Esma faces uphill battle to emerge as European SEC
In an interview with Investment Officer, Esma chair Verena Ross outlined her vision and the significant challenges ahead as the regulatory body aims to become Europe’s equivalent to the US SEC.
Markets ignore Trump’s Fed shenanigans as bond strains grow
Markets are shrugging off Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook. Economists warn the strain is nonetheless showing in long-term U.S. rates and the dollar, raising questions over how long investors can keep ignoring political lawlessness.
Luxembourg watchdog questions credibility of early CSRD reporting
Luxembourg’s financial regulator has warned that companies’ first attempts at sustainability reporting under EU rules risk overstating green progress, citing inconsistent practices and weak transparency.
ANA or active non-alignment
Some countries are adopting a position of active non-alignment (ANA). What exactly does this mean, what are the economic consequences, and how are some ASEAN and BRICS countries putting it into practice?
US carve-out deepens Pillar Two complexity
A deal struck at the G7 summit in June has given American multinationals a way around rules billed as a milestone in the global fight against corporate tax avoidance.
The vision of Masayoshi Son
In 1996 I came across Cisco’s annual report, which included a CD-ROM presentation by CEO John Chambers titled The internetworking takes off. At that point, there was absolutely no sign of a dot-com hype, though Alan Greenspan thought otherwise in his irrational exuberance speech of December 1996.
Confessions of a former chief economist
Recently, Donald Trump urged Goldman Sachs to fire its chief economist. According to the president, he was completely off with his unwelcome forecasts about the effects of the trade war on US inflation. This raises the question of how independent economists at commercial financial institutions really are.
Bitcoin Treasury Companies cross over to Europe
Bitcoin Treasury Companies, firms that hold billions of dollars in bitcoin on their balance sheets, are crossing over to Europe. This raises the risk that passive investments, via index funds, could be funneled into one of the most volatile corners of the market.
Morningstar: Montanaro versus Van Lanschot Kempen in European smallcap equities
In recent years, global equity markets have been driven by the performance of largecaps, particularly in the technology sector, leaving smallcaps behind. That was the case in 2024, for example, when the Morningstar Global TME Index gained 25 percent while the Morningstar Global Small TME Index managed only a 16 percent increase.
Dirk Coveliers: New rules for the Belgian securities account tax take effect
The Belgian Program Act of July 18, 2025 introduces several changes to the annual tax on securities accounts (JTER), also known as the securities tax. The law now provides for new anti-abuse rules and a reporting obligation for certain transactions.