The European Union would be more effective in a dangerous world if its 27 members could not veto so many joint initiatives. The snag is that EU countries are ever more reluctant to give up their right to block collective actions.  ..read more

Julius Baer has soothed agitated investors’ fears – but only up to a point. The $11 billion Swiss wealth manager said on Monday that 70 million Swiss francs of recently revealed losses stemmed from 606 million Swiss francs of loans to a single corporate client – which Reuters identified as troubled property group Signa. That’s 40% of the bank’s 1.5 billion Swiss francs riskiest credits, an uncomfortably high concentration.   ..read more

Schaeffler’s token bump for Vitesco Technologies may not ensure a smooth ride. The 3.4 billion euro German industrial group raised its tender price for shares in auto parts group Vitesco by 3% to 94 euros. But it’s unlikely to appease some rebel shareholders.  ..read more

Amazon.com has a special delivery this Cyber Monday. The online retailer’s turbocharged push into distributing packages has helped it overtake UPS in U.S. volume after it earlier surpassed FedEx, the Wall Street Journal reported. Even better, there are indications that the investment is paying off ..read more

David Zaslav may find his options have reached the limit. The Warner Bros Discovery chief executive will have to more than double the value of the media company if he wants to collect a lavish $200 million compensation package awarded when Discovery agreed to merge with Warner Media in 2021. Even if the better parts of the business with more promise perform, hitting pay dirt is an uphill task.   ..read more

President Xi Jinping is trying to wean China off its property-based, debt-fuelled economic model. The transformation will cool growth in the world’s second-largest economy after years of rapid development. Investors are worried but risk ignoring the structural changes underpinning the country's continuing voracious appetite for raw materials ..read more

The success of the Dubai climate shindig rests on how much it slashes emissions via cuts to oil production, and how much it relies on carbon storage or removal. In this Exchange podcast, Energy Transitions Commission chair Adair Turner warns against relying on the latter ..read more

Sultan al-Jaber’s latest look at a western fossil fuel asset is one of his least happily timed. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the state-owned Abu Dhabi oil giant he runs, is considering a bid for BASF-owned Wintershall Dea, at a potential $11 billion valuation. Given al-Jaber is also in charge of COP28, the global climate conference set to kick off this week, sniffing around a carbon-belching oil and gas explorer makes for some tricky optics ..read more

Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic wants to push Britain's biggest aerospace company to its limit. In a strategy plan unveiled on Tuesday he said operating margins at the 22 billion pound company's core civil aerospace business will rise from 2.5% in 2022 to 15%-17% by 2027, part of a plan to shake up the company he once dubbed a “burning platform”. Investors have rejoiced, sending Rolls-Royce shares up 6% and adding to a 160% rally this year.  ..read more

Stuttering consumer confidence is complicating CEO Jonathan Akeroyd’s attempts to revive Burberry. Like-for-like retail sales in the quarter to end-September grew a dismal 1% at the UK maker of fancy trench coats, below analyst expectations of 4%. Investors were however spooked after the 6 billion pound group warned it was unlikely to meet its revenue target this year, adding that adjusted operating profit could be close to 552 million pounds, the lower end of ..read more