By the time Marco Polo journeyed along the Silk Road connecting China and India to Europe in the 13th century, ancient civilizations had already been trading goods ranging from silk, tea, cinnamon and rice to honey and horses for a thousand years. Globalization, even in ancient times, opened civilizations to new products, ideas and technologies, generally improving standards of living worldwide. President Trump’s tariff plan appears determined to turn back the clock, and nowhere does his plan defy common sense more than with those same spices that Marco Polo and countless others in the ancient world journeyed for years to…

“Americans prepping for retirement aren’t watching the markets,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday. Scotty, please. At least try to pretend you have some connection with reality. Sure, we income investors have it better than most hopeful and current retirees. We do not rely on stock prices for income, per se. Our dividend portfolios provide us with cash flow that we use to pay our bills. Imagine living by the “4% withdrawal rule” right now, selling 4% of our stocks every year, hoping we don’t run out of money—while the S&P 500 is dropping 4% every day as Wall…

European automakers and suppliers are under pressure as traditional markets fade and new technology threatens. But instead of workers finding themselves on the dole, they are in demand as defense industries take up the slack. President Donald Trump’s tariffs aren’t helping the auto business either but his demand that Europeans finally face up to their NATO spending commitments is providing a serendipitous lifeline for engineering workers losing jobs at mainly German companies like Volkswagen and suppliers like Continental and Bosch. The defense industry is coming to the rescue, according to Berenberg Bank. “We estimate that the European defense industry may…

Key News Asian equity markets had a very strong day after President Donald Trump hit the pause button on tariff implementation, except for Mainland China, with a near double-digit return in Japan and Taiwan. However, India missed out on the fun due to a market holiday for Mahavir Jayanti, a festive in Jainism celebrating the birth of Lord Mahavira. The crack in the tariff façade, driven by the U.S. Treasury 10-Year yield hitting 5% Tuesday night, fueled Hong Kong and Mainland China’s broad beta rally, led by growth stocks, as advancers outpaced decliners significantly on high volumes. It it great…

Amid macroeconomic concerns, Delta Air Lines seems to be a more solid bet compared to its peer American Airlines for three fundamental reasons. By DM Martins’ Research Summary Airline stocks tend to be highly sensitive to the business cycles, and the sector has already started to correct in the face of macroeconomic concerns But if I were to invest in a US-based airline in hopes of an eventual rebound, or maybe to set up a long-short trade, which would be my chosen winner? I will present below three reasons why I believe that Delta has an edge over American, including…

Buoyant bullion appetite in North America drove further inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds in March, according to the World Gold Council. Global funds added 92 tonnes of material last month worth a total of $8 billion, the organization said. The WGC noted that “after four monthly inflows in a row, total [assets under management, or AUM] of global gold ETFs reached another month-end peak of $345 billion and holdings rose 3% to 3,445 tonnes.” Physical holdings ended March at their highest level since May 2023, the WGC said. The current record stands at around 3,915 tonnes recorded in October 2020…

Key News Asian equities experienced another deep drawdown, except for Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Thailand, as the Philippines missed the fun due to “Araw ng Kagitingan,” which celebrates the heroism of Filipino and American soldiers in World War II. This morning, China’s government reciprocated the U.S. government’s tariff increase by increasing tariffs on U.S. goods to a whopping 84%. Is not being at the U.S.’ level of 104% a sign of willingness to cooperate? The offshore Renminbi (CNH), which trades during U.S. hours, is stable this morning at 7.37 CNH per USD, after rising to 7.42 yesterday and from…

Name: Adam Epstein Firm: UBS Private Wealth Management Location: Greenwich, CT Team Custodied Assets: $7.9 billion Background: Raised in Lawrenceville, just outside of Princeton, NJ, Adam Epstein grew up in a family focused on education—his mother was a teacher and his father was a psychologist. Their influence instilled in him the importance of finding meaning in his work. After graduating from Bucknell University, where he studied Business Economics and Psychology, he interned at Merrill Lynch, which cemented his interest in wealth management. After a stint in institutional asset management from 1999 to 2006—including time in London advising banks and insurance…

On 4/10/25, Verizon Communications, Oracle, and AT&T will all trade ex-dividend for their respective upcoming dividends. Verizon Communications will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.6775 on 5/1/25, Oracle will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.50 on 4/23/25, and AT&T will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.2775 on 5/1/25. 10 Stocks Where Yields Got More Juicy » As a percentage of VZ’s recent stock price of $42.54, this dividend works out to approximately 1.59%, so look for shares of Verizon Communications Inc to trade 1.59% lower — all else being equal — when VZ shares open for trading on 4/10/25. Similarly,…

Key News Headlines are speaking to Asia’s rebound, highlighted by Japan’s very strong move along with Hong Kong, Mainland China, India, the Philippines, and Australia, all of which rebounded significantly overnight. However, Indonesia reopened lower by -7.90%, Taiwan was down by -4.02%, Thailand was down by -4.50%, Singapore was down by -2.01%, and Vietnam fell -6.43%. China’s government sent the cavalry in to support the stock market and was starting to feel a bit like George Custer. It was interesting to hear that the U.S. Treasury Secretary bashed the U.S. stock market because only rich people held it versus the…