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Glass Lewis considers US investment advisor registration to ease criticism
Glass Lewis' top executive has said that the company may register as an investment adviser in the United States. This would expose it to greater regulation, but could also help ease criticisms from Republican politicians and corporate executives over its proxy voting advice. Glass Lewis Chief Strategist Cheryl Gustitus said in an interview with The Washington Post on Friday that "we're seriously considering registering as an investment advisor" at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gustitus didn't give a time frame for when the company owned by Canada’s Peloton Capital Management, and its Chairman Stephen Smith might make a final decision. She said the issue should be viewed in the context of other steps Glass Lewis took to recast its influential role in U.S. Corporate Governance under Chief Executive Bob Mann who assumed the position last year. Glass Lewis, for example, announced last month that it would end its "benchmark proxy voting" recommendations in 2027. Gustitus also said that clients will have the option to choose between different approaches when conducting research. Gustitus: "We are trying to evolve. We're not digging into ourselves." Glass Lewis, and its bigger rival Institutional Shareholder Services, have been criticized and investigated by Republicans over their recommendations for how large institutional investors should vote during corporate annual meetings. Both firms have backed fewer resolutions from shareholders on environmental issues this year as companies increased their climate disclosures. ISS is a registered investment advisor with the SEC since about 25 years. This gives the Wall Street regulator power to examine things such as how the company handles potential conflicts of interests. Glass Lewis had been registered with the SEC but retracted the status in 2005. The firm said that it was not appropriate because, among other things, the firm didn't recommend its clients to trade, buy, sell, or hold securities. (Reporting and editing by Nick Zieminski, Ross Kerber)
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Lilly is the first pharmaceutical company to reach $1 trillion in valuation on weight loss demand
Eli Lilly's market value surpassed $1 trillion on Friday. It is the first pharmaceutical company to join the exclusive club of tech giants, and it highlights its growth as a weight loss powerhouse. The explosive growth in the weight loss drug market has been a major factor behind the more than 35% increase in the stock price of the company this year. As new and highly effective treatments for obesity have hit the market in the past two years, this category has become one of the most profitable segments in healthcare. The world's top-selling drug is now Lilly's Tirzepatide. It's marketed under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound, respectively. Novo Nordisk was the first to market, but Mounjaro & Zepbound are now a huge hit and have helped the company surpass its competitor in prescriptions. Lilly gained ground in part due to the fact that Novo's Wegovy release in 2021, which was delayed by a shortage of supplies, gave Lilly more room for growth. Lilly's drugs also have a higher clinical efficacy and the U.S. firm has been quicker to increase manufacturing and distribution. The shares of the company, which briefly reached a record-high, were trading at $1,051. LSEG data shows that Lilly is now trading at one of the highest valuations among big pharma companies, with a 50-fold multiple on its expected earnings for the next year. This reflects investors' expectations that the demand for obesity drugs would remain strong. The shares have also outpaced the overall U.S. equity markets. Lilly's shares have risen by more than 75% since the launch of Zepbound late in 2023. The S&P 500 has risen by over 50% in the same time period. Lilly's obesity and diabetes business generated combined revenues of over $10.09 billion in the last reported quarter. This represents more than half its total revenue, which was $17.6 Billion. The current valuation reflects investor confidence in the long-term sustainability of the company's metabolism health franchise. Evan Seigerman of BMO Capital Markets said that Lilly is preferred by investors in the obesity arms-race. Lilly's revenue forecast for the year ended October was increased by $2 billion, based on a surge in global demand for its diabetes and obesity drugs. Wall Street predicts that the global weight-loss drugs market will be worth $150 billion in 2030. Lilly and Novo are expected to control the majority of the projected sales. Investors now focus on Lilly’s orforglipron oral obesity drug which is expected be approved in early 2019. Citi analysts wrote in a note published last week that the latest generation GLP-1 drugs are already a "sales phenomena" and orforglipron will benefit from "the gains made by its predecessors when used as injectables." SUSTAINING MOMENTUM Lilly will benefit from an agreement with the Trump Administration and its planned investment of billions to boost U.S. manufacturing. Analysts said that the White House pricing agreement may have a negative impact on revenue in the near term, but it will significantly increase access to the treatment of obesity. This could add up to 40 million new potential candidates in the U.S. James Shin, Director of Biopharma Equity Analysis at Deutsche Bank said that Lilly has started to resemble "the Magnificent Seven", referring to tech giants such as Nvidia and Microsoft, which have fueled much of this year's market returns. Investors once considered it to be part of the elite group. However, after some disappointing earnings and headlines, it fell out of favor. He added that it could be an option for investors now, given the recent concerns about and weakness of some AI stocks. Analysts and investors will be watching to see if Lilly is able to maintain its current growth, as the prices of Mounjaro, Zepbound, and its diversified pipeline come under pressure. They'll also be looking at whether its scaling-up plans and its dealmaking, combined with its diversified portfolio, can offset a possible margin squeeze.
