Christopher Chu

Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard’s revised offer for Seven & i Holdings marks a crucial moment in Japan’s corporate deal making, assessing whether Tokyo’s shareholder initiatives can unlock value for investors; recent political turmoil could also have an impact.

Digital assets and physical gold share both have an absence of dividend payments and the concept of finite supply. However, volatility casts one as a safe-haven play, while the other is branded as a risk-on asset, at least for now.

With Indian equities accounting for over 20% of a major MSCI index, active managers may have a choice between raising their holdings in an expensive market or seeing higher tracking errors, as the Chinese market continues to come under pressure.

Performance disparities among tech stocks have left investment strategists in an awkward position, leaving them to balance structural drivers with near-term headwinds, and moves such as tariffs.

Simultaneously paying dividends while funding new investments into tourism and leisure is placing considerable strain on casino balance sheets in Macau – a bet many of them seem willing to take.

The US SEC has approved applications for Ether ETFs, neutralising Hong Kong’s brief regulatory advantage, prompting the financial hub to seek new strategies as 11 exchange platforms await regulatory approval.

Analysts see limited initial market impact, but there is concern over the precedent, which other countries might follow in the future, negatively impacting equity risk premiums.

With the bulk of its business coming from Asia, Europe’s largest bank is planning for a new leader to take the helm, most likely in 2025.

The inclusion of cryptocurrency Ether, alongside Bitcoin, for the exchange-traded funds on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, contrasts with the US approach.

A postponement of the US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts could see some defensive plays by investors, such as range-bound trading.