Trade

Carbon market faces slow burn to success in China

19 Jul 2021

The world’s largest emissions-trading system is hampered by data concerns, dirt-cheap prices and feeble fines. It also currently exempts most big polluters and lacks a mechanism to reduce emissions. It’s a start, but the scheme needs an overhaul to match Beijing’s climate goals.

Capital Calls: Intel, SPAC lobby

16 Jul 2021

Concise views on global finance: Buying GlobalFoundries would boost Intel’s ambitions to make chips for other firms, but spinning it off afterward might please investors more; a new D.C. group sets up shop to defend the blank-check craze.

The Exchange: American-EU relations return to warm

13 Jul 2021

After four frosty years, Washington and Brussels are back to cooperation on foreign and economic policy, with some big trade wins already on the scoreboard, Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis tells Rob Cox in an interview hosted by the European-American Chamber of Commerce New York.

Capital Calls: GameStop is a SPAC now

22 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The meme-stock video-game retailer has raised more cash, making it look like an overvalued cash shell.

Capital Calls: Netflix, Flackless SPAC

21 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The streaming service strikes an agreement with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners; Helicopter-taxi company Blade’s phony spokesperson speaks poorly to investors.

Capital Calls: HSBC, MRNA scramble, Cable project

18 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The UK bank’s France sale disappoints; Danaher snaps up Moderna supplier for $9.6 bln; geopolitics sinks internet cable.

Global Britain’s winners and losers take shape

16 Jun 2021

The UK’s first major post-Brexit trade deal grants zero-tariff and zero-quota access to Australian agricultural exporters, with little obvious in return. The pact may not hit Britain’s farming sector too hard. But it will form the template for future and bigger trade agreements.

U.S.-China trade relations run through Texas

8 Jun 2021

The Lone Star state surpassed California as America’s largest local exporter to the People’s Republic. That's mostly due to fossil fuels. While Washington and Beijing inflame tensions, regional economic ties are strengthening. That helps stop the uncoupling from going too far.

The Exchange: EU Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis

8 Jun 2021

With vaccination programs catching up with America and Britain, Europe is poised to rebound, the former Latvian premier, who is also responsible for an “Economy that Works for People,” tells Rob Cox in an interview hosted by the European-American Chamber of Commerce New York.

Inflationary tide rises on glum shipping forecast

26 May 2021

Sea freight costs have more than tripled in the past year. Ports are backed up, containers are in the wrong place, and demand is picking up. Supply-chain disruptions won’t last forever. But, going by what companies like Maersk are seeing, pressures may persist for most of 2021.

UK-Aussie trade talks expose post-Brexit tangles

20 May 2021

Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to lower tariffs for goods from Down Under. A deal would bring only a little more growth, cost UK farm jobs, and set a benchmark for negotiations with others. It’s getting harder for Johnson to ignore the tradeoffs after leaving the EU.

U.S. courts give Chinese firms a fighting chance

13 May 2021

Casualties in the Washington-Beijing crossfire have a potential ally: American judges. One just gave Luokung Technology a temporary reprieve from a U.S. investment ban due to inadequate evidence. Xiaomi won a similar exemption. The rule of law should give investors some comfort.

EU boxes smart in bout with Chinese behemoths

5 May 2021

Competition tsar Margrethe Vestager wants to stop state-sponsored foreign firms from buying European rivals. It’s a good way to protect industries while resisting mergers like Siemens-Alstom. But ensuring a level playing field isn’t enough to develop high-tech sectors like chips.

Capital Calls: Chubb and Hartford, Swimming pools

22 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: The company led by Evan Greenberg twice raised its bid for its Connecticut rival, but so far to no avail; a blowout quarter for private-pool maker Pool Corp points to buoyant wealth and spending trends, but only for some.

U.S. and Japan can take their time on China

15 Apr 2021

Yoshihide Suga’s visit to D.C., Joe Biden's first in-person confab, is about countering the People's Republic. It’s still politically thorny for the U.S. to rejoin the transpacific trade pact. Once Covid is past, the timing could be better – especially if other allies also join.

Suez blockage comes a year too late

25 Mar 2021

The Ever Given continues to block the Egyptian canal. Barring progress, shipping firms may soon have to re-route vessels around Africa, adding seven days and extra fuel costs. A year ago, with crude prices tumbling, many did that anyway. With oil dearer, it’s a painful choice.

New OECD head may be West’s next anti-China weapon

23 Mar 2021

Australia’s Mathias Cormann will be the organisation’s next boss. His country is no stranger to trade disputes with Beijing. Look for the policy wonks he will lead to furnish evidence of competition-distorting practices that could help Uncle Sam and its partners push for change.

Fashion’s supply ignorance is no longer bliss

17 Mar 2021

The U.S. is detaining products containing cotton produced in China’s Xinjiang region over forced-labour concerns. The burden of proof is on the importer, so groups like Inditex and Ralph Lauren need to know the fibre’s origins. Or some goods may fail to reach American shelves.

Capital Calls: T-Mobile US, Ulta Beauty

12 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The U.S. telecom is benefiting from its merger with SoftBank’s Sprint; the U.S. cosmetics retailer revealed a tidy succession plan, but its business still faces lingering pandemic side-effects.

Oil price supercycle could be super short

8 Mar 2021

Crude spiked above $70 a barrel, regaining pre-virus levels. It could climb even higher given OPEC is holding back supply and global policymakers are stimulating economies. But if lofty prices encourage production by those outside the cartel, they may not last that long.