Breakingviews
Breakingviews - Japan would take turn for worse without Abe
TOKYO (Reuters Breakingviews) - Japan would take a turn for the worse without its chief reformer. Scandals have badly hurt Shinzo Abe; public support for the prime minister since 2012 has fallen to a record low. It looks increasingly likely that he could be forced out of his position. That would weaken an ambitious overhaul of the world's third largest economy.
Breakingviews - Viewsroom: Fintech’s growing pains
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Upstarts like LendingClub and SoFi need to find ways to keep customers returning – just as traditional banks are fighting back and Goldman Sachs’ digital push into consumer lending takes off. Also: how Malaysia’s prime minister may be re-elected despite the 1MDB scandal.
Breakingviews - P&G; drug deal needs vitamin shot to persuade Peltz
LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Buying stuff is not the standard prescription for companies under pressure from activist investors. Procter & Gamble’s 3.4 billion euro splurge on Merck KGaA’s consumer unit, the maker of Seven Seas vitamin pills, will need a booster shot to earn the support of newly appointed board member Nelson Peltz.
Breakingviews - Wynn tosses female directors into boardroom brawl
DALLAS, HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Wynn Resorts is tossing three women into an escalating boardroom brawl, adding Betsy Atkins, Dee Dee Myers and Wendy Webb as independent directors. The $21 billion casino giant is trying to move beyond a sex scandal involving founder Steve Wynn. But his ex-wife Elaine Wynn wants a full overhaul. With a battle brewing, the new additions had best come ready to rumble.
Breakingviews - Cuba rings changes while trying to stay the same
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Raul Castro's scheduled handover of Cuba's presidency this week is an effort to prolong the communist revolution he built with his late brother Fidel. Trying to modernize the creaking, incompetent bureaucracy could also destroy their lives' work. Yet with ally Venezuela getting less able to provide cheap oil, economic reform can't wait long.
Breakingviews - Hadas: Knowledge is better shared than patented
LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - China may yet become a world leader in patent protection. That would be the natural result of becoming a world leader in many technologies. But Beijing’s approach to intellectual property may become part of a larger change in the world’s approach to the control of knowledge.
Breakingviews - Morgan Stanley hands investors volatility challenge
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Morgan Stanley is lumping its shareholders with a volatility challenge. In the first quarter the $94 billion Wall Street firm defended key turf against a surge from rivals and more than doubled fixed-income trading revenue from the last three months of 2017. That – and tax cuts – helped generate its best results in years, handily beating Chief Executive James Gorman’s admittedly underwhelming targets. The dilemma for investors is whether that merits a higher va
Breakingviews - China/Russia oil hug can dodge Huarong curveball
LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters Breakingviews) - China’s game of pass-the-parcel with Rosneft just took a fresh twist. The investigation of state asset manager Huarong’s chairman on graft allegations marks the second time in as many months that an entity interested in acquiring a stake in the Russian oil company has fallen foul of Beijing’s anti-corruption drive. But it’s less problematic for diplomatic relations than it looks.
Breakingviews - China’s new unemployment measure has big job ahead
HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - China’s new unemployment measure has a big job ahead. In the first regular monthly numbers using surveys, Beijing reported a 5.1 percent jobless rate. It's a far better method than relying on claims of work-seekers. The question is whether officials will trust the gauge enough to scrap GDP growth targets – and if investors and others will trust it in a downturn.
Breakingviews - Starbucks’ anti-racism coffee break sets example
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Starbucks is setting an example for corporate America with its anti-racism coffee break. Facing a backlash over the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia shop, the chain will shut all of its company-owned U.S. outlets for an afternoon of racial-bias education. The swift response backs up Starbucks’ social goals and offers a lesson to others.
About Breakingviews
Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time. Sign up for a free trial of our full service at http://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.