The Big View

Ben & Jerry’s rocky ESG road bucks vanilla trends

4 Apr 2024

The purpose-driven ice cream brand is being scooped out of Unilever as corporate activism increasingly invites controversy. And yet the maker of flavors like Empower Mint has grown faster than its parent. Social values, especially when authentic, can mix well with financial aims.

TSMC’s most complex engineering task is itself

3 Apr 2024

The $625 bln chipmaker has built a monopoly in advanced semiconductors by staying in Taiwan. Now it’s expanding abroad, spurred by subsidies and US-China tensions. Despite higher costs, it can generate decent returns. The bigger challenge will be keeping its technological edge.

Profitability is next sacrifice at inflation altar

2 Apr 2024

Central bankers want LVMH, Pepsi and others to pay higher wages without raising prices. Bottom lines in the euro zone already have dipped to 40% of output, the lowest rate since 2020, and Big Tech accounts for most US margin growth. CEOs and investors can expect leaner times.

Shein’s fast fashion comes with fast-finance risks

28 Mar 2024

Influencers and US shoppers love the online retailer, but the one product that’s not yet for sale is the company’s shares. If all goes very right, a $200 bln valuation in a mooted IPO isn’t unthinkable. Yet Shein’s business model may shift as quickly as its cut-price clothing.

LNG angst seeps from consumers to producers

27 Mar 2024

A few years ago, supplies of liquefied natural gas were scarce and prices sky-high. Extra capacity arriving this decade means there could soon be a price-sapping glut. Big suppliers like Qatar and Shell have long-term contracts that can ease the pain, but only up to a point.

Lower taxes would cripple Europe’s growth

26 Mar 2024

The bloc needs new public investment of about 3% of GDP for the green transition, defence, infrastructure, education and health. High debt loads limit borrowing and spending cuts hurt the economy. Instead of pledging lower levies, governments have to raise them.

Ukraine loan is matter of politics and accounting

25 Mar 2024

Lending the country $300 bln backed by its claim for war damages against Russia has several benefits compared to rival ideas for unlocking support. Kyiv’s allies would still need to find the cash, though. Here is how they could navigate the political and financial obstacles.

Middle East AI dream depends on luring brainpower

22 Mar 2024

An abundance of cheap energy to power data centres gives artificial intelligence startups reason to consider the Gulf. But to become a force in AI, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will have to design their own advanced chips. Attracting talent to the region will require more than money.

Japanese investors becoming the life of the party

21 Mar 2024

ValueAct, Elliott and Berkshire Hathaway have deployed some $16 bln to uncover value in Tokyo-listed stocks. They’re receiving warmer welcomes than raider T. Boone Pickens did in 1989. Even better, the US trio’s success is helping inspire local funds to sustain the momentum.

China’s automakers try turning Japanese

20 Mar 2024

Efforts to block Chinese auto exports are inspiring BYD and rivals to set up factories overseas. Their journey is reminiscent of Toyota and Nissan’s drive into the US and Europe. But Washington and Beijing’s fraught ties and new tech portend a different ending to this road trip.

Mexican wave of nearshoring firms is all at sea

19 Mar 2024

The country’s proximity to the US could make it a preferred destination as multinationals move away from Asia. Companies like Merck and Tesla are building factories there but, so far, manufacturing is not growing. With relocations costs soaring, an economic boom looks elusive.

Only an oil slump can stop Vladimir Putin

18 Mar 2024

To keep pumping money into his Ukraine war, the newly re-elected president will have to squeeze Russians. Nobody can prevent him from further unpopular measures. A sharp drop in oil revenue might force him to change course, but that is hard and risky for the West to bring about.

Credit Suisse carcass feeds many hungry mouths

15 Mar 2024

In the year since it collapsed, competitors have carved up the Swiss bank’s employees and clients. UBS grabbed most of the spoils, but Santander, Deutsche Bank and others have also moved in. Lasting benefits, though, depend on survivors showing restraint when activity picks up.

Buyout shops take risky exit to bypass deal crash

14 Mar 2024

A lack of M&A and IPOs has left private equity portfolios with $3 trln of companies, many past their sell-by dates. As a result, firms are increasingly cashing out backers while keeping assets. There are guardrails on the structures now, but they could easily spin out of control.

Rescuing a bank is like making a fine soufflé

13 Mar 2024

Steven Mnuchin’s $1 bln swoop on New York Community Bank may be more challenging than his rehabilitation of mortgage lender IndyMac in 2009, but the returns could be ample. Bank rescues have many ingredients. Timing, skill and luck separate those that rise from those that sag.

EU’s spending snags spoil joint borrowing success

12 Mar 2024

Europe’s 800 bln euro stimulus plan is stuck. The bonds that finance it sell like hotcakes, but so far it has paid out only 225 bln euros as countries struggle with projects. Unless the bloc can show it can use the money it raises from investors, it will lose much-needed funds.

Europe will struggle to unite if Ukraine loses

11 Mar 2024

Jean Monnet, one of the European Union’s founders, predicted it ‘will be forged in crises’. Russian success in Ukraine could be the wake-up call the bloc needs to forge closer security ties. But it could also fragment under the strain. All the more reason to ramp up support now.

Nickel rout is energy-transition warning for West

8 Mar 2024

Prices of the battery metal have halved in a year, leaving many mines unprofitable or mothballed. Indonesia’s China-backed industry now dominates. Piecemeal aid and a green premium push are unlikely to alter that. Absent smart planning, copper and lithium are vulnerable, too.

A year on, SVB’s killer is still at large

7 Mar 2024

Twelve months after Silicon Valley Bank’s demise, investors worry more about real estate than flighty depositors. The disjointed system that enabled a crisis remains intact, though, with patchy oversight, incomplete safety nets and ambiguity over who loses if a lender fails.

Swarming investor gnats circle too widely

6 Mar 2024

New US rules have started helping smaller fund managers make a mark. They’re increasingly needling boards and stinging CEOs. When they flit around bigger targets such as Disney and Crown Castle, however, they’re easily swatted away and become a nuisance for larger activists.