Breakingviews

A merger arb writes to Santa

By Donder und Blitzen

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

After another thin and bumpy year for betting on M&A, one desperate European merger arbitrageur wrote to Santa. Breakingviews obtained a copy:

GE’s $4 bln swoop on Italian supplier is shrewd

By Quentin Webb

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

General Electric’s swoop on a key supplier should stack up. The U.S. conglomerate is paying a reasonable-looking $4.3 billion for Avio, the Italian aerospace components maker. GE gets savings and more exposure to a civil-aviation market growing at full throttle. The seller, British buyout shop Cinven, gets a satisfactory exit after a bumpy ride.

Diamond Bob will bounce back in 2013

By George Hay

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

Few executives had a worse 2012 than Bob Diamond. The ex-Barclays chief executive started the year running one of the few UK banks without a big government stake, and spearheading a drive to make banks better citizens. He ends it having been forced out following a perfect storm of shareholder revolts, regulatory ire and, most notoriously, Libor.

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.

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.

Deutsche Bank CEOs are running out of lives

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

Deutsche Bank’s co-chief executives are running out of lives. For Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen, December is going to be a month to forget – and the punches just keep on coming. In the last week, Deutsche has warned on its fourth-quarter results, seen offices raided by the police, and been forced to pay damages to representatives of deceased media magnate Leo Kirch. Ahead lies a potentially costly settlement with authorities investigating how banks set Libor. The problems remove any margin for error as Deutsche’s bosses seek to reposition the bank for the post-crisis world.

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.