Newswire

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Oil prices exceeded 100 dollars a barrel on Wednesday after the US destroyed five Iranian crude tankers and Iran targeted American forces in Jordan, escalating fighting that began over the weekend. North Sea Brent crude by early afternoon was traded at 100.75 dollars per barrel, 2.9 percent above Tuesday’s close and at its highest level since 23 July. US Central Command said late Tuesday four tankers were destroyed in the Gulf of Oman and another near Kharg Island in retaliation for an attack on a Navy warship.
Franklin Templeton has agreed to acquire a majority stake in European real-assets manager Stoneshield Capital through property investment unit Clarion Partners, the companies said Tuesday. Financial details were not disclosed. The deal will triple Clarion’s European assets under management to 13 billion dollars and lift its global total 12 percent to 82 billion dollars. Stoneshield, legally headquartered in Luxembourg with its main operating office in Madrid, manages 9 billion dollars across housing, digital infrastructure, hospitality and other real assets. Co-founders Juan Pepa and Felipe Morenés will remain in charge. Completion is expected in the fourth quarter, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Frankfurt-based DWS Group said Tuesday it will adopt Deutsche Asset Management as its global brand in early November, aiming to raise its international profile and emphasize its European roots. The DWS name will remain for its active European private wealth business, while Xtrackers will continue for exchange-traded funds and passive mandates. Chief executive Stefan Hoops said the umbrella brand aims to support the company’s global growth and broader institutional business ambitions worldwide. Deutsche Bank owns 79.5 percent of DWS Group. The remainder is traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Financial markets remained cautious Monday after the far-right AFD won Saxony-Anhalt’s election with about 44 percent of the vote, falling short of a majority but dealing a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives. Franklin Templeton strategist Martin Lück called it a major political signal, not an immediate market event. Economist Robin Brooks argued it weakened Merz and moved Germany closer to an eventual euro rupture. Germany’s 10-year Bund yield edged up 17 basis points to to 3.37 percent, nearing the 15-year high of 3.39 percent touched last week. The Bund spreads with French and Italian government bonds narrowed slightly. In Frankfurt, the DAX index stood 0.25 percent lower by late morning as European equity markets traded sideways.
Delen Suisse, part of the Delen Private Bank group, is opening a new office in Zurich. It will be the bank’s second location in Switzerland, following the opening of its Geneva office in 1996. Zurich is a logical next step in the group’s international growth strategy, Delen said in a press release issued on Thursday. “The opening of this second office is part of Delen Private Bank group’s strategy to maintain a local presence close to its clients in each of its markets,” the bank said. The new office will allow Delen Suisse to expand its services to a broad client base in the Zurich region, including a growing community of Belgian and Dutch expats, according to Delen.
Shein shares fell 4 percent in their Hong Kong trading debut Tuesday, capping a yearslong effort by the ultrafast-fashion retailer to go public. The stock had dropped as much as 10 percent after opening at its IPO price. Shein raised about 1.7 billion dollar, valuing the company at roughly 26.5 billion dollar, far below its nearly 100 billion dollar valuation in 2022. Investors remain concerned about tariff changes, slowing growth and regulatory pressure, including the EU tax on small packages, which raises costs and challenges the company’s low-price business.
Chip maker Nvidia last night said it expects revenue to grow about 70 percent in fiscal 2028, far above Wall Street’s roughly 45 percent forecast, as artificial intelligence demand continues to outstrip chip supply. The chipmaker also beat fiscal second-quarter expectations. Revenue more than doubled to 96.22 billion dollar from $46.7 billion a year earlier, while adjusted earnings reached 2.22 dollar a share. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected 92.17 billion dollar in revenue and earnings of 2.10 a share. In after-hours trading Nvidia shares rose 4.7 percent to 219.53 dollar..  
Revolut plans to issue a euro-pegged stablecoin later this month. Initially, it will only be available to customers in Denmark, Portugal, and Poland, with other European countries set to follow later this year, the online bank announced. Stablecoins are designed to closely track the value of an underlying currency and are primarily intended to make transactions more efficient. Major European banks have been working on euro stablecoins for some time. A group of 37 banks, including ING, KBC, and BNP Paribas, has been collaborating through the Qivalis joint venture to launch a stablecoin, while Société Générale and Crédit Agricole have already rolled out projects of their own. With Revolut’s euro stablecoin now on the way, the fragmentation of efforts to digitize Europe’s financial markets appears set to continue.
Japanese government bond ETFs have attracted a record 1.5 billion dollars in net inflows so far in 2026, nearly three times the total for all of 2025, according to Morningstar. The surge comes as long-term Japanese yields approach 3 percent. Morningstar said European investors are increasing fixed-income allocations while seeking alternatives to US dollar assets. Japanese bonds now offer investors developed-market exposure, higher income and greater currency diversification, said Shannon Kirwin, senior principal at Morningstar.
Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree soared on its Shanghai debut, closing Wednesday at 845 yuan (107.4 euro), 460 percent above its IPO price of 150.80 yuan. The shares rose as much as 629 percent intraday. The listing valued Unitree at about 342 billion yuan (43.5 billion euro), allowing the company to raise 6.1 billion yuan. Shares fell back on Thursday, trading about 16 percent lower near 709 yuan.  Unitree, founded in 2016, is one of China’s largest producers of humanoid robots and a prominent player in Beijing’s push to develop the robotics industry. Chief executive Wang Xingxing said Thursday the robotics industry was approaching a “ChatGPT moment”, in which robots could perform most tasks in unfamiliar environments using simple voice or text commands.

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