E Fund Launches Hong Kong’s First Gold Miner ETF in Collaboration with Solactive
E Fund Management (Hong Kong) launched the region’s first gold‑miner exchange‑traded fund, the E Fund (HK) Solactive Global Gold Miner Select Index ETF, on 30 January 2026. The product tracks the Solactive Global Gold Miner Select Index, which selects 30 globally listed mining companies and allocates 65% of its weight to constituents eligible for Southbound Stock Connect trading. The index caps each constituent at 15% to limit concentration and draws from exchanges in Hong Kong, the US, Australia, and Canada. The launch marks the inaugural collaboration between E Fund HK and German index provider Solactive.
Commercial Lending in the U.S. Surges 30 Percent in Late 2025
U.S. commercial real‑estate lending jumped 30% in Q4 2025, driven largely by banks as interest‑rate volatility eased. Originations rose 25% sequentially, with office loans nearly doubling year‑over‑year and overall 2025 originations up 40% from 2024. Depository institutions led the surge,...
Global Warming Expected to Drive Structural Growth in ILS Spreads: Solidum Partners
Solidum Partners says global warming will structurally expand ILS spreads. As natural disaster frequency and severity increase, traditional reinsurers face capital constraints under Solvency II, limiting their capacity. ILS instruments, being event‑specific and fully collateralized, can absorb tail risk, leading investors...
ITRI Breaks Ground on NT$3.77 Billion Advanced Chip R&D Base
Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has broken ground on a NT$3.77 billion Advanced Semiconductor R&D Base in Hsinchu, slated for completion in December 2027 with operations beginning Q1 2028. The publicly funded campus will feature high‑bay clean rooms, seismic‑resistant structures, and pilot...
Embassy Developments Shares Fall 4% Despite 240% Jump in Quarterly Pre-Sales
Embassy Developments Limited reported a 240% quarter‑on‑quarter rise in pre‑sales to ₹1,392 crore for Q3 FY26, with new bookings climbing 193% to 1.19 million sq ft. Despite the sales surge, the stock slipped 3.97% to ₹64.75, trading under an Additional Surveillance Measure after the...
AXISCADES Shares Surge 5% After Strong Q3 Results, Revenue Jumps 25%
AXISCADES Technologies posted a 25% year‑on‑year revenue increase to ₹343 crore in Q3 FY26, driving its shares up 5% to ₹1,238.50. EBITDA jumped 55.3% to ₹63 crore, with margins expanding to 18.3%, while profit after tax nearly doubled 87.2% to ₹28 crore. The...
SEBI Stalls New Exchanges' Entry Into Options Market, Sources Say
India's securities regulator SEBI has halted the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) and the Metropolitan Stock Exchange (MSE) from launching equity derivatives, insisting they first build robust cash‑equity businesses and upgrade technology. Both exchanges had applied for approval to...
Luis De Guindos: Interview with Econostream Media
ECB Vice‑President Luis de Guindos told Econostream that inflation has fallen to 1.7% headline and core inflation is edging toward the 2% target, while the euro‑area economy is proving more resilient than expected. He highlighted downside risks from geopolitical flashpoints and...
Scale of Australia’s Dec Chickpea, Lentil Exports Surprises
Australian legume exporters posted a dramatic December surge, shipping 588,122 tonnes of chickpeas and 410,805 tonnes of lentils, up 57% and more than double respectively from November. India dominated demand, taking 63% of chickpeas and 39% of lentils, while Bangladesh and Pakistan...
Sky Gold Shares Drop 5% Despite Strong Q3 Results
Sky Gold & Diamonds reported a 77% YoY revenue jump to ₹1,768 crore and a 120% surge in profit after tax to ₹80.53 crore for Q3 FY26, with EBITDA margins expanding to 7.34%. Despite the strong fundamentals, the stock fell 5.25% to...
Fresh From the Trading Room: A Little Jittery
The past two weeks saw extreme swings in commodities, with gold tumbling 12% after a record near $5,600, silver down about 30% from its $120 peak, and natural gas plunging 26% on shifting demand forecasts. President Trump’s nomination of former...