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US and global stocks to decline this week amid mixed Fed messages, concerns about tech valuation
Wall Street stocks shook in range-bound, but choppy trading on Friday. Rising hopes for a December rate reduction from the U.S. Federal Reserve was countered with persistent concerns about lofty valuations of tech companies. The tech-laden Nasdaq had a modest decline, while the S&P 500 had a slight increase, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was heading more decisively in the positive direction. The benchmark Treasury yields fell, the dollar remained steady and bitcoin was sharply lower. The S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and other world markets are on course to post their biggest weekly percentage losses since U.S. president Donald Trump shook the market with his major announcement of tariffs in April. The solid earnings of AI pioneers, notably Nvidia, only temporarily eased concerns that AI stocks are overpriced, and may be due for a correction. After a government shutdown that ended recently, the Fed finally got to see the current state of the job market, and it was a surprise to find the rate of unemployment ticking up. Financial markets have increased the likelihood that this will be the Fed's third and final cut in interest rates for this year. CME's FedWatch set the odds to 73.3%. This is a big jump from Thursday's 39.1%. The messages from policymakers are mixed. New York Fed president John Williams said that the Fed may still be able to cut rates in near-term, but Dallas Fed president Lorie Logan urged them to remain on hold until the central bank assessed the impact of current rates on economy. Oliver Pursche is a senior vice president of Wealthspire Advisors in New York. There are ongoing concerns over valuation, the Fed's future move and unemployment. Pursche said that "the fourth quarter has seen a rough start, even though it is usually the best for stocks, in terms of performance." The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 200.09 points or 0.44% to 45,952.35, while the S&P 500 gained 3.54 points or 0.04% to 6,541.66. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 81.74 or 0.38% to 21,993.43. European stocks fell on renewed concerns over stretched technology valuations. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 4.07 points or 0.42% to 964.46. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell by 0.44% while Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 fell by 0.43%. Emerging market stocks dropped 2.81% to 1333.04. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan closed at 684.69 - a 2.83% decrease. Japan's Nikkei dropped 2.40% to 48625.88. The dollar was expected to gain a little each week, while the yen gained support after Japanese officials intensified their verbal interventions to stop the currency's fall. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.12%, to 100.28. However, the euro fell by 0.22%, at $1.1502. The dollar fell 0.73% against the Japanese yen to 156.33. Cryptocurrencies fell to multi-month lows as a result of a wider flight away from riskier assets. Bitcoin dropped 5.08% to $82 789.98. Ethereum fell 6.44% to 2,692.87. U.S. Treasury yields fell as Fed rate-cut bets increased. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes dropped 3.9 basis points from 4,104% at late Thursday to 4.065%. The 30-year bond rate fell 1.2 basis point to 4,7199%, from 4,732% at the end of Thursday. The yield on the 2-year bond, which is usually in line with expectations of interest rates for the Fed fell by 5.3 basis points, to 3.505% from 3.558% at late Thursday. The U.S. has been pushing for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. U.S. crude dropped 2.2% to $57.71 per barrel. Brent was down to $62.21 per barrel on the same day, a drop of 1.81%. Gold recovered from earlier losses following dovish Fed remarks that increased the likelihood of a rate cut in December. Gold spot fell by 0.31%, to $4.064.19 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures rose by 0.35% to $4.070.90 per ounce.
