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☆ Global tax would spoil investors’ plastic party
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

This may change if supporters of taxes and other restrictive measures prevail at ongoing talks for a global treaty to end plastic pollution by 2040. And the world lacks sufficient infrastructure to sort discarded resins: only 9% of global plastic is recycled each year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reckons. Some 90% of people support measures to combat plastic pollution, a global Ipsos survey from 2021 shows. Countries including Britain have already started applying levies on virgin plastic packaging. CONTEXT NEWSRepresentatives of 175 countries in March endorsed a landmark resolution to develop international, legally binding rules to end plastic pollution by 2040.

Persons: Inger Andersen, Barr, Aimee Donnellan, Pranav Kiran Organizations: MILAN, Reuters, Big Oil, ExxonMobil, Dow, Indorama Ventures, Saudi Aramco, Minderoo, Organisation for Economic Co, ” United Nations, Reuters Breakingviews, Barclays, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Sinopec, Britain, Paris

☆ Debt ceiling crash will have few victims: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, May 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - President Joe Biden is trying to hammer out a deal with Republican lawmakers to ensure the United States can keep its lights on. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how even if the world’s largest economy defaults on its debts the damage will be limited. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe 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.

☆ ‘Greedflation’ loosens its grip on food retailers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Big food manufacturers like Kraft Heinz (KHC.O) and Unilever (ULVR.L) are ratcheting down the price rises they have been inflicting onto supermarket chains. If food retailers can convince cash-strapped customers to skimp less and pay more, their profit margins will finally start growing. Last week, the country’s food retailers opened negotiations on prices with manufacturers like Coca-Cola (KO.N) and Unilever as food inflation surged to over 15% in March. Food manufacturers can certainly do more. Meanwhile, food inflation remained high at 19.1% in April versus 19.2% in March.

☆ Embracer gaming deal flub leaves credibility wound
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, May 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A communications glitch is raising credibility questions at video game giant Embracer (EMBRACb.ST). Gaming companies occasionally make games in partnership with media giants that control popular intellectual property – like film, TV or comic book characters – but lack the knowhow to create video games. Conversely, a hot developer may sign a deal to produce exclusive content for a specific video game marketplace, like the Epic Games Store. It said on Wednesday that adjusted operating profit for the current financial year would likely be between 7 billion and 9 billion Swedish crowns ($650 million and $840 million), from 10.3 billion to 13.6 billion Swedish crowns previously. Among those is Savvy Games, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which bought a roughly 8% stake for 103 Swedish crowns a share in June last year, versus a share price of roughly 23 Swedish crowns on Wednesday morning.

☆ Erdogan part three would be worse and the same: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Turkish president is in a heated battle to lead the battered country. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss the risks Turkey faces if he stays in office, his rival’s offering and how the outcome of the election will impact the rest of the world. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe 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.

☆ Why the jobs market could brush off AI threat: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hiring seems to be waning in the US and Europe. Yet in this Exchange podcast, recruitment boss Sander van ’t Noordende strikes a hopeful note. The Randstad CEO explains why artificial intelligence and a possible economic slump are doing nothing to dampen demand for talent. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Wood Group’s non-deal requires a rapid Plan B
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ken Gilmartin needs a Plan B. The chief executive of $1.3 billion John Wood Group (WG.L) did little to encourage Apollo Global Management’s (APO.N) interest, despite the U.S. private equity house submitting no less than five separate bids for the UK infrastructure business. But now Apollo has ditched its most recent plan to buy Wood Group for 240 pence a share – and the target’s shares have slumped 35% back to 145 pence. Gilmartin and the Wood Group board reckon the company will be successful as a solo operation. But if investors were convinced, then Wood Group’s share price shouldn’t have plummeted back to around where it was when Apollo’s interest emerged in February.

