a month ago despite new restrictions in Germany, Britain and France. Short, mild quarantines may indeed leave them unscathed. Yet that’s a risky bet since past predictions of a “V-shaped” recovery were wrong.

Corona Capital: GM earnings, Third-quarter readout

5 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: General Motors swerves around Covid-19 potholes; and U.S. companies look to have emerged from a difficult three months in better shape than expected.

UK’s moonshot Covid test plan risks crash landing

3 Nov 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is rolling out mass testing in the city of Liverpool to fight the coronavirus. Such plans have worked in China, but infected British citizens may resist being quarantined. Without penalties or more help, the scheme may be an elaborate waste of money.

Corona Capital: Ferrari, E-commerce, Fox

3 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Ferrari leaves its auto rivals in the dust; Russia’s online marketplace Ozon heads for a New York IPO; and Fox avoids the virus-induced advertising drought.

Only a twin-track approach will rescue UK economy

2 Nov 2020

Finance minister Rishi Sunak will spend more to soften the impact of a new lockdown and the Bank of England is likely to loosen policy again. It won’t stop insolvencies or economic scarring. Retraining workers of all ages and encouraging productivity-boosting investment is vital.