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New York City is losing its real estate swagger

14 Jul 2022

Global investors are eyeing alternative destinations, like Atlanta. Meanwhile high mortgage rates and market jitters are chilling Manhattan’s residential sales. The Big Apple relies on property for half of its taxes, and its economy is slowing to a crawl. A downturn could smart.

Comatose watchdogs evoke Great Recession flashback

14 Jul 2022

Crypto lender Celsius slipped through regulatory cracks at the state and federal level. Failures in isolation aren’t big enough to be systemic. But SPACs, too, are crumbling, and people are getting hurt. As sirens wail, like 15 years ago, financial police sleep through it.

Video game deal shows late-cycle identity crisis

13 Jul 2022

Graphics-maker Unity is buying Israeli ad-tech firm IronSource for $4.4 bln, a 94% premium. That suggests optimism. But insider Silver Lake will make a $1 bln convertible investment while Unity buys back stock, buffering dilution. Classically, smart investors protect themselves.

Capital Calls: Delta’s earnings are bad and worse

13 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: Shares in the company fell 7% after the company missed earnings expectations. That’s bad, but worse is that its main strength – pricing power – has limits.

Twitter may be target for non-Musk deal

12 Jul 2022

The arrangement that the social media firm struck with Tesla’s boss for $54.20 a share was just too expensive – and with the wrong person. Based on its bankers’ own approach, the stock is worth closer to $32, and it’s near that price. Other private buyers might be interested.

Capital Calls: PC meltdown, Software short-seller

12 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: Shipments of personal computers suffered the biggest decline in years, yet still exceed pre-pandemic levels; SoftBank-backed communication software group Sinch has lost over a third of its value after a short-seller attacked its accounting.

Capital Calls: Klarna’s slashed valuation

11 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Swedish fintech group’s valuation is down 85% in just over a year to $6.7 bln.

Musk lit a fire Twitter didn’t know it needed

8 Jul 2022

In offering to buy the social media firm for $44 bln – and then pulling out – the Tesla boss at least pointed out how much Twitter needed an overhaul. Musk may have a legal fight ahead. But Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal should emerge with new motivation, and some free ideas too.

Facebook loses its FAANG chompers

8 Jul 2022

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is prepping for a downturn not seen since its early days as a public company. That’s as Google, Amazon, Apple and Netflix are chasing advertising, its main business. If Facebook’s share of the ad pie slips by a hair, Meta’s stock could be worth 25% less.

Misra’s next step is worth watching, with caution

7 Jul 2022

The SoftBank Vision Fund boss is stepping back from startup investing. Rajeev Misra’s prior forays into structured credit and tech show a knack for identifying the next big thing. Both sectors’ subsequent implosions show the risks for investors of copying him too late.

Amazon and Grubhub cook up low cash diet plan

6 Jul 2022

The food delivery firm has agreed to pay Amazon in warrants in return for the e-commerce giant serving up new customers. Paying a supplier in stock – as tech firms do their staff – makes sense when cash is tight. Amazon is the perfect chef to stir that pot.

Private LBO lenders find zen amid the storm

5 Jul 2022

Firms like Blackstone are providing debt for buyouts even as banks pull back. Fallen tech star Zendesk is one beneficiary. The logic for lenders may be takeover targets’ steady revenue and scope for cost cuts. The pressure to deploy $390 bln in unspent capital can’t hurt either.

Robinhood’s reversal, Russian oil cap

30 Jun 2022

The digital brokerage is worth less than a quarter of its $32 bln IPO value. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists argue that its $7 bln cash pile and ample user base make it an attractive target. Also, Western leaders’ plan to restrict funds to Moscow may backfire.

Texas becomes Tesla’s new China

29 Jun 2022

The U.S. state has been good to the carmaker, offering tax breaks while the top prosecutor backed Elon Musk’s Twitter bot claims. That’s similar to how his relationship has worked with China. Musk returned favors to Beijing. Soon, he could become a dutiful friend of Texas, too.

Robinhood at $0 would start to look cheap

27 Jun 2022

At its recent stock price lows, Robinhood is a pile of cash with a digital brokerage thrown in virtually for free. Users might drift, and regulators may blunt Robinhood’s arrows, but assuming the most valuable customers stick around, it makes sense for acquirers to be circling.

Naspers “put” tackles one of its Tencent problems

27 Jun 2022

The South African firm and its Dutch offshoot will buy back stock by slowly trimming their $133 bln stake in the Chinese tech giant. Tax liabilities and clunky governance remain valuation drags. But investors can worry less about Naspers blowing its riches on other startups.

Zendesk’s sad exit shows tech bubble madness

24 Jun 2022

The customer service software firm agreed to a $10 bln offer – 40% lower than the one it nixed in February. Yet the private equity buyers aren’t getting an obvious bargain either, at over 50 times estimated EBITDA. Readjusting to reality can take a while.

Peter Thiel-tied fund fights China fire with fire

24 Jun 2022

A nonprofit fund backed by Silicon Valley bigwigs wants to invest in tech that serves national interests. It raises conflicts, security issues, and takes a page from Beijing's playbook. But given China’s market meddling, it’s not a horrible solution.