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☆ Insurers can underwrite dirty energy with impunity
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Insurers used to get heat for underwriting fossil fuels. Membership of bodies like the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) was supposed to mean financial groups would cease supporting oil, gas and coal, speeding the pace of decarbonisation. Similarly, five of the Lloyd’s insurance market’s managing agents – RiverStone, Chaucer, RenaissanceRe, Ascot and Aegis – have not implemented any restrictions on fossil fuels. Insurers have even fewer qualms about supporting oil and gas. Governments have made energy security a key priority since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and can reasonably argue that abrupt halts to backing fossil fuels will just mean higher energy prices.

Persons: Warren, Berkshire Hathaway, Starr don’t, – RiverStone, Chaucer, Insuramore, Pamela Barbaglia, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Zero Insurance, Axa, Everest, Aegis, Reuters Graphics, X, Bayer, SEC, Paramount, Thomson Locations: Zurich, PICC, RenaissanceRe, Ascot, Ukraine

☆ Wind woe opens door for alternative green ideas: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shares of Orsted and Siemens Energy are being battered by their inability to boost profits. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how trouble in offshore wind may encourage investors to back other clean energy segments like battery storage, cables and solar. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on XSubscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Oliver TaslicOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Siemens Energy, Thomson

☆ Arm’s public-market journey starts with a stumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A smartphone with a displayed Arm Ltd logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Investors in the $56 billion semiconductor group Arm may be in for a bumpier ride than they hoped. The good news is that CEO Rene Haas expects revenue in the fiscal year to March of roughly $3 billion, in line with analysts' expectations. The less good news, which dragged Arm’s shares down 8%, is that Haas said revenue in the fiscal quarter to December might be anywhere from $720 million to $800 million. Admittedly, at the midpoint of the range that’s only $10 million below the mean analyst forecast, per LSEG.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Rene Haas, Haas, Liam Proud, Lisa Jucca, Streisand Neto Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, X, SEC, Thomson

☆ Biden’s economic scorecard touts fragile advantage
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

And if the political strategist James Carville was right that “it’s the economy, stupid,” the next several months could make or break Joe Biden’s economic record. As things stand, the current ruler of the free world touts a fragile advantage. Households’ disposable income after adjusting for inflation hit a record $20 trillion in the month that Biden’s measure was approved, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. STUDENT LOANSForgiving swaths of student debt was another of Biden’s campaign promises, but his efforts have so far failed. And with higher interest rates making debt service more expensive, Biden’s spending could come back to bite him on election day.

Persons: Joe Biden, Ken Cedeno, James Carville, Joe Biden’s, “, aren’t, Breakingviews, it’s, Biden, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, ”, Realtor.com, Congressional Republicans haven’t, haven’t, WALL, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Edmond's Catholic, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, House, Republican, AMERICAN, ACT, Brookings Institution, Analysis, Walmart, Nordstrom, Deere, Caterpillar, Republicans, Commerce Department, Micron, Bank of America, Gallup, Federal Reserve, United Auto Workers, RSM, Congressional Republicans, Biden, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Conservative, Thomson Locations: St, Rehoboth Beach , Delaware, U.S, New York, Arizona, West Virginia

☆ Hong Kong finance summit tiptoes around China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

HONG KONG, Nov 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong in November enjoys a pleasant climate that some local managers dub “chairman weather”. Hong Kong is hardly a hot destination for financiers right now. Companies raised just $2.7 billion from initial public offerings in Hong Kong in the quarter, a fraction of previous years. Hong Kong officials including John Lee, the territory’s chief executive, have been sanctioned by the U.S.. Follow @peter_tl on XCONTEXT NEWSThe Global Financial Leaders’ Summit was held in Hong Kong from Nov. 6 to Nov. 8.

