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WGC reports that gold ETFs attracted the largest inflow for five years in the first half of 2025.
The World Gold Council reported that from January to June, physical gold exchange traded funds experienced their biggest semi-annual inflows since the first half 2020. Investors sought refuge from political and economic instability in gold ETFs after a trade war was sparked by President Donald Trump's tariff policies. These ETFs account for the majority of demand for precious metals. After three years of high interest rate outflows, the active first half of 2024 follows a modest inflow of net funds into gold ETFs. The WGC, a global industry group whose members are gold miners, reported that gold ETFs had an inflow in the first half 2025 of $38 billion. Their collective holdings increased by 397.1 tons of gold. The total amount of grain held by the end June was the highest since August 2022. The previous record was 3,915 tonnes in October 2020. According to the WGC, U.S. listed funds led inflows with 206.8 tonnes in the first six months, while Asia listed funds attracted 104.3 tons. The WGC reported that "despite slowing momentum in June and May, Asian investors purchased a record amount gold ETFs for the first half of this year, contributing a staggering 28% of net global flows, with only 9% the total assets managed around the globe." The spot gold price is up 26% in this year after hitting a record of $3,500 an ounce per troy. (Reporting and editing by Rod Nickel; Polina Devlin)
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Investors react to tariff developments as stocks and yen continue to fall.
The major stock indexes were little altered on Tuesday, as investors digested Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement. Meanwhile, the yen continued its decline against the dollar due to planned 25% duties on Japanese goods. Trump wrote to 14 countries on Monday, including Japan and South Korea. He warned them that they would face a sharply increased tariff rate for imports from the United States, starting at a new date, August 1. The market has not reacted as strongly as it did in April after Trump announced his sweeping tariffs. Market watchers predict that countries will seek to reach trade agreements with the United States prior to the new deadline. Sources said that European stocks were stable, and the European Union would not receive a letter stating higher tariffs. The EU could also reach a deal with the United States by Wednesday. It's a slow day. Yesterday, people digested tariff news and we saw weakness. "People are on hold for now until the second-quarter earnings report is released," said Peter Tuz of Chase Investment Counsel, Charlottesville, Virginia. S&P 500 companies are soon to report on the quarter ending June 30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 101.09 points or 0.23% to 44,305.27. The S&P 500 declined 2.26 points or 0.04% to 6,227.72. And the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.33 points or 0.01% to 20,413.83. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 0.36 points or 0.04% to 919.57. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 0.33%. The hope of a trade deal boosted risk appetite on Tuesday, as MSCI’s broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose by 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei recovered from its early losses and ended the day 0.26% higher. Southeast Asia's largest economies are facing some of the highest U.S. Tariffs. South Korean shares posted their biggest daily gain in the past two weeks, and the won strengthened by 0.4%. Since Trump in April capped what he termed reciprocal tariffs for trading partners to 10% for a period of three months, allowing for negotiation, the lack of progress has been looming over markets. Two agreements have been made, with Britain, and Vietnam. In June, Washington, and Beijing, agreed on a framework for tariff rates. The minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting will be published on Wednesday. The central bank is taking a wait and see approach to monetary policies. The export-dependent Japanese currency, the yen, fell to a two-week-low of 146.65 against the dollar. It also fell against other currencies. The dollar's last gain against the yen was 0.6%, at 146.9. The Australian dollar rose as the central bank of Australia defied expectations by keeping its cash rate at 3.85%. Investors are awaiting Treasury's sale of $119 billion of coupon-bearing bonds this week. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes rose 3.6 basis points to 4.431% last week, its highest level since June 20, U.S. crude oil rose by 0.19%, to $68.06 per barrel. Brent increased to $69.86 a barrel.
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The death toll from the Texas floods continues to rise as rescue efforts continue
According to county officials, the death toll has risen to 87 in Kerr County as the search and rescue effort continues in central Texas. The disaster that has claimed more than 100 lives is still ravaging the area. The Guadalupe River burst into flames as torrential rains fell before dawn Friday, killing dozens and leaving behind piles of trees, debris and cars. At a recent press conference, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha announced that at least 56 adults and children had been killed. More than two dozen other victims have yet to be identified. The authorities have not yet determined whether the 87th person was an adult victim or a child. Five children and a camp counselor were still missing on Tuesday. Some of the victims spent their summers at Camp Mystic, near the river. Local officials were questioned about whether they should have warned of the dangers of flash floods that occurred in Texas Hill Country earlier. Thunderstorms have hampered local efforts in searching for survivors. Rescue teams from Mexico and neighboring states have joined the local effort. At the press conference, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Baker from the Texas Game Wardens stated that the work was extremely dangerous and time-consuming. It's dirty. "The water is still there." A spokesperson for Donald Trump said that he plans to visit the region in question this week. Reporting by Jonathan Allen from New York, Rich McKay from Atlanta and Rod Nickel in Atlanta.