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Gold prices fall as traders increase bets on December rate cuts
After falling more than 1% in the previous session, gold prices recovered on Friday as traders increased bets that interest rates will fall by December following Fed comments. As of 0952 am, spot gold had fallen 0.1%, to $4,071.74 an ounce. After falling by more than 1% in the earlier session, ET (1452 GMT) was set to be the next trading day. Bullion will lose 0.2% per week. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose by 0.2%, to $4.068.50 an ounce. John Williams, the New York Fed president, said on Friday that the U.S. Central Bank could still reduce interest rates in near-term without jeopardizing the inflation target. Jim Wyckoff said that the comments were "certainly supportive" and gave gold bulls some good news early on today. The traders now expect a 70% probability of a Fed rate cut during the next meeting. This is up from 46% earlier that day. The delayed jobs report revealed a mixed picture of the labor market. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 119,000, far above expectations for a 50,000 increase, while unemployment reached a four-year peak. In low-interest rate environments, gold, which is a non-yielding investment, does well. Lorie Logan, the Dallas Federal Reserve president, called for the rate to be held "for a while." The traders are also closely watching the U.S. Stock Markets. "If the stock market rallies today, this will probably put downward pressure on gold due to the increased risk appetite on the marketplace," Wyckoff said. Wall Street's major indexes rose on Friday, as renewed hopes of a rate cut in the United States boosted tech stocks after a rout last session. The physical gold market in major Asian markets has remained low this week due to the volatility of rates. This deterred buyers from purchasing. The spot price of silver XAG= dropped 2.1%, to $49.54 an ounce. Platinum XPT= increased 0.1%, to $1.513.70. Palladium XPD= declined 1.3%, to $1.360.63. (Reporting and editing by Shreya Biwas in Bengaluru)
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New technology could help COP30 achieve its Amazon rainforest conservation goals
COP30 talks on climate change will focus on protecting forests Amazon is using technology to protect the environment A project that uses drones and AI to restore degraded forest Clar NiChonghaile & Rosalind Thacker The mangrove trees, which resemble upside-down tree branches and extend into the waters to provide habitat for crabs and fish, are under threat. Two years ago (coastal erosion destroyed the homes of 15 residents living here on the coast). "It was very strong," Patricia Farias Ribeiro said, a local resident. Researchers are responding by using sensors that cost little to nothing to measure air temperature, rainfall, and tide levels, to monitor the island and guide conservation efforts, as well as provide useful information to residents, such a optimal time to fish. Lisangela Cassiano, of the government park service ICMBio, said, "Over time you can identify the changes that are taking place and we will correlate this with the biodiversity data." Cassiano is responsible for the RESEX SOURE marine reserve, which is one of the three sites that ICMBio, in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Brazil), has chosen to install sensors developed at the Federal University of Para. According to a study published in Ocean and Coastal Research, the island has lost 150 meters of coast due to erosion during the last 16 years. This is partly caused by the sea level rise as a result of climate change. The host president, Luiz inacio Lula da Sola, has placed the protection of forests at the forefront of his agenda. The summit was used by him to launch a multilateral fund, the Tropical Forests forever Facility (TFFF), whose goal is to protect biomes of vital importance like the Amazon rainforest. Brazil can be proud of its progress. According to a report from the Brazilian space agency Inpe, deforestation fell by 11.08% between July 2025 and the same period last year, reaching the lowest level since 2014. Re.green, a Brazilian company specializing in ecological restoration that uses AI and technology to restore the Amazonian and Atlantic forest in Brazil, is already using new technologies. Thiago Piccolo, CEO of Thiago Group, aims to restore forests and generate revenue from carbon credits as well as sustainable timber. His company won the Earthshot Prize in 2025, an prestigious award for environmental protection created by Prince William of Britain. It received a grant of PS1 million ($1.31million) to further its work. Re.green was founded in 2021 and has since purchased and leased over 37,000 hectares (over 91,000 acres), which includes pastures for restoration, degraded forest and standing forests. Restoration is underway on 17,000 hectares (42,000acres) of land, and 12,000 hectares (30 acres) have been completed. Carbon credits are sold to major corporations such as Microsoft and Nestle. Picolo explained that "we restore areas that have been deforested decades or even centuries ago and the original ecosystem which was there before." DRONES IN AMAZON Re.green uses drones to survey difficult-to-access land. It then analyzes the data using AI, and other technologies, to determine which areas will yield the greatest returns in terms of biodiversity and climate, and for local communities. They have a conversion rate of just 1.5%. This means that they only close on two properties out of 100 they evaluate because of factors such as environmental viability or land prices. The only landowners they buy from are cattle ranchers and they do not use land owned by the community. Picolo said that technology can help them