Titan Shares Rise Ahead of Q3 Results, Trading Near 52-Week High
Titan Company Ltd shares rose 0.5% to ₹4,280.35, touching a 52‑week high of ₹4,329.60 ahead of its Q3FY26 earnings release. Analysts project a net profit of roughly ₹15.5 billion, up from ₹12 billion a year earlier. The stock has outperformed the broader...
SGX Kicks Off 2026 with Record ETF Trading
Singapore Exchange (SGX) reported a 66% jump in trading turnover for January 2026, driven by robust activity across both retail and institutional segments. The exchange posted record exchange‑traded fund (ETF) turnover, marking its highest level ever. Derivatives volume also surged...
Gold, Silver ETF Inflow Pips Equity MF Schemes
For the first time, inflows into gold and silver ETFs in India have outpaced all equity mutual‑fund schemes. Gold ETFs attracted ₹24,040 crore and silver ETFs ₹9,463 crore in February, pushing passive AUM up 6 percent to ₹15.41 lakh crore. Equity scheme inflows fell to...
Kumar Mangalam Birla Hikes Stake in Vodafone Idea, Stock Jumps 4%
Promoter Kumar Mangalam Birla increased his holding in Vodafone Idea by purchasing a total of 4.09 crore shares at ₹11.13 per share, raising his stake to 0.02 percent. Following the buyback, Vi’s shares jumped 4.04 percent to ₹11.58 on the BSE. Emkay Global...
EM Debt Strength Holds as DM Policy Noise Grows>
VanEck’s Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMBX) posted a 5.56% 30‑day yield and outperformed both its benchmark and U.S. Treasuries in January 2026, driven by strong local‑currency exposure and carry. The fund’s portfolio now holds 48% hard‑currency sovereigns, with notable additions...
Sensex, Nifty Likely to Rise on Tuesday with Bullish Derivatives Trend
Indian equity indices are expected to edge higher on Tuesday as Nifty futures trade around 25,915, with the market eyeing a 26,000 resistance level. Derivatives data shows a Put‑Call Ratio of 1.05 and strong open‑interest buildup at the 26,000 call...
Taiwanese Firms Must Diversify From China Despite Structural Limits: Experts
Taiwanese firms are gradually shifting manufacturing out of China, driven by rising geopolitical and regulatory risks. Experts describe the move as a long‑cycle adjustment toward Southeast Asia and India, aiming to climb the value chain into AI and semiconductor sectors....
US to Exempt some Bangladeshi Clothes From Tariffs
The United States announced a new trade pact that lowers its tariff on Bangladeshi apparel from 20% to 19% and grants tariff‑free status to garments made with U.S. cotton and man‑made fibers. In return, Bangladesh will open its market to...
FA at 30: How Dim Sum Bonds Unlocked Liquidity without Opening China’s Capital Account
Nearly two decades after China Development Bank issued its first RMB‑denominated bond in Hong Kong, dim sum bonds have become a cornerstone of offshore liquidity. The initial issuance was modest, but it demonstrated that Chinese sovereign and policy banks could...
SEC Upholds Fines vs NOW over Disclosure Violation
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission affirmed PHP1 million fines for NOW Corp. and its chair Mel Velarde after finding their November 2021 market disclosure misleading. The regulator rejected NOW’s appeal, labeling the statement a "half‑truth" that misled investors about a alleged...
GCash Parent Mynt Keeps IPO Option Open
Mynt, the parent of GCash, is keeping an IPO on the table while accelerating its payments, lending and wealth‑management services. The fintech arm delivered P6.1 billion in attributable equity earnings in 2025, a 64% jump year‑on‑year, and its lending subsidiary Fuse...
A Reprieve for Veterans Applying for V.A. Mortgages
House Republicans have trimmed a proposal to raise fees on Department of Veterans Affairs home loans after pushback from veterans groups and lenders. The revised plan leaves purchase‑loan fees unchanged but nearly triples the refinance fee to 1.4% and doubles...
Indonesia’s Opaque Stock Market Risks USD 60 Billion Outflow
Indonesia’s equity market faces a potential $60 bn outflow if MSCI downgrades it from emerging to frontier status. MSCI halted new Indonesian inclusions on Jan 27, citing weak transparency and low free‑float ratios, prompting a 7.3% drop in the Jakarta Composite. Regulators...
