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
151
Viewsroom: Tesla/bitcoin, Hydrogen, French finance
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 hydroge...
24 min
152
Viewsroom: Bezos takes step back, Draghi steps up
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 s...
22 min
153
Viewsroom: Short squeeze craziness, Oz in the lead
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 bure...
23 min
154
Viewsroom: Biden’s inauguration, China’s stresses
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...
23 min
155
Viewsroom: Predictions and prescriptions (Part 2)
A Joe Biden-Xi Jinping reset will be unsatisfying; China’s economic revival will frustrate critics; Southeast Asia will be the next tech hot spot; HSBC will retreat from America; and Hong Kong’s exchange will rethink deals. Pete Sweeney,&n...
22 min
156
Viewsroom: Predictions and prescriptions (Part 1)
Governments will become activist investors; U.S. airlines will merge; data centres will be the new ESG target; energy giants to consider renewable spinoffs; Tesla will buy Daimler; European soccer gets more American and more. Rob Cox,...
24 min
157
Viewsroom: Bank dividends and Chinese rentals
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 ten...
25 min
158
Viewsroom: Davos in Singapore, Bob Dylan sells out
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 ...
22 min
159
Viewsroom: Biden’s money team, Bank boss shuffle
The American president-elect has put forward a diverse and competent team of people to oversee economic policy, including Janet Yellen at Treasury. Across the pond, European banks engage in a bit of CEO and chairman musical chairs. Breakingviews column...
30 min
160
Viewsroom: Vaccines suggest light at tunnel’s end
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 co...
25 min
161
Viewsroom: Chinese tech crackdown, The vax trade
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 ...
23 min
162
Viewsroom: What Biden bodes for money and markets
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 improvem...
19 min
163
Viewsroom: What we’re expecting on election night
If Joe Biden wins Donald Trump’s place as POTUS on Nov. 3, and the Senate turns Democrat, lots of things will change – chief among them tax and economic policy. But big tech companies and China’s Communist Party will gain no reprieve. Rob Cox, Gina Cho
25 min
164
Viewsroom: Asia’s richest man, China dependency
Mukesh Ambani can divide his $200 bln Reliance Industries and still rule, says India editor Una Galani. Meantime, European and U.S. multinationals are growing increasingly reliant on Chinese growth, seeding future financial and political risks, Rob Cox...
25 min
165
Viewsroom: On the road again, Zambia, Super-apps
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-singin...
19 min
166
Viewsroom: Masks, masks everywhere; Tech breakups
The widespread covering of mouths and noses to stifle Covid-19 has spawned a mini-manufacturing boom, with some downsides, Sharon Lam tells Rob Cox. Yet the economic benefits of mask mandates are plentiful, Lisa Jucca argues from Milan. Plus, Congress ...
19 min
167
Viewsroom: Disastrous debate, Italian soccer deal
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. Breakin...
25 min
168
Viewsroom: The dream team to fix America’s economy
As voters head into the final stretch of the U.S. presidential election, Breakingviews has released a new interactive tool to help Joe Biden or Donald Trump pick a cabinet of economic all-stars. Listen to our picks for the battling candidates and learn...
33 min
169
Viewsroom: Credit-UBS, Bernard Arnault and Japan
A merger of Credit Suisse and UBS has some merits on paper, but would be bloody in practice, says Liam Proud. Plus, the LVMH billionaire’s impeccably ruthless dealmaking is on full display with the Tiffany takeover. Pete Sweeney and Sharon Lam discuss ...
22 min
170
Viewsroom: Republicans hammer it home
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...
11 min
171
Viewsroom: Democrats pitch normalcy first
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 An...
14 min
172
Viewsroom: Biden takes corporate succession cue
The presumptive Democratic candidate to challenge Donald Trump for the presidency chose California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. Gina Chon and Rob Cox discuss the parallels with corporate succession planning and what the choice says about ...
13 min
173
Viewsroom: Silicon Valley spotlight
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 Mas...
24 min
174
Viewsroom: Europe’s big money moment and baijiu
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 ex...
17 min
175
Viewsroom: Wall Street, Huawei, Chinese taxpayers
Investment bankers have had a very nice lockdown indeed, says U.S. Editor John Foley. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson backtracks on 5G, delivering his pal Donald Trump a tech victory against China. Meantime President Xi Jinping takes some unusual ...
28 min