Breakingviews

A Hewlett-Packard primer on how not to do a deal

By Richard Beales and Robert Cyran

The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.

If it weren’t so tragic for a once-revered technology pioneer, the story of Hewlett-Packard’s purchase of Autonomy would be a comedy of errors. If nothing else, it’s a case study of what to avoid when tempted to contemplate a big takeover.

German press crunch time could imperil democracy

By Olaf Storbeck

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

This autumn is proving to be particularly grim for the German press. DAPD, the country’s second-largest news agency went into administration in early October. The Frankfurter Rundschau, the oldest national paper in Germany, followed suit last week. On Thursday, Gruner + Jahr (G+J), Europe’s largest printing and publishing house, will probably pull the plug on Financial Times Deutschland (FTD).

PICC seeks strength in numbers ahead of IPO

By Wei Gu

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

The People’s Insurance Company of China is all about the power of big numbers. The insurer’s 17 investment banks have helped it sign up 17 “cornerstone” backers in advance of its $3.6 billion Hong Kong offering. Though they’re hardly big-name value investors, they improve the likelihood of getting the deal done.

Weibo has reason to “open sesame” to Alibaba

By Wei Gu

The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.

Weibo has reason to “open sesame” to Alibaba. A possible purchase of a 15-20 percent stake in China’s Twitter by the country’s largest e-commerce group, Alibaba, as reported by China Business News, makes strategic sense. It could pave the way for owner Sina to spin Weibo off, and create revenue synergies for both.

HSBC needs to put numbers on China ambition

By Peter Thal Larsen

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

HSBC’s global strategy overhaul has reached China: the emerging market lender is in talks about offloading its 16 percent stake in Ping An, the Chinese insurer. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver could go further, by putting some numbers on his ambitions for the bank’s other Chinese assets – particularly its even-larger shareholding in Bank of Communications.

BBC shows how not to manage a crisis

By Hugo Dixon

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

The first lesson of managing a crisis is to get a grip fast. This, in turn, requires those in charge to appreciate – even exaggerate – the severity of the problem.

Diageo’s India splash won’t get Kingfisher flying

By Andy Mukherjee

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

Diageo’s $2.1 billion acquisition of United Spirits has helped India’s largest liquor company and its chairman Vijay Mallya. But hopes that Kingfisher Airlines will fly again simply because the grounded carrier’s flamboyant founder has raised some cash look overoptimistic.

Lonmin doesn’t have to surrender to Xstrata – yet

By Kevin Allison

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

Xstrata has long been considered a private equity house in miner’s clothing. Now it’s taking on the role of activist investor, too. The miner owns 25 percent of struggling platinum producer Lonmin, and is being far from supportive in its role as a lead shareholder. Lonmin says Xstrata will back the company’s $817 million emergency rights issue but only if it gets to hand-pick a new chief executive and other top managers. Lonmin is rejecting those demands and for now, it can afford to.

Russian economy could lose in state energy grab

By Kevin Allison

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

It may be tempting to view Vladimir Putin’s drive to reassert state control over Russia’s energy sector as comeuppance for the oligarchs who benefited from the looting of the country’s natural resources in the 1990s. But restructuring the industry around two national champions, Gazprom and Rosneft, is ultimately bad for competition. International oil companies may benefit from greater opportunities to bring their expertise to Russia, but investors ogling opportunities in the shifting landscape should apply a hefty Kremlin discount.

Sandy fiasco reveals investor-customer disconnect

By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Hurricane Sandy revealed a massive disconnect between the shareholders of electric utilities and their customers. The storm that caused up to $50 billion of damage across the American East Coast left 8 million people without power – and extra ornery. Politicians are hopping mad, too. Yet the market values of the region’s three listed monopolies barely took a hit. That may be rational today, but in the long term cannot last.