Dashboard
LoginSign Up

Financial News

Small-Cap-Funds-Set-Rebound
morningstar_com40d ago

Small-Cap-Funds-Set-Rebound

High-quality small-cap funds look relatively weak but retain long-term investment merit.

#STOCKS#COMMODITIES
Amazon’s CEO just made a scary prediction for 2026. Economists worry he’s right
fastcompany40d ago

Amazon’s CEO just made a scary prediction for 2026. Economists worry he’s right

Last year was full of talk about tariffs. Are they coming up or going down? On which products and countries? How could businesses handle all the uncertainty? But while there was a lot of discussion of these fees, paid on imported goods and raw materials, there wasn’t actually that much evidence of their price impact at stores. According to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, that’s about to change. Tariffs had a modest impact on prices in 2025Tariffs are a tax on businesses, which means you’d expect that if tariffs go up, so do prices. But the effect of President Trump’s ever-changing but always aggressive tariff policies didn’t cause the huge price hikes and widespread economic damage many feared in 2025. Economists offer several likely explanations. One is all the exceptions and carve-outs the government made after announcing the tariffs. What Trump threatens and what ends up being charged are often very different. “The actual tariffs are much lower than what were announced, and that is one of the reasons why the effects have not been as big as feared,” Harvard economist Gita Gopinath told The New York Times.Another big reason is timing. Trump hasn’t been shy about his love of tariffs. That means many people got ahead of the new taxes by stockpiling goods before they came into effect. “Consumers and business time very-short-run purchases to try to minimize tariffs,” according to the Budget Lab at Yale University. “This can reduce the amount of imports of higher-tariffed goods and countries for a time.” But Jassy says this tactic to keep prices down may have reached its expiration date. Amazon’s CEO warns of big pricing changes to comeJassy spoke to CNBC’s Becky Quick at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and said that so far, Amazon has seen “some of the tariffs creep into some of the prices, some of the items.” He continued: “And you see some sellers are deciding that they’re passing on those higher costs to consumers in the form of higher prices, some are deciding that they’ll absorb it to drive demand, and some are doing something in between.” But the days of these modest impacts may soon be over. “I think you’re starting to see more of that impact,” he continued. Many sellers simply don’t have much of a choice but to pass on the cost of tariffs. “At a certain point—because retail is, as you know, a mid-single digit operating margin business—if people’s costs go up by 10%, there aren’t a lot of places to absorb it,” the Amazon CEO said. “You don’t have endless options.”No white knight is riding to consumers’ rescue No matter what you might hear coming out of the White House, realistically, those options do not somehow magically include getting foreign suppliers to shoulder the cost of tariffs. A new study by the Kiel Institute in Germany found that a whopping 96% of the costs of tariffs are passed on to U.S. importers and consumers. Nor can smaller businesses that are already squeezed keep shielding consumers indefinitely. When large retailers raised prices, smaller firms said, “we’re going to try to not raise prices, giving them a competitive edge,” Kyle Peacock, founder of Peacock Tariff Consulting, explained to Harvard’s Institute for Business in Global Society. But, he continued, “they can only absorb it for so long.”Jassy’s comments suggest that the breaking point for many sellers is fast approaching. The Amazon CEO is far from the only business luminary issuing such warnings. On a recent investor call, Nike cautioned tariffs could add about $1 billion in costs during its 2026 fiscal year. Mattel warned it may need to raise prices on toys, while Walmart likewise said it may be forced into “selective” price increases on imported goods. Add to these existing pressures Trump’s latest threats to slap further tariffs on European countries if they fail to go along with his weird neo-colonialist demand that they hand over Greenland, and the picture looks worrying. Economists fret Amazon’s CEO is rightThe Peterson Institute for International Economics worries all this could spell higher—rather than lower—inflation this year.“The pass-through of tariffs to consumer prices has been modest to date, suggesting U.S. importers have been absorbing the bulk of the tariff changes. That will change in the first half of 2026,” Lazard CEO Peter Orszag and PIIE president Adam Posen predicted.“The many reasons for the lagged pass-through include businesses pricing based on when their inventories arrived (and have since run out) and concerns around being seen as raising prices too rapidly (so they are instead gradually increasing them). This won’t last,” they continued. Of course, who knows what Trump might do in the end. His track record has, to put it mildly, been inconsistent and changeable. But if he doesn’t chicken out and change course, many economists clearly fear Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is right. Hard-pressed U.S. consumers are hoping life gets more affordable in 2026. They’re likely to face the opposite. —Jessica StillmanThis article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister website, Inc.com. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.