Persons: Marc Rowan, Colm Kelleher, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Jane Fraser, Ken Griffin, Hong, John Lee, Eddie Yue, Kung, Zhang Qingsong, Bob Prince, Mark Wiedman, Apollo’s Rowan, UBS’s Kelleher, Joseph Yam, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Apollo Global Management, UBS, Monetary Fund, Companies, Citigroup, Citadel, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong’s HK, Exchange, People’s Bank of China, Bridgewater Associates, BlackRock, Goldman, Bank for International, Global, ’, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Europe, U.S, China . Hong Kong, China, People’s Republic, Hong, British, Singapore, BLK.N, ”

☆ Bayer slow-motion breakup may leave clunky core
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bayer’s (BAYGn.DE) planned surgery risks leaving an ailing rump. Valued in line with peers, Bayer’s seeds, drugs and consumer units could be worth 54 billion euros, 38 billion euros and 16 billion euros respectively, according to Breakingviews calculations using LSEG data. Take off debt and pensions, and Bayer’s equity should total nearly 60 billion euros, some 47% above its current market capitalisation. But hiving off the seeds business would leave a pharma business hitched to a consumer unit, a model shunned by rivals Pfizer (PFE.N), Sanofi (SASY.PA) and GSK (GSK.L). They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: weedkiller, Bill Anderson’s, Anderson, Aimee Donnellan, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Pfizer, Sanofi, GSK, X, SEC, Paramount, Thomson

☆ Private equity superstores overstock the shelves
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Private equity investors seem happier these days shopping for returns at specialty shops over supermarkets. U.S. private equity funds raised some $240 billion in the first nine months of 2023, according to research outfit PitchBook, 13% less than a year earlier. New York-based CD&R in August raised $26 billion for its 12th-generation private equity fund while Eurocentric CVC managed an even more eye-popping $29 billion in July. A better explanation, from the consultants who advise LPs on where to put their cash, is that private equity supermarkets may be cannibalising themselves. Until they can prove otherwise, the more scattered private equity superstores risk losing more ground to the specialists.

Persons: Clayton, Blackstone, Steve Schwarzman, Marc Rowan, don’t, Rowan, Rob Lucas, Blackstone’s, they’re, Lucas, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Rice, CVC Capital Partners, Apollo Global Management, Blackstone Capital Partners IX, “, IX, CVC, Apollo, Blackstone, U.S, Thomson Locations: Dubilier, New York, Blackstone, Asia, Luxembourg, Europe, Americas

☆ India’s gamified equities are a wake-up call
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The result is an acceleration of Indian savings away from gold and real estate into financial products. However, it is also leading to what Ashish Gupta, chief investment officer at Axis Bank’s mutual fund, dubs “the gamification of Indian equities”. A frenzy for index options has driven up volume in the derivatives market to the tune of $4.3 trillion a day. Retail traders made up a higher share of equity derivatives turnover than their institutional counterparts on the National Stock Exchange between 2017 and 2021. Whatever the fix, it’s a reminder that India’s digital leapfrog which other developing countries are urgently trying to replicate has a dark side too.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Ashish Gupta, Gupta, weren’t, Ananth Narayan, SEBI, Nithin Kamath, Zerodha, Lalit Keshre, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Bombay Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, National Stock Exchange, Tiger, Securities, Exchange Board of India, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, U.S

☆ Amazon’s health push is a too-costly prescription
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Snag is, primary care tends to be a recipe for burning cash. Drugstore chains have been buying up primary care companies in the hope of steering patients to their stores. Prime members can add up to five additional memberships to the same plan at $6 a person. The primary care provider had 836,000 members at the end of last year, with practices in two dozen metropolitan areas. It had over 200 million members worldwide as of April 2021.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Amazon, Amazon Web Services, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Telecom, AT, Time Warner, Thomson

☆ For global banks, India could soon be worth it
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The hot new business class ticket within Asia is in fact, Hong Kong to Mumbai. Before the pandemic, more than half of the Asian top line of U.S. bulge bracket banks typically came from Greater China which includes the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Overall, IPO fees in India have risen from 1% of proceeds in 2017 closer to 2% in recent years, LSEG data shows. Hong Kong bankers are not going to relocate to India any time soon but while they wait out a slow and uncertain recovery in China activity, the trip to India looks increasingly worthwhile. Proceeds from initial public offerings in India amounted to $3.8 billion across 172 deals as of Oct. 24, according to LSEG data.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Banks, Mukesh Ambani, Bhavish, Ola, What’s, Gaurav Trehan, Blackstone, Amit Dixit, David Solomon, James Gorman, Citigroup's Jane Fraser, Noel Quinn, Bill Winters, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, UBS, Insurance, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Reliance Industries, KKR, Bank of America, Global Financial, Investment, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Offshore, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Hong Kong, China, Asia, Mumbai, Greater China, Macau, Taiwan, Beijing, Washington, India, United States, Offshore China

