Tax

EU divisions are weak spot in U.S. trade fight

1 Jun 2018

Responding to American tariffs with duties that hit Republican-controlled districts is shrewd. The next step is harder. Germany’s best option is to ease tensions by cutting car tariffs, but France opposes concessions. Eastern Europe may care more about U.S. security guarantees.

Autos investors too quick to call Trump’s bluff

24 May 2018

German carmakers export a ton of vehicles, yet their stocks fell just 3 pct after the U.S. president threatened import tariffs. It implies they think Washington is just posturing, or that BMW and the like can mitigate the impact. That may prove to be overly optimistic.

Energy firms stuff MLP minority owners in pipe

17 May 2018

Williams is only offering a 6 pct premium for the quarter of its subsidiary it doesn’t own. Enbridge and Cheniere put even less on the table. The recent loss of some tax breaks makes MLPs less attractive and prompted the moves. But independent shareholders are getting a raw deal.

Tax cuts hasten demise of U.S. corporate pensions

15 May 2018

With a $6 bln annuity purchase, FedEx has offloaded a chunk of its obligations. Lower U.S. tax rates are encouraging more companies to do the same. It’s good for older workers, but it’s another nail in the coffin of employer-provided retirement security for millennials.

Capitalism shunts all else aside in Beverly Hills

2 May 2018

Markets are fine, volatility is modest and trade war isn’t a big deal, say delegates at junk-bond king Michael Milken’s annual L.A. summit. In other words, the freewheeling spirit Milken once embodied is back in vogue. Thank President Trump – and a dose of complacency.

UK raises global bar in tax secrecy fight

2 May 2018

Britain will force overseas territories like the Cayman Islands to reveal the owners of anonymous companies. Those looking to avoid tax and scrutiny can move their business, but the UK's action will throw the spotlight on other shelters like the United States and Hong Kong.

Bookie investors misjudge odds in political casino

24 Apr 2018

William Hill, Paddy Power Betfair and GVC collectively lost 1 bln stg in value on reports Britain may cap betting-machine stakes and hike levies. That’s worse than feared, but not unimaginable given low UK gambling taxes. Smarter investors would have seen the writing on the wall.

Wall Street’s word is its bond excuses

18 Apr 2018

BofA, Citi and JPMorgan booked less revenue from debt sales in the first three months. Activity was down, but banks’ talk about the impact of tax cuts and such was just a way of saying clients didn’t hire them. That left Goldman the surprise leader for a second straight quarter.

Texas downgrade worry is a good problem to have

12 Apr 2018

The Lone Star State’s comptroller reckons its increasingly underfunded pension obligations risk a credit markdown. Texas’ rainy-day fund helps give it more leeway than many states. Others face bigger problems because, as the U.S. economy has improved, their budgets haven’t.

Trillion-dollar U.S. deficits are funding headwind

10 Apr 2018

Recent tax cuts will push the annual federal budget shortfall into 13 figures and debt to nearly 100 pct of GDP by 2028, Congress’s number-crunchers reckon. The forecast, on the eve of a big auction of Treasury securities, gives investors one more reason to demand higher yields.

Trade and immigration loom over U.S. jobs outlook

6 Apr 2018

Payroll gains in March were disappointing, but the monthly average for the first quarter was a strong 202,000. Corporate tax cuts are supposed to boost economic growth from last year’s 2.3 pct. Saber-rattling on tariffs is a headwind, though – and fewer immigrants could be, too.

Chinese visitors can hit nerve tariffs don’t reach

5 Apr 2018

Levies on imports will slow the flow of TVs and medical devices into the United States. They could also thin the already-falling influx of tourists from China. America collects more from them than from all its exports of soybeans, and that number could pass $50 bln by 2022.

Rocket-fueled stocks finally feel the burn

28 Mar 2018

Amazon lost as much as $50 bln in value, perhaps partly because Donald Trump isn’t a fan. Tesla’s stock fell another 8 pct-plus. Facebook has shed nearly $100 bln of market cap. Investors once whistled past concerns that haven’t changed much. Maybe they are opening their ears.

Hadas: Taking on the Chinese new world order

21 Mar 2018

The People’s Republic lacks the political and cultural appeal to supplant the U.S. as all-round hegemon. Even so, it could soon set many global economic standards. The right response is cognitive empathy and careful choice of battles. Western countries too often choose wrong.

Europe’s data tax war is worthy but hard to win

20 Mar 2018

The EU may tax tech groups’ revenue. The bloc is right to argue that current rules overlook the value firms like Google extract from its citizens’ data. A crude levy on sales is far from perfect, but might add impetus to longer-term international reform efforts.

Volatility now has a life of its own

15 Mar 2018

Measures of how much asset prices are expected to gyrate have risen from ultralow levels. But investment strategies that worked a decade ago may not now. Volatility can now lead, not just follow asset prices and old market relationships may break down when turmoil hits.

Cox: Aramco and Amazon encourage bad behavior

15 Mar 2018

Global financial capitals are prostituting themselves to accommodate the Saudi oil giant's IPO. Amazon's competition for a second HQ is provoking U.S. municipalities to similarly ingratiate themselves. This "Aramazon" effect exemplifies how races to the bottom get started.

Guest view: The case for Trump’s de-globalization

12 Mar 2018

The U.S. president’s tariffs on steel and aluminum have precedents – Reagan and Bush No. 2 took similar actions. Critics worry that the globalization project of 1991-2016 is falling apart. Yet there could be benefits for the world economy and U.S. living standards.

Viewsroom: Trump slaps tariff fear on markets

8 Mar 2018

Imposing levies on steel and aluminum has lost the president his economic adviser, ex-Goldman No. 2 Gary Cohn. That has shocked investors out of complacency. Also: Italy’s elections leave fringe parties in charge. And big deals may be back on the agenda for the mining industry.

U.S. metal tariffs may not be biggest trade worry

8 Mar 2018

The president’s steel and aluminum levies have rattled markets and nudged his economic adviser to quit. A probe into Chinese intellectual-property policy could prove more devastating, though. It commands wide support and could inflict broad trade and investment disruption.