Former US Officials Warn of Impending 'Widespread Collapse of American Agriculture': 'Our Farmers and Ranchers … Can't Compete with the...
The agricultural sector faces a perfect storm of policy and market pressures, according to a bipartisan letter signed by former heads of the National Corn, Barley, and Soybean Growers associations. The signatories contend that recent tariffs on farm inputs and...
Volatility Laundering in Private Credit
Private credit has trailed public credit since 2022, offering lower liquidity, weaker credit quality, higher industry concentration and higher borrower costs. By avoiding daily mark‑to‑market, private credit managers can "volatility launder" returns, presenting artificially low volatility and inflated Sharpe ratios....
Japan Logs Record Current Account Surplus for 2nd Straight Year in 2025
Japan recorded a historic 31.88 trillion yen current‑account surplus in 2025, the second year of record balances and an 11.1 percent rise from the prior year. The surplus was driven by a 4.7 percent jump in primary income from overseas investments and a...
Elevra, Mangrove Lithium Ink Offtake MoU for NAL Project in Quebec
Elevra Lithium has signed a non‑binding MOU with Canada’s Mangrove Lithium to off‑take up to 144,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year from the North American Lithium (NAL) project in Quebec. The supply would begin in 2028, scaling to full...
Larry McMillan Stock Market Update Video 2/9/2026
On February 9, 2026, veteran options strategist Larry McMillan released a market‑update video reviewing the latest equity trends, inflation pressures, and Federal Reserve policy stance. He highlighted persistent volatility that keeps option premiums attractive and outlined sector rotation toward energy and technology stocks....
US Military Boards Sanctioned Oil Tanker in Indian Ocean
The U.S. military conducted a right‑of‑visit boarding of the Panama‑flagged tanker Aquila II in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean. The vessel, linked to sanctions on Venezuelan and illicit Russian oil, had been operating with its transponder off,...
Following Super Bowl Ad, Trump Accounts Launch a New Sign-Up Option
The Treasury announced a new enrollment pathway for Trump accounts following a Super Bowl 60 commercial. Parents can now submit IRS Form 4547 online via TrumpAccounts.gov or attach it to their 2025 tax return to claim a $1,000 seed deposit for...
Christine Lagarde: European Parliament Plenary Debate on the ECB Annual Report
In a February 9, 2026 speech to the European Parliament, ECB President Christine Lagarde reaffirmed the central bank’s independence while emphasizing its accountability to elected officials. She reported that headline inflation has fallen to 1.7% in January and is expected...
Share of Domestic Institutions in Nifty-50 Ownership Exceeds FIIs for First Time
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have overtaken foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in Nifty‑50 ownership for the first time, holding 24.8 % versus FIIs’ 24.3 % as of December 2025. The shift follows a year of expanding DII stakes across most index constituents while...
Groww Adds More Clients than Entire Industry in January
Groww added roughly 353,000 active demat accounts in January 2026, surpassing the entire industry’s net gain of 302,000 accounts. This surge lifted its market share to 27.66%, a 60‑basis‑point rise from December. The broker now serves 12.48 million clients, cementing its...
IRRBB Management in Emerging Market and Developing Economies: The Role of Derivatives in Supporting Financial Stability and Economic Development
Interest rate risk in the banking book (IRRBB) is emerging as a top priority for banks and regulators across emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). Monetary tightening and persistent macro‑volatility are making balance‑sheet exposures more fragile, exposing the limits of...
BSE Q3 Profit Jumps 174% to ₹602 Crore on Strong Trading, Higher Income
India’s oldest exchange, BSE, posted a 174% year‑on‑year jump in Q3 FY26 net profit to ₹602 crore, driven by robust trading activity and higher operating income. Revenue from operations surged 62% to ₹1,244 crore. Sequentially, profit rose 8% from Q2 while revenue...
SBI Surges to Record High as Markets Rally on US Trade Deal Optimism
India’s equity markets closed sharply higher on Feb 9, 2026, with the Sensex up 0.58% and the Nifty up 0.68%, driven by optimism over an interim India‑US trade framework and strong earnings from State Bank of India (SBI). SBI surged 7.63%...
