Investment Officer

Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest, on Thursday posted higher-than-expected earnings thanks to rising prices but warned that it sees risks in inflation, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in China.

The company posted EBITDA earnings of 5.16 billion dollars in the second quarter, up from 5.05 billion in the period a year earlier. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected earnings of 5.09 billion.

European bond funds experienced a fifth straight month of net outflows in May as inflation continued to rise and markets anticipated tightening of monetary policy in Europe and the United States, according to data on 29 countries posted by the European Fund and Asset Management Association, Efama. 

The Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative, a public-private body known as LSFI, has decided to create four new working groups to help the industry better come to grips with challenges posed by Environmental, Social and Governance issues.

Jersey-based management company Crestbridge said it has appointed Anne Catherine Grave as country head of Luxembourg. The firm has been active in the Grand Duchy since 2010.

Grave will be responsible for leading the business in the region and will provide administrative, accounting, reporting, residency, and governance needs to a broad range of fund structures. She will be based in Luxembourg. Grave has more than 20 years’ experience in the private equity and real estate sectors.

A European screening exercise of prospectus approvals that involved Luxembourg’s financial supervisor CSSF has concluded that EU regulators need to be more efficient in their assessments and that more clarity needs to be provided on the use of  “additional criteria” that national supervisors apply.

Apex Group on Monday said it has been appointed to provide corporate, administrative and trustee services to the Nasdaq-listed Luxembourg platform of Eqonex Limited, a digital assets financial services company. Eqonex recently launched an Exchange Traded Note  in bitcoin on Frankfurt’s Xetra market.

Barely seven of the first 35 companies in the US S&P 500 index to release their second-quarter results subsequently have raised their earnings per share forecast for the third quarter. Are earnings expectations and analysts still too optimistic?

Some 77 percent of those companies saw their Q3 2022 expectations revised downwards. The average estimated change is -3.0 percent, according to The Earnings Scout. 

Ratings agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed  its assessment of Luxembourg’s government debt with a ‘AAA’ rating and a stable outlook.

When it comes to ESG, those who confine themselves to the paper reality may believe that asset managers are becoming increasingly similar. Those who look deeper however see a different picture: European asset managers not only remain in the lead, but are also converting their paper promises into actual ESG integration. 

As US companies revise their earnings forecasts en masse and fears of recession-induced defaults increase, some investors feel it’s a good moment to get into high yield corporate debt. The key question: what will be the nature of the upcoming recession?

“A rare opportunity to get into high yield,” noted bond strategist David Furey of State Street Global Advisors in a market review last week. “A fantastic buying opportunity for US high yield,” said Dutch investment advisory firm Candoris.