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Category: Daily Instagraph

Hidden champions

By leon

While much of the market buzz focuses on the Magnificent 7, European bank stocks have quietly staged an impressive rally over the past two years, with the Eurostoxx Banking Index surging 50% during this period. Fundamentally, European banks have spent the last decade recovering from the financial crisis, navigating cost-cutting measures, asset write-offs, and stringent … Continued

From MAGA to MEGA

By leon

European equities have outperformed their U.S. counterparts since the start of the year, with the Stoxx 600 up 6.1% compared to a 3% gain for the S&P 500. The ongoing rotation away from last year’s winners, primarily U.S. Big Tech, is gaining momentum. However, a note of caution is warranted: while European equities appear cheap … Continued

The economy is not the stock market

By leon

Economist Milton Friedman, the father of monetarism, famously emphasized that the stock market and the broader economy do not always move in sync. One of his notable quotes captures this distinction perfectly: “The stock market is not the economy. The economy is not the stock market.” This observation is clearly reflected when analysing the performance … Continued

Only losers

By leon

He finally did it: President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on merchandise imports from Mexico and Canada, along with an additional 10% on Chinese imports. In a global economy driven by free trade, weaponizing tariffs for political gain leaves only losers in its wake. For the U.S., expect inflation, weakening consumer demand, and a potentially more … Continued

Underresearched

By leon

Equity research has experienced significant downsizing, with the number of analysts at major global banks shrinking by more than a third over the past decade, particularly in Europe and Asia. Pay for analysts has stagnated, and global spending on research has dropped by 50% since 2018, largely due to regulatory changes like MiFID II with … Continued

Narrow market

By leon

2024 has witnessed the narrowest market in U.S. equities since the Tech Bubble. Over the past 50 years, an average of 48% of stocks outperformed the S&P 500, but in the last two years, this figure has dropped below 30%, driven primarily by the dominance of U.S. Big Tech. This is not just a challenge … Continued

Oups

By leon

Yesterday, NVIDIA experienced the largest single-day drop in stock market history, losing $590 billion in market capitalization as its stock plunged 17%. The scale of the decline was remarkable, with the wealth destruction exceeding Oracle’s entire market cap—equivalent to the combined value of LVMH and Unilever disappearing in Europe. At ECP, we draw several key … Continued

Sputnik moment

By leon

Nasdaq futures dropped nearly 2% this morning as alarm grows over China’s accelerating progress in AI development, eroding the once-dominant lead held by US tech giants. Despite the CHIPS Act, which restricts exports of advanced AI chips to China, Chinese firms have made remarkable strides. Alibaba-owned QwQ and Deepseek, a spin-off from a Chinese hedge … Continued

Unbeatable equities

By leon

The only way to truly grow your capital in liquid assets over the long term is through investing in stocks. Since 1928, the S&P 500 has delivered an average annual nominal return of 10%—or 6.9% when adjusted for inflation. Thanks to the power of compounding, a long-term investor would have doubled his/her capital every 7.2 … Continued

Jumpstart into 2025

By leon

According to the latest Bank of America Fund Manager Survey, European equities are making a comeback, with the second-largest monthly rotation into EU stocks in the past 25 years. This shift follows 17 years of underperformance by Eurozone equities relative to their U.S. counterparts. As we’ve highlighted on numerous occasions, Europe faces significant headwinds, including … Continued