Society

Review: “The Post” gets more relevant by the hour

12 Jan 2018

Steven Spielberg's cinematic retelling of the publication of the Pentagon Papers feels rushed at times, and the nostalgia for a bygone newspaper business is maudlin. But such flaws are easy to forgive as current events emphasize the necessity of a free – and profitable – press.

Hadas: Fiscal debts are not our children’s burden

10 Jan 2018

When this generation dirties the water, the next has to pick up the tab. Debt is different. When governments borrow from taxpayers, the children will both pay the bill and enjoy the proceeds. The real deficit dangers lurk in foreign debt and distributional distortions.

Trump will be party pooper-in-chief at Davos

10 Jan 2018

The U.S. president’s “America First” agenda is the antithesis of the Swiss conflab’s global ethos. His visit to the mountain resort may be a bid for reconciliation, or a pitch for strongman status. Either way, his presence is a stark rebuke to Davos elites who got him badly wrong.

Canada will export its pension model to U.S.

4 Jan 2018

Canada’s retirement funds are well funded and governed, run most of their money in-house, shun rosy assumptions and post good returns. As the need to lift returns increases, expect struggling U.S. public pensions to adopt at least some of their northern neighbors’ approach.

Investors will only curb CEO pay if forced

4 Jan 2018

The bosses of top UK companies have on average taken a pay cut, according to a new report. Fears of a political backlash made investors more apt to vote against chunky remuneration packages. The restraint may be fleeting unless a weakened government can keep up the pressure.

Oil bulls look to Trump rather than Iran protests

4 Jan 2018

A tightening global balance of supply and demand for crude means geopolitical shocks could push up prices. Anti-government protests in Iran seem unlikely to disrupt production. A looming U.S. decision on whether to revisit sanctions could have a bigger impact.

M&A frenzy sets scene for epic tug-of-war

3 Jan 2018

The $3.6 trln of mergers announced in 2017, including huge deals from Disney and Broadcom, sets up some chunky targets for cost cuts. That means job losses, even if buyers say not. Yet given the political climate, shareholders can’t count on the extra profit being theirs to keep.

Tech salad will come with a side of SLAW in 2018

3 Jan 2018

Spotify, Lyft, Airbnb and WeWork are all potentially going public in the coming year. None of them may ever match the scale of a FAANG or BAT. But each is disruptive in its own way, and offers investors a unique play on the future of cities, mobility, work and play. Bon appetit!

Hadas: Albanian mania is cautionary crypto tale

28 Dec 2017

Back in 1996, the Balkan state went wild for investment funds offering 30 percent monthly returns. The final cost was 2,000 lives and five years of lost GDP growth. Bitcoin’s 24 percent monthly gains in 2017 show similar foolishness, but a quick collapse could limit the harm.

Viewsroom: Investors target sexual misconduct

29 Dec 2017

Companies that sweep settlements for bad behavior under the carpet will feel shareholder ire in 2018, Breakingviews predicts. Plus, Apple will float past the EU’s roving eye, splintering political parties are a ticking U.S. time bomb and bank bosses may hang up their hats.

Temperance is the new craft beer for drinks groups

28 Dec 2017

Health awareness and restrained young drinkers are driving demand for booze-free tipples. Growth in volumes of low-alcohol beer will outstrip traditional drinks fivefold next year. It’s a new source of expansion for global companies as the craft beer craze loses its froth.

Even rich geeks can’t escape the Grim Reaper

22 Dec 2017

Silicon Valley’s best and brightest have earned fortunes by solving complex problems. Now many are turning brains and wealth toward conquering death. Applying an engineering mindset to health issues may benefit humanity, but it’s more likely to burn capital than discover the fountain of youth.

Catalonia poll delivers no Christmas joy

22 Dec 2017

Parties seeking to break with Spain won a majority of seats in local elections. Their support didn’t strengthen, but it didn’t really weaken either. PM Mariano Rajoy now faces the challenge of appeasing the region with greater autonomy. The political uncertainty will linger.

Britain will take the high road out of the EU

22 Dec 2017

Leaving the European Union will hurt manufacturing and financial services and make the government more willing to explore controversial ideas to help the economy. Legalising cannabis would help employment, lift tax revenues and reduce law enforcement costs.

Hadas: Christmas presents and economic humbug

22 Dec 2017

Are gifts generous gestures or an awkward waste? Addictive materialism or open-ended exchanges of valuable tokens? Is it better just to swap envelopes of cash? Children and retailers know what Christmas means, but economists are less certain. Anthropologists have good ideas.

How to know if America’s big tax bet pays off

20 Dec 2017

Republican lawmakers have passed revised tax cuts that give even more breaks to companies and the wealthy. They are banking on those benefits trickling down to average workers. It could come back to haunt them. Breakingviews notes a few ways to measure the policy’s success.

Review: Why Brexit will ultimately please nobody

15 Dec 2017

Britons voted to leave the EU for myriad and conflicting reasons, according to “Brexit and British Politics”. It’s hard to see a settlement that addresses them all. The risk is that voters see Brexit as another betrayal by politicians, fuelling the disaffection that caused it.

UK gender pay data needs rigorous audit

7 Dec 2017

Some British companies have suspiciously reported no gap between the pay of male and female employees, the Financial Times found. The government thought transparency would help close the divide. To be credible, though, the data must be audited – and offenders punished.

Jeremy Corbyn pay row shows costs of bank excess

1 Dec 2017

The UK opposition leader attacked “speculators” and criticised banker pay, as UBS chief Sergio Ermotti defended it. A decade after the crisis, remuneration still fuels dissent. Shareholders' failure to rein it in has led to dismal returns. Volatile politics could be more damaging.

Review: Macron is a riddle wrapped in transparency

24 Nov 2017

A trio of books help explain how a political neophyte became the French president. One is a decent account of the election campaign, another delves deeper into his youth and family life. But even Emmanuel Macron’s own tome is short of detail on how he formulated his beliefs.