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EDF, the French nuclear company, will invest $1.5 billion in Britain's Sizewell-C nuclear project
The French government and British government announced on Tuesday that EDF, a French nuclear energy company, will invest approximately 1.1 billion pounds ($1.5billion) in the Sizewell project in Britain. EDF is already a shareholder in this project. The announcement came as French President Emmanuel Macron was on a visit of state to Britain. This is the first European leader to be in Britain since Brexit. Britain wants to replace its aging nuclear facilities with new ones to improve energy security, and to meet its climate goal of zero net emissions by 2050. Sizewell C is expected to produce enough electricity for around 6,000,000 homes once it's operational. Keir starmer, British Prime Minister, said that "this investment brings us closer to realizing the benefits for the British people." The British government The project has already received 17.8 billion pounds but is still looking for investors. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero stated that the UK Government would remain a major shareholder in the project, ensuring we had oversight of the development and limiting any delays. EDF, a state-owned company, said that its investment will give it a 12.5% stake in the project. State-owned EDF said its investment means it will have a 12.5%? EDF's reports for 2024 showed that they had a 16.2% stake, which is equivalent to 652 millions of euros invested. As the UK government invested more and other investors joined, it was expected that the stake of the company in the project would change. The UK government purchased the Chinese firm's shares in the Sizewell C Project by 2022, due to security concerns. Sizewell C will be the second nuclear plant in Britain built in over two decades after EDF’s Hinkley Point C. Hinkley Point C has faced delays and cost increases and is expected to begin operations in 2029 at a cost estimated between 31 and 34 billion pounds, based on 2015 prices. EDF previously stated that Sizewell C will be about 20% cheaper than Hinkley C.
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Marshall Islands drop fossil fuels as focus of UN climate change motion
The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a motion Tuesday on climate change, human rights and the Marshall Islands retracted a divisive amendement that asked states to commit to a phased-out fossil fuels. The motion calling for countries to "contribute to global efforts" to combat climate change was passed by consensus. This follows the 2021 council recognition of access to a healthy and clean environment as a right. The original language had revealed divisions amongst the 47 members, after the Marshall Islands, which is one of the most vulnerable countries to rising sea levels and has made an amendment to it to mention the exiting of fossil fuels, as agreed by the states at the COP28 Climate summit in December 2023. Doreen Debrum, Marshall Islands ambassador to the U.N. at Geneva, said to the council: "My country, like many of its Pacific neighbours, places a premium on collaboration and dialogue. We were willing to acknowledge this by withdrawing the amendment." The motion instead referred to the "imperative of defossilizing economies" in a note, allowing it to pass without a vote whose outcome was not certain. The decisions of the council are not legally enforceable, but they help to shape global standards. Three diplomats claim that oil producing countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (a voting member), had previously voiced their opposition to this phrasing during negotiations. Riyadh instead called for "multiple paths" to reduce emission. Kuwait's foreign ministry or Saudi Arabia's international press offices did not respond to requests for comment. The diplomatic missions of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in Geneva failed to respond immediately. Sebastien duyck, the human rights and climate campaigner at the Center for International Environmental Law said: "We regret the council's continued failure to call for an equitable phase out of fossil fuels - the root cause for the crisis." Campaigners have accused leaders in climate action such as the European Union of scaling back their policies while dealing with the effects of an early summer heatwave. After disengaging from the Council this year, the U.S. did not take part in the formal vote. (Reporting and editing by Alison Williams; Emma Farge)
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Ghana launches taskforce to stop gold smuggling
John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana, launched on Tuesday a taskforce backed by the security forces in order to combat illegal gold trading. Africa's largest producer is trying to recover billions lost due to smuggling. Ghana's task force is the first national initiative to combat gold smuggling. The government had previously tried to clean up artisanal gold mining, but this was unsuccessful in preventing illegal extraction or preventing the revenue losses that most African gold producers suffer. Ghana created a new board called GoldBod this year to centralise the gold trading. Mahama, at the inauguration for the new taskforce, said that this has led to official exports in 2025 of 55.7 tonnes of gold worth $5 billion. Mahama stated that the money would not have returned to Ghana if traders had taken it out and left the foreign currency outside. Mahama announced that to encourage public participation with the new antismuggling taskforce, which will include both police and soldiers, informants would receive 10% of the gold value seized through their tips. Mahama said Ghana will implement a national gold traceability system by 2026 and move to refined gold exports. A certified assay lab by the International Organization for Standardization will be used to ensure quality and capture more value. The country also plans to create a manufacturing hub to maximize gold's value. West African governments strive to increase revenue by taking advantage of the rising commodity prices. Military-led countries are adopting aggressive policy, including rewriting the mining codes, securing assets, and renegotiating contract, while democracies such as Ghana and Ivory Coast pursue measured reforms, through higher royalty rates and enhanced revenue sharing deals. According to data, gold prices have increased by 25% in the past year, peaking at $3,500 an ounce in April. (Reporting and editing by Emmanuel Bruce, Robwell Corey-Boulet, Franklin Paul and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila)
