Viewsroom

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.

Viewsroom: Short squeeze craziness, Oz in the lead

28 Jan 2021

Something completely wacky is happening with GameStop and a few other stocks favored by short sellers, and it’s likely to end very poorly for some armchair traders, Breakingviews columnists discuss. Plus, a visit to our Melbourne bureau for tennis and Google lessons. 

Viewsroom: Biden’s inauguration, China’s stresses

21 Jan 2021

The new U.S. president arrives with a long to-do list, good intentions and a swelling national debt pile. Gina Chon and Richard Beales talk with John Foley about what to expect. Plus: New lockdowns bring fresh financial problems in China, as Yawen Chen and Pete Sweeney explain.

Viewsroom: Siege of the Capitol, Where’s Jack Ma?

7 Jan 2021

The violent occupation of Congress by protesters contesting Donald Trump’s loss of the presidency puts America’s financial safe-haven status to a major test, John Foley tells Rob Cox. And Pete Sweeney weighs in from Hong Kong on the mystery of the Alibaba founder’s whereabouts.

Viewsroom: Bank dividends and Chinese rentals

17 Dec 2020

European regulators’ cautious lifting of a ban on bank dividends leaves investors in limbo, plus details of an unusually bold growth strategy from Credit Suisse. And the collapse of China’s WeWork-like apartment rental middlemen has left many young tenants homeless and in debt.

Viewsroom: Davos in Singapore, Bob Dylan sells out

10 Dec 2020

The World Economic Forum’s decision to hold its annual chinwag in Southeast Asia instead of Switzerland this coming spring isn’t as simple as it sounds, Davos vets Peter Thal Larsen and Una Galani tell Rob Cox. Meantime, Anna Szymanski breaks down the folk bard’s catalogue deal.

Viewsroom: Vaccines suggest light at tunnel’s end

19 Nov 2020

Moderna and Pfizer came out with encouraging news on the fight to immunize the world against Covid-19, giving hope the pandemic’s end is near. Meantime, China’s Sinovac finds its trials are undermined by a puzzling governance disaster. Breakingviews columnists weigh in globally.

Viewsroom: Chinese tech crackdown, The vax trade

12 Nov 2020

Beijing took Alibaba, Tencent and others to task over monopolistic practices; and global financial markets got a boost from Pfizer’s revelation that its Covid-19 vaccination may be super-effective. Breakingviews columnists around the world weigh in on both developing stories.

Viewsroom: What Biden bodes for money and markets

7 Nov 2020

Without a clear Senate majority, the former vice president will need to tack to the center when he occupies the White House. For Wall Street that’s a bullet dodged. For other industries, it’s a mixed bag. For multilateral institutions, it’s an improvement from Donald Trump.

Viewsroom: Disastrous debate, Italian soccer deal

1 Oct 2020

The first of the U.S. presidential debates was shambolic, with almost no substance on economic policy for investors or markets to sink their teeth into. On a lighter front, though, Italy’s Serie A soccer league has a chance to regain its glory. Breakingviews columnists discuss.

Viewsroom: Republicans hammer it home

28 Aug 2020

At their quadrennial convention, the GOP didn’t give much insight into what four more years of Trump would look like. But they were consistent in battering the Democrats and Joe Biden as a Trojan horse for socialism and other ills. Rob Cox, John Foley and Anna Szymanski recap.

Viewsroom: Democrats pitch normalcy first

21 Aug 2020

The Democratic National Convention wound up four days of speeches and spectacle with no unforced errors, a broadly appealing economic message and, above all, a call for a restoration of broken norms. Next up, the Republicans. Rob Cox, John Foley and Anna Szymanski recap.

Viewsroom: Silicon Valley spotlight

30 Jul 2020

The CEOs of Big Tech companies faced off against U.S. lawmakers during an antitrust hearing that raised new evidence about past acquisitions. Meanwhile, Japan’s Ootoya and Colowide engage in a food M&A fight. And: SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s next steps.

Viewsroom: Europe’s big money moment and baijiu

23 Jul 2020

The 750 bln-euro stimulus package agreed to by EU leaders this week was a test of the region’s political resiliency, may be a big deal for the single currency and could lead to more capital markets and M&A activity, EMEA Editor Peter Thal Larsen explains. Plus, a shot of Moutai.

Viewsroom: Chinese access to U.S. money, Boohoo

9 Jul 2020

Chinese companies’ access to American capital is imperiled for all sorts of reasons, says Hong Kong columnist Robyn Mak. The stingy LBO of New York-listed Sina by its CEO won’t help. Also, British fast-fashion retailer Boohoo’s not-quite dark satanic mills are in the spotlight.

Viewsroom: Wirecard, Hong Kong and Tesla

2 Jul 2020

The German fintech scandal shines a light on its hapless regulator; China’s new security law stinks up the fragrant harbor and Elon Musk hasn’t just surpassed Toyota in market value, he’s becoming as rich as Croesus. Breakingviews columnists around the world weigh in.