Commonwealth Bank is hiking its dividend and buying back a record A$6 bln in stock. Yet expenses are growing faster than revenue, and almost all of its 20% profit jump was due to fewer bad loans, a trend which may reverse. Even so, it still has deep enough pockets to be generous.

Hyundai and LG are among those investing to make electric vehicle batteries in Indonesia. The nickel producer is limiting exports as it claws up the resource value chain but its long timeline to electrification means technologies may be disrupted before there is enough demand.

Hyundai and LG are among those investing to make electric vehicle batteries in Indonesia. The nickel producer is limiting exports as it claws up the resource value chain but its long timeline to electrification means technologies may be disrupted before there is enough demand.

HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China Evergrande (3333.HK) chairman Hui Ka Yan has a potential safety net to fall back on as he hurries to raise cash through equity stake sales. Rating agencies including S&P have downgraded the developer's credit to junk as hope of a turnaround fades. Luckily Shenzhen city's asset manager is loaded, with over $600 billion in assets. It helped out local champion Huawei, and could be Evergrande's white knight too.

Financial pedigree matters a great deal when it comes to Chinese corporate rescues. Evergrande is headquartered in the southern finance and technology hub of Shenzhen, one of China's wealthiest and most dynamic cities, with an economy as big as Sweden's. The city’s asset manager owns stakes in at least 30 listed companies with reported revenue of nearly 800 billion yuan ($123 billion) last year. It had the resources to back a de-facto nationalisation of Huawei’s budget smartphone brand, which had been crippled by...

HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China Evergrande (3333.HK) chairman Hui Ka Yan has a potential safety net to fall back on as he hurries to raise cash through equity stake sales. Rating agencies including S&P have downgraded the developer's credit to junk as hope of a turnaround fades. Luckily Shenzhen city's asset manager is loaded, with over $600 billion in assets. It helped out local champion Huawei, and could be Evergrande's white knight too.

Financial pedigree matters a great deal when it comes to Chinese corporate rescues. Evergrande is headquartered in the southern finance and technology hub of Shenzhen, one of China's wealthiest and most dynamic cities, with an economy as big as Sweden's. The city’s asset manager owns stakes in at least 30 listed companies with reported revenue of nearly 800 billion yuan ($123 billion) last year. It had the resources to back a de-facto nationalisation of Huawei’s budget smartphone brand, which had been crippled by...

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The U.S. Senate approved a $1 trln infrastructure plan, with rare bipartisan backing. But Democrats want to spend far more on schools, the environment and such – a far wider definition of infrastructure. If that never happens, says Richard Beales, it could hold the economy back.

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The U.S. Senate approved a $1 trln infrastructure plan, with rare bipartisan backing. But Democrats want to spend far more on schools, the environment and such – a far wider definition of infrastructure. If that never happens, says Richard Beales, it could hold the economy back.

The $1 trln Senate plan will fix roads and railways but leaves out childcare and education. That’s foolish because all have the same goal: to get Americans working more efficiently in better jobs for more years. A too-narrow definition of infrastructure holds the economy back.

The original bidder for Kansas City Southern has returned with a $27 bln offer to challenge rival Canadian National. While the price is lower and changing railroads mid-journey for a second time isn’t free, reduced regulatory risk makes it a better deal for KCS shareholders.

New York, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Olympics in Tokyo were already challenged after delays and a ban on spectators. Yet the tally of American television and streaming viewers from Comcast's (CMCSA.O) NBC Universal was still a shocker. It’s another bad omen for live sports, the beating heart of U.S. TV.

NBC said on average 15.6 million people tuned in to watch to watch its prime-time Olympics coverage on TV and its streaming service during the 17-day event, against 31 million for the 2012 show in London and 27 million for Rio de Janeiro in 2016. It’s the smallest audience since the network started with the summer games in 1988 read more .

The broadcaster paid $8 billion for the rights to air the competition through 2032. While executives said the Tokyo games were profitable, the effort might become less worthwhile read more . Advertisers are under political pressure to boycott the winter games in Beijing. Meanwhile, the TV audience earlier this year for...

The $1 trln Senate plan will fix roads and railways but leaves out childcare and education. That’s foolish because all have the same goal: to get Americans working more efficiently in better jobs for more years. A too-narrow definition of infrastructure holds the economy back.

The original bidder for Kansas City Southern has returned with a $27 bln offer to challenge rival Canadian National. While the price is lower and changing railroads mid-journey for a second time isn’t free, reduced regulatory risk makes it a better deal for KCS shareholders.

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Abrdn (ABDN.L), the UK asset manager formerly known as Standard Life Aberdeen, may be turning the corner after years of losing client money. While investors have continued to withdraw more than they invested via it read more , net outflows excluding cash funds were just 1.9 billion pounds in the first half. And as lucrative strategies such as higher-fee private markets grew, the 6.5 billion pound group generated a higher revenue margin of 27.6 basis points on its 530 billion pounds of assets.

Chief Executive Stephen Bird’s turnaround has some way to go. As well as stopping the rot in investment management, he needs to grow in Asia, cut costs and develop platforms that handle funds for financial advisors and individuals. Competition in retail savings is likely to increase, particularly with players like JPMorgan (JPM.N) piling in. Yet Abrdn has firepower: Besides 1.7 billion pounds of surplus capital, it has stakes in Indian...