☆ UK fashion retailer can revive discount price tag
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Primark’s improved fast-fashion appeal can power a valuation revival. Assuming sales at the retailer were to grow 7% annually, just half of the 15% jump of last year, they would hit 9.6 billion pounds. If margins were to rise to 10%, that would add 235 million pounds to the conglomerate’s operating profit, which stood at 1.5 billion pounds last year, Breakingviews calculations show. If Primark’s input costs keep falling and it successfully expands in the U.S., it can narrow this gap. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Aimee Donnellan, Aston Martin, Lisa Jucca, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, British Foods, Foods, X, Starbucks, Paramount, Macquarie, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ SEC may have to let crypto foxes into the henhouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has cracked down on crypto exchanges without defining most tokens, stoking criticism that it has fostered a regulatory grey area and depressed prices. But now the agency is struggling to hire the experts it needs to keep policing the sector, partly because crypto lovers don’t want to sell their coins at depressed prices. Hiring such specialists is “critical” to probing new problems in crypto markets, the inspector general wrote. Yet supporters of bitcoin and the like have long criticized the SEC for regulating through enforcement instead of setting clear guidelines. For the SEC to do its job as best it can, it might need to replace its bad-cop routine with some good-cop action.

Persons: Ben Winck, Aston Martin, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, bitcoin, SEC, X, Paramount, Macquarie, Thomson

☆ Drug shortages demand quick and costly action: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Used blister packets that contained medicines, tablets and pills are seen in this picture illustration taken June 30, 2018. In this Exchange podcast, Dr. Steffen Denzinger, president of the European Fine Chemicals Group, argues that safeguarding medicines may require patients to pay more. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on XSubscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Oliver TaslicOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Russell Boyce, Steffen Denzinger, Oliver Taslic Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, European Fine Chemicals Group, Thomson

☆ UBS faces a long wait for M&A share-price boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But investors in his bank UBS (UBSG.S) still seem relatively cool on his Credit Suisse acquisition. Ermotti has reversed the client exodus that ultimately sank Credit Suisse. Yet there’s much to do before investors give UBS credit for that rosier future. Bloomberg reported in September that the U.S. Department of Justice had stepped up a probe into Credit Suisse and UBS over suspected Russian compliance failures. The group also booked a $2 billion expense related to the cost of integrating Credit Suisse, which it bought earlier this year.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, Ermotti, Ermotti reckons, UBS’s, there’s, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, UBS, Credit Suisse, Analysts, Bloomberg, U.S . Department of Justice, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Alpha, Suisse, Thomson

☆ Workers are missing cog in US manufacturing gears
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

NEW YORK, Nov 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - There’s a spanner in the freshly restarted U.S. manufacturing machine. Based in part on the planned construction spending, Goldman Sachs analysts estimate that Biden’s initiatives could lead to as many as 250,000 new manufacturing jobs over the next two years. Pay growth is also cooling faster for production and manufacturing jobs, at 4.2% year-over-year in August, down from an 11% annual peak in December 2021 and compared to the national average of 4.5%, according to jobs website Indeed. By 2030, technological and cognitive skills in the manufacturing sector will be in far higher demand as the share of physical and manual tasks drops by more than a quarter from 2016, McKinsey says. The U.S. manufacturing engine may be humming along now, but employment-related complications threaten to throw sand in the gears.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, Goldman Sachs, There’s, it’s, Sam, Francesco Guererra, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Deal, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics, Intel, Bosch, Linde, Public, Ford, SK Innovation, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Department, Bureau of Labor Statistics, McKinsey, University of Massachusetts, Economy Research, of Labor Statistics, Thomson Locations: Arizona, U.S, United States, China, Europe, Asia, it’s, Germany, Amherst

