Breakingviews

How Sahara left Indian investors feeling deserted

By Jeff Glekin

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

There’s no bigger sport in India than cricket. So you might think that the company which sponsors the Indian national team would be a household name. But Sahara has always been shrouded in mystery. Now, following a ruling by the country’s Supreme Court that the company must return $4.5 billion to millions of small investors, its finances are set for a stiff examination. The saga also raises important questions about Indian financial regulation – and how such scandals can be avoided in the future.

Nixing China’s oil bid may create Canada discount

By Christopher Swann

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

Canada is at risk of slapping a national discount on its resources sector. Investors reckon there’s a roughly one-in-four chance that the country’s politicians will block a $15.1 billion offer by China’s CNOOC for local energy company Nexen. Takeovers by state-owned companies raise tricky questions. But hoisting the national flag over a company of little strategic importance risks further alienating outside investors.

BBA ouster is right first step for Libor reform

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

So, farewell then, the British Bankers’ Association. The UK financial lobby group has signalled that it will not kick up a fuss should it lose its integral role setting and overseeing the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor. After a damaging global scandal in which it was revealed that banks routinely tried to fiddle the interest rate benchmark for trillions of dollars of international contracts, it’s an encouraging sign that reform will not be piecemeal.

Who will run Murdoch’s grand newspaper spinoff?

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

With a key British regulatory judgment concerning News Corp’s satellite broadcaster BSkyB cleared last week, Rupert Murdoch can focus on cleaving his newspaper empire. Critically for investors, that means it’s time to pick a leader. Wall Street Journal boss Robert Thomson appears in pole position, though his appointment would spark an editorial chain reaction of its own.

iPhone 5 will live up to the hype – in time

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

The iPhone 5 will live up to the hype – in time. Apple sold 5 million of the new handset, or about $3 billion worth, during its three-day debut. That fell short of Wall Street’s whisper number, which was up to twice as high. Yet the latest sales outpaced those of its predecessor and the company couldn’t meet demand. Supply-chain glitches and map-app hysteria won’t derail Apple’s smartphone train.

Spain looking to cut corners on bank bailout

By George Hay

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

Spain remains intent on cutting corners on its long-awaited bank bailout. The country has been promised up to 100 billion euros to recapitalise its ailing lenders. It’s looking worryingly like it will try everything to minimise the headline number. The country’s government obviously doesn’t get that it must be conservative to be credible.

Real estate wave helps an IPO avoid tech wipeout

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

A real estate wave helped an initial public offering avoid a tech wipeout. Newly listed shares of Trulia, an online property listing service, popped by over 40 percent in their debut on Thursday. That defies the dire dot-com market evidenced by the likes of Facebook and Groupon. The U.S. housing recovery is a good story but Trulia is also still hitched to the Web.

BSkyB should start to build in new bid premium

By Chris Hughes

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

BSkyB shares should start to reflect the chance of a second bid from News Corp. Ofcom, the UK media watchdog, has confirmed that Rupert Murdoch’s media group is a suitable lead shareholder in the satellite broadcaster despite the phone-hacking scandal in News Corp’s UK newspaper business. The clarification removes a potential obstacle to it taking full control of the business.

South Africa platinum crisis not over yet

By Kevin Allison

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

South Africa’s platinum crisis isn’t over yet. A pay deal struck by Lonmin will, if it holds, end a violent six-week strike that has claimed 45 lives. That’s good for the workforce. And it solves an immediate, potentially existential problem for the world’s third-biggest platinum producer. But it sets up other big challenges for Lonmin and the industry. The big wage hike will hurt already weak margins. And the response may only encourage further strikes.

Goldman’s Mr. 25 Standard Deviation hard to follow

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

Goldman Sachs’ Mr. 25 Standard Deviation was a Wall Street rarity. Despite an outlandish 2007 characterization of the crisis – “We were seeing things that were 25-standard deviation events, several days in a row” – that raised concerns he didn’t understand fat-tail risks, David Viniar played a big role saving his bank from the mortgage rout and was the blue-moon banker who succeeds as a chief financial officer. He’ll be a tough act to follow.