achieve scale by sorting through large datasets. Drones also boost efficiency by planting seeds or killing exotic grasses which degrade land. He said, "The holy-grail for us is to be able do this with high efficiency and be able access land that can't be accessed by traditional tractors or agricultural implements." Picolo stated that re.green projects create jobs for local communities in science and technology and encourage indirect entrepreneurship. This is done by allowing bee-producing companies to use land on which local people can harvest acaiberries and by allowing locals to harvest the berries. Helping Nature Recover Picolo said that the model of restoration used depends on local context. Some areas may require intensive intervention, such as planting more trees in areas that are severely degraded. Other areas will regenerate naturally. He said that understanding where to apply each model was fundamentally important. "If we don't invest enough and rely on nature to regenerate, you may end up with an inferior type of forest. We need to apply science and technology to our current practices to figure out how we can make forests grow faster. Making technology more accessible is one way to achieve this. Renan Peixoto Rosario is a researcher at the Federal University of Para who worked on the Marajo Island Project. He said that the technology system was created to be inexpensive, easy to maintain, and easily replicated in protected areas. He said that the system could be five to twenty-five times cheaper than commercially available solutions. This is due to its modular design, open-source hardware and 3D printing. He said that the goal was to make remote coastal communities able to afford monitoring. Context Links https://www.context.news/nature/scientists-in-brazil-starve-trees-of-water-to-test-amazons-limits https://www.context.news/nature/tipping-point-the-amazon-rainforests-vital-signs https://www.context.news/nature/q-and-a-bezos-earth-fund-ceo-on-how-ai-could-help-climate-and-nature
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Lilly is the first pharmaceutical company to reach the trillion-dollar club in response to weight-loss boom
Eli Lilly's market value surpassed $1 trillion on Friday. It is the first pharmaceutical company to join the exclusive club of tech giants, and it highlights its growth as a weight loss powerhouse. The explosive growth in the weight loss drug market has been a major factor behind the more than 35% increase in the stock price of the company this year. Obesity treatments, once considered a niche, are now among the most lucrative segments of healthcare. Demand is steadily increasing. Novo Nordisk was the first to market, but Lilly’s drugs Mounjaro & Zepbound have grown in popularity & helped Lilly surpass its competitor in prescriptions. Lilly's obesity and diabetes business generated combined revenues of over $10.09 billion in the last reported quarter. This represents more than half its total revenue, which was $17.6 Billion. Kevin Gade is the chief operating officer of Lilly shareholder Bahl and Gaynor. He spoke ahead of this milestone. Wall Street predicts that the global weight-loss drugs market will be worth $150 billion in 2030. Lilly and Novo are expected to control the majority of the projected sales. Investors now focus on Lilly’s orforglipron oral obesity drug which is expected be approved in early 2019. Citi analysts wrote in a note published last week that the latest generation GLP-1 drugs are already a "sales phenomena" and orforglipron will benefit from "the gains made by its predecessors who were injectables." Lilly's recent agreement with the White House, which will lower prices for its weight loss drugs and also include planned investments in expanding drug production bodes well for its future growth. James Shin, Director of Biopharma Equity Analysis at Deutsche Bank said that Lilly has started to resemble "the Magnificent Seven", referring to tech giants such as Nvidia and Microsoft, which have fueled much of this year's market returns. Investors once regarded it as a member of this elite group, but after some disappointing earnings and headlines, it fell out of favor. He added that it now appears poised to return, perhaps even as a viable alternative for investors. Recent concerns and weakness of some AI stocks have also contributed to this. Analysts and investors will be watching to see if Lilly is able to maintain its current growth, as the prices of Mounjaro, Zepbound, and its diversified pipeline come under pressure. They'll also be looking at whether its dealmaking and scale-up plan can offset margin pressure. (Reporting and editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Devika Syamnath in Bengaluru.
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G20 envoys have agreed on a draft declaration of leaders without the US at the summit, sources claim
Four sources with knowledge of the situation said that G20 envoys had agreed on a draft declaration for leaders ahead of this weekend’s summit in Johannesburg, without U.S. involvement. The Trump administration has announced that it will not attend the summit due to disagreements with South Africa, the host country. Some analysts saw an opportunity in South Africa's hosting the G20 despite Trump's anti-multilateralism. No one has revealed the contents of the declaration. On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that South Africa is in talks with the United States about its possible participation The White House denied that this was the case, but it did happen. Trump rejected the agenda of the host nation for the summit on November 22-23, which included promoting solidarity and assisting developing nations to adapt to more severe weather disasters and transition to clean energy.
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Lukoil's trading arm shrinks rapidly under Western sanctions
Five sources said that U.S. sanctions have dismantled what is left of Lukoil Litasco. Litasco was once Russia's largest oil trader, and a competitor to Swiss oil houses and major oil companies. Washington is trying to stop Moscow from funding its war in Ukraine. The new measures also target the state-owned Rosneft. They went into effect Friday. The measures have put Lukoil’s global operations in limbo - from oilfields across the Middle East, to fuel pumps and refining plants throughout Europe. Sources said that Litasco, cut off from the global system of finance, has fired most traders and operational employees, and offered a three-month severance package and bonuses. Now, oil trading is impossible without billions in credit. Only a few employees will be left to manage administrative tasks. Litasco or Lukoil didn't immediately respond to a comment request. LITASCO SHUTS DOWN GLOBAL OFFICES Three sources claim that traders of crude oil and other employees will be leaving Litasco's Swiss headquarters at Geneva by the week's end. A fourth source stated that the office will be closed completely by the end February. Two sources confirmed that the majority of the 20 traders and operational staff in the U.S. office in Houston left on Thursday. Few employees will remain to complete any remaining obligations with customers and suppliers, according to the sources. One source stated that employees in the UAE offices at Dubai have received notice, but will still be employed until February. Litasco, founded in 2000, was one of the largest oil trading companies in the world in its heyday. It traded barrels from third parties and moved oil for Lukoil assets all over the globe. A SHADOW FLEET COULD BE LIFELINE Litasco traded a little under 4 million barrels of crude oil and fuel per day in 2019. This was about 4% global consumption. The company competed against oil giants and trading companies alike, poaching their top talent. Adi Imsirovic, former head of oil trade at Gazprom Trading and consultant Surrey Clean Energy, says that the winding down of Litasco will further drive Russian oil traders underground. Moscow heavily relies on an aging shadow fleet of tankers for shipping crude oil despite sanctions. Imsirovic stated that it is possible to bounceback, but money, patience and time are required. Due to U.S. sanctions and EU sanctions, Russia was forced to redirect most of its oil to Asia. Litasco suffered a major blow in 2022, when the West clampeddown on Russia's petroleum industry due to Moscow's invasion in Ukraine. However, it has been trying to rebuild its operations by hiring U.S. traders as well as securing credit. "Litasco has to shut down due to the sanctions." Energy economist Philip Verleger said that Russian oil would get to refiners in some way, but traders needed access to dollars and to the global financial system. (Editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov & Louise Heavens).
Gold prices steady as traders increase December rate-cut bets
The gold price held steady Friday after it fell over 1% in the previous session. Traders increased their bets that interest rates will drop by December following Fed comments.
As of 11:45 am, spot gold was unchanged at $4,077.19 an ounce. ET (1645 GMT), following a fall of more than 1% in the earlier session. Bullion has lost 0.1% in the last week.
U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery rose by 0.4%, to $4.076.90 an ounce.
John Williams, the New York Fed president, said on Friday that the U.S. Central Bank could still reduce interest rates in near-term without compromising its inflation target.
Jim Wyckoff said that the comments were "certainly supportive" and gave gold bulls some good news early on today.
The traders now expect a 70% probability of a Fed rate cut during the next meeting. This is up from 46% earlier that day.
The delayed jobs report revealed a mixed picture of the labor market. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 119,000, far above expectations for a 50,000 increase, while unemployment reached a four-year peak.
In low-interest rate environments, gold, which is a non-yielding investment, does well.
Lorie Logan, the Dallas Federal Reserve president, called for the rate to be held "for a while."
The traders are also closely watching the U.S. Stock Markets. "If the stock market rallies today, this will probably put downward pressure on gold due to the increased risk appetite on the marketplace," Wyckoff said.
Wall Street's major indexes rose on Friday, as renewed hopes of a rate cut in the United States boosted tech stocks after a rout last session.
The physical gold market in major Asian markets has remained low this week due to the volatility of rates. This deterred buyers from purchasing.
Other than that, silver spot fell by 1.2%, to $49.99 an ounce. Platinum rose 1.2%, to $1.529.00. Palladium dropped 0.4%, to $1.372.44. (Reporting and editing by Shreya Biwas and Alan Barona in Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)