Investing

While this week’s spike in copper prices may have grabbed headlines, veteran mining executive Ernest Mast, based in Toronto, believes it signals something deeper: a market entering a structural phase shift, complicated by geopolitics, policy, and supply-side inertia.

A combination of increased volatility and ongoing political and economic uncertainty is pushing financial institutions in Europe and Asia toward bonds. Asset allocators at several hundred of these firms expect to significantly increase their allocation to the asset class.

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) is set to transform many industries. In addition to the software sector, heavy industry and mining may be among the biggest winners, according to experts.

Due to Donald Trump’s erratic policies, all eyes are on the United States bond market, where the bond vigilantes have run wild. But there is also unrest in the Japanese bond market—and perhaps that should worry us even more.

It’s a question that concerns every asset manager: to what extent are defense and weapons stocks compatible with the sustainable principles of ESG? A joint report by the labeling organizations Forum Ethibel (Belgium) and LuxFLAG (Luxembourg) doesn’t provide a definitive answer but does outline the many dilemmas involved.

Washington’s revived protectionism is putting fresh pressure on the Federal Reserve. Investors are once again bracing for trade disruption, rising inflation, and slower U.S. growth. For now, Asia is taking the first hit.

The EU’s plan for a Savings and Investment Union risks falling flat unless it completes the banking union first, warns Amundi’s Mahmood Pradhan.

The U.S. has dropped plans for a controversial tax provision that would have targeted foreign investors, but tax experts say the risk of fiscal retaliation hasn’t gone away.

A powerful coalition of European financial trade associations has urged the European Commission not to adopt a U.S.-style trading framework under its flagship Savings and Investments Union (SIU) initiative.

It’s hard to speak of a favorable investment climate when companies are leaving. While the shine may have worn off American exceptionalism, Europe’s problems remain unresolved as long as European companies continue relocating their headquarters abroad.