☆ Pharma’s obesity gold rush will have limits: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, May 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Drugmakers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are vying for a large slab of the weight loss medications market, which analysts reckon could be worth $100 bln by 2031. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how investor optimism in a booming market is unwarranted. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on Twitter(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. Subscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Swedish drugmaker finds alluring poison pill
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sweden’s rare disease drug maker is experiencing unfortunate deal side effects. On Wednesday, shares in Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (SOBI) (SOBIV.ST) fell 15% after it announced a plan to buy CTI BioPharma (CTIC.O), a specialist in rare blood cancers, for $1.7 billion. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker refused to tender its shares amid a squabble over the U.S. rights for a respiratory drug. But SOBI’s new deal, which will be funded by a rights issue backed by main shareholder Investor AB (INVEb.ST), suggests Oelkers has support for a solo future. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ French sports deal reveals rare retail bright spot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Retreat is the most common strategy of top retail chief executives. On Tuesday, the near-$11 billion British purveyor of sportswear splashed out 520 million euros ($571 million) on French sneaker seller Courir. Regis Schultz, JD’s French boss, is planning to spend more of the company’s 1-billion-pound ($1.3 billion) cash pile on further international expansion. Sales of exercise equipment, gym wear and running shoes are set to double to $1 trillion by 2030, according to Straits Research. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Adidas runs harder, but also stands still
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That beat analyst expectations of 15 million euros, and was aided by double digit sales growth in Latin America and Asia. The good cheer partly reflects the low expectations of Adidas’s investors. They hold shares worth about half their mid-2021 level, and while sales globally didn’t fall 4% as forecast, they still dipped 1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, CEO Bjorn Gulden has to decide what to do with stacks of Yeezy trainers in storage ever since the company severed ties with the musician. Although certain products like Gazelle and Sambo are doing well, the 40% margins on Yeezy sales were ten times Adidas’s overall level.

☆ First Republic’s rescue cements ‘too big to fail’: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - JPMorgan rode to the rescue of the mid-sized lender, which recently became the latest US bank to keel over. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss the impact of lending giants bulking up further, and whether that itself stores up future risks. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe 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.

☆ Novo Nordisk’s chunky valuation risks crash diet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Novo Nordisk’s (NOVOb.CO) weighty valuation could be headed for a crash diet. This lofty position is thanks to its domination of the obesity market via its Wegovy drug. Obesity sales for Novo are still only expected to reach $12 billion by 2027, according to estimates from Visible Alpha. It also remains unclear how fast the obesity drug market will grow. Novo reported earnings before interest and taxes of 25 billion Danish crowns ($3.72 billion), above an average analyst forecast of 22.4 billion, according to a Refinitiv poll.

☆ Ending the retailers’ crisis has a high price tag
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BARCELONA, May 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - High-street retailers are facing a heavy bill to weather the cost-of-living crisis. The cost of heating stores and staff requests for pay rises are squeezing operating margins at top players like H&M (HMb.ST) and Next (NXT.L). Shrinking disposable income is making it hard for these retailers to boost sales to protect margins. Most bricks-and-mortar retailers trade on higher multiples than they did before the war in Ukraine sparked soaring inflation. But that leaves a squeezed middle of retailers like H&M exposed to the brunt of the retail crisis.

☆ European drug discounts will ruffle U.S. funder
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LODNON, April 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Europe’s plan to slash prices on pharmaceutical drugs could set off tensions with the U.S. The European Union proposed on Wednesday a legislative overhaul of the sector across the 27-nation bloc. This would incentivise drug makers like AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and GSK (GSK.L) to sell to all European countries at once. And although the U.S. is trying to tackle soaring prices with the Inflation Reduction Act, Europe’s falling drug costs will widen the gap once again. This creates a problem for the U.S. government, which funds more drug development than any other country.

☆ EY’s failed split raises stakes for Plan B: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Big Four professional services firm called off a plan to separate its audit and consulting arms. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss what went wrong, the implications for its rivals, and the pressure on EY bosses to show the intact business can thrive. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe 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.

