Breakingviews

Asia’s city-states grapple with slowing growth

By Peter Thal Larsen

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

Singapore and Hong Kong are being forced to come to terms with slowing growth. For decades, the city-states have been among Asia’s economic hotspots. But continued expansion will be restrained by popular discontent about crowding and rising property costs. A more pedestrian future awaits.

Slowing U.S. snail mail could speed innovation

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

Slowing U.S. snail mail could speed up innovation. The Postal Service is halting Saturday deliveries to save money. That won’t cover its $5 billion annual losses or plug its pension hole. Even so, it’s an opportunity for Uncle Sam to hasten corporate and individual technology adoption. Over time, further shrinking the USPS should have broader economic benefits.

Tokyo stocks: this time could really be different

By Robert Cole

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

Once bitten, twice shy. In fact, investors in Japan have been bitten many times by the seductive notion that the land of the rising sun is emerging from its bear-market night. They would be forgiven for shying away this time.

Dividend reform won’t fix China SOE money-go-round

By John Foley

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

China’s elaborate money-go-round starts and ends with its cash-hoarding state-owned enterprises. So a plan to make them pay bigger dividends sounds promising. Still, if the goal is to return cash to the people, there is a long way to go.

Dell’s $24 bln LBO involves a club of one

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

Dell’s $24 billion leveraged buyout involves essentially a club of one. And Silver Lake Partners, the sole private equity firm included, isn’t even really the charter member. Michael Dell is contributing his 14 percent stake in the PC maker he founded, cash and an investment from his MSD Capital investment arm. Time was not long ago that mega-deals required a team of buyers. For now, they remain more exclusive.

Markets’ euro-jitters unjustified but helpful

By Edward Hadas

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

Fear can be helpful. In individuals, it creates a hormonal rush which increases energy and alertness. In the political economy, it can spur leaders into action which otherwise might seem too difficult. The recent jitters in European financial markets might deliver that sort of salutary message, even though the worries are largely groundless.

Soccer’s betting scam has echoes of Libor scandal

By Peter Thal Larsen

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

Soccer has been whacked with its version of the Libor scandal. The revelation that 680 European and World Cup matches may have been rigged invites comparison with bankers’ manipulation of benchmark interest rates before and during the financial crisis. Both require collusion, are hard to detect, and were partly orchestrated in Singapore. Both also undermine confidence. Sadly, soccer’s flaws are less easily solved.

Equity split from commodities may be short lived

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

The often close correlation between equity and commodity prices has faded. World equities are up 15 percent since August while commodities have barely moved. Is this a paradigm shift? Probably not, though shale gas is rattling energy markets. Equities may simply have run too fast on the back of quantitative easing while commodity investors have hesitated over global growth worries.

Weak yen makes Japanese electronics firms giddy

By Peter Thal Larsen

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

Japan’s assault on the yen has produced some clear winners: investors in the country’s beaten-up consumer electronics industry. Shares in Panasonic jumped 17 percent on Feb. 4 after the group reported a less-severe-than-expected quarterly loss. The hope is that stronger exports and recent cost-cutting will transform earnings. But with revenue still shrinking, the recent rally is largely based on hope.

2012 may be as good as it gets for Exxon

By Christopher Swann

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

2012 may be as good as it gets for Exxon Mobil. America’s largest oil company pumped out a near-record profit and its best earnings per share ever. But Exxon, like Chevron, is spending huge sums – almost $40 billion last year – to find and extract reserves. Holding output steady is tough enough. Unless oil prices jump, Exxon may have peaked.