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EU climate negotiations to be led by far-right politicians
Patriots for Europe, an extreme right-wing group, will be in charge of the European Parliament’s work on the new climate target for the bloc, European Union legislators said on Tuesday. This could complicate any agreement on the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 90% by 2040. The Patriots group is the third largest in the Parliament and includes both the far-right parties of France and Hungary, including Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far-right, and Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary. Jordan Bardella, chair of the Patriots Group, said that the group was "resolutely against" the 90% emission target and had bid for the work to assert their vision on the goal. Bardella said at a press conference that "we are against it" because there are already too many restrictions on the industry in Europe. This would only lead to a de-growth. Climate change has caused Europe to be the fastest-warming continental in the world. A severe heatwave that swept across Europe last week also caused chaos. However, governments in Italy and Poland have been reluctant to adopt ambitious goals for reducing emissions this year because of concerns about the costs. Patriots' new role will give them a powerful voice when EU countries, the European Parliament and other legislators negotiate on the EU 2040 climate goal in the next few months. Patriots are tasked to draft an initial proposal that will represent the position of parliament in these negotiations. Liberal, socialist, and green groups have said that they are preparing a plan, which will be voted on by the Parliament on Wednesday, to speed up the negotiations. This would eliminate the first stage where Patriots could exert influence. Pascal Canfin, a liberal French EU legislator, told reporters that "we can take back control of the files". The Patriots Group holds eurosceptic views, including accusations that the EU seeks to replace national governments by a European superstate. EU officials said that the Patriots won the negotiating role at a meeting behind closed doors on Tuesday morning, by outbidding parliament's largest group, the centre right European People's Party. The European Commission, after months of delays, proposed the 2040 Climate Target last week. However, Brussels has been unable to garner political support. (Reporting and editing by Mark Heinrich, Deepa Babington and Kate Abnett)
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EU creates Critical Chemical Alliance for supply chain security
The European Commission said that it will work with EU members states and the chemical sector to support the production of chemicals identified by the EU executive as being critical for Europe's supply chains. The EU executive said that it would establish a Critical Chemical Alliance later this year, which will bring together the Commission and member states as well as various stakeholders, in order to revitalize Europe's chemical industry. In a press release, the Commission stated that "the chemical alliance" will "identify key production sites in need of policy support and address trade issues such as supply chain dependence and distortions." This move is similar to another alliance that was set up in order to identify the metals and minerals crucial for energy transition. The EU set mining, processing and recycle targets for 17 strategic materials. Chemicals are an essential input in nearly every industry, from textiles to defence and tech. They also account for over 1.2 million jobs directly in the EU. Chemical production plummeted during the COVID-19 epidemic and hasn't fully recovered due to the competition from U.S. and Chinese competitors who benefit from lower energy and production costs. The Commission said that more than 20 chemical plants have closed in the past two years. Ammonia and petrochemicals are "under severe pressure". Stephane Sejourne, Executive Vice President of the European Commission and Industry Commissioner, told reporters: "First and foremost is the question of sovereignty. We must keep our steam crackers." Steam crackers are a unit of petrochemical factories that produce the building blocks chemicals ethylene, and propylene. These chemicals can be found in plastic food packaging, rubber, car headlights, and fleece hoodies. Around 40 steam crackers are located in the EU. The Dow Chemical Company announced on Monday that it would be closing two plants in Germany, and one in Britain in the next two-year period. Sejourne said reporters that the alliance will evaluate the bloc's dependency on imports within the context of its importance. We are dependent on foreign imports of methanol for example. If we examine the critical production sites we must safeguard and maintain European sovereignty... Work is being done to identify the molecules and the plan proposes moving forward with a sort of Critical Molecules Act." The Commission will also include chemicals in future agreements with other countries and increase the surveillance of chemical imports. Since 2024, the Commission has opened 18 trade defense investigations on different molecules. In order to compensate for the high cost of energy, the Commission will increase state aids, accelerate permits and provide energy guarantee from EU funds. Sejourne stated that the Commission would also incorporate EU-content criteria into public procurements for chemicals. This is an effort being promoted by EU industries. The Commission will also present its sixth package of simplifications, called an omnibus for the chemical industry. The omnibus package, which is due to be presented before year-end, will simplify the rules for labelling dangerous chemicals and revise rules surrounding cosmetics, fertilizers, and other products. This will result in savings of up to 363 million euro ($425,47 million) per year.
