Viewsroom

Disney’s $66 bln deal for the bulk of Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment empire is a reaction to the rapid rise of streaming-content providers like Netflix, and lets CEO Bob Iger delay retirement again. Elsewhere: the Democrats win in Alabama, and Chinese bike-sharing rides towards M&A. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini is bagging $500 million from selling the insurance company to drugstore chain CVS – despite only a middling performance as boss. Behind such healthcare mergers: a desire to cut out a surfeit of middlemen. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ride-hailing app has hit a damaging set of speed bumps including accelerating losses, a bruising court battle with Alphabet and covering up a security breach. But new Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi’s most important challenge is proving the firm can handle the long haul. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The telecom firm’s acquisition of Time Warner, owner of CNN, may hit regulatory hurdles in D.C. President Trump’s caustic tweets against the news network look self-interested, but watchdogs could yet legitimately rethink norms of competition. Plus: GE searches for a way forward. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

The chipmaker’s hostile tilt at Qualcomm is a rare aggressive move in the sector. Qualcomm has its own issues, awaiting approval for its NXP deal and fighting Apple in court. It all suggests the tech sector is too frothy. Plus: Is Hong Kong losing its moxie as a financial center? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has a $500 bln plan to attract new business to the oil-dependent kingdom: build a utopian society on the Red Sea free of many of Saudi’s legal and cultural constraints. Plus: why tech and finance execs won’t be joining President Trump in Asia. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Xi Jinping emerged stronger at the end of China’s Communist Party Congress. His desire to consolidate control however may not help his plans to keep the Middle Kingdom’s economic engine humming. Plus: U.S. telecom firms try again to dial up a merger. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress kicks off this week. Delegates at the week-long confab will select new leaders, including for key financial and economic posts. But the spotlight will be on Xi and whether he can consolidate his power and extend his reign. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nelson Peltz narrowly lost his acrimonious bid for a P&G board seat. Honeywell’s decision to spin off two small units was less than Dan Loeb lobbied for. These are temporary setbacks. Past experience and the financial firepower at their disposal make activists a powerful force. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ford boss Jim Hackett’s plan to catch up with rival GM on electric and self-driving vehicles starts with $14 bln of cost cuts. China may be in pole position as it considers banning gasoline cars entirely. But plenty of factors could delay mass adoption of new technology. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. president and Republicans want to reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 pct from 35 pct. After a blistering defeat over Obamacare, the prospects of significant reform are slim. Meanwhile, Equifax’s CEO slinks out of the building. Plus: Puerto Rico’s prayer for relief. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democrats should win more votes than rivals. But they’ll need coalition partners to form a government. Choosing among them promises to be a nail-biter. Also: the Toys R Us bankruptcy won’t be a total loss for its private-equity owners. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bridgewater’s founder thinks his kindred spirit resides in China’s anti-corruption czar Wang Qishan. Both seek radical transparency – though Dalio’s hunt is tied to forging a business in the Middle Kingdom. Plus: Exxon’s salvation may lie in the oil fields of West Texas. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texas is facing $180 bln in hurricane cleanup costs, the most of any U.S. natural disaster. The Lone Star State has the wherewithal and chutzpah to cover a large chunk, yet expects Washington to pick up most of the tab. Global water risks, meanwhile, may require $12 trln to fix. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

The U.S. runs out of money in a month and the president is attacking lawmakers in his own party. That could prompt Republicans and Democrats to work together to keep the lights on. Plus: Rupert Murdoch could be overpaying for Sky. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Great Wall Motors wants to buy Jeep. That’d leave the Italian-American carmaker cash rich but devoid of profit in a fast-changing industry. Meanwhile, Uber tries to find a silver lining to the cloud its drivers are under. Plus: what makes China’s unicorns a different breed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump’s inflammatory comments about white supremacists have lost him the support and advice of business leaders, leaving him increasingly isolated and ineffectual. Qatar’s stake in the LSE may prompt Saudi Aramco to shun the exchange for its IPO. Plus: M&A for the MAGA era. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

The U.S. president needs Beijing’s help with North Korea even more after his recent warmongering outburst. Yet his administration just slapped petty import tariffs on Chinese aluminum. Also: what a Google engineer’s sexist memo says about the firm, Silicon Valley and society. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Questionable elections for a rubber-stamping new assembly may give President Nicolas Maduro more power. But the country’s people, economy - and some U.S. companies - will suffer. Also: Sprint, under a ton of debt yet overvalued, weighs its M&A options. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CEO Mike Corbat pledged a huge earnings boost at the bank’s first investor confab in nine years. But Citi’s enduring crisis hangover will still leave it trailing most rivals. In China, HNA’s shadowy ownership may be a big problem for U.S. M&A. Plus: Google keeps clicking. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans’ failure to replace Obamacare throws into doubt Washington’s ability to keep other high-profile election promises, not least cutting corporate levies. Meanwhile, President Trump’s fuzzy agenda for reforming NAFTA could give Canada and Mexico more bargaining power. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tesla’s CEO is putting the firm’s reputation, and $50 million, on the line in a deal to quickly provide energy storage to South Australia. Over in Texas, a battle is brewing between investment icons Warren Buffett and Paul Singer over a long-suffering and oft-wooed energy company. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

It’s 20 years since the British handed the island and adjacent territory back to the mainland. Breakingviews’ Asia columnists explain how Hong Kong’s economy and society have changed and ask whether this once-dominant regional financial center can regain some of its lost luster. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

The meal-kit delivery firm had an unappetizing IPO, barely opening above its much reduced price of $10 a share. Investors are starting to wise up to fluffy concoctions with little meat. The more discerning environment will make it difficult for half-baked companies with high risk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

Filling departed founder Travis Kalanick’s seat is no easy task, so we offer some suggestions. Elsewhere, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ seemingly crazy $13.7 bln offer for struggling grocer Whole Foods has some logic. Anbang lands in hot water in China. And the lure of 100-year debt. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices