Asset management.

•    Discussions between the U.S. and Russia on implementing the partial ceasefire in the Black Sea are hindered by Moscow's demand for lifted sanctions, maintaining inflation uncertainty related to grain exports.
•    The U.S. plans to impose new tariffs of 25% on countries acquiring Venezuelan oil and auto imports, coinciding with a stricter immigration policy that may impact supply chains and economic growth.
•    In Europe, positive effects from Germany’s stimulus plan are reflected in a slight rise in the IFO business climate index, although mixed manufacturing PMIs indicate ongoing sectoral challenges alongside disappointing services indices.

For almost three years now, AI has single-handedly dominated financial news headlines, generating a flurry of content and analysis. But never has it been so difficult to make a pragmatic assessment of its potential and its advancement.
The confusion today stems from three factors: first, technology is developing at a startling rate. I still remember, back in 2019, reading Architects of Intelligence: The truth about AI from the people building it, a collection of 23 lengthy interviews with the most eminent AI specialists at the time. The recent breakthroughs have undeniably taken the world by surprise - including executives at Meta and Microsoft, and even Elon Musk.

Investors were caught wrong-footed as they headed into 2025: they were expecting corporate tax cuts and deregulation; instead, they are facing a new trade war. Raised tariffs were understood to be bargaining tools to secure concessions, not a priority goal. 

•    In the United States, the Senate, with some Democrat support, managed to avoid a “shutdown” and prolong the budget until September, but some Trump administration decisions are fuelling worries.
•    Germany's spending plan is revitalizing the German and European economies, driving up European stock market indices.
•    The week was also marked by several central bank meetings.