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
301
Viewsroom: Fintech’s growing pains
Upstarts like LendingClub and SoFi need to find ways to keep customers returning – just as traditional banks are fighting back and Goldman Sachs’ digital push into consumer lending takes off. Also: how Malaysia’s prime minister may be...
18 min
302
Viewsroom: The biggest loser, China or the U.S.?
A volley of words threatens a trade war between PRC leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. Developing China has much at risk in fighting with the world’s largest economy. But American businesses are vulnerable too. Plus: M...
17 min
303
Viewsroom: Spotify leads Wall Street on IPO dance
The music-streaming service enjoyed a mostly smooth stock-market debut despite largely bypassing investment banks. Ultimately, though, business success, not IPO hype, is what counts. Plus: Regulators and automakers are sparking up an altogether too coz...
18 min
304
Viewsroom: China’s new central banker
Yi Gang, the head of the People’s Bank of China, has experience working in America. Once considered a liability, it now may be one of his great assets. And the mainland is courting companies to list shares locally, while China’s version of Hul...
25 min
305
Viewsroom: How long should a leader lead?
China’s President Xi Jinping can now stay in power for life. Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein seems ready to retire after 12 years at the top. Yet five years may be the ideal length of service. Breakingviews columnists discuss the limitations to limit...
14 min
306
Viewsroom: Trump slaps tariff fear on markets
Imposing levies on steel and aluminum has lost the president his economic adviser, ex-Goldman No. 2 Gary Cohn. That has shocked investors out of complacency. Also: Italy’s elections leave fringe parties in charge. And big deals may be back on the agend...
24 min
307
Viewsroom: Fraud puts India’s lenders on edge
A $1.8 bln scam at Punjab National Bank comes just months after the government injected $32 bln to bail out 20-odd state-run financial institutions. The scandal may increase calls for them to be privatized. Elsewhere: Will Sky be the limit for...
20 min
308
Viewsroom: Chipmaker battle fries M&A circuits
Broadcom has lowered its hostile bid for Qualcomm after its target upped its longstanding offer for NXP. That decreases the chance the two larger rivals can strike a deal – assuming regulators wouldn’t nuke it. Plus: Credit Suisse shi...
15 min
309
Viewsroom: Volatility puts investors to the test
Higher wages, inflation fears and the prospect of faster than expected rate hikes are posing challenges market players haven’t seen for years. Comcast may spike Walt Disney’s potion to acquire Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment assets. Plus, Singapore’s ai...
17 min
310
Viewsroom: The Fed’s belated Wells Fargo beating
Chair Janet Yellen forbids the $2 trln lender from growing bigger - on her last day in the job, and 17 months after Wells’ fake-accounts scandal hit. Meanwhile, fellow financial watchdog CFPB seems to be giving hacke...
21 min
311
Viewsroom: Jamie Dimon risks ruining a good run
JPMorgan’s chairman and CEO intends to lead the bank until around 2023. Dimon has built a strong and successful company over the past 12 years. But the longer he stays, the harder it becomes to leave on an unambiguous high. Plus: Asia...
17 min
312
Viewsroom: Trump solar tax is more burn than balm
The U.S. president seems to be trying to right past trade wrongs. But business has long since moved on, meaning tariffs on washing machines and solar panels will do more harm than good. Also, Merkel and Modi disappoint in snow-ravaged Davos. Plus: Spot...
24 min
313
Viewsroom: Donald Trump goes to Davos
The U.S. president heads to the Swiss Alps confab that’s the antithesis of his “America First” ideology. He’ll have competition: keynote speaker Narendra Modi, with his “Make in India” policy. Plus: BlackRock’s Larry Fink pushes social activism. And wh...
24 min
314
Viewsroom: China’s dubious shot across U.S. bow
Talk of buying fewer of Uncle Sam’s bonds may be Beijing’s way of showing some teeth as the Trump administration mulls import tariffs. But as with other retaliatory trade tactics, it would hurt China too. Plus, why Nelson Pel...
18 min
315
Viewsroom: Debt markets set for wild ride
More government borrowing and less central bank buying will force bondholders to fend for themselves, Breakingviews predicts. Plus, passive funds will force out a CEO, electric vehicles give gasoline cars a run for their money and soccer clubs’ spendin...
17 min
316
Viewsroom: Investors target sexual misconduct
Companies that sweep settlements for bad behavior under the carpet will feel shareholder ire in 2018, Breakingviews predicts. Plus, Apple will float past the EU’s roving eye, splintering political parties are a ticking U.S. time bomb and bank ...
16 min
317
Viewsroom: Saudi Aramco’s path may lead to China
That the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will join Riyadh in hosting the world’s largest IPO is one of Breakingviews’ 2018 predictions. We also explain the method to our fortune-telling and lay out why China will win the 5G standards race, and why Wall Street...
19 min
318
Viewsroom: A Fox in the Mouse House
Disney’s $66 bln deal for the bulk of Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment empire is a reaction to the rapid rise of streaming-content providers like Netflix, and lets CEO Bob Iger delay retirement again. Elsewhere: the Democrats win in Alabama, and Chinese ...
22 min
319
Executive payouts in rude health
Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini is bagging $500 million from selling the insurance company to drugstore chain CVS – despite only a middling performance as boss. Behind such healthcare mergers: a desire to cut out a surfeit of middlemen.
14 min
320
Uber’s hard route back onto the road
The ride-hailing app has hit a damaging set of speed bumps including accelerating losses, a bruising court battle with Alphabet and covering up a security breach. But new Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi’s most important challenge is proving the firm ...
11 min
321
Viewsroom: AT&T’s $85 bln deal runs into static
The telecom firm’s acquisition of Time Warner, owner of CNN, may hit regulatory hurdles in D.C. President Trump’s caustic tweets against the news network look self-interested, but watchdogs could yet legitimately rethink norms of competition. Plus: GE ...
14 min
322
Broadcom $130 bln bid signals market top
The chipmaker’s hostile tilt at Qualcomm is a rare aggressive move in the sector. Qualcomm has its own issues, awaiting approval for its NXP deal and fighting Apple in court. It all suggests the tech sector is too frothy. Plus: Is Hong Kong losing its ...
16 min
323
Saudi Arabia’s city of the future
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has a $500 bln plan to attract new business to the oil-dependent kingdom: build a utopian society on the Red Sea free of many of Saudi’s legal and cultural constraints. Plus: why tech and finance execs won’t be joining ...
19 min
324
China’s leader cements his power
President Xi Jinping emerged stronger at the end of China’s Communist Party Congress. His desire to consolidate control however may not help his plans to keep the Middle Kingdom’s economic engine humming. Plus: U.S. telecom firms try again to dial up a...
22 min
325
President Xi Jinping’s moment
The Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress kicks off this week. Delegates at the week-long confab will select new leaders, including for key financial and economic posts. But the spotlight will be on Xi and whether he can consolidate his...
20 min