Kraft Heinz’s poor earnings, $15 bln writedown and accounting investigation forced the Berkshire Hathaway boss to admit he overpaid for the nuts-to-Velveeta cheese purveyor. Breakingviews columnists discuss what went wrong. Plus: Trump buys more time in his China trade spat. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Foreign carmakers are closing some UK plants as lawmakers defect from both the Labour and ruling Tory parties. How will this affect the looming deadline to quit the EU? Plus: Vegan diets are more than a fad. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Falling house prices and slowing Chinese growth are putting Australia’s record of almost 28 years of economic expansion at risk. The banking industry got dinged after a gripping year-long investigation. And a change of government looks likely. Breakingviews dives into the issues. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Overuse and climate change are sapping the Colorado river, source of a fifth of U.S. GDP and at least $1.3 trln of market value. The feds and basin states are struggling to adapt, but investors pay little heed. Plus, can India Prime Minister Modi’s budget help him win re-election? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
The California utility may face up to $30 bln in wildfire costs. But shareholders see value and lenders were willing to stump up cash. The board’s desire to cut other expenses may have driven the decision. Plus: How U.S. charges against Huawei may affect the telco industry. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Pessimism reigns supreme at the annual gathering in the Swiss Alps thanks to trade wars, the U.S. government shutdown and rising populism. Several major leaders stayed away entirely. The event remains a networker’s dream, but self-awareness and problem-solving are sorely lacking. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
People in the Middle Kingdom are buying fewer iPhones and cars, but Nike and others are chugging away nicely. Meanwhile, India’s struggling rural farmers are a force too big to ignore in this year’s general election. Plus: The Detroit auto show reflects the industry’s gloom. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Rising rates, lower oil prices, wobbly markets and the backlash against Saudi Arabia could put Masa Son’s $97 bln fund on the spot this year. Elsewhere, some Indian tech startups may take the world by storm. Plus, Breakingviews picks three indicators to monitor the world economy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Big economies are throwing up tariffs, but East Africa’s common market could swell to 250 mln people if Ethiopia joins the club. Breakingviews columnists also predict this year will bring the end of easy money for Chinese startups, and a challenge to Tesla from Lyft and Uber. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Equity valuations are in the stratosphere and geopolitical risk is running hot. Breakingviews columnists predict how that’ll affect markets in 2019, from trade-war fallout to Indian privatizations, a Deutsche Bank rally and mining M&A. They also assess last year’s prognostications. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
President Macron hopes a 10 bln euro splurge from state coffers will mollify rioters calling him the “president of the rich.” But it’ll worsen the country’s deficit, risking an EU rebuke. It may, though, offer cover for Italy, whose debt load is causing friction with Brussels. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping agreed to a cooling-off period in an escalating tariff spat. Will the ceasefire yield results or is it a stalling tactic? The markets are spooked. Breakingviews columnists discuss the issue from both sides of the Pacific. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Experts reckon unrestrained global warming will lop 10 pct off U.S. GDP by 2100. California’s wildfires prove it’s already having disastrous effects. But investors and companies alike can be part of the solution. Plus, Carlos Ghosn’s arrest leaves three carmakers in disarray. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Cabinet resignations, an angry coalition partner and a skittish currency greeted UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s draft agreement to quit the EU. Breakingviews columnists examine whether the current mess leads to Brexit with an EU deal, without a deal, or even to a new referendum. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Digital titans like Alphabet and Apple may rule the roost, but EU rules on data privacy are helping startups flourish on the other side of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, Facebook’s inability to police fake content spreads to Africa. Plus: Mumbai’s ride-share drivers go on strike See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
The U.S. House of Representatives will soon be controlled by lawmakers opposing President Trump. That gives them more scope to push their agenda on trade, infrastructure and a perennial bogeyman, the banks. But as Republicans still run the Senate, policy changes will be minimal. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Germany’s chancellor won’t seek re-election in 2021 and is stepping down as party chair next month after electoral setbacks. It may herald a rightward swing at home and less EU unity. Plus: investors’ embrace of Brazil’s far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro may prove risky. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Danish lender Danske has already lost its chief executive on news that one of its Estonian branches was used to launder Russian money. Now Nordea and others are facing questions. Plus: investors drive car stocks into a ditch - and Daimler's and Ford's dividends look vulnerable. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Bankers and officials have ditched a huge Saudi shindig after Turkey accused the kingdom of killing a prominent journalist – but big deal fees and oil reserves make the kingdom hard to shun. Breakingviews columnists discuss the financial ramifications of the diplomatic crisis. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
The crash cost the U.S. economy $30 trln, put 9 mln people out of work and as many families out of their homes. And it exposed how unprepared bankers, lawmakers and watchdogs were. Here we preview our podcast miniseries interviewing some of the movers and shakers of the time. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Amazon looks set to win the Pentagon’s $10 bln JEDI cloud contract, but Oracle is fighting back. Plus: Is it time for Airbnb to sell its China business? And should Elon Musk be worried about a Chinese Tesla lookalike listing in New York? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The feud between President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump over steel tariffs threatens to turn other emerging markets cold. Breakingviews columnists discuss the global impact of Turkey’s currency meltdown. Plus: A bad bank in China gets whacked by political risk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
CEO Elon Musk’s tweet about wanting to take the company private is causing a stir. Unorthodoxy aside, its volatile boss and weak corporate governance means Tesla is better off the public roads. Plus, Pakistan’s likely new leader Imran Khan will have to go hat in hand to the IMF. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
That’s what CEO Les Moonves gets if he leaves the U.S. TV network – unless fired for cause. That’s rare in corporate America. But allegations he sexually harassed women put the board on the spot. Plus: Hong Kong battles the Big Apple for IPOs. And China faces a vaccine scandal. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
The sudden death of Fiat Chrysler’s CEO has robbed the car industry of one its most colorful – and successful – leaders. Antony Currie, Rob Cox and Lisa Jucca look back over his 14 years at the wheel and discuss what’s on the road ahead for his successor Mike Manley. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
The search firm can easily cover the EU’s $5 bln fine for using its Android phone system to stymie rivals. But the order to stop forcing handset makers to pre-install its software could clip innovation. Plus: Goldman Sachs and Tesla put lackluster corporate governance on show. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
The U.S. president has chosen a friend of big business in Brett Kavanaugh. But he faces bigger questions from Senate democrats about executive power. Plus: Commodity giant Glencore faces mounting risks in Washington, and what’s behind the Chinese yuan’s downward slide. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
The tech hub is getting squeezed by new policy restrictions amid a looming trade war between the U.S. and China. How is the Valley holding up? Plus: India's state lenders are losing CEOs. Is running these banks into the ground part of the plan? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The U.S. president rejected hard-liners’ calls to ban China investing in sensitive U.S. tech. Yet he’s pushing for tariffs that could cost carmakers $45 bln and is livid Harley-Davidson will no longer make EU-bound bikes in the States. Plus: tapping China’s shale reserves. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
The Magic Kingdom and the cable company are driving up the price for parts of Twenty-First Century Fox in a global M&A battle that throws financial logic out the window. But does it make sense strategically? Plus: India’s cricket league takes a few pages from the NFL playbook. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
