Esma: Post-Brexit supervision CSSF, AFM ‘insufficient’

Supervisory practices in Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands “appeared insufficient” during the years that Brexit pushed financial services away from the United Kingdom to EU member states, a peer review among European financial supervisors has found. Luxembourg’s supervisor disagrees with the review’s conclusions.

German court paves the road for more debt in Europe

German judges handed down an important verdict this week: EU treaties are no obstacle to shared debt in the union. The ruling comes shortly after the European Commission called for new joint injections into the economy. “As an investor I would carefully reconsider my bond portfolio,” one critic warns.

On Tuesday, the German constitutional court in Karlsruhe ruled that “exceptional” EU loans to overcome problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic do not violate European treaties.

Luxembourg real estate fund assets up 26% vs year ago

Real Estate Investment Funds, or Reifs, in Luxembourg saw total assets climb by 26 percent in the year running up to the end of the third quarter, to 131 billion euro. The number of Reifs increased by 20 percent to 621 funds.

The latest edition of the Reif survey conducted by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, or Alfi, showed that multi-sector allocations remain the most popular strategy for Reif investors, with 49 percent.

Lacklustre mood hits private markets at year-end 

Fresh registrations for alternative investment funds in Luxembourg, considered the top European hub for private investments, this month are at their lowest monthly level in nearly six years. Regulatory changes as well as market conditions are cited as a reason for the slowdown. Some issuers have decided to wait for the new year to avoid regulatory reporting in 2022.

Graph of the week: energy label

No this column is not about sustainability, climate targets or Co2 emissions. But about the fable that energy companies are a reason why broad market profits need not fall.

Energy profits

Earnings-per-share of US energy companies included in the S&P 500 Index are up more than 250% from a year ago. But this does not disguise a fall in profits of the rest of the companies.