All United States articles
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NewsNorwegian SWF dumps €705m General Dynamics stock in new blacklisting
NBIM announces €1bn of exclusions from its investment universe, in latest batch of companies falling foul of the GPFG’s ethical guidelines
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FeaturesFears grow of US slowdown
US president Joe Biden’s decision to step aside was much murmured about following his disastrous performance in a debate with Donald Trump, but it was still a surprise when he announced his decision. However, market reactions were relatively muted, despite shaking pollsters’ predictions on who might now win the election.
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Opinion PiecesUS court scraps SEC private equity transparency rule
The US appeals court’s decision, last June, to throw out a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule intended to give investors more transparency into private funds has sparked a heated debate.
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Asset Class ReportsInvestors look to smaller companies
Following the rout of the Magnificent Seven, small and mid-caps stepped into the breach
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - September 2024
Kamala Harris’ candidacy has turned the political mood in the US. The two candidates are very close together in the polls but while Trump’s score is stable – except for a worsening favourability – Harris’ statistics all show a positive trend. In investment terms, momentum is with Harris. A Harris win is also likely to result in more Democratic party governors and legislators.
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NewsATP and PFA draw IPO lessons as they settle OW Bunker case
Danish pensions heavyweights among €86.5m group settlement; ATP says cost of continuing through courts ‘would run into millions’
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Opinion PiecesThe US perspective on a mixed proxy season
Opinion is divided on whether opposition to environmental and social considerations are increasing following the 2024 annual general meeting season in the US.
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - August 2024
Joe Biden’s weakness was a lucky stroke for Donald Trump, who has shown similar symptoms for years. It remains to be seen what effect Kamala Harris has on the polls. Trump and his chosen VP are both proponents of weakening the USD.
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NewsDenmark’s IPD slams EU red tape as pensions money picks US over EU
Allocations to US equities now three times the size of EU ex Denmark weightings for Danish pension funds
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Asset Class ReportsMagnificent seven stocks suck up capital from other sectors
Concentration of US equity markets around a handful of names remains an intractable issue
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Opinion PiecesHow AI is making inroads in America's retirement industry
Artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to gain traction in the retirement industry, even if it is still early days.
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FeaturesMarket predicts US soft landing - June 2024
A combination of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s press conference and a slightly weaker-than-expected US April non-farm payrolls outcome succeeded in flipping the market back to a soft-landing narrative for the US economy. US Treasury bonds rallied sharply, taking other markets with them, while the yen weakened significantly against the dollar before recovering.
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - June 2024
Trump and Biden are both losing to undecided voters, a group that is now unusually large and may be sensitive to Trump’s legal troubles. Biden’s approval rate is below his score in presidential polls, while Trump’s score is the same in presidential polls and those measuring voters’ opinion of him. In the UK, the Conservatives took another drubbing in the local elections.
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FeaturesT+1 settlement rules pose challenges for fund managers
A global move to compress settlement cycles – that is, the time between when a transaction is agreed and executed and when the transaction is completed and the securities and cash are exchanged – is underway. While the aim is to deliver lowered risk and cost savings, investors and market participants face challenges due to the increasingly interconnected nature of financial markets.
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NewsSwedish pension funds push Tesla AGM to adopt workers’ rights
AMF to back AGM proposal filed by Folksam and others, and takes aim at Apple’s worker rights behaviour too
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NewsNorwegian oil fund drops $400m of stocks on war-linked grounds
NBIM follows advice from its Council on Ethics, and banishes L3Harris, Adani unit and Weichai Power, divesting nearly $400m
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Asset Class ReportsEuropean high yield stands its ground
Investors flocked to the European junk bond market last year and despite a strong US economy, there is still appetite for European issuers
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Opinion PiecesUS public pension funds focus on labour practices in private equity
Private equity has become dependent on public pension funds, which represent almost one-third of all investors in the asset class. These schemes invested 13% of their assets – over $620bn (€580bn) in 2022 – up from 3.5% in 2001 and 8.3% in 2011, according to data from public pension research non-profit Equable Institute.
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FeaturesUS economy continues to surprise
The resilience of the US economy continues to confound observers. The Federal Reserve’s 11 hikes in interest rates over the course of 2022 and 2023 were implemented to rein in economic strength and to stifle inflation. Scroll forward to the second quarter of 2024 and both inflation and economic activity are still higher than expected.
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FeaturesIPE Quest Expectations Indicator - May 2024
EU parliamentary elections are approaching fast. Current polls predict a shift to the right, with the current centrist parties remaining dominant and the extremist right overtaking the Eurosceptics. US President Donald Trump is still liable to be convicted in a criminal case, but his poll figures are rising.
