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HSBC invites shy investors to turnaround party
  + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +4 min
The turnaround Quinn launched shortly after taking charge of the London-headquartered bank in 2019 is gaining momentum. In the three months to the end of June, HSBC almost doubled its pre-tax profit to $8.8 billion compared with the same period last year. He’s catching up with market expectations, too, aiming for a return on tangible equity in the mid-teens and echoing Visible Alpha’s consensus numbers for 15% this year, and almost 14% next. Crucially, Quinn and his newish finance chief, Georges Elhedery, can focus on improving the bank’s performance with fewer distractions. All shareholders, though, clearly still need some convincing to join HSBC’s turnaround party in earnest.
Persons: Noel Quinn, Quinn, Georges Elhedery, Ping, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, HK, HSBC, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Ping An Insurance, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, London, Hong Kong, China, Asia, Europe, North America, Canada
New BT boss’s biggest test is investor relations
  + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
LONDON, July 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - BT’s (BT.L) board faced the challenge of hiring a new CEO willing to implement a turnaround strategy decided by their predecessor. It has solved that problem by appointing one of its own members, Allison Kirkby, to the post vacated by outgoing Philip Jansen. Shares in the Swedish telco sank 4% on news of her departure, suggesting Telia’s loss is a gain for BT. Kirkby won’t take over until January 2024 but, having sat on BT’s board for more than four years, she should be able to hit the road running. Keeping these two investors on her side will be the real test for Kirkby at BT.
Persons: Allison Kirkby, Philip Jansen ., Swedish telco, Kirkby won’t, Patrick Drahi’s, Jansen, Pierre Briançon, Liam Proud, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Telia Company, BT, Kirkby, Deutsche Telekom, Twitter, Soaring, of Japan, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Kirkby
Heineken’s pricing goof has a strategic spillover
  + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
LONDON, July 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Dolf van den Brink has had a six-month-long happy hour. Heineken’s misstep occurred even though the company increased prices for its beers by an average of 13% from a year earlier. While consumer goods groups like Unilever (ULVR.L) managed to hike without losing much business, Heineken’s 6% hit to beer sales in the first half suggests van den Brink has not. In Vietnam, which analysts at Bernstein estimate accounts for nearly half of that region’s sales, Heineken admitted its pricing was mistimed. Van den Brink seems confident the worst is over for 2023, because all his price hikes have already happened.
Persons: van den Brink, misstep, Bernstein, Van den Brink, Yawen Chen, , George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Heineken, Unilever, Walmart, BT boss’s, of Japan, Thomson Locations: Vietnam, United States
And so far, the performance of the floats that have got away has been relatively poor. It’s a major red flag for larger IPO candidates, like CVC Capital Partners or EQT’s (EQTAB.ST) Galderma. Only 65 companies decided to brave choppy stock markets in Europe, raising $6.6 billion in overall proceeds, according to Dealogic data. Italian betting group Lottomatica (LTMC.MI) and German web-hosting company IONOS (IOSn.DE) priced at the bottom of their initial ranges. Dealogic data shows that IPOs in the region raised a total of $6.6 billion between the start of 2023 and July 20.
Persons: Breakingviews, Thyssenkrupp, Nucera, Hidroelectrica, Liam Proud, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Capital Partners, underwriters, Bankers, Swiss, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thomson Locations: Europe, Romanian, Saudi, Swedish
Kering dons Valentino scent to ease Gucci malaise
  + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +3 min
Adding the maker of pricey Rockstud bags could help it reduce its dependency on tottering star brand Gucci. Kering’s stake purchase values the whole brand at 5.7 billion euros, or 16 times its EBITDA of 350 million euros last year. Kering will pay 1.7 billion euros for the stake in cash. Valentino had revenue of 1.4 billion euros and a recurring EBITDA of 350 million euros in 2022. Kering’s star brand Gucci rose just 1% on an organic basis.
Persons: Henri Pinault, Valentino, Gucci, Valentino Garavani, LVMH, Sabato De Sarno, Alessandro Michele, Marco Bizzarri, Kering, George Hay, Streisand Neto, Oliver Taslic Organizations: MILAN, Reuters, Thomson
Bank of Japan has its cake and eats it
  + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
Governor Kazuo Ueda on Friday shocked global markets by pledging more flexibility in the Bank of Japan’s (8301.T) yield curve control scheme, its mechanism for controlling long-term interest rates. The central bank said its previous rigid target of keeping yields on 10-year sovereign bonds in a range of 0.5% to minus 0.5% was now just a “reference”. And it promised to buy 10-year bonds at 1%, which Ueda defined as a “just-in-case” cap. Traders immediately breached the officially unchanged range; the yield on 10-year government bonds hit a 9-year high of 0.575%. Instead, the bank may have found a way to make it more sustainable.
Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Ueda, Francesco Guerrera, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Bank of Japan’s, Traders, Global, Twitter, Consumers, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Japan, Una
Rolls-Royce boss reaps benefits of setting bar low
  + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
LONDON, July 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Six months after calling Rolls-Royce (RR.L) a “burning platform”, Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic is giving Britain’s flagship engineering group a high five. Shares spiked 20% as investors celebrated the possibility of free cash flow hitting 1 billion pounds in 2023, 37% above consensus. The company had nearly 3.3 billion pounds of net debt last year, and Barclays analysts are pencilling in an increase this year. Erginbilgic can safely argue that Rolls-Royce is no longer a burning platform, but until he closes that gap he can expect heat from investors. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
Persons: Tufan Erginbilgic, Erginbilgic, France’s Safran, Pamela Barbaglia, Aimee Donnellan, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Royce, Barclays, Electric, Twitter, Thales, Thomson
Spotify’s awkward three-way dance leads to slip-up
  + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
LONDON, July 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Spotify (SPOT.N) is caught between the expectations of investors and major music labels. One bullish argument for Spotify’s stock is that higher prices will mean higher margins over time. First, some of Spotify’s customers pay annually, which means the price hike might take a while to come through. He’s locked in a long-term standoff with major labels like Universal Music Group (UMG.AS), which currently grab the overwhelming majority of Spotify’s revenue. In other words, Spotify’s future may be rosier than Ek is willing to let on.
Persons: Daniel Ek, Ek, coy, He’s, Karen Kwok, Liam Proud, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Spotify, Universal Music, Twitter, Thales, Thomson Locations: Spain
NatWest goof is a boon for sketchy bank clients
  + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +5 min
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A row between right-wing talking head Nigel Farage and UK bank NatWest (NWG.L) could have much broader consequences. Last November, a reputational risk committee of NatWest’s exclusive private bank Coutts decided to ditch Farage by summer 2023. After closing the Coutts wealth account, NatWest offered Farage a standard one at the parent group instead, for example. But for now the biggest winners from the Farage-Coutts row seem to be sketchy UK bank customers. Briefing papers presented to Coutts’ wealth reputational risk committee said Farage was “considered by many to be a disingenuous grifter”.
Persons: Nigel Farage, Alison Rose, Farage, Coutts, didn’t, Rose, Andrew Griffith, Coutts ’, , ” Farage, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, NatWest, Conservative, Treasury, Financial Ombudsman Service, Twitter, UK Independence Party, Thomson
European earnings add weight to economic bear case
  + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
LONDON, July 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - It’s only early in the financial-reporting season for European companies. But macro bears will already be able to find all the doom and gloom they could ever want. But pricey recipe kits and premium toilet paper are relatively easy ways for pinched consumers to save money. Before the results, all three companies were priced at a premium to the STOXX Europe 600 Index (.STOXX) using 12-month forward price to earnings multiples, suggesting possible shareholder complacency. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
Persons: napping, Liam Proud, whir, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Europe
LONDON, July 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The recovery in the world’s second largest economy is stalling. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how that weakness will test President Xi Jinping’s resolve to deleverage sectors including property and add urgency to find new growth engines. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Oliver Taslic and Thomas ShumOur 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: Xi Jinping’s, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Twitter, Thomson
UK is in danger of becoming the Nigeria of wind
  + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +3 min
LONDON, July 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Britain is supposed to be the Saudi Arabia of wind power. Vattenfall’s decision on Thursday to halt the 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Norfolk Boreas project is just the latest sign that Britain’s most appropriate fossil-fuel comparator may not be the biggest and most efficient producer. Vattenfall, a state-held Swedish power company, has gone cool for reasons that are well-discussed in the wind sector. The obvious move for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would be to allow developers to charge more for power, to make up for higher costs. Follow @gfhay on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSVattenfall is stopping the development of its 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Norfolk Boreas offshore wind project off the coast of Britain, the state-owned Swedish utility said on July 20.
Persons: Boris Johnson’s, Vattenfall, Rishi Sunak, Liam Proud, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Siemens, UK, FTI, Norfolk, Thomson Locations: Britain, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Riyadh, Norfolk Boreas, Swedish, Norfolk, Orsted, Nigeria
Britain upgrades to also-ran in EV battery race
  + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +4 min
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is joining the global arms race to secure future industries, but he has a long way to go. Europe may have 25 so-called gigafactories, vast plants that turn raw materials such as lithium into battery packs, by 2025. While both Theresa May and Boris Johnson tried, they failed to win over big global players like Tesla (TSLA.O), Samsung or Northvolt, which preferred European sites. The UK leader can at least now claim he can attract global players. But Tata’s 40 GWh of new capacity brings Britain’s total to just over 50 GWh by 2026, after factoring in the plant operated by China’s Envision in Sunderland.
