News

Financial markets on Monday appeared to position themselves for a slower pace of rate hikes in the US, or even a pause, amid talk that the Federal Reserve may adopt a more cautious monetary policy following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The European Central Bank this week still is expected to raise interest rates by 50 percent amid the global market turmoil caused by the collapse of SVB, which fell victim due to mismanagement of its interest rate risks. 

Has the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank ignited fears of a new financial crisis? Or is its demise incidental, offering investors an excuse to take profits on attractive gains that bank sector stocks booked in recent months?

As European financial markets closed on Friday, worried investment professionals were hard to find. The sentiment and rising interest rates however are clearly recognised as risk factors. 

Nordea and M&G on Thursday said they intend to cut jobs because the asset management industry is facing difficult market conditions. Both firms have a significant presence in Luxembourg. “The reason for the adjustment is the need to adapt to the market environment, because macroeconomic uncertainty remains high, and the asset management industry is facing significant mid-term uncertainty and volatility,” Nordea said.

Asset manager Robeco on Wednesday won the award for best asset manager in Morningstar’s Luxembourg Awards for Investing Excellence in 2023. The firm also won the new award as best asset manager in sustainable investing.

Dutch-based Robeco, with assets under management of approximately 200 billion euro, since 2016 is fully owned by Japanese financial services conglomerate Orix. With its awards Robeco beat competition Vanguard, J O Hambro, BNP Paribas and Candriam.

Funds managed by M&G, Schroders, Candriam and Cartesio on Wednesday emerged as four respective category winners in the Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence 2023 in Luxembourg.

Apex Group Ltd, a Bermuda-based global financial services provider with a well-established record of acquiring companies, has announced its successful acquisition of Brazil’s BRL Trust DTVM after obtaining full regulatory approval, according to a Tuesday press release.

A Luxembourg roundtable initiative that brought together public and private sector stakeholders with an interest in the economic recovery of Ukraine has evolved into becoming UkrainePlatform, a think tank focused on encouraging investments and developing the country’s economy.

The world’s top body to fight money laundering and financial crime on Monday warned that the international high value art and antiquities market has become vulnerable to money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The Financial Action Task Force called on art dealers and governments to up their efforts to fight illicit funding in these markets.

Belgian crowdlending platform Beebonds is offering investors an opportunity to cofinance the Arche coliving project in Luxembourg. The investment is offered through a 3 million euro green bond, the firm said.

The Arche project is located in Bettembourg, one of Luxembourg City’s main peripheral municipalities. It is the first joint project of the company Picaroon SA. This Luxembourg-based company, founded in 2011, is active in the sale, rental and purchase of ships, as well as in setting up real estate projects.

Trading shares during the day that a company releases its earnings reports by going long on ones with positive news and short on the ones with negative news can generate a daily return of 1.3 percent.

That is the bold conclusion of a study conducted jointly by the Amundi Institute and the Toulouse School of Economics. Using artificial intelligence software from Causality Link and a long-short portfolio, the researchers were able to confirm that news signals influence short-term price movements.