New York Times (October 31)
“As investors, economists and world leaders weigh the prospects of Donald Trump winning the election, one of their biggest questions is how he would potentially upend global trade.” It’s not just the threat of tariffs, but also measures like what the candidate refers to as the “Trump reciprocal trade act” through which he hopes to punish the European Union for “supposedly not buying enough American-made goods.”
Tags: Candidate, Economists, Election, Global trade, Investors, Prospects, Punish, Tariffs, Threat, Trump, Upend, World leaders
Bloomberg (October 28)
“Political uncertainty will likely weigh on sentiment for investors in Japanese assets after the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party failed to win a majority in parliament for the first time since 2009.” Though this uncertainty was not priced in, there may still be buying on dips, and “global investors are still pinning hopes on Japan’s improving corporate governance as a factor to buy equities.”
Tags: Assets, Coalition, Corporate governance, Dips, Failed, Investors, Japan, LDP, Majority, Parliament, Political uncertainty, Sentiment
Investment Week (October 14)
“Environmental, social and governance considerations among private investors have continued to fall for the third year in a row amid a declining love for ESG.” The annual ESG Attitudes Tracker found that “the percentage of respondents… who claimed they consider ESG when investing dropped to 48%, down from 53% in 2023, 60% in 2022 and 66% in 2021.” Lackluster performance in the ESG sector appears to be “the core reason” for the waning enthusiasm.
Tags: Attitudes Tracker, Declining love, Dropped, ESG, Fall, Investors, Lackluster, Performance, Respondents, Waning enthusiasm
CNN (October 9)
“The S&P 500 index has gained roughly 21% for the year, notching dozens of record highs along the way as artificial intelligence enthusiasm helps drive stocks higher.” Amid “rising confidence that the US economy will achieve a soft landing” and recent data points suggesting strong economic footing, investors will be “looking to the upcoming earnings season for clues about the US economy’s health.”
Tags: 21%, Artificial intelligence, Clues, Confidence, Earnings season, Economy, Enthusiasm, Health, https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/09/investing/earnings-companies-stocks/index.html S&P 500, Investors, Record highs, Soft landing, US
Washington Post (September 13)
The White House may not immediately “move to block Nippon Steel’s bid to acquire U.S. Steel amid mounting concerns over the political and economic consequences of nixing the deal.” In recent weeks, “investors, Pennsylvania Democrats and some members of the steelworkers’ union warned that the deal’s collapse could spark an economic calamity for Pennsylvania’s beleaguered steel belt.” Optimism again appears to be growing that the deal might go through with shares of U.S. Steel rising “by more than 12 percent over the past two days of trading.”
Tags: Block, Calamity, Concerns, Consequences, Economic, Investors, Nippon Steel, Nixing, Optimism, Pennsylvania, Political, Shares, Steelworkers’ union, U.S. Steel, White House
Wall Street Journal (September 12)
“Investors and policymakers alike are eager for big-bank mergers in the European Union. U.S. banks, which have the benefit of scale and cheaper funding, rule the roost when it comes to dealmaking even in Europe, with France’s BNP Paribas as the only universal bank that comes close to posing a challenge.” With the possible merger of UniCredit and Commerzbank, “technocrats in Brussels might finally get their wish for bigger European banks. But Wall Street still shouldn’t expect any real competition to emerge from this.”
Tags: Big-bank mergers, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Dealmaking, EU, Funding, Investors, Policymakers, Scale, Technocrats, U.S. banks, UniCredit, Wall Street
Investment Week (September 6)
Japan was “historically seen as a ‘value trap’” where “the interests of minority shareholders were ‘subordinate to those of other stakeholders’” as summed up by one portfolio manager. But things have changed. “After a decade of reforms, ‘Abenomics’ and a push towards fairer corporate governance, investors have started to feel the Japanese market is turning a corner.”
Tags: Abenomics, Corporate governance, Interests, Investors, Japan, Market, Minority shareholders, Portfolio manager, Reforms, Stakeholders, Subordinate, Value trap
Fortune (September 5)
“JPMorgan joins a growing chorus of global firms downgrading their expectations for China’s stock market, following similar moves by former China bulls UBS Global Wealth Management and Nomura Holdings Inc. in the last few weeks. It signals exclusion of China is becoming a popular strategy for investors and analysts amid the country’s dimming prospects and the likelihood of better returns elsewhere.”
Tags: Analysts, China, China bulls, Downgrading, Exclusion, Expectations, Investors, JPMorgan, Nomura, Stock market, Strategy, UBS
Institutional Investor (August 26)
Multistrategy funds “are no longer the hottest thing in hedge funds. Investors fear too much money, and overcrowding of trades could pose systemic risk.” There is now growing interest in “single manager market-neutral funds.”
Tags: Fear, Hedge funds, Hottest, Investors, Market-neutral, Money, Multistrategy funds, Overcrowding, Single manager, Systemic risk, Trades
Reuters (August 24)
The U.S. Federal Reserve “must determine how quickly to get to what they deem a neutral rate, neither depressing nor stimulating economic activity. Investors clearly hope that they prioritize speed.” Chairman Powell has now arrived at “the endgame, when the prospect of success is near at hand but the possibility of failure is at its most dangerous. To save the labor market, the cuts can’t come soon enough.”
Tags: Depressing, Economic activity, Endgame, Failure, Fed, Investors, Labor market, Neutral rate, Powell, Prioritize, Speed, Stimulating, Success, U.S.