Persons: Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden’s, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Britishvolt, China’s, Sunak, George Hay, Pranav Kiran, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Tata Group, Honda, Samsung, Tata, Rover, Toyota, The Society of Motor Manufacturers, Traders, Faraday, India’s Tata Group, Thomson Locations: Indian, Somerset, Japanese, Europe, United States, Britain, Sunderland
Xavier Niel’s GAM raid looks less quixotic
  + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
NewGAMe, whose backers include telecoms mogul Xavier Niel and Swiss wealth manager Bruellan, launched a tender offer for just under 18% of GAM’s shares. Liontrust’s offer looked like the least bad option for GAM, which is losing money as its assets have more than halved since 2018 to 68 billion Swiss francs. And at least one other investor, with 6.5%, has said it won’t accept Liontrust’s offer. That means Liontrust will probably struggle to get to the two-thirds vote it would need to take over GAM. But GAM also has over 2 billion Swiss francs of tax losses to carry forward, lowering any future tax burden.
Persons: Xavier Niel, Bruellan, NewGAMe, Neil Unmack, Aimee Donnellan, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, GAM, Liontrust Asset Management, Twitter, Commonwealth Games, Cathay, Thomson Locations: Swiss
EU has to come clean on costs of green transition
  + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Pierre Briancon | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +8 min
European Union governments have agreed on the strategy, but they tend to paper over the short-term economic costs of the green transition. French economist Jean Pisani-Ferry has compared the impact of the green transition to an economic shock equivalent to the sharp spikes in oil prices in the 1970s. But unlike previous shocks triggered by geopolitical instability or trade wars, the green transition has been initiated and managed by governments, and largely financed by them. Germany looks like the country most able to afford the green transition, but its over-emphasis on regulation on environmental matters is running into fierce opposition. On Sunday Paolo Gentiloni, the EU economy commissioner, told the Financial Times that Europe will have to fund its own industrial green transition.
Persons: Jean Pisani, won’t, Pisani, Selma Mahfouz, Paolo Gentiloni, Bruno Le Maire, Christian Lindner, Keir Starmer, , Francesco Guerrera, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Union, Reuters Graphics Reuters, International Energy Agency, Ferry, Social Democrats, Greens, Opposition, Financial Times, French Finance, German, Labour Party, Twitter, Southern, European Commission, Deal, Zero, Thomson Locations: Europe, France, Italy, Germany, EU, Paris, Southern Europe, Spain, Greece
NEW YORK, July 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Lenders are steering clear of buildings that face reckonings from remote working, pushing prices down. In this Exchange podcast, real estate investor Scott Rechler argues that it will take financial and civic engagement to make empty space desirable for living – and investing. Listen to the podcastFollow @jennifersaba on TwitterSubscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Sharon Lam, Thomas Shum and 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: Scott Rechler, Sharon Lam, Thomas Shum, Oliver Taslic Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Twitter, Thomson
Old Cold War tool could help in new era of tension
  + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +7 min
The United States may soon expand its export controls to cover semiconductors used in artificial intelligence and access to cloud computing. The People’s Republic has responded with tit-for-tat export controls on gallium and germanium, two strategic metals used in chips and other technologies where it has a dominant position. This is what the U.S. and its allies did during the last Cold War, when they established the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom). The United States’ subsidies for green technologies via its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) caused tension with its allies. Its premier, Li Qiang, travelled to Germany last month hoping to persuade it not to row in behind the United States.
Persons: Joe Biden, Hung Tran, Li Qiang, , Biden, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Frances Burwell, Canada –, George Hay, Oliver Taslic, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, NATO, Soviet, Atlantic Council, Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Union, Multilateral Export Controls, United, Republican, Florida, EU, U.S, U.S . Trade, Technology Council, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, China, Republic, U.S, Netherlands, Japan, States, United States, People’s Republic, Germany, Beijing, , Russia, Britain, Canada, Australia, South Korea
5G push catches European telecom kit makers short
  + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
LONDON, July 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The race to roll out faster 5G networks in the past two years has turned into a trap for telecom kit makers in Europe. The Finnish telecom gear group surprised investors with a profit warning; it cut its full-year net sales guidance to between 23.2 billion euros and 24.6 billion euros ($26.05 billion and $27.62 billion) from 24.6 billion euros to 26.2 billion euros previously. Mobile networks in big markets like the United States invested aggressively to roll out 5G equipment in 2021 and 2022, ending up with excessively high inventories. Yet this came just as mobile equipment makers’ customers started to rein in spending on the back of inflation, exacerbating their problem. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
Persons: Karen Kwok, Lisa Jucca, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Nokia, Ericsson, U.S, Twitter, Cathay, Thomson Locations: Europe, Swedish, Scandinavian, United States, India
LONDON, July 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The privately owned UK water company managed to cobble together a rescue from existing shareholders. But in this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss why the fresh funds may not be enough, and the threat of nationalisation hangs over the sector as a whole. 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.
