Fiscal Deficit Fears Give a Surprising Boost to Asian EM Bonds
While long-dated bonds in developed markets have come under pressure this year as investors grow wary about government spending, emerging-market bonds in Asia have become a hot pick. Yields have tumbled, foreign funds have flowed in and recent debt auctions have enjoyed strong demand, unlike a number of prominent developed-market sales from the US to Japan.
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Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rice prices have skyrocketed in Japan — and farmers warn that ‘everyone who eats' that disaster could be near
Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. In today's developed economies, lining up to buy a staple grain may seem like a thing of the past. But in Japan, it's become a stark reality as a rice shortage sends prices soaring. A 5 kilogram (11 pound) bag of rice cost 4,280 yen ($29) in May 2025 — double the price from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg. Don't miss Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) You don't have to be a millionaire to gain access to this $1B private real estate fund. In fact, you can get started with as little as $10 — here's how The surge stems from a supply crunch dating back to 2023, when a severe heat wave hit Japan's rice harvest. The extreme temperatures not only lowered the quality of the crop but also caused a sharp decline in overall production. In response, the government has begun releasing rice from its stockpiles. Long lines now form hours before stores open to buy stockpiled rice, with The Japan Times reporting some customers start queuing as early as 8 p.m. the night before. According to Nikkei Asia, shelves in Tokyo have been 'frequently empty' as of early July, with supermarkets rationing sales to one bag of rice per family per day. Nobuhiko Kurosawa, a rice farmer in Yamagata, is worried about what could happen next. 'The Japanese government has already released most of its rice reserves, so if this summer turns out to be as hot as the year before last, it could be disastrous,' he told Nikkei Asia. 'If we have no reserves left and the quality of the rice has deteriorated due to the extreme heat, Japan may have to import a considerable amount. The food problem is not [just] a problem for farmers, but a problem for everyone who eats.' While Japan's rice crisis is especially severe, it's also part of a broader trend: Food prices around the world have been steadily climbing. From staples like grains and cooking oil to fresh produce and meat, inflation has put pressure on household budgets everywhere — not just in Japan. In the U.S., the Consumer Price Index has increased 25% over the last five years, with the food index surging 26%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects food prices to rise another 2.9% in 2025. But there are steps consumers and investors can consider to help protect their purchasing power as the cost of living rises. Real estate Real estate has long been considered a reliable hedge against inflation, thanks to its intrinsic value and income-generating potential. When inflation rises, property values often increase as well, reflecting the higher costs of materials, labor and land. At the same time, rental income tends to go up, providing landlords with a revenue stream that adjusts for inflation. Legendary investor Warren Buffett has often pointed to real estate as a prime example of a productive, income-generating asset. In 2022, Buffett stated that if you offered him '1% of all the apartment houses in the country' for $25 billion, he would 'write you a check.' Why? Because no matter what's happening in the broader economy, people still need a place to live and apartments can consistently produce rent money. Traditionally, investing in real estate meant buying property and becoming a landlord. New investing platforms are making it easier than ever to tap into the real estate market. For accredited investors, Homeshares gives access to the $35 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors. With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property. With risk-adjusted target returns ranging from 14% to 17%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets. If you're not an accredited investor, crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allow you to enter the real estate market for as little as $100. Arrived offers you access to shares of SEC-qualified investments in rental homes and vacation rentals, curated and vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to fit these properties into your investment portfolio regardless of your income level. Their flexible investment amounts and simplified process allows accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedging asset class without any extra work on your part. Read more: Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — Gold When it comes to preserving wealth and fighting inflation, few assets have stood the test of time like gold. Its appeal is simple: Unlike fiat currencies, the yellow metal can't be printed at will by central banks. Gold is also considered the ultimate safe haven. It's not tied to any one country, currency or economy, and in times of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, investors often flock to it — driving prices higher. Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, recently highlighted gold's role in a resilient portfolio. 'People don't have, typically, an adequate amount of gold in their portfolio,' Dalio told CNBC earlier this year. 'When bad times come, gold is a very effective diversifier.' In just the last 12 months, the price of gold has surged by 39%. One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Goldco. Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties. With a minimum purchase of $10,000, Goldco offers free shipping and access to a library of retirement resources. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver. If you're curious whether this is the right investment to diversify your portfolio, you can download your free gold and silver information guide today. Farmland The steady rise in food prices serves as a powerful reminder: No matter what happens in the economy, people still need to eat. That's why farmland is considered a natural hedge against inflation. As food prices climb, so does the value of the land that produces it. At the same time, farmland is a tangible, income-generating asset that isn't directly tied to the ups and downs of financial markets. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. farmland values have steadily climbed over the past few decades, driven by increasing demand for food and limited supply of arable land. These days, you don't need to buy an entire farm or know how to grow crops to get in on the opportunity. FarmTogether is an all-in-one investment platform that lets qualified investors buy stakes in U.S. farmland. The platform identifies high-potential agricultural properties and then partners with experienced local operators to manage the land effectively. Depending on the type of stake you want, you can get a cut from both the leasing fees and crop sales, providing you with cash income. Then, years down the line after the farm rises in value, you can benefit from the land appreciating and profit from its sale. What to read next Here are the 6 levels of wealth for retirement-age Americans — are you near the top or bottom of the pyramid? This tiny hot Costco item has skyrocketed 74% in price in under 2 years — but now the retail giant is restricting purchases. Here's how to buy the coveted asset in bulk Car insurance in America could climb to a stunning $2,502/year on average — but here's how 2 minutes can save you more than $600 in 2025 Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it Money doesn't have to be complicated — sign up for the free Moneywise newsletter for actionable finance tips and news you can use. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Measurabl Launches Free Sustainability Software Solution, Onboards Over 92 Million Square Metres of Real Estate Within Weeks
Nearly 5,000 properties across 32 countries validate demand for a new, open ecosystem approach Free Solution - Measurabl LONDON, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Measurabl, the world's most widely adopted sustainability data platform for real estate, today announced initial results from the launch of its new free software solution. While advanced features remain available through Measurabl's suite of premium products, the free solution provides access to powerful tools that enable real estate stakeholders to measure, manage, and report on property and portfolio sustainability performance—at no cost, in perpetuity. Within four weeks of launch, new subscribers onboarded 5,000 buildings representing 92 million square metres across 32 countries, the fastest adoption in the company's 13-year history. Momentum around the free solution comes at a pivotal time. From the rollback of EU disclosure regulations to shifts in U.S. climate policy, including the EU Omnibus proposal and the potential elimination of the North American building energy rating programme, ENERGY STAR, the real estate industry is facing profound disruption and uncertainty. At the same time, investors and capital markets have shifted their focus to timely, performance-based sustainability metrics to inform real estate transactions, such as leasing, lending, securitization, index, appraisal and due diligence. 'The world has changed. We need to align sustainability with business value in a much more direct, measurable way,' said Matt Ellis, CEO and Co-Founder of Measurabl. 'To do that, the real estate industry needs easier access to data, the tools to interpret it, and greater accuracy all at far lower cost. Paywalls have to come down. That's why Measurabl made this major change to its business model and strategy. I could not be more excited at the tremendous response so far and look forward to working with everyone in the industry to grow and improve this new approach to sustainable and profitable real estate.' Measurabl fast-tracked the launch of its free solution—part of its long-standing strategy—to answer a call to action for investment-grade data and bolster support for ENERGY STAR, which is currently under threat of termination. To date, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM) has been foundational to sustainability progress, setting the standard for compliance and decarbonisation, and remains a global model for performance benchmarking. With this new offering, Measurabl is committed to preserving and expanding the company's core values of free, agnostic sustainability data management, at global scale. 'Measurabl's free solution is a game-changer for property owners and managers seeking accessible tools to manage and improve sustainability performance,' said Ben Myers, SVP, Sustainability at BXP. 'At a time when the future of ENERGY STAR is uncertain, Measurabl provides a streamlined, globally scalable platform for safeguarding and analyzing key performance indicators. This move reduces barriers, enables participation, and strengthens the critical link between transparency and value in real estate.' Capabilities in the free solution allow subscribers to: Track energy, water, waste, and carbon (Scopes 1–3) across properties and portfolios Visualise performance trends and set reduction targets Benchmark buildings against 21B SF, 110K+ global properties to uncover insights and stay competitive Ensure investment-grade, audit-ready data with completeness checks, to stay compliant with local and global requirements Collaborate securely and share data with internal and external stakeholders Collect and store data seamlessly through bulk uploads Early adopters include dozens of owners, pension funds, and their service providers. For organizations with more advanced needs, Measurabl offers best-in-class functionality through paid upgrades to its Navigate software platform. Navigate simplifies utility data collection, enhances data quality with AI-powered gap and outlier detection, drives actionable decarbonisation planning that includes built-in financial and impact modeling, and enables flexible, stakeholder-ready reporting with powerful business intelligence tools. All the while keeping pace with evolving global disclosure frameworks. The company's suite of data products supports better investment decision-making by providing energy and carbon data at the asset- and company-level, performance benchmarks, and climate risk insights. 'As the leading global REIT benchmark setters for ETFs and active mandates, FTSE Russell is entrusted with over $320 billion (USD