Viewsroom

Viewsroom: Bitcoin, El Salvador and Roger Federer

9 Sep 2021

As the Central American country adopts the cryptocurrency as a coin of the realm, Richard Beales and Gina Chon discuss the merits of stablecoins and the scramble by regulators to catch up with the market. Karen Kwok takes a slice at Roger Federer-backed running shoe outfit On.

Viewsroom: Scoring Ronaldo’s return to Man Utd

2 Sep 2021

Shareholders cheered the prolific Portuguese striker’s surprise decision to rejoin his former club in England. His three-year stint at Juventus, though, was hardly a clear financial victory. Plus: An $80 bln IPO valuation for electric-truck maker Rivian would be too racy.

Viewsroom: China’s Afghanistan question

19 Aug 2021

Beijing was able to expand its influence in central Asia while America and its allies held back the Taliban. The Islamic fundamentalists’ return to power presents China with new challenges – and opportunities. Plus: CEO Mike Henry shakes up mining giant BHP.

Viewsroom: Olympic blunders and Robinhood’s IPO

22 Jul 2021

The Tokyo games are struggling with rising Covid-19 infections, corporations pulling out, an unenthused Japanese public and now a bad Holocaust joke. Pete Sweeney and Rob Cox discuss. Meantime, John Foley says Robinhood resembles E*Trade 20 years ago – in good and bad ways.

Viewsroom: Finance’s first-rate second quarter

15 Jul 2021

Earnings of Wall Street’s largest banks confirmed that animal spirits among corporate chiefs and global investors are running high, while pandemic-shy consumers are getting their mojo back. John Foley walks Rob Cox through JPMorgan, Goldman, BofA, Wells Fargo and Citi results.

Viewsroom: Communist birthday, Little guys in IPOs

1 Jul 2021

China’s Communist Party turns 100. The institution has never been so popular at home or resented abroad. Its leaders are experts at the nuances of control and long on ambition, Pete Sweeney says. Plus, Wall Street enlists individual investors to help price initial stock deals.

Viewsroom: Wall Street is open again and booming

24 Jun 2021

From Morgan Stanley to BlackRock, the world’s top investment banks and money managers are back in their offices and super busy with mergers, IPOs, LBOs and other activities thumping. Plus, Soho House and Wise go public and green hydrogen megalomania on the Congo river.

Viewsroom: Private equity gets funky, HK hiring

10 Jun 2021

Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle and other firms are flipping the leveraged buyout playbook with deals that, while less dependent on debt, don’t always add up for their backers. Meanwhile, investment banking is fast becoming the fragrant harbor’s monoculture. Our columnists discuss.

Viewsroom: Vaccine carrots and sticks, plus donuts

3 Jun 2021

Governments and companies are dangling incentives for people to get jabbed against Covid-19. But it will take more than free weed, lottery tickets and beer to reach herd immunity, Jeff Goldfarb explains. And Dasha Afanasieva says take the pastries, leave the Krispy Kreme shares.

Viewsroom: Big Oil’s global blow

27 May 2021

A small activist fund upended Exxon Mobil’s board while Shell was dealt a setback in a Dutch courtroom. At the same time, Chevron shareholders backed a proposal to cut more emissions. The interests of both stakeholders and shareholders are rapidly aligning in fossil fuels.

Viewsroom: AT&T’s second breakup, Asian super-apps

20 May 2021

The telephone company’s deal with Discovery, the reversal of a failed strategy to become a media juggernaut, opens a window into streaming warfare; and the creation of Southeast Asia do-everything internet group GoTo is a prelude of more to come. Plus, no Davos in Singapore.

Viewsroom: China’s baby bust, European SPAC boom

13 May 2021

China’s census data showed the population grew just 0.53% every year in the decade to 2020, with fertility rates dropping to Japanese levels. That’s bad news for growth. And European rainmakers like Claudio Costamagna and Ian Osborne offer market-friendlier blank-check deals.

Viewsroom: Life from the latest Indian lockdown

29 Apr 2021

Images of vast funeral pyres, overcrowded hospitals and empty streets have been emanating from India as the country grapples with surging Covid-19 infection rates. Una Galani surveys the situation on the ground from Mumbai and discusses the government’s response with Rob Cox.

Viewsroom: The Super League’s short, unhappy life

22 Apr 2021

The richest European soccer clubs, including Juventus and Real Madrid, swiftly aborted plans to create a breakaway competition. But as Liam Proud and Peter Thal Larsen explain, the financial appeal of a U.S.-style sporting cartel remains irresistible. Plus, Huarong’s woes.

Viewsroom: Greensill/Credit Suisse, GE, Diversity

11 Mar 2021

Big names in finance, like Credit Suisse and tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, are suffering collateral damage from the UK supply chain lender’s collapse. The sale of aircraft leasing brings GE closer to CEO Larry Culp’s light-bulb moment. And working from home risks a diversity disaster.

Viewsroom: Wall Street CEOs’ pay, Sea, Greensill

4 Mar 2021

A plague year for the world was a relatively rich one for the heads of Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo; Southeast Asian tech conglomerate Sea navigated choppy waters to a $127 bln market value; Greensill’s problems may not be systemic, but they’re worth watching.

Viewsroom: Electric cars share some market fever

25 Feb 2021

Toyota, Ford and GM are all trading at their highest level in years as investors start to pick some winners among traditional automakers. Fear of missing the next Tesla, though, means shareholders are keeping the heady valuations for upstarts like latest SPAC target Lucid Motors.

Viewsroom: Breakingviews’ new SPAC needs a name

18 Feb 2021

Blank check mania has crossed the Atlantic, bringing with it hopes of riches for well-connected financiers, underwriters, startup founders and ordinary investors. The U.S. example, though, offers some warning signs, our columnists suggest, as they ponder a vehicle of their own.

Viewsroom: Tesla/bitcoin, Hydrogen, French finance

11 Feb 2021

Elon Musk has gone full cryptocurrency. Tesla’s $1.5 bln bitcoin buy is a wink to virtual-investment, anti-establishment fervor, if a challenge to accounting rules, Richard Beales argues. Meantime, Japanese carmakers are going gaga for hydrogen, and Parisian finance is in tumult.

Viewsroom: Bezos takes step back, Draghi steps up

4 Feb 2021

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is handing the baton to Andy Jassy so he can spend more time with his rockets, a move that’s not always smooth sailing, Jennifer Saba tells Rob Cox. Meantime Mr. Whatever It Takes, Mario Draghi, is summoned to save Italy and Europe’s Hamiltonian moment.