Breakingviews

European bond buyers: often wrong, never in doubt

By Edward Hadas
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Legend has it that a senior Swedish official, after a trip to New York in the midst of the Nordic country’s financial crisis two decades ago, said: “We shall never again trust our economy’s future to the whims of 25-year old men with too much testosterone.”

Debt triangles return to haunt Chinese firms

By Wei Gu
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

Chinese companies’ robust earnings growth doesn’t tell the full story. Despite strong net income growth, operating cashflow deteriorated sharply in the first half. Many companies increased credit to customers to drum up sales as demand weakened. If those customers can’t pay, the resulting bad debt could hit companies and their lending banks. Similar “debt triangles” haunted Chinese companies in the 1990s.

HP would make lucrative Oracle target

By Robert Cyran and Richard Beales
The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.

Investors unimpressed by Hewlett-Packard’s dysfunctional governance have sold off its shares, leaving the tech company vulnerable to a bid. And Larry Ellison’s acquisitive Oracle is a credible potential suitor. At least financially, a deal would stack up. A Breakingviews analysis suggests that even paying a 40 percent premium, Oracle could reap a hefty return.