#ECONOMY
'Out Of Africa': Beijing Slashes Investment Up To 85%
zerohedge40d ago

'Out Of Africa': Beijing Slashes Investment Up To 85%

'Out Of Africa': Beijing Slashes Investment Up To 85% Authored by James Gorrie via The Epoch Times,For more than a decade, China’s footprint across Africa has expanded at a phenomenal pace.Railways in Kenya, ports in Tanzania, energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa, and militarized infrastructure in various places have meant billions in state-backed loans. For decades, Beijing has positioned itself as Africa’s largest trading partner and its most aggressive infrastructure financier.But something has changed.In some sectors, such as energy lending by Chinese development finance institutions, investment levels have fallen by as much as 85 percent from their peak years. That’s not a rounding error, that’s a strategic retreat.What’s really going on? Is China walking away from Africa? Or is Africa revealing something deeper about China’s own economic stress?It’s all of the above and more.The Pullback Is Real—and SharpAccording to research cited by the Clean Air Task Force, Chinese development finance for African energy projects has declined roughly 85 percent since 2015. That’s a dramatic contraction in capital deployment.Separate reporting based on data from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center shows that Chinese lending to Africa has fallen sharply in recent years. In some reports, China’s investment fell nearly 46 percent year over year in 2024.This isn’t just a pause. It’s a reset.For years, Beijing fueled infrastructure growth across the continent through state-backed loans tied to its Belt and Road Initiative expansion. Now, the tap isn’t fully off, but it’s not flowing as freely as it used to.China Isn’t Leaving Africa, but It’s Changing How It EngagesBefore jumping to the “China is out of Africa” conclusion, it’s important to note a few critical facts.For one, China remains Africa’s largest trading partner. Trade volumes remain substantial and have even grown in recent years.But lending and investment are different from trade.Instead of large sovereign infrastructure loans, Beijing appears to be shifting toward more commercially viable projects and private sector–led foreign direct investment. Beijing is also favoring trade expansion over debt expansion.That’s a broad policy shift. An analysis of broader outbound Chinese investment patterns in 2025 shows a more cautious and selective capital strategy globally—not just in Africa.In other words, China isn’t abandoning Africa—Beijing is abandoning risk.The Real Story May Be DomesticBut the context may be less about Africa and more about China. It’s no state secret that China’s economy is under real pressure, including a prolonged property sector downturn, persistent and high local government debt, slowing GDP growth, and weak domestic consumption.Those challenges have led Beijing to ramp up capital controls and financial risk management, both of which are indicators of a markedly different economy than the one for which China became world-renowned.In short, China’s days of double-digit expansion are long gone. A new malaise has set in that isn’t easily overcome. Chinese authorities are increasingly focused on stabilizing employment, preventing financial contagion, and managing demographic decline.When capital gets tight at home, overseas mega-projects become harder to justify—especially in politically complex or financially risky environments. Thus, Africa isn’t being punished—it’s being reprioritized.Even some critics of the “debt trap diplomacy” narrative note that China has become far more cautious as a creditor in recent years.Strategic Reassessment, Not Strategic RetreatChina’s Africa policy framework still operates through the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation, which continues to promote trade, tariff elimination for least-developed African countries, and development cooperation.Trade between China and Africa reached nearly $300 billion in recent reporting, underscoring that economic ties remain strong. But there’s a difference between facilitating trade and underwriting sovereign debt.China’s earlier model, which provided large, state-backed loans for infrastructure, carried political and financial risks. Some projects underperformed, and other countries struggled with repayment, becoming vassals of Beijing amid intensifying global scrutiny.Beijing appears to have decided to scale back exposure to such risks, tightening standards and investing where returns are clearer. That’s not ideological behavior but balance-sheet management.What This Says About China’s EconomyAn 85 percent reduction in certain categories of overseas investment doesn’t just reflect changing foreign policy. It signals that large-scale overseas lending no longer aligns with domestic priorities and that conserving capital is a necessity, as liquidity and risk appetite have tightened.Beijing recognizes that as economic conditions decline, domestic stability declines as well. Therefore, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is prioritizing internal stability by managing debt, stabilizing property markets, and preserving employment. At this point, it’s clear that these rising domestic problems matter more to the CCP than expanding geopolitical infrastructure influence.It’s not necessarily that the era of unlimited Belt and Road expansion is over, but China is entering a phase of selective, return-driven engagement over broad strategic underwriting.This is what economic maturation—or economic strain—looks like.Global Ambitions Meet Financial RealityThe CCP’s global ambitions are now bound by domestic economic reality. Overextension abroad while managing economic fragility at home is a dangerous combination.Pulling back could signal discipline, economic stress, or both. Economic stress demands financial discipline, and when the world’s second-largest economy tightens its checkbook by 85 percent in key sectors, the story isn’t just about Africa’s financial future—it’s about China’s.Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Tyler DurdenTue, 02/24/2026 - 05:00

