Society

Review: What can be more premium than luxury?

30 Oct 2020

The next generation of affluent shoppers will spend more on experiences and edgy products, says Erwan Rambourg in “Future Luxe”. That may dim the appeal of classic deluxe products like Gucci bags or Cartier watches. Luxury will be more about what you do than just what you own.

Corona Capital: Netflix price hike

30 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The streaming-video service hiked the price on subscriptions as binge-watching booms during the pandemic.

Europe virus defences can manage one more lockdown

29 Oct 2020

France and Germany are imposing tough restrictions to stem the pandemic. The economic shock should be milder than the first Covid-19 crisis, and government spending and the ECB can cushion the blow. Yet the region would struggle to cope with a protracted shutdown.

Europe’s new lockdowns are Covid-19 reality check

28 Oct 2020

France is the latest nation to mull tough restrictions to curb infections. Companies are in a weaker state than in the first wave having racked up $765 bln of new debt. Despite the selloff, investors are pricing in a swift recovery. That’s hard to square with a lingering virus.

Corona Capital: Drugmaker’s pick-me-up, Golf M&A

28 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Drugmaker GSK sees a recovery in vaccinations against old-school ailments; meanwhile Covid-19 turns out to be a handy driver when it comes to golf-related dealmaking.

Corona Capital: Binge-watching, Gaming

27 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Streaming viewers like to binge-watch, but they are being stingy; a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases could be a boon for gaming developers.

The Exchange: IMF and sub-Saharan Africa

27 Oct 2020

The regional head of the International Monetary Fund, Abebe Aemro Selassie, joins Swaha Pattanaik to discuss how the Washington-based lender is helping hard-hit countries, debt difficulties, the need for reforms, and why policy choices are more limited than in advanced economies.

U.S. election could be Twitter’s darkest day

26 Oct 2020

The $40 bln firm, Facebook and other online platforms can’t win in the Nov. 3 ballot. Banning political ads and premature claims of victory will be controversial and messy. Breakingviews imagines Jack Dorsey proposing one radical option to Mark Zuckerberg: a temporary shutdown.

Corona Capital: Mixed market messages, Chile votes

26 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Global stocks slumped on Monday as Covid-19 cases rose – yet some prognosticators are readying for major stimulus; and Chile has shown that pandemics don’t have to squash voter turnout.

Review: Green sceptic sheds more heat than light

23 Oct 2020

Bjorn Lomborg wants the world to understand the risks of doing too much on climate change as well as too little. The green firmament should not be immune to constructive criticism. But the Danish academic’s arguments are not convincing enough to warrant societal complacency.

Corona Capital: Gilead Sciences, Virtual Santa

23 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Remdesivir gets formal approval; Santa goes missing from Macy’s.

Nigeria unrest throws petrol on economic bonfire

23 Oct 2020

The army is offering to deploy to quell protests against police brutality. That would fan tensions, the last thing the country needs. Africa’s biggest economy is on the ropes due to Covid-19 and low oil prices. Trouble in the oil-producing Niger Delta would bring it to its knees.

Corona Capital: Quibi

22 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Video streaming company Quibi’s failure is in spite of – not because of – the Covid-19 pandemic.

Corona Capital: U.S. state budget woes

20 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Some conservative U.S. states are hurting as much as liberal New York.

Joe Biden’s tax plan has a flaw: too many losers

19 Oct 2020

The presidential candidate pledges to slap new levies only on the very wealthy. But his plan to raise the corporate rate may mean that workers receive lower wages by 2030 than they would otherwise. This points to a tax system that punishes the rich without helping the poor.

Review: Picking the turning point in inflation

16 Oct 2020

In “The Great Demographic Reversal”, Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan make a good case for why prices will take off. Ageing societies need more carers and labour scarcity may finally lift wages. But they’re perhaps too sanguine on how soon pandemic-stricken economies can heal.

Europe’s lockdown redux reflects befuddled states

15 Oct 2020

From London to Berlin, authorities are imposing new restrictions to limit another spike in Covid-19 cases. Even without controls, economies would suffer as people stay home. Seven months into the pandemic, Western governments are still searching for a way to live with the virus.

Corona Capital: Kazakhs, Norwegians, Airlines

15 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Kaspi gives ECM bankers something to smile about; Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has a so-so third quarter; and United Airlines has more bad news on jobs.

IMF global forecast upgrade is laden with gloom

13 Oct 2020

The Washington-based lender expects a less severe world economic contraction in 2020 than before. That’s almost irrelevant given a litany of problems. Inequality is rising, as is indebtedness. Economic scarring will make both harder to reverse, and tough policy choices abound.

Corona Capital: Oil, Delta, Hunger

13 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: OPEC and the International Energy Agency issue forecasts that bode ill for crude demand; the U.S. airline steers through turbulence; and a food crisis is exacerbating problems facing the most vulnerable in society.