Breakingviews

Apple’s Chinese apology worth the loss of face

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

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook is starting to make a habit of apologies. The latest, in China, is worth the loss of face. Social media traffic suggests today’s worldly Chinese iPhone, iPad and Mac computer buyers won’t be swayed by what seems to be state-orchestrated media criticism. But the tech giant’s admission of arrogance is a cheap salve to a mass of future buyers of the company’s products.

How to go public and private all in one go

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

A Brazilian company seems to have found a way to go public and private all in one go. Biosev, an ethanol producer, is preparing to sell new shares next month. As part of the deal, parent company Louis Dreyfus is offering to buy them back in 15 months. It’s essentially an initial public offering, convertible bond and potential buyout packaged together. And it’s an overly clever solution to a unique problem.

Malone swoop frees Barclays but traps Ziggo

By Dominic Elliott

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

John Malone’s latest swoop in the cable sector is true to form. The cable tycoon’s Liberty Global was sitting on a paper profit of over 40 million euros hours after buying a 12.7 pct stake in Dutch cable company Ziggo from Barclays on March 28. Malone has shrewdly exploited a forced seller, after Barclays was lumbered with the millions of Ziggo shares it failed to sell for the company’s private-equity owners days earlier. What’s more, he has plenty of experience in using blocking stakes as a takeover strategy.

Potemkin Dell fight would have optical merits

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

Even losers could emerge as winners from the Dell takeover battle. Blackstone Group, Silver Lake Partners, the Dell board and founder Michael Dell could stand to benefit from the impression of a hard-fought auction. A Potemkin fight, if that’s what it turns out to be, just may not help shareholders quite so much.

UK’s new bank capital tsar starts as good cop

By George Hay

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

The UK’s new bank capital tsar has started life as a good cop. The Financial Policy Committee, created to monitor macroeconomic risks facing domestic lenders, has ordered banks to raise 25 billion pounds by the end of the year. That’s a lot, but it could have been worse.

Goldman and Buffett scratch each other’s backs

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

Goldman Sachs and Warren Buffett have found a way to scratch each other’s backs – again. The mutual assistance started during the crisis when the Sage of Omaha stepped in with a $5 billion rescue investment in 2008 that provided him with a healthy 10 percent yield on Goldman preferred shares. Now, they’re amending terms of warrants granted to Buffett in the same deal that also works well both ways.

Target shortage feeds desperate Mideast telco M&A

By Una Galani

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

A scarcity of takeover targets is feeding a desperate scramble in Middle East telecoms M&A. Bahrain’s incumbent operator Batelco is eyeing a stake in the enterprise unit of India’s Reliance Communications. It comes just months after agreeing a deal worth $1 billion to buy assets spanning 12 markets, including Monaco and the Channel Islands, from Cable & Wireless. Batelco’s pick-and-mix takeovers are symptomatic of a market where too many big telcos are chasing too few assets.

China retailers stumble in pursuit of growth

By John Foley

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

China’s growth can be disruptive as well as lucrative. GOME and Li Ning, two of the country’s biggest retail brands, have both reported slumping sales and losses in a market that seems to be expanding. Shifting consumer habits have made competition fierce and profitability elusive.

Blackstone, Icahn likely to stub toe on Dell

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

Blackstone and Carl Icahn are likely to stub their toe on Dell. Both are offering more for the computer maker than the $24.4 billion from its eponymous founder. But the new bids rely on existing investors keeping a small public stake. In theory that obviates the need to get Michael Dell’s support. In practice, the downsides of such stub equity make it a long shot.

U.S. oil billionaire’s divorce is no private affair

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

American oil billionaire Harold Hamm’s impending divorce is not simply a private affair. Investors swiftly stripped half a billion dollars from the market value of Continental Resources on Thursday following news that founder and 68 percent owner Hamm and his wife are splitting. That may not do the threat justice. Any division of the tycoon’s $11 billion fortune leaves Continental exposed to hefty stock sales or a feud at the top.