Takaichi's Victory Could Fast-Track Taiwan-Japan EPA: Expert
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a landslide win in the lower‑house election, giving her party a dominant 316‑seat majority. The victory is expected to accelerate negotiations on a Taiwan‑Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, according to University of Tokyo expert Lim...
Russian Oil Sector Under Siege as EU Ramps up Pressure and India Winds Down Imports
The European Union announced plans to replace its $44.10‑per‑barrel Russian oil price cap with a comprehensive ban on maritime services for Russian crude, pending member‑state approval. The ban would block hull, machinery, and insurance services, pushing Russia toward the uninsured...
Broker’s Call: Tata Steel (Hold)
Tata Steel posted Q3 FY26 revenue of ₹57,000 crore, down 3% QoQ, while volumes rose 4%. Consolidated EBITDA slipped 11% to ₹8,200 crore, with weaker pricing and widening losses in the UK and Netherlands. A cost‑transformation programme delivered ₹8.6 billion of savings and...
Broker’s Call: Hero MotoCorp (Buy)
Motilal Oswal reiterates a Buy on Hero MotoCorp, setting a ₹6,804 target versus the current ₹5,755.20 price. The company posted Q3 FY26 profit of ₹14.4 billion, marginally above forecasts, helped by higher other income while margins held steady despite an EV rollout. Analysts project...
Statement From Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde announced that François Villeroy de Galhau will leave his post as Governor of the Banque de France after an eleven‑year tenure. Lagarde highlighted Villeroy's realism, strong European convictions, and collaborative style as assets to...
Barrick and Twiga Minerals Launch Helicopter Surveys to Boost Tanzania Gold Exploration
Barrick Gold and Tanzania's state‑owned Twiga Minerals have launched a modern helicopter equipped for airborne geological surveys across Shinyanga Region. The initiative aims to deliver high‑resolution geophysical data while lowering the environmental footprint of exploration. Since the 2019 joint venture,...
Taiwan to Freeze Fuel Prices over Lunar New Year, Gas Rates Through February
Taiwan's Executive Yuan announced a temporary freeze on gasoline and diesel prices from Feb 16‑23 and will keep natural gas and LPG rates unchanged through the end of February to smooth consumer costs during the Lunar New Year. The decision follows...
US Backs Altona’s Mozambique Rare Earths Project
Altona Rare Earths announced that the U.S. Trade & Development Agency will support its Monte Muambe project in Mozambique, prompting a 76% surge in the company's London‑listed shares. The backing aims to map technical and financial routes for extracting rare‑earth...
Taiwan's January Exports Rise for 27th Straight Month, Hit New High
Taiwan’s January exports jumped 69.9% year‑on‑year to a record $65.77 billion, marking the 27th straight month of growth. Imports also rose sharply, yielding an $18.89 billion trade surplus, up 87.7%. The surge was led by AI‑related tech, information and audio/video products, and...
Downing Street Resignations Trigger Bond Market Jitters
UK bond markets reacted sharply on Monday after a series of high‑profile Downing Street resignations, with the 10‑year gilt yield climbing to 4.62% – a ten‑basis‑point surge that set a three‑month high. The departures, including communications chief Tim Allan and...
Bridging Continents: African Innovation at Web Summit Qatar
Web Summit Qatar has rapidly become the Middle East’s largest tech gathering, drawing a record 30,274 attendees from 127 countries in 2026. The event’s growth provides African startups—from fintech to agritech—direct access to Gulf investors, system integrators, and global partners....
Rupee Falls 9 Paise to Close at 90.74 Against US Dollar
The Indian rupee closed at 90.74 per U.S. dollar on Monday, down 9 paise after a volatile session that swung between a high of 90.37 and a low of 90.77. Traders linked the movement to the newly announced India‑U.S. interim trade...
KraneShares Lists China Internet ETF in London, Offering Focused Tech Exposure
KraneShares has launched the CSI China Internet UCITS ETF (ticker KWEBI) on the London Stock Exchange, giving European investors direct exposure to offshore‑listed Chinese internet and e‑commerce firms. The fund tracks the CSI Overseas China Internet Index, charges a 0.75%...