Author: Charlotte

Once popular among young Chinese consumers, Danish affordable jeweller Pandora and Austria’s Swarovski have closed a large number of their mainland stores amid lost brand appeal, as shoppers now prefer high-end luxury goods or value-preserving products like gold.Copenhagen-listed Pandora was at its peak in China in 2019, operating more than 240 stores and posting revenue of 1.97 billion Danish kroner (US$300 million). Its mainland sales have declined annually ever since.Last year, China made up just 1 per cent of its global revenue, down from 9 per cent in 2019, according to its annual reports.“We have observed a divergent trend in…

The National Film and Television School (NFTS) announced a landmark moment in its history, welcoming producer Barbara Broccoli and Co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos to Beaconsfield to mark a series of major developments for the School.During the visit, acclaimed producer and NFTS Fellow Barbara Broccoli officially named The School’s newest addition The Cubby Broccoli Building, in honour of her late father, Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli. One of cinema’s most celebrated figures, the legendary producer is best known for bringing the James Bond franchise to the screen – with more than 100 NFTS alumni having worked across the iconic films, many…

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched Multi-Asset Active FOF, an open-ended fund of funds scheme that invests across active equity funds, debt funds, Gold ETFs and Silver ETFs. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched Multi-Asset Active FOF, an open-ended fund of funds scheme investing in units of active equity-oriented schemes, debt-oriented schemes, and Gold ETFs/Silver ETFs.The scheme will adjust exposure across these asset classes based on prevailing market conditions, valuation signals and macroeconomic trends.Fund aims to balance equity, debt and precious metal exposureSankaran Naren, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer, ICICI Prudential AMC, said different asset classes perform differently across…

Mid-Year Outlook: Hot Topics Shaping the Economic and Investment Landscape Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking – Natixis CIB Source link

New research from Wealth Club, a UK non-advised investment service for high net worth individuals, shows that UK private markets fund managers are boosting personal private markets investment. UK private markets fund managers are increasingly backing the sector with plans to boost the level of their personal investments in private markets, according to new research from Wealth Club. The study across the private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure sectors found that managers invest on average 12 per cent of their wealth excluding property, VCTs, and the enterprise investment scheme (EIS) in private markets. Around one…

South Korea’s state pension fund, the National Pension Service (NPS), has shortlisted four asset managers, including Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. and Koramco REITs Management & Trust Co., to run a domestic opportunistic real estate fund totaling 600 billion won ($408 million). Source link

The Government plans to submit this Monday, June 29, to the Council of Ministers the new package of actions to face the economic impact of the war in the Middle East, along with the macroeconomic framework that will serve as the basis for the General State Budgets of 2027. The Executive has opted to process both matters in an ordinary Council of Ministers brought forward to Monday, June 29, instead of Tuesday, the usual date for these meetings, because a large part of the current anti-crisis measures cease to be in force on June 30. Although the specific initiatives have…

More than one in three central banks globally plan to increase their allocations to gold over the next three years, despite a fall in prices this year.According to research from investment firm Invesco, central banks will continue to expand their gold holdings, with 33 per cent of monetary authorities intending to grow allocations by 2029.Want to continue reading The Banker?Benefit from expert analysis, exclusive data and rankings, clear insight into innovation, regulation and strategy, and the context you need to stay ahead of critical developments in global finance.View your subscription options Source link

Privacy Chains Face a Compliance Challenge Stablecoin freezes are bringing a core limitation of some privacy-focused blockchain systems into sharper view. Issuers may be required to isolate illicit funds, yet the underlying infrastructure can make that difficult without also disrupting legitimate users. In an interview with Bitcoin.com News, Jan Philipp Fritsche, founder of Bermuda, framed the issue as part of a broader challenge for privacy-preserving networks rather than a problem confined to one chain. Recent enforcement actions involving stablecoin issuers responding to court orders have shown how technical design choices can turn targeted restrictions into broader disruptions. In Fritsche’s view,…

Relief may be approaching on the regulatory side. A reviewed Solvency II framework, with formal application expected from 30 January 2027, simplifies the Long-Term Equity Investment framework, under which eligible investments can benefit from a significantly reduced capital requirement of 22%. Aberdeen Investments has described the revised framework as a potential turning point, arguing that LTEI reforms could “materially reshape insurers’ approach to equity allocation, capital efficiency and investment in the real economy.” Source link