Viewsroom

Breakingviews columnists talk about the big numbers, crunchy deals and nasty spats in global business and economics, offering a weekly dose of financial insight that goes beyond the concise and provocative views readers get from our columns every day.

News
251
Viewsroom: Not your mother’s oil shock
Saudi Arabia is quickly repairing the damage drones inflicted on its oil industry. But the fallout has implications for everything from security to U.S. shale drillers to climate change-driven alternative energy. Plus: Why are AB InBev and ESR restarti...
20 min
252
Viewsroom: Nissan’s car-crash CEO
Hiroto Saikawa is stepping down amid controversy over his pay. It has implications for the company’s rocky Renault alliance, and by extension for the French carmaker’s recent attempt to merge with Fiat Chrysler. Plus, is activist Elliott Management goi...
23 min
253
Viewsroom: How money really can grow on trees
Done right, reforestation can capture much of the carbon causing climate change. It would improve crop yields and water quality and lessen the power of floods and storms like Hurricane Dorian. There are good financial returns to reap, too. Plus:&nb...
20 min
254
Viewsroom: Brexit’s pro-rogue nation
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has prorogued parliament, cutting the time available for lawmakers to thwart a planned Oct. 31 EU departure. What does this mean for Brexit and the UK economy? Plus: we pick through the wreckage of China’s crashing autom...
22 min
255
Viewsroom: How to read the recession runes
A U.S. downturn is near, judging by past early warning signals from yield curves to bank valuations. But fallout from the 2008 crisis has sapped them of some predictive power. Plus: what the exit of Cathay Pacific’s CEO says about Beijing’s re...
19 min
256
Viewsroom: WeWork unfurls the red flags
The shared-office provider’s long-awaited IPO filing is packed with pointless life-affirming tropes. But it also details a host of conflicts of interest and other risks that should send investors running. Plus: India’s powerhouse Reliance is building a...
14 min
257
Viewsroom: Vicious trade cycle traps U.S., China
The White House’s decision to brand Beijing a currency manipulator is the latest move in a conflict riven by miscommunication, unrealistic expectations and no obvious way out. Plus: Why the LSE is paying $27 bln for Refinitiv, and which of the data fir...
25 min
258
Viewsroom: Is Beyond Meat worth a bite?
The meatless-burger maker is the best-performing IPO of the year by far. Now insiders are selling stock early as the company deals with rising competition, regulations and even a potential pea shortage. Plus: Using wine goggles to look at West...
19 min
259
Viewsroom: UK’s new PM looks for the exit
Boris Johnson helped persuade Britons to vote to leave the EU. London’s former mayor now leads the country – and may find his pledge to quit the European bloc hard to keep. Meanwhile, U.S. watchdogs are circling Amazon, Alphabet, Apple and Facebook. Pl...
27 min
260
Viewsroom: AB InBev’s stubborn financial beer gut
The $150 bln brewer of suds like Budweiser and Stella has scrapped its Asia unit’s Hong Kong float. CEO Carlos Brito now needs new ways to reduce the company’s debt. And as the second pulled IPO in weeks amid civil unrest, it puts the city’s financial ...
14 min
261
Viewsroom: Can India solve its water crisis?
Chennai, the country’s Motor City, has run dry. Another 20 metropolises could follow by next year. The personal and economic toll is mounting. Plugging leaks, better crop choices and proper pricing can help. Often, as water problems elsewhere show, tha...
16 min
262
Viewsroom: The great EU jobs carve-up
After much unedifying horse-trading, European leaders have finally agreed on who will head the commission, central bank and other top roles. That has implications for the bloc’s future. Plus: Why Africa’s growth figu...
22 min
263
Viewsroom: What makes companies proud of Pride?
Neither profit nor investor pressure explain U.S. firms lining up to mark 50 years of the LGBT-rights movement. They may simply be doing the right thing. But the nation still has a long way to go. Plus: how the UK prime minister race affects t...
20 min
264
Viewsroom: UBS gets lost in translation
A star economist at the Swiss bank sparked outrage on Chinese social media after his remarks about the country’s pigs were misconstrued. UBS’s decision to put him on leave seems overdone. And: Those weighing the benefit of a Facebook ...
17 min
265
Viewsroom: When dealmaking gets difficult
Raytheon and United Technologies’ planned $114 bln tie-up raises questions about strategy, cost cuts and executive overreach. It’s prompted their shares to tank and activist Bill Ackman to oppose it. And Fiat Chrysler and Renault’s mooted merger has cr...
18 min
266
Viewsroom: Hong Kong's scary extradition idea
The territory's government, under pressure from Beijing, is trying to ram through a rule change that would allow suspects to be transferred to mainland courts. Foreign executives have cause to be worried. Plus: Steve Bannon wants to ban C...
17 min
267
Viewsroom: A new game of carmaker matchmaker
Fiat Chrysler spurned Peugeot by offering to merge with France’s Renault, which is itself joined to Nissan. How will the pairings play out, and what does it mean for the automotive sector? Plus: Why fossil-fuel giants like BP are painting themselves a ...
27 min
268
Viewsroom: America’s topsy-turvy regulators
Qualcomm lost a lawsuit brought by one DC overseer, even as the DOJ intervened, while $26 bln T-Mobile US-Sprint merger is getting yanked around by agencies with opposing views. Doing business is hard when agencies no longer act in unison. Plus: Is Luc...
20 min
269
Viewsroom: The lasting effects of Trump’s tariffs
Washington and Beijing may yet find a way to end their escalating trade war soon. But for many businesses, the damage already inflicted will be hard to undo. Plus: CEO Mark Zuckerberg might not welcome more calls to break up Facebook, but shareholders ...
20 min
270
Viewsroom: Oil M&A fight may end with no winner
Occidental boss Vicki Hollub corralled BofA CEO Brian Moynihan and investor Warren Buffett to her side to seal a $38 bln offer for Anadarko. Her tactics scared off rival bidder Chevron but may alienate her own shareholders. Plus: Malaysia’s reform effo...
13 min
271
Viewsroom: Apple versus Alphabet
Both Silicon Valley giants are looking for the next big thing after a slowdown in their main product – iPhone sales at Apple and online ads at Alphabet. Lower expectations mean Tim Cook’s outfit has more time to act. Plus: Activist Dan Loeb puts Sony b...
16 min
272
Viewsroom: Will millennials kill Silicon Valley?
Young, tech-savvy adults say everything from high prices to climate change may prompt them to leave the San Francisco area. Other U.S. cities can benefit. Also: Why CEO Jack Dorsey should favor Square over Twitter. And what to expect from Indonesian...
21 min
273
Viewsroom: 'Game of Thrones'-style war heads to TV
HBO’s hit series is ending as parent AT&T, Amazon, Apple and Walt Disney launch their claims to the streaming-video crown. Netflix, though, will be hard to usurp. Elsewhere, India’s weeks-long election gets underway. And global economic growth coll...
22 min
274
Viewsroom: Wells Fargo searches for a leader
The U.S. bank may be tempted to recruit from splashy peers like Goldman Sachs. But there are better reasons to poach from smaller firms. Meanwhile, the $170 bln Chinese liquor maker Kweichow Moutai is worth more than Diageo. Breakingviews columnists di...
21 min
275
Viewsroom: What’s driving Lyft’s valuation?
The ride-hailing firm is worth $30 bln after its stock-market debut, even though its losses are growing. Shareholders are betting a shift to autonomous driving will steer it to a profit, but that may be a long way off. Plus: Saudi Ara...
25 min