☆ High bond yields challenge “Pax Americana”
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

There are also many reasons why “Pax Americana” – the period of U.S. dominance since World War Two - is under stress. The combination of high bond yields with a large fiscal deficit and rising sovereign debt is making it harder for politicians to govern the country. If anything, they may have a tougher job to make their fiscal maths add up than the United States because their growth prospects are not as rosy. What’s more, the near-record yield gap with the United States is bringing its own headaches by putting downward pressure on the yuan. These are consolations for the United States as it grapples with the geopolitical consequences of high interest rates.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, Joe Biden’s, doesn’t, Liz Truss, haven’t, Paul Tucker, “, Fitch, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Air Force, Joint Base Andrews, REUTERS, Reuters, Federal Reserve, International Monetary Fund, Bank of England, AAA, AA, United, Bank for International, Initiative, Thomson Locations: Lewiston , Maine, Joint Base Andrews , Maryland, U.S, Israel, Ukraine, China, United States, Europe, Asia, Russia, Britain, Washington, Republic

☆ Starbucks pays little mind to unions’ pay push
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People gather outside a Starbucks location while singer Billy Bragg performs for striking Starbucks Workers United Union members in Buffalo, New York, U.S., October 12, 2022. Under Starbucks’ new wage plan announced Monday morning, only baristas with more than five years of experience will win 5% raises. All other employees will come in below the 4.1% jump in average hourly pay over the last 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Part-time workers at United Parcel Service (UPS.N) won a 48% average pay hike over five years, akin to a 10% annual increase. While U.S. baristas continue to organize, contracts approved at two Canadian Starbucks stores suggests employees’ bargaining power is fizzling.

Persons: Billy Bragg, Lindsay DeDario, Ben Winck, Aston Martin, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Starbucks Workers United Union, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Starbucks, Bureau of Labor Statistics, United Auto Workers, General Motors, United Parcel Service, X, Paramount, Macquarie, Pfizer, Thomson Locations: Buffalo , New York, U.S

☆ Canary Wharf may yet avoid once-a-decade upheaval
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Yawen Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Canary Wharf tends to have a new owner every decade. A recent 300 million pound equity injection implies they will buck the trend. Brookfield and the QIA, which own the estate’s developer Canary Wharf Group through a 50-50 partnership, ostensibly look to be backing a losing horse. Factoring in all its assets on the Canary Wharf estate, Brookfield as of September valued it all at $6.1 billion, or 5 billion pounds – over 2 billion pounds more than what the duo put in eight years ago. Canary Wharf could be owned by highly leveraged, shallow-pocketed types.

Persons: –, Paul Reichmann’s Olympia, Morgan, Breakingviews, dory, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, HSBC, HK, London Docklands, Qatar Investment Authority, Canary, York, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Brookfield, Wharf Group, Thomson Locations: Brookfield, –, CWG, City, Wharf

NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Elon Musk does well when his back is against the wall. His investment in X now fills the longshot role, which leaves him little to lose. Grok, as it is called, has “real-time access to info via the X platform,” Musk noted in a post, which gives it a “massive advantage” over other AI models. Although the product is still being tested, Musk says it already can out-compute OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and Meta Platforms' (META.O) Llama 2. X may be near, or already has hit, rock bottom, right where Musk often does his best work.

Persons: Elon, Tesla, Musk, ” Musk, Linda Yaccarino, X, Billionaire Elon Musk, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Twitter, New York Times, Microsoft, New, Billionaire, OpenAI, Thomson

☆ Carol Ryan — Columnist at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Carol Ryan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Carol RyanCarol Ryan is a Heard on the Street columnist based in London, where she covers European energy companies, property and the luxury-goods industry. She joined the Journal from Reuters Breakingviews, where she covered consumer-staples companies.

