Institutional Investor (April 10)
“Despite a turbulent few years…. the auto industry retains its role as a bellwether of the global economy. Thus, recent findings that environmental factors are increasingly shaping the future prospects for many automakers will have profound implications for investors.” Increasingly those car makers taking “climate factors the most seriously are the best set for future growth.” Investors should take note that “policy responses to climate change are driving technological disruption that will have serious investment implications across many sectors.”
Tags: Automakers, Bellwether, Climate change, Disruption, Economy, Environmental factors, Future prospects, Growth, Investors, Turbulent
The Economist (April 9)
“Many schemes described in the Panama papers involve anonymous shell companies, whose real owners hide behind hired ‘nominees’. Such vehicles are known as the ‘getaway cars’ for tax dodgers, launderers and crooked officials. It is time to untint their windows by creating central registers of beneficial ownership that are open to tax officials, law-enforcers—and the public.”
Tags: Anonymous, Beneficial ownership, Launderers, Nominees, Panama Papers, Registers, Shell companies, Tax dodgers
Wall Street Journal (April 7)
“Compensation for the chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies fell more sharply last year than any year since the financial crisis, as weaker corporate performance slowed cash bonuses and accounting rules pared back pension growth.” CEO pay at the largest companies dropped by “3.8% to $10.8 million last year from $11.2 million in 2014.”
Tags: Accounting rules, Bonuses, CEO, Compensation, Financial Crisis, Pension, U.S.
New York Times (April 6)
“The first reaction to the leaked documents dubbed the Panama Papers is simply awe at the scope of the trove” that includes some 11.5 million documents illustrating “how offshore bank accounts and tax havens are used by the world’s rich and powerful to conceal their wealth or avoid taxes.” That reaction quickly gives way to disgust and questions: “How did all these politicians, dictators, criminals, billionaires and celebrities amass vast wealth and then benefit from elaborate webs of shell companies to disguise their identities and their assets? Would there have been no reckoning had the leak not occurred?”
Tags: Assets, Bank accounts, Disgust, Offshore, Panama Papers, Powerful, Reaction. Leak, Rich, Shell companies, Tax havens
Euromoney (April 4)
“After a record year for fund raising, large fintech companies are now emerging in marketplace lending and payments, with many more newcomers deploying venture capital money raised in $25 million to $50 million chunks to transform capital markets and traditional banking mainstays such as mortgage lending.” Fintech could prove highly disruptive. “Fintech start-ups are building revolutionary applications for blockchain, attacking every specialist niche in the financial world and keeping the image of fintech clean with business ventures aimed at inclusion.”
Tags: Applications, Banking mainstays, Blockchain, Fintech, Fund raising, Mortgage lending, Niche, Payments, Revolutionary, Venture-capital
Washington Post (April 4)
“The Treasury Department on Monday took aim at U.S. companies moving their headquarters overseas to lower their tax bills, issuing aggressive new rules intended to make such moves less profitable and throwing a potential wrench into Pfizer’s recent $160 billion proposed deal to combine with Allergen and become an Irish company.”
Tags: Allergen, Headquarters, Ireland, Overseas. Taxes, Pfizer, Rules, Treasury, U.S.
Bloomberg (April 4)
“Foxconn’s chairman won’t have long to celebrate.” The takeover of Sharp will prove far easier than its turn around. “With a sprawl of businesses making appliances, solar equipment and flat panels for mobile devices, Sharp is seeing its earnings deteriorate every quarter, yet as part of the rescue deal, Gou pledged to keep the company intact, respect its independence and try to preserve jobs.”
Tags: Appliances, Earnings, Foxconn, Gou, Panels, Rescue, Sharp, Solar, Takeover, Turn around
Financial Times (April 3)
“The tide in the debate over the UK’s continued membership of the EU is turning against those campaigning to remain. This is not surprising, but the weakness of their arguments is puzzling.” Relying on scare tactics and narrow appeals to economic arguments misses the mark. “The main economic factors in favour of EU are not trade, but research, science and innovation policy.”
Tags: Debate, EU, Innovation, Membership, Remain, Research, Scare tactics. Economic factors, Science, Trade, UK
The Economist (April 2)
With rising anxiety, free trade has become “a touchstone issue in America’s presidential election.” Candidates across the spectrum are stepping back from free trade, if not outright attacking it. “Freer trade was one of the engines of the prosperous decades following the second world war, in America and beyond. Yet mainstream politicians are now not only afraid to champion it, they pour fuel on the fire. That is lamentable. Free trade still deserves full-throated support, even if greater care needs to be taken of those it hurts.”
Tags: Anxiety, Candidates, Champion, Election, Free trade, Lamentable, Support, U.S.
New York Times (March 30)
“There’s nothing pretty about the details of Foxconn’s deal to take control of Sharp. And fixing Sharp, the loss-making Japanese electronics manufacturer, will be a tough slog for Foxconn.” But this transaction may just make history. It presents Exhibit A that Japan is capable of the sort of corporate reform critical to overhauling its economy.”
Tags: Corporate reform, Economy, Electronics, Foxconn, History, Japan, Loss-making, Manufacturer, Sharp
