Travel & Tourism

Corona Capital: Netflix price hike

30 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The streaming-video service hiked the price on subscriptions as binge-watching booms during the pandemic.

Corona Capital: Drugmaker’s pick-me-up, Golf M&A

28 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Drugmaker GSK sees a recovery in vaccinations against old-school ailments; meanwhile Covid-19 turns out to be a handy driver when it comes to golf-related dealmaking.

Corona Capital: Gilead Sciences, Virtual Santa

23 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Remdesivir gets formal approval; Santa goes missing from Macy’s.

U.S. airline staff now need aid more than carriers

22 Oct 2020

Southwest and American’s losses continued last quarter. But they both fortified cash resources enough to fund the status quo for at least a year. Meantime, employees are the losers from the financial and political squeeze. Fresh government help needs to more clearly benefit them.

Off-colour IAG points to prolonged air-sickness

22 Oct 2020

The owner of British Airways lost 1.3 bln euros in the third quarter. Rising infections and new lockdowns mean the next three months will be little better, dashing new CEO Luis Gallego’s hopes of breaking even by Christmas. He won’t be the only airline boss feeling queasy.

Crown Resorts disabused of gambler’s conceit

22 Oct 2020

A protest vote by shareholders has belatedly targeted the $4 bln casino operator’s cosy and inexperienced board. At least it’s forcing the Australian company to concede a shakeup is needed to clean up its mess. It’s a good reminder about why the right sorts of directors matter.

Cathay is still overweight after layoffs

21 Oct 2020

Hong Kong's flagship airline will cut 8,500 jobs and ditch its Cathay Dragon brand. That's less aggressive than some other carriers, although shareholders took it well. The cuts will only slow the cash burn rate to around HK$1.5 bln per month. More savings will have to be found.

Viewsroom: On the road again, Zambia, Super-apps

15 Oct 2020

Airlines columnist Ed Cropley boards his first plane since Covid-19 hit, and experiences travel in the pandemic era on a visit to Munich. He also discusses the financial proxy war over Zambia’s debt restructuring. Meantime, Asia goes mad for all-singing mobile applications.

Corona Capital: Kazakhs, Norwegians, Airlines

15 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Kaspi gives ECM bankers something to smile about; Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has a so-so third quarter; and United Airlines has more bad news on jobs.

Corona Capital: Black Friday, JPMorgan’s new tower

14 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Walmart’s Black Friday rejig makes for a curious experiment; JPMorgan goes all-in on New York real estate.

Corona Capital: Oil, Delta, Hunger

13 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: OPEC and the International Energy Agency issue forecasts that bode ill for crude demand; the U.S. airline steers through turbulence; and a food crisis is exacerbating problems facing the most vulnerable in society.

Corona Capital: NBA, Polish e-commerce, Tesco

12 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A major basketball bake-off fails to pull in the online crowds; Poland’s biggest e-commerce company flies from the shelves; and UK grocer Tesco wrestles with supply chain problems.

Macau casinos now playing for an inside straight

8 Oct 2020

China’s long holiday break has brought few visitors to the Asian gambling hub. That makes it hard to accept rosy forecasts that revenue at Sands, SJM and Galaxy will reach more than 85% of pre-pandemic levels next year. It’ll take consumer exuberance and policy help to get there.

Duty-free group bags the ultimate Chinese shopper

5 Oct 2020

Dufry struck a joint venture with Alibaba, while the e-commerce giant will pump up to $273 mln into the pandemic-struck Swiss travel retailer. CEO Julián González has secured a powerful local partner at a small price. It’s a good deal, assuming the duty-free business recovers.

Corona Capital: NYC

30 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: New York City’s economic reboot comes up against a new outbreak.

China staycation offers glimpse of spending future

30 Sep 2020

With overseas destinations off limits, Chinese businesses will hope for a repeat of last year’s $200 bln domestic splurge during Golden Week. That will boost consumption without juicing imports. As Beijing turns inward, trade partners have reason to fear the model will stick.

Rolls-Royce repair job has 18-month warranty

29 Sep 2020

The UK jet engine maker wants to raise 2.5 bln pounds from existing and new investors, including sovereign funds. That should keep it aloft even if the airlines that use its kit have a bad 2021. Beyond that, a slow recovery could mean more financial warning lights.

American Airlines bailout plea looks cheeky

24 Sep 2020

The company wants more public money to avoid furloughing 19,000 workers. But it should have $13 bln of liquidity by the end of the quarter, including discounted loans competitors eschewed. Even if American can’t stay afloat, there’s Chapter 11. The time for handouts is over.

Corona Capital: LVMH and Macron, Eyewear deals

23 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: LVMH has friends in high places; 1-800 Contacts has semi-disposable owners.

Corona Capital: Coca-Cola, Viral inequality

22 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Coca-Cola, once an icon of temperance, is diving into the hard seltzer market; and California is considering using the disparity in numbers of Covid cases between neighborhoods to steer its response.