Author: Charlotte

Want to stay informed with market insights and investing ideas from Morningstar? Sign up for my weekly Smart Investor newsletter here.This week’s highlights:Investors got their relief rally this past week, but reality limited the gains. Thanks to the ceasefire in the Iran war announced Tuesday, stocks and bonds gained, while oil prices eased back. But the good feeling didn’t last long, due to concerns about the durability of the ceasefire and the knowledge that the war’s impact could be felt for some time to come.As Karen Gilchrist wrote this past week, analysts say it will take weeks—and in some cases,…

Investing.com — As global markets navigate a period of heightened geopolitical and inflationary volatility, is reinforcing its status as a critical strategic asset for institutional and retail portfolios alike. A new special report from BCA Research argues that beyond its traditional role as a “safe haven,” gold offers superior liquidity and diversification benefits that outweigh the lack of yield in a high-interest-rate environment. Liquidity and execution: gold’s “inexpensive” advantage One of the primary concerns for institutional investors moving into gold is the practical execution of large positions. BCA Research notes that the gold market remains exceptionally deep, offering liquidity that…

In 2023, over 100 leading economists from around the world, including progressive darling Thomas Piketty, signed a letter warning that “far-right” Argentine presidential candidate Javier Milei’s policies, which were “rooted in laissez-faire economics,” would cause “devastation,” spike inflation, expand poverty, and worsen unemployment. Celebrated economists never penned any open letters warning that the preceding Peronists’ or Kirchnerists’ perverse blend of fascism, socialism, and unionism would drive Argentina—once one of the world’s wealthiest nations—into destitution, unemployment, soaring inflation, and bankruptcy. But that’s how it always goes. Political scientist Ian Bremmer warned, “Economic collapse is coming imminently.” Felix Salmon, then chief financial…

Leidos Holdings (NYSE:LDOS) has completed its acquisition of Entrust Solutions, expanding its presence in the energy infrastructure market. The transaction adds more than 3,100 professionals and broadens engineering and automation services for utility and industrial clients. The deal supports the company’s NorthStar 2030 growth strategy and materially changes its energy focused business mix. With the Entrust Solutions deal now closed, Leidos Holdings is increasing its push into energy infrastructure alongside its existing government and technology work. The shares trade around $152.88, with a return of 8.8% over the past year and 72.2% over three years, while the stock is down…

Discussing how the role of AI in Wealth Management is changing differentiation efforts, Kevin Barr, Independent Board Director, Communify spoke to FinextraTV at the Communify Intelligence Experience. Barr highlighted the need to not just differentiate the human model, but to build specific and relevant models for purpose most relevant to each firm, rather than relying on the same model across firms. Looking at portfolio construction, Barr explained his existing belief that diversification is still highly important and that having an element of stability is crucial to a strong portfolio, but he emphasised that stablecoins are not always, actually, stable. He…

Apr 12, 2026 According to a report by the South China Morning Post, financial sector participants are urging the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to further relax rules governing stablecoins. This follows the regulator’s recent decision to grant the first two licenses for issuing such digital currencies to banks.Market observers, including bankers and analysts, indicated that the approvals, given to HSBC and a venture involving Standard Chartered, did not meet broader expectations. They noted that the limited number of licenses, both awarded to established banks, highlights a careful regulatory posture focused on controlling potential risks. Analysts suggest this approach balances the…

The accounting profession is changing faster than ever, and firm leaders are scrambling to keep up. When asked to identify the biggest issues they see facing the profession, senior executives from Accounting Today’s 2026 Top 100 Firms named a wide range of issues. From private equity and remaining competitive, to technology adoption and staffing struggles, firm leaders have a lot on their plates.(Read more: “What’s keeping accounting firms up at night”)No one particular issue stood out as the most pressing, but rather all of these issues are interconnected. For instance, private equity is prompting more mergers and acquisitions, thus increasing competition…

The Chair of the Department of CDAE is thrilled to announce that CDAE and HULA have entered a year-long strategic partnership designed to expand experiential learning, strengthen community connections, and support Vermont’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.“This partnership creates meaningful opportunities for our students to engage directly with Vermont’s innovation economy,” said Dr. Jason Konefal, Chair of CDAE. “By working alongside entrepreneurs and hosting events in dynamic professional spaces, our students gain real-world experience that complements their academic work.”Through the partnership, HULA will provide a venue space for the inaugural CDAE Student Showcase in the Reef in Spring 2026. The Showcase is being…

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard. Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences. At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000. Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040. Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:…

Overview This article examines Leo Token (UNUS SED LEO) in the context of the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, analyzing its unique characteristics, utility mechanisms, and how it compares to other digital assets listed on CoinMarketCap across multiple dimensions including tokenomics, exchange integration, and market positioning. Leo Token represents a distinctive category within the cryptocurrency landscape—an exchange utility token issued by iFinex Inc., the parent company of Bitfinex. Launched in May 2019, UNUS SED LEO (LEO) was designed to provide holders with fee discounts, enhanced platform services, and a deflationary supply mechanism tied to exchange revenue. Unlike many speculative cryptocurrencies, LEO’s value…