BREAKINGVIEWS-Warnings and worries haunt best-read views of 2024

ReutersDec 31, 2024 9:25 AM

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Refiles to fix hyperlinks.

By Katrina Hamlin

HONG KONG, Dec 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The past year was a buoyant one for markets. Yet even as share prices rose, our readers sought out columns exploring the risks of imploding stocks, regulatory shocks and Washington’s new status quo. Our best-read views of 2024 feature familiar faces and old obsessions, too.

To see what was top of mind for our audience, start with the most popular views for clients of the London Stock Exchange Group. A column arguing that the euro zone could be nearing another crisis topped the chart. Next up was a warning from history about large-cap stock booms and busts, closely followed by a deep dive into the unwinding of Japan’s carry trade in August, and an explanation of why legendary money manager George Soros’ 1980s treatise on the threat from U.S. debt echoes loud and clear for investors today. The surge in the S&P 500 Index .SPX, which rallied by more than 20% for the second year running, only added to the angst. A recent column on the dangers of the runaway U.S. market also drew eyeballs.

Over on Breakingviews.com, readers gorged on columns about companies, geopolitics, and the return of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Our most popular view examined the sturdiness of Taiwan’s silicon shield as the island and $800 billion chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing 2330.TW prepare for the former reality TV show host’s return to the White House in January. The president-elect loomed over topics ranging from capping interest rates on credit cards to the Chinese yuan and Japanese outbound M&A. Climate change was a recurring theme, as Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N reeled from the devastating impact of wildfires. A column examining the possibility that hedge funds could face tougher regulatory scrutiny was a late addition to the most-read views of the year.

Readers on Reuters.com were fascinated by Intel’s INTC.O stuttering efforts to keep up with rival chipmakers. As in past years, the antics of Tesla TSLA.O founder Elon Musk drew eyeballs, as did Vladimir Putin. A column exploring how Western support for Ukraine could help end the Russian president’s war attracted attention on multiple platforms. Other popular protagonists included the British royal family, which was caught out by a photoshopped photograph, and Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, who is battling U.S. charges that raised new questions for his financiers.

As ever, deal drama captivated Breakingviews readers, from Nippon Steel’s 5401.T troubled pursuit of United States Steel X.N, insurer Nippon Life’s stateside foray, the mooted merger between Japanese carmakers Honda 7267.T and Nissan 7201.T, to telco T-Mobile’s TMUS.O unexpected acquisition. The diverging fortunes of buyout barons also garnered attention.

Breakingviews’ new podcast series, The Big View, offered further insight into what most interests our audience. The show, where Breakingviews columnists tap their best sources for frank conversations, drew listeners to episodes about topics including the artificial intelligence boom, Ireland’s tax bounty, and China’s economic reboot.

The year ahead promises more thrills and spills. As ever, Breakingviews columnists will be on hand to help our readers make sense of it all.

LSEG

The risk of a euro crisis is rising

A warning from history about large-cap stock booms

Carry trade chaos charts outlines of next selloff

Red Sea oil tension may revive Russia-Saudi spat

George Soros’ 1980s US debt warning echoes today

China’s risky answer to wall of debt is more debt

US market juggernaut poses top risk for 2025

Next Chinese trade war could benefit the planet

Donald Trump may dent but not dethrone King Dollar

Putin faces hard choices if Ukraine war drags on