Viewsroom

Higher wages, inflation fears and the prospect of faster than expected rate hikes are posing challenges market players haven’t seen for years. Comcast may spike Walt Disney’s potion to acquire Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment assets. Plus, Singapore’s airshow has everyone buzzing. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

Chair Janet Yellen forbids the $2 trln lender from growing bigger - on her last day in the job, and 17 months after Wells’ fake-accounts scandal hit. Meanwhile, fellow financial watchdog CFPB seems to be giving hacked Equifax a free pass. Plus: how Nintendo made a comeback. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JPMorgan’s chairman and CEO intends to lead the bank until around 2023. Dimon has built a strong and successful company over the past 12 years. But the longer he stays, the harder it becomes to leave on an unambiguous high. Plus: Asian governments tackle bitcoin. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. president seems to be trying to right past trade wrongs. But business has long since moved on, meaning tariffs on washing machines and solar panels will do more harm than good. Also, Merkel and Modi disappoint in snow-ravaged Davos. Plus: Spotify’s Wall Street snub. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. president heads to the Swiss Alps confab that’s the antithesis of his “America First” ideology. He’ll have competition: keynote speaker Narendra Modi, with his “Make in India” policy. Plus: BlackRock’s Larry Fink pushes social activism. And why Ford is stalling. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talk of buying fewer of Uncle Sam’s bonds may be Beijing’s way of showing some teeth as the Trump administration mulls import tariffs. But as with other retaliatory trade tactics, it would hurt China too. Plus, why Nelson Peltz doesn’t want to be called an activist investor. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More government borrowing and less central bank buying will force bondholders to fend for themselves, Breakingviews predicts. Plus, passive funds will force out a CEO, electric vehicles give gasoline cars a run for their money and soccer clubs’ spending splurge will intensify. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Companies that sweep settlements for bad behavior under the carpet will feel shareholder ire in 2018, Breakingviews predicts. Plus, Apple will float past the EU’s roving eye, splintering political parties are a ticking U.S. time bomb and bank bosses may hang up their hats. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will join Riyadh in hosting the world’s largest IPO is one of Breakingviews’ 2018 predictions. We also explain the method to our fortune-telling and lay out why China will win the 5G standards race, and why Wall Street will learn to love bitcoin. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

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