Asset management.

•    The lull in tensions over Iranian oil driven by Strait of Hormuz negotiations is overshadowed by the resumption of the trade war waged by Washington against Canada and China.
•    Economic activity in the US and the Eurozone shows resilience, though tempered by stagnant US consumer spending and a contraction in French services. 
•    Pressure on the OAT-Bund spread continue to build, fuelled by the budgetary deadlock in France and investor concerns over the economic proposals of the leading presidential candidates.

—    Alain Krief is promoted to Global CIO for Edmond de Rothschild AM, and joins the Asset manager’s Executive committee. 
—    Charles Lilford joins Edmond de Rothschild AM as Co-Head of Equities, and Senior Portfolio Manager for the Big Data strategy. 

•    Oil flows passing through the Strait of Hormuz are reportedly overvalued, which, combined with Houthi attacks and rising gas prices, pushed the global commodities index above its 2022 peak.
•    Faced with the sharp rise in government bond yields, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent massively increased Treasury buybacks to reassure markets, triggering a drop in the dollar and a surge in precious metals in return.
•    Equity markets racked up serious losses this week. The tech sector was particularly badly hit and this time with additional worries over increasingly powerful Chinese AI models, although future productivity gains remain promising. 

•    Tensions between the United States and Iran, as well as attacks in the Red Sea, are reigniting fears over energy supplies, pushing the price of a barrel of oil towards $100.
•    The US is calling for an additional $87 billion in military spending, whilst Donald Trump has announced further tariff increases.
•    In the eurozone, the slowdown in inflation allowed the ECB to keep interest rates unchanged at its July meeting.