Blackstone’s boss dominates a $684 billion investment empire, leading the board, picking directors and extracting sizeable rewards. Even rivals at KKR and TPG can’t compare. As long as Blackstone makes abnormally high returns, it can keep blowing a raspberry at good governance.

The hedgie wanted his blank-check vehicle to buy 10% of Universal Music for $4 bln and live on to find a second deal. His structure was already non-standard. Adding exotic features brought a clash with regulators trying to set SPAC norms. Ackman’s next attempt needs to be vanilla.

Blackstone’s boss dominates a $684 billion investment empire, leading the board, picking directors and extracting sizeable rewards. Even rivals at KKR and TPG can’t compare. As long as Blackstone makes abnormally high returns, it can keep blowing a raspberry at good governance.

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Overuse and climate change is making the western United States so dry that the Feds are reducing some states’ access to the Colorado River. It may soon be California’s turn. But as Antony Currie explains, chipmaker Intel’s water-saving initiatives offer lessons in how to cope.

Games, movies and web shows did well in the quarter, showcasing the $540 bln group’s entertainment prowess. Unlike the U.S. giant, censors dictate what Tencent can do. Yet a Chinese answer to the Magic Kingdom at least fits into Beijing’s vision of a prosperous middle class.

Games, movies and web shows did well in the quarter, showcasing the $540 bln group’s entertainment prowess. Unlike the U.S. giant, censors dictate what Tencent can do. Yet a Chinese answer to the Magic Kingdom at least fits into Beijing’s vision of a prosperous middle class.

The $170 bln miner’s decision to collapse its dual-listed structure will require UK investors to swap their shares for foreign ones. When the Anglo-Dutch consumer group tried that in 2018, investors kicked up a fuss. The value proposition of BHP’s gambit looks more enticing.

The African state’s new leader, Hakainde Hichilema, has to forge a deal with creditors after last year’s default. Getting China to the table won’t be easy. Lifting Beijing’s veil of secrecy by revealing Lusaka’s loans would remove the biggest barrier, and set a good precedent.

The $170 bln miner’s decision to collapse its dual-listed structure will require UK investors to swap their shares for foreign ones. When the Anglo-Dutch consumer group tried that in 2018, investors kicked up a fuss. The value proposition of BHP’s gambit looks more enticing.

The African state’s new leader, Hakainde Hichilema, has to forge a deal with creditors after last year’s default. Getting China to the table won’t be easy. Lifting Beijing’s veil of secrecy by revealing Lusaka’s loans would remove the biggest barrier, and set a good precedent.

HONG KONG, Aug 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese President Xi Jinping is fleshing out his plans for wealth redistribution. He wants to restrain “unreasonable income”, hike wages and expand the middle class, per a readout of a top-level conference on Tuesday, which helps explain his recent rough treatment of corporate tycoons. Funding fiscal transfers and social services could entail fresh burdens for China Inc, and the long-delayed property tax may be implemented at last.

The wealthiest 1% of Chinese people now hold 31% of the country’s wealth, up from 21% two decades ago, per a Credit Suisse report. The pandemic, which hit small businesses and poor workers hardest, has exacerbated the gap, yet the number of newly-minted ultra-rich surged 50% compared to 2019 as financial markets popped.

It is easy for Xi to make rich people less rich; investors wiped up to $1 trillion off the value of listed Chinese companies since February as officials and state media went...

HONG KONG, Aug 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese President Xi Jinping is fleshing out his plans for wealth redistribution. He wants to restrain “unreasonable income”, hike wages and expand the middle class, per a readout of a top-level conference on Tuesday, which helps explain his recent rough treatment of corporate tycoons. Funding fiscal transfers and social services could entail fresh burdens for China Inc, and the long-delayed property tax may be implemented at last.

The wealthiest 1% of Chinese people now hold 31% of the country’s wealth, up from 21% two decades ago, per a Credit Suisse report. The pandemic, which hit small businesses and poor workers hardest, has exacerbated the gap, yet the number of newly-minted ultra-rich surged 50% compared to 2019 as financial markets popped.

It is easy for Xi to make rich people less rich; investors wiped up to $1 trillion off the value of listed Chinese companies since February as officials and state media went...

HONG KONG, Aug 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sea (SE.N) is swelling. The Southeast Asian technology giant said second-quarter revenue rose by a blistering 159% year-on-year to $2.3 billion. Boss Forrest Li raised 2021 guidance for its shopping and digital entertainment units, while gamers showed little sign of tiring of the self-developed smash hit “Free Fire”, which remained the highest-grossing mobile title in multiple markets, including India.

Yet the $162 billion company is spending heavily to grow, although management says it is doing so efficiently. Even as the adjusted EBITDA loss per order at its e-commerce division fell by a respectable 20% year-on-year, Sea’s overall sales and marketing expenses more than doubled. Total adjusted EBITDA at the group swung to a loss during the period.

For now, investors are looking past the cost of expanding into Latin America and its push into food delivery: Sea shares closed up 6% in New York. As competition increases more...

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The buck stops with the U.S. president for America's chaotic exit from Afghanistan and the human cost that goes with it. That said, by a cold economic calculus, withdrawing from a 20-year role in the country's domestic strife may be the right call, Richard Beales says.

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The buck stops with the U.S. president for America's chaotic exit from Afghanistan and the human cost that goes with it. That said, by a cold economic calculus, withdrawing from a 20-year role in the country's domestic strife may be the right call, Richard Beales says.

NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Walmart (WMT.N) investors might have more confidence in shoppers than the company. The $422 billion giant’s July 31-ended quarter earnings, released on Tuesday, topped analyst estimates as comparable sales at its U.S. flagship stores excluding fuel rose more than 5% year-over-year. The Arkansas-based firm said it should overcome the headwinds of Covid-19 Delta surge, too, raising its U.S. sales forecast for its current fiscal year.

But it’s not because Walmart has made headway on competing with Jeff Bezos’s online behemoth Amazon.com (AMZN.O), necessarily. Walmart clocked just 12% of its sales from e-commerce last year. Sure, its brick and mortar business is different than Amazon's operations. But that compares with 18% of digital sales at close competitor Target (TGT.N).

Both companies’ stocks have dramatically outperformed Walmart's since the start of the pandemic, too, with Target’s shares increasing 2.5 times, while...

A federal agency is for the first time slashing how much the Colorado River supplies to some states. Climate change means the problem may in time affect California. The chip giant’s efforts to save water in Arizona show how business can help mitigate problems caused by aridity.

The human effects are dire, and so could be the politics, but $2 trln sunk into a 20-year war is no reason to continue it. Looked at coldly, America’s ongoing investment wasn’t worth it and Joe Biden is just the CEO who finally took the tough decision. He may still regret it.

A federal agency is for the first time slashing how much the Colorado River supplies to some states. Climate change means the problem may in time affect California. The chip giant’s efforts to save water in Arizona show how business can help mitigate problems caused by aridity.

The human effects are dire, and so could be the politics, but $2 trln sunk into a 20-year war is no reason to continue it. Looked at coldly, America’s ongoing investment wasn’t worth it and Joe Biden is just the CEO who finally took the tough decision. He may still regret it.