January, 2020

• 19 January

  How much the global debt is too much?

  

  The global debt balloon continues to inflate — with what consequences no one knows. Could the balloon soon become a “bubble” that pops, causing a new financial crisis? It hardly seems impossible. The latest worldwide debt figures are not reassuring. In September, global debt of all varieties (government, business and consumer borrowing) totalled $253 trillion, up $9 trillion from the ...

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• 19 January

  Anglo digs a hole for itself in England

  

  Anglo American Plc is dabbling in creative M&A. Buying an English fertilizer project for just over $500 million, excluding debt, is more than manageable for a $35 billion mining giant that generated $1.3 billion in free cash flow in the first half of last year. It’s also a gamble on an unproven niche market that speaks to the paucity of ...

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• 19 January

  When even the Target is missing, it’s time to worry

  There’s an old saying in retail that despite all the bluster, not much really changes over the holiday shopping season: Those store groups that have been winning keep on doing so, while the losers continue to suffer. Target Corp. just became the exception to this rule. The big-box retailer has been a consistently strong performer over the past couple of ...

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• 19 January

  Boeing suppliers shift the balance of power

  A would-be Boeing Co. takeover target has found its own dance partner. Woodward Inc., a maker of cockpit controls and engine-actuation systems, announced last week that it’s merging with fellow aerospace supplier Hexcel Corp. The all-stock deal values Hexcel, a maker of lightweight composite materials, at about $7.5 billion including debt, with Woodward shareholders set to own about 55% of ...

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• 19 January

  China spins a trade-deal trap in bad debt market

  

  China is opening the deepest, darkest corner of its strained financial system to American financial institutions. It’s not clear why investors would want to go there, even with their eyes wide open. As part of President Donald Trump’s phase one trade deal, China will allow US institutions to apply for asset management company licenses (beginning with the provinces), permitting them ...

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• 19 January

  The case for taking Pearson private looks stronger than before

  

  The club of UK takeover targets that never get bought has an undisputed leader — Pearson Plc. But the logic of taking the troubled educational publisher private now looks stronger than it has for some time. The company’s defenses could scarcely be weaker, and there’s a plausible recovery strategy to be built amid the wreckage. The firm has been clobbered ...

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• 19 January

  Capital controls become disturbingly popular

  

  In the late 20th century, economists generally accepted the notion that financial capital should be allowed to flow freely between countries. But economists are beginning to question this consensus. That could lead to less open financial and currency policies around the world, or herald the coming of a new global monetary order. There are a number of reasons that free ...

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• 19 January

  ‘Valuation cases’ wanted for a red-hot rally in equities

  

  Bloomberg Stack up US equities next to almost anything that is used to measure value right now, and the picture can elicit anxiety. Up 13 of the past 15 weeks, the S&P 500 is trading at historically high levels versus earnings, expected profits and sales. Does that mean there’s no way to justify putting more money into a market where ...

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• 19 January

  Currency volatility dips to its lowest level ever

  

  Bloomberg Stocks may be grabbing most of the headlines, but equities aren’t the only asset class in uncharted territory. Global currency volatility has dropped to the lowest level ever recorded. After the US and China put pen to paper on a trade deal that reaffirmed an agreement not to devalue their currencies, the JPMorgan Global FX Volatility Index is trading ...

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• 19 January

  Hedge-fund demand is booming, says Grayscale

  Bloomberg Traditional hedge funds, pensions and endowments are boosting cryptocurrency holdings, according to the biggest Bitcoin trust provider. Grayscale Investments, which lets accredited investors own Bitcoin and other coins via its funds, said it took in $608 million last year, surpassing the total amount raised the previous six years. The majority of the inflows — about 71% — came from ...

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