As dealmaking increases, activist investors will push for change.
In the months to come, activist shareholders will be more determined to press for corporate change. They'll also feel more confident to launch new campaigns now that the pace of deals is picking up.
Investors, bankers and lawyers predict a rise in corporate leadership disputes, operational improvements, and spin-offs during the second half 2025. They said that many global corporations would prepare for time-consuming and costly battles. However, some activist investors might be willing to compromise.
Alfredo Porretti is global co-head Shareholder Engagement and M&A Capital Markets for JPMorgan Chase. He said that the activity in the second half of the year would be more significant. "Activists have become more cautious, but they are still not taking action."
After an unusually quiet quarter in which only 59 campaigns were launched, the expected rebound of global company campaigns will come after a second quarter that was unusually quiet. This included campaigns from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a U.S. IT company, and Kenvue Consumer Healthcare, whose products include Band-Aids, Tylenol, and Band-Aids.
The pace of investor campaigns to increase the price of shares slowed down by 16% between April and June compared to the first quarter. Barclays data shows that they were down by 32% compared to a year earlier.
Investors reported that many activists were on the sidelines during the second quarter due to concerns about the impact of U.S. president Donald Trump's tax and tariff policies.
Pam Codo-Lotti is the chief operating officer for Activism and Shareholder Advisory, Goldman Sachs. She said that "Activists reevaluated their public campaigns due to equity market volatility and macro-uncertainty in the second quarter."
People familiar with the work of established corporate agitators like Elliott Investment Management and Jana Partners, as well as newcomers that have never publicly pushed companies to perform better are looking ahead to new ideas.
Starboard Value, an activist group, bought a stake in Tripadvisor in the first few days of the second quarter with the intention to engage the management.
Activists target companies in the fall and winter, well before the annual meetings of the following year. They often start off with private discussions before making their demands public.
The companies are prepared for the anticipated onslaught.
Two directors of large American companies who were not allowed to speak publicly about the preparations said that board members with a negative memory of previous activist pressure are pressing management to hire advisors to assess vulnerabilities now and to take pre-emptive actions.
They said that long-serving directors could be replaced, or chief executives who are not keeping up with their peers may be fired.
In times of economic uncertainty and volatility, Ingo Speich said, "Shareholder activism is more likely to be due to weak points in companies." Ingo Speich is the head of sustainability at German asset manager Deka Investment. Poor governance is the main source of shareholder activism. Companies in transition are more vulnerable, and this opens the door for more shareholder activism.
In the first half 2025, 43% of activist campaigns have included a request for board changes. Mantle Ridge, an activist investor, successfully pushed board changes at Air Products and Chemicals and Elliott at Phillips 66.
Bankers and lawyers are expecting a rise in demand for the sale of companies or spinoffs. This was only a part of 33% of campaigns during the first half. Investor confidence is increasing, they said.
Goldman's Codo Lotti stated that "we expect public activism campaigns to increase in the second half, with renewed focus on M&A target, barring macro-headwinds."
Bankers and lawyers say that after making their name with loud public campaigns waged years ago by investors such as Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman, many activists now want to lower their profile and avoid the headlines.
According to a new study by SquareWell Partners, institutional investors who collectively manage $35 trillion in assets "overwhelmingly" view activism as an effective market force. 77% of them see it as catalyst for change, while 71% describe it as a driver of responsibility.
After establishing their reputation, activists might be willing to settle for a quiet settlement rather than engage in costly and messy proxy battles.
Jana Partners, for example, had long been pushing French-fry manufacturer Lamb Weston to make operational and board changes as well as possibly selling the company. The hedge fund avoided a high-profile fight in the boardroom by settling a dispute that placed four of their candidates on the board, and two others that both parties agreed upon.
Porretti, JPMorgan's Porretti, said that "peace is indeed breaking out as more settlements have been reached and board seats are going to activists." He added "but settlements can only be reached if both sides feel a little weak." Reporting by Svea Autumn-Bayliss and Emma-Victoria Farr, Frankfurt; editing by David Gregorio
(source: Reuters)