#ECONOMY
dawn40d ago

Bloodbath continues as KSE-100 sheds over 1400 points on Tuesday

Pakistan’s benchmark index, KSE-100, closed in the red on Tuesday, down 1432.54 points.Topline Securities noted that the session witnessed pronounced volatility, with the index staging a brief rebound to an intraday high of +1,546 points before intensified selling pressure pushed it to a low of –3,783 points.Despite the decline in points, trading activity remained robust, with total volumes clocking in at 687 million shares and turnover reaching Rs38.4 billion.The top active stocks were led by K-Electric Limited, falling 1.17pc to Rs7.57 at a volume of 64,848,829, followed by The Bank of Punjab, declining 1.62pc to Rs29.70 at a volume of 49,139,683, and Worldcall Telecom Limited, falling 0.76pc to Rs 1.31 at a volume of 45,981,935.The top advancers were led by Abdullah Shah Ghazi Sugar Mills Limited, rising 12.32pc to Rs9.12, followed by Chenab Limited, rising 11.79pc to Rs9.48, and Ittefaq Iron Industries Limited, rising 10.49pc to Rs8.11.The top decliners were led by LSE Capital Limited.(Right) declining 20.62pc to Rs0.77, followed by Paramount Spinning Mills Limited falling 13.40pc to Rs5.62, and Gulistan Spinning Mills Limited declining 13.09pc to Rs6.04.This 0.85pc fall from its previous close of 167,691.08 points comes on the heels of the index’s bloodbath on Monday, the third major meltdown at the PSX in the past two weeks, with the KSE-100 losing 5,149.80 points on February 16 and 6,683 points, the steepest single-day decline in history, on February 19.Mohammad Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities, noted that the market is in “correction mode.” He stated that the current sell-off “appears to be driven by above-average foreign selling, Reko Diq-related concerns, softer corporate results, and stock futures unwinding”.Interestingly, he cautions against deeming this as a bearish market, calling it an “11pc correction instead”. AKD Securities believed that geopolitical developments and the outcome of the upcoming IMF review mission, due to arrive next week, will be crucial in determining investor sentiment.Investors will also be looking towards corporate earnings reports for a possible upside.Pakistan Oilfields Ltd announced its 2QFY26 results today. The company recorded a profit of Rs6.3bn, down 17pc YoY but up 16pc QoQ. This takes 1HFY26 earnings to Rs41.29/share, up 16pc YoY, according to Topline Securities.The brokerage house noted that earnings came out higher than expectations, driven by higher-than-expected other income and a lower Effective Tax Rate (ETR), which stood at 26pc in 2QFY26, compared to 37pc in 2QFY25 and 33pc in 1QFY26.Additionally, Hub Power Company announced its 2QFY26 results today. The company reported earnings of Rs10.6bn, an increase of 152pc YoY. Their profits were down compared to the previous quarter by 9pc due to higher ETR. According to Topline Securities, this result came lower than expectations due to a higher-than-expected ETR.

#STOCKS