☆ Reckitt CEO switch may boost odds of a takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Reckitt Benckiser’s (RKT.L) decision to appoint an insider as CEO may help to entice prospective buyers, like U.S. giant Procter & Gamble (PG.N). Reckitt has been a perennial takeover target, as previous bosses struggled to deliver consistently strong revenue growth. It is still paying down a hefty debt pile following an ill-advised $17 billion takeover of baby food maker Mead Johnson in 2017. Net revenue grew by nearly 8% year-on-year in the first quarter – after excluding acquisitions, disposals and currency fluctuations. Reckitt’s shares trade at 17 times forecast 2023 earnings, compared with P&G’s multiple of nearly 25 times.

☆ Carmakers are poised for EV race to the bottom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

On Thursday, the near 10 billion euro carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) appeared to have finally turned a corner after a painful pandemic. A Tesla-induced price war would be particularly painful for European carmakers like Renault, which is forecast to record an abysmal operating margin of around 6% this year, Refinitiv data show. But if Musk’s plan works and he hoovers up market share, Renault and its peers may have no choice. The party for European EV carmakers could be over just as it started. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Politicians and policy wonks diverge on economy: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Prominent policymakers and world leaders met in Washington last week to discuss the economic outlook. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why US politicians are taking a rosier view of inflation and vulnerabilities in the banking sector than the IMF. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe 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.

☆ Commercial property pain is only just beginning: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, April 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Valuations of offices and shopping malls are under threat as rising interest rates ratchet up the cost of buying real estate. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how inflation and remote working could make the crisis far worse than 2008. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe 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.

☆ UAE telco super app punt uses Indian playbook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The United Arab Emirates is finding more strategic places to park its cash. The telecoms giant’s purchase follows a $4.4 billion investment in Vodafone (VOD.L) in May last year. It’s a way to advance an ambition, revealed last June, to be a technology and investment powerhouse. In a way, e& is following an investor playbook akin to that of India’s Reliance Industries (RELI.NS). The $192 billion Indian conglomerate has spent years acquiring music apps and other services in an attempt to cross-sell to its mobile customers.

☆ Bank rescue real estate turns from dowry to downer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Unlike many banks which got into trouble back in 2008, the Swiss lender has flogged much of its prime real estate. In the last financial crisis prime real estate played a big part of bank rescues. When Barclays (BARC.L) bought Lehman Brothers’ U.S. capital markets business in September 2008 the deal included the bankrupt investment bank’s headquarters. Today there is less real estate underpinning bank values. For buyers preparing to rescue embattled banks, real estate has turned from a dowry to a downer.

☆ H&M’s targets may call the peak on cost inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

On Thursday, the $20 billion fast-fashion retailer said its sales rose by 3% year-on-year in the three months that ended in Feb. 28. More importantly, she is now targeting a 10% operating margin in 2024. The retailer’s operating margin halved in 2022 to 3.2% as the price of cotton, freight, staff and energy costs ate up a larger share of its revenue. Delivering a 10% operating margin next year would imply that she expects the worst to be over in terms of commodity-price inflation and a wider economic slowdown. H&M’s share price rose by 15% on Thursday.

☆ Alibaba breakup sends positive vibes to investors: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, March 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The $265 bln Chinese tech giant is splitting into six pieces. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how the move could be replicated by peers like Tencent and how Beijing’s business charm offensive is sending the right signals to China watchers. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe 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.

☆ Adidas adds risk by tripping over its sneakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Adidas (ADSGn.DE) is having a hard time keeping its feet out of its mouth. On Wednesday, the $28 billion sneaker maker withdrew a trademark objection to Black Lives Matter over its use of three stripes in its logo 48 hours after filing it. The timing of Adidas’s objection looks tin-eared. It could have devised a partnership arrangement with Black Lives Matter that featured both brands. Trying to pick a fight with an organisation popular with young consumers shows that Adidas’s biggest risk is its mouth.

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