Opinion

At the heart of financial research lies a seemingly simple question: what is the risk-return profile of stocks and corporate bonds? New research based on the Belgian stock market from 1850 to 1913 shows that the answer changes fundamentally when illiquidity is taken into account.

The U.S. dollar is taking a beating. I’m not just referring to its exchange rate, but also to the growing doubts being raised about the role the greenback plays on the global stage as the de facto world currency.

Some periodic reports and studies are more informative and enjoyable than others. As far as I’m concerned, you can skip the obligatory and meaningless outlooks for the coming calendar year. I prefer to look at what investors are actually doing, rather than the usual December round-up, much of which is already outdated before the new year even begins.

Moody’s, the last of the major credit rating agencies to do so, has stripped the United States of its triple-A status. Old news, then? I wouldn’t go that far, given the timing of the decision. While not much may appear to be happening on the surface, policymakers, central banks, and politicians are working overtime behind the scenes.

Is Europe’s defense push justified? Han de Jong questions rising military budgets and the EU’s long-awaited market reform response.

Last Friday, it finally happened: Moody’s—the last credit rating agency still holding on to a shred of faith in Uncle Sam—downgraded the United States from AAA to Aa1. America is now officially among the ranks of “almost-but-not-quite-perfect” countries. It’s a bit like a high school student going from a 10 to a 9.5—still excellent, but mom and dad are disappointed nonetheless.

The rise of Eltif 2.0 and private market retail access is exposing a critical weakness: legacy reporting systems that cannot meet modern client expectations.

Remember that BBC quiz show with the notoriously blunt Anne Robinson, who ended each round with the line, “You are the weakest link. Goodbye”? In The Weakest Link, the contestant deemed weakest by the others was eliminated—on the logic that a weak player could damage the prize pot. That sounds rather economic. So why is the European Central Bank (ECB) doing the exact opposite?

One fascinating espionage technique during the Cold War was the “sleeper mole.” These were Soviet agents who operated inconspicuously in the West for years—sometimes even decades—awaiting activation. To avoid being recognized as communists, these moles had to cultivate the opposite image. In the eyes of Soviet strategists, the perfect cover? An extreme capitalist: someone who lines his house with gold, plasters his name in gold letters on buildings, and constantly boasts about wealth and success.

President Trump had it all envisioned. A copy-paste “Plaza Accord” that would enshrine him and the Mar-a-Lago Accord in the history books, securing the hegemony of the US dollar. But for now, it remains something Trump can only dream about.