From Breakingviews: Media giveaways as astute corporate strategy; telecoms companies merit a valuation bump; and a South African group hopes to raise $2 billion as markets plunge. Catch up with concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout:
BIG BOARD LEAVES TRADERS FLOORED. The New York Stock Exchange is finally going all-electronic on Monday – for now at least. The bourse is putting on hiatus its so-called open-outcry trading system after two people at its iconic Wall Street building tested positive for Covid-19. That’ll put its own electronic-trading platform on the spot.
EVERYONE’S DONNING A BLUE APRON. That, at least, is what investors in the $216 million meal-kit delivery service seem think. The company’s stock has jumped almost 500% this week. Sure, Blue Apron may benefit from social distancing. But it’s hardly the only option in a lockdown. FREE STUFF! AT A PRICE. Consumers facing self-quarantine are being consoled with special offers from big media companies. Confined viewers get entertainment; the companies get captive, grateful audiences.
TELECOM UTILITIES MERIT A VIRUS BUMP. To food, water, clothing and shelter, humanity must now add Wi-Fi. Vodafone says network traffic has jumped 50% in locked-down countries like Italy, as quarantined customers take refuge in Netflix and other streaming services. But at their worst this week, Vodafone shares were down a third year to date, against a 20% decline in the STOXX Europe Utilities index.
There’s no price fixed on the deal. And the bankers can walk away if their internal committees disapprove, or if Sasol fails to generate $2.5 billion in asset sales to fix its balance sheet. Given those conditions, investors will want to see disposals before they believe the underwriting and equity hike are realistic. Barring that, Sasol may need to be rescued – perhaps by its top shareholder, South Africa’s sovereign wealth fund. Add one more name to the global bailout list.
CHINA’S CLEAN CARS BELCH SMOKE. Nio warned Wednesday it may struggle to stay in business. Tesla’s Chinese challenger had already been hammered by the withdrawal of subsidies and by the brutal slowdown in Chinese automobile sales. Nio had only $152 million in cash at the end of December, while it lost $406 million from operations – and that’s before the epidemic hit. Coronavirus may tip it over.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Breakingviews - Corona Capital, March 18: WeWork, Fuji, Munich Re, GrocersConcise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe
Read more »
Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Bullish financiers, Nio, AirlinesFrom Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Overconfident financiers, China’s Tesla tipping and Lufthansa charts bailout path
Read more »
'If I get corona, I get corona': Coronavirus pandemic doesn't slow spring breakers' partyIt's spring break and even coronavirus pandemic doesn't appear to be stopping people's plans. Some beaches in Florida were still packed with parties.
Read more »
‘Corona goals’: How stress baking, wine making and book clubs are keeping people saneTo deal with stress, many people are trying to learn new skills or finish a project. The experts say that&39;s good for mental health.
Read more »
Bethenny Frankel is making 'corona kits' for kids in needBethenny Frankel reveals what she and her disaster relief initiative, bstrong, are doing to help those in need during the coronavirus outbreak.
Read more »
Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Bullish financiers, Nio, AirlinesFrom Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Overconfident financiers, China’s Tesla tipping and Lufthansa charts bailout path
Read more »