Persons: Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Twitter, Thomson
AXA’s XL cleanup would be logical, if belated
  + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
The boss of $66 billion AXA (AXAF.PA) bought XL Group back in 2018 to beef up its position insuring against storms and other catastrophes. AXA XL’s reinsurance arm, about 10% of group revenues, also drove pricing up 7% last year. Based on AIG’s (AIG.N) recent sale of its reinsurance arm Validus Re, which was done at 1.4 times book value, XL’s reinsurance unit might be valued at around $2.8 billion. The extra cash may help placate investors that never much liked the deal, given that the contribution to earnings from XL should now be more stable. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
Persons: Thomas Buberl, Aimee Donnellan, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, AXA, XL Group, XL, Twitter, Thomson Locations: U.S, China
EU claims win in Illumina battle, may yet lose war
  + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
The $30 billion genetic test maker faces a record European Union fine of 432 million euros ($476 million) for closing the $8 billion deal in 2021, ahead of regulatory approval. Absent the fact that it would have breached its own 10% of revenues cap for fines, the EU would have charged Illumina 570 million euros, according to an EU official. Even so, while the transatlantic merger saga has already seen the departure of Illumina’s chief executive and chairman, Brussels may yet win the battle and lose the war. Separately, Illumina has launched proceedings over whether the EU has the jurisdiction to opine – if it wins, then its new fine could get overturned. With U.S. courts ruling in favour of Microsoft (MSFT.O) over its Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) deal, the Illumina saga may yet have further twists.
Persons: shouldn’t, Illumina, Rebecca Christie, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, European, EU, U.S, Microsoft, Activision, Twitter, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Brussels, China
Watchdog with teeth can help EU hunt unicorns
  + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +8 min
Yet the EU today is a long way from uniting its capital markets. By comparison, the United States has seven exchange groups, three listings exchanges and 16 trading exchanges, along with one clearing house and one depository. Bringing capital markets together through better regulation, as well as better market incentives, could keep the next generation of unicorns home. Follow @rebeccawire on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSEuropean Union leaders called for the EU to improve capital markets as part of a push for competitiveness at summits in March and June. Capital markets union is an EU endeavour launched in 2014 as a long-term project to boost investment across borders.
Persons: , Austria’s i5invest, Backes, Magdalena Rzeczkowska, Nadia Calviño, ESMA, ” Calviño, won’t, centralisation, Francesco Guerrera, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, EU, ABC Fitness Solutions, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Canada, Berlin Brands Group, European Securities and Markets Authority, European, Central, Union, European Commission, Capital, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Europe, China, Ukraine, Arkansas, London, Switzerland, United States, IPOs, Belgian, U.S, Paris, spillovers, Luxembourg, Poland, Brussels, EU, wean
MILAN, July 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Companies founded by women get at best 3% of venture money each year. That’s a sign investors are not allocating capital wisely and missing lucrative deals, Loyal VC founding partner Kamal Hassan tells The Exchange podcast. Listen to the podcastFollow @LJucca 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.
Persons: Kamal Hassan, Oliver Taslic Organizations: MILAN, Reuters, Companies, Twitter, Thomson
How to crack the climate free rider problem
  + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +7 min
For example, the United States, China and Europe are engaged in a green subsidy race that is driving down the cost of clean technology. Extending such a scheme to the members of a G7-led climate club is tricky. Without a big carrot and a big stick, though, the climate club will be a low-key affair. And if Biden wins re-election next year, the prospects of a more ambitious G7 climate club and cooperating with China would improve. Either – or both – would go a long way to solving the climate free rider problem.
Persons: Don’t, It’s, William Nordhaus, , Isabel Hilton, Adair Turner, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, , Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Union, Bank, Trade, United, Economic Co, Development, U.S, Energy, Commission, White, Thomson Locations: United States, Canada, Beijing, China, Europe, India, Vietnam, Washington, Argentina, Indonesia, Republic
Thames rescue looks far from watertight
  + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Thames Water is stepping back from the brink, a little bit. Shareholders, led by Canada’s Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, have now agreed to pony up 750 million pounds. They’ve also acknowledged even more will be allowed over the next regulatory review period between 2025 and 2030. Bonds issued by Thames’ holding company, Kemble, rose as much as 10 percentage points following the news. That depressed price suggests there’s a long way to go before Thames is on dry land.
Persons: They’ve, Bonds, Kemble, Neil Unmack, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Canada’s, Thames, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Canada’s Ontario, Thames, China
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