UBS points to next banking worry: client risk
By Dominic Elliott
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
UBS’s Libor shame points to a new concern for financial firms – relationship risk.
Sulzbergers will make headlines in New York Times
By Agnes T. Crane
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The views expressed are her own.
Expect the Ochs-Sulzbergers to make headlines in their own New York Times in 2013. The family that controls the U.S. paper of record has loyally seen it through some dark days. With the Gray Lady now on sturdier financial ground, they have a better chance to find a safe custodian at a decent price – maybe someone like billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The window of opportunity could close quickly.
Jumbo fine isn’t the end of UBS reputation woes
By Dominic Elliott
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The $1.5 billion settlement UBS has agreed to pay for rigging the London Interbank Offered Rate is unlikely to end the Swiss bank’s reputational or financial woes. The litany of compliance errors it made over a five-year period paves the way for litigation from other market participants. And clients may also balk at using the bank for Libor business in future, putting UBS’s new strategy for a reduced investment bank under pressure.
South Korea’s next leader will face a currency war
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
By Andy Mukherjee
Every new South Korean president has to contend with sabre-rattling by Pyongyang. It won’t be any different this time. North Korea’s recent rocket launch shows just what kind of reception the next occupant of Seoul’s Blue House can expect from across the demilitarized zone.
Market signals turning point in U.S. gun debate
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Private equity isn’t known for squeamishness – or for dumping promising investments. So it’s significant that Cerberus Capital Management is selling its stake in Freedom Group, the largest U.S. firearms maker, following the Newtown school atrocity last week. Gunmakers’ shares are plunging, too: big money is betting on tougher restrictions.
India in depth: Consumption bets will outperform
By Andy Mukherjee
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The Indian economy has at least another year of poor-quality GDP growth ahead of it, even if the pace of expansion is somewhat faster than the 5.5 percent expected for 2012.
Congress should push for mandatory gun insurance
By Robert Cyran and Reynolds Holding
The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.
Congress should push for mandatory gun insurance. Firearm ownership is a U.S. constitutional right. But as last week’s massacre again demonstrated, it comes at a cost. Requiring liability coverage could be one way to keep the most dangerous weapons from unstable hands without infringing the law.
I totally agree with guns requiring liability insurance, even in case of a stolen weapon, the owner / insurance should liable if it was due to his negligence.
For all you gun nuts flashing the 2nd amendment. Realize that the 2nd amendment was not written by God, it was written by men & at a time when the world was a much different place with very different weapons.
You want to own a weapon, you should also own the responsibility & liability.
India’s Jet a better bet than Kingfisher for Etihad
By Andy Mukherjee and Una Galani
The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is spoilt for choice in India: It could decide to be a white knight to billionaire Vijay Mallya’s beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines. Or the Gulf carrier could snap up a smaller stake in Jet Airways, which controls a quarter of the domestic Indian market. The latter looks the better bet.
Diageo’s M&A machine misfires with Jose Cuervo
By Quentin Webb
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The sun is setting on Diageo’s ambitions to be a big shot in tequila. A generous reading is that Diageo remains disciplined about deals. But letting Jose Cuervo go is a meaningful setback in the group’s largest market.
Record fine shows some banks are too big to indict
By Dominic Elliott
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
HSBC’s $1.9 billion fine for money-laundering is a record for a bank, but its one-off nature means that it’s largely symbolic for an institution with a market cap of 118 billion pounds. The outcome could have been worse. Some U.S. regulators wanted to indict the UK lender, according to a New York Times report, but they backed down on fears that a heavy-handed approach could destroy HSBC’s U.S. arm and destabilise the wider banking system.
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