Persons: Carol Ryan Carol Ryan Organizations: Journal, Reuters Locations: London, Reuters Breakingviews

☆ Macquarie sends shareholders a sell signal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chief Executive of the Macquarie Group Shemara Wikramanayake, is seen in this handout picture taken in Sydney, Australia in 2022 released on May 5, 2023. Macquarie Group and Alice Boshell/Handout via REUTERS. Acquire Licensing RightsMELBOURNE, Nov 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Macquarie (MQG.AX) boss Shemara Wikramanayake knows how to time the market. The two moves seem designed to calm any shareholders nervous about the bank’s dip in fortunes. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Alice Boshell, Shemara Wikramanayake, Macquarie, Antony Currie, Aston Martin, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Macquarie Group, REUTERS, Acquire, Rights MELBOURNE, Reuters, X, Pfizer, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Handout, Macquarie

☆ Breakingviews: SBF’s guilty verdict will help crypto break free
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Just over a year ago, Sam Bankman-Fried might have been counting his large stash of virtual coins. A Manhattan jury on Thursday convicted the FTX founder of seven counts related to crimes he committed at the helm of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. With some $8 billion in customer funds stolen, his misdeeds will go down as one of the biggest financial frauds on record. To be sure, the speculative bubble in crypto would probably have deflated even without Bankman-Fried. The bankrupt exchange is also negotiating with three bidders to help it relaunch trading services, Bloomberg reported last month.

Persons: Lewis Kaplan, Sam Bankman, Fried, Jane Rosenberg, FTX, John J, Ray III, Nicolas Roos, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Galaxy Digital, Three, BlackRock, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan

☆ Bezos makes third losing bet on real estate
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It’s not the only questionable real estate decision Bezos has made in the past several years. He announced in a Thursday Instagram post that he will move to Miami, leaving the Washington city where he founded Amazon in 1994. Bezos grew up in the south-Florida city in the early 1980s, and he will return to a two-mansion compound worth some $147 million, according to Bloomberg. Miami-based real estate had a renaissance during the pandemic as people sought warmer climates where they could be outside. Still, the founder is no stranger to real estate bets that don’t always make financial sense.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, It’s, Bezos, Ken Griffin, David Tepper, lockdowns, That’ll, don’t, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Amazon, Bloomberg, U.S . Federal Housing Finance Agency, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Dade, University of Miami, Homes, Climate, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Shepard, Thomson Locations: Miami, Seattle, Florida, Washington, Bezos, Indian, Arlington , Virginia, Arlington, Cape Canaveral

☆ Rich countries are stumbling into a debt trap
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Felix Martin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Unlike many corporations and households, the U.S. government did not lock in the low interest rates of the last decade by issuing long-dated debt, preferring instead to skew funding towards bills and short-term bonds. The second route out of the debt trap is to target the primary fiscal surplus, choosing a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes that will stabilise the public debt. That leaves the third route to debt sustainability – keeping real interest rates low. But in the short run, it allows a government to tame the debt ratio without fiscal austerity, and even if growth is sluggish. Governments are indeed stuck in a classic debt trap.

Persons: Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kacper, Everett Dirksen, you’re, Dirksen’s, Stanley Druckenmiller, Joe Biden’s, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Japan's, NATO, REUTERS, Reuters, Congressional, Office, International Monetary Fund, U.S, Treasury, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Medicaid, Federal, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania, Illinois, U.S, Britain

☆ Paramount summits a precarious streaming peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Toy figures of people are seen in front of the displayed Paramount + logo, in this illustration taken January 20, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Paramount Global (PARA.O) says it’s reached the peak of its pain from investing in costly streaming. Crucially, boss Bob Bakish indicated that investment in streaming has topped out ahead of schedule, helping to send shares up 10%. Turning around streaming losses is existential for old-guard media empires navigating the slow dwindling of cable and broadcast. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, it’s, Bob Bakish, Bakish, Walt Disney, Disney’s, Nielsen, Bakish’s, Jennifer Saba, Aston Martin, Jonathan Guilford, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Paramount, Yellowstone, Netflix, YouTube, Disney’s Hulu, Macquarie, Pfizer, Thomson

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