HONG KONG, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ever tried listening to one soundtrack online while another is playing? Investors tuned into SoftBank’s (9984.T) earnings presentation on Tuesday in the hope of strategies to address shares trading at roughly half of net asset value. Founder Masayoshi Son instead talked up portfolio companies in the group’s Vision Fund and the long-term potential of its artificial intelligence bets. One of those can probably fix the dual-audio issue. Investor patience will be harder to find.

The Japanese conglomerate’s shares have fallen one-third in three months, hit by weakness in tech stocks and more recently, the sharp falls in several investments including Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Global (DIDI.N) and its trucking equivalent, Full Truck Alliance (YMM.N), following a regulatory crackdown just after quarter-end. SoftBank has slowed its China investments to 11% of its spend so far this financial year, compared with a 23% weighting in its...

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The ingredients in ingredients are becoming pricier. On Tuesday, Dutch flavourings and preservatives maker Corbion’s (CORB.AS) shares fell as much as 9% after higher prices for freight and raw materials forced it to downgrade its 2021 EBITDA margin target from over 15% this year so far to as little as 13%.

The slump may have a read-across for British rival Tate & Lyle (TATE.L), which last month sold a controlling stake in its sweeteners business to private equity, leaving it, like Corbion, as a pure-play seller of ingredients that make food tastier and longer-lasting. Corbion’s shares have more than tripled since it pulled off a similar split in 2012.

The Dutch group’s stock was arguably a little rich. Before Tuesday’s decline, the group had been trading at a toppy 30 times 2022 earnings. The multiple has now fallen to 27 times. Tate & Lyle, however, still looks cheap, valued at just 13 times forward earnings. Its...

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Flutter Entertainment’s (FLTRF.I) U.S. momentum might have strengthened its rival Entain’s (ENT.L) hand at the dealmaking table. Tuesday’s half-year results for the 23 billion pound London-listed gambling firm showed its U.S. revenue rising 159% year-on-year to 652 million pounds ($906 million), performing much better than its UK and international businesses, which saw slower sales growth. The company now expects its U.S. division to generate positive EBITDA in 2023 and plans to spin off and list part of the business. Shares rose as much as 9% on Tuesday morning.

That positive news should bode well for UK rival Entain, which has an American joint-venture with MGM Resorts International (MGM.N). Earlier this year, the U.S. group walked away from an $11 billion takeover, but can return in July. The Ladbrokes-owner’s shares have grown 150% in the last month, and are now some 40% above MGM’s offer in January. With the U.S. market...

The SoftBank founder is focused on the long-term, big picture despite the Japanese conglomerate’s whopping 50% discount to its net asset value. China is a mixed bag for it but with shares down a third in three months, so-so first-quarter numbers will add to investor impatience.

UniCredit may buy most of sickly Monte dei Paschi, with government help. It’s unclear if that means taking on its junior debt, which would be a windfall for creditors at the expense of Italian taxpayers and EU rules. Yet bond markets are starting to hope for something juicy.

MUMBAI, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Amazon (AMZN.O) will face an antitrust investigation in India alongside Walmart’s (WMT.N) Flipkart. The country’s top court on Monday scolded the pair for trying to resist a probe read more for allegedly promoting select sellers on their platforms, among other things. The U.S. e-commerce behemoth promptly announced it would disband a controversial seven-year-long equity partnership which governed one of its top merchants. That won’t hamper Amazon too much if the erstwhile partner can keep selling on its own. And Amazon has more large retailers than it did when it first started.

Elsewhere the country’s top court on Friday helped read more Amazon move a step closer to blocking a $3.4 billion deal that would have handed control of Future Group’s retail assets, including the country’s second biggest retailer, to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RELI.NS). India upheld an interim order by a Singapore tribunal to press pause – a...

HONG KONG, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Jay Y. Lee's get-out-of-jail-free card prepares the next chapter for Samsung Electronics (005930.KS). The early release of the conglomerate’s de facto boss from prison ramps up pressure on him to use its huge cash pile to make splashy investments. Samsung's heft will force some creative dealmaking. It's a tricky combination to manage well.

Lee's parole marks a huge setback for South Korea's corporate governance reformers. The 53-year-old had served less than two-thirds of a 30-month sentence - already reduced from five years - for bribery, embezzlement and other charges. Advocates for his early release, including business lobby groups and the local chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce, had argued that the $480 billion tech powerhouse was unable to make major investments and acquisitions with its key decision-maker behind bars. Citing Lee's good behaviour and the country's pandemic-hit economy, officials...

MUMBAI, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Amazon (AMZN.O) will face an antitrust investigation in India alongside Walmart’s (WMT.N) Flipkart. The country’s top court on Monday scolded the pair for trying to resist a probe read more for allegedly promoting select sellers on their platforms, among other things. The U.S. e-commerce behemoth promptly announced it would disband a controversial seven-year-long equity partnership which governed one of its top merchants. That won’t hamper Amazon too much if the erstwhile partner can keep selling on its own. And Amazon has more large retailers than it did when it first started.

Elsewhere the country’s top court on Friday helped read more Amazon move a step closer to blocking a $3.4 billion deal that would have handed control of Future Group’s retail assets, including the country’s second biggest retailer, to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RELI.NS). India upheld an interim order by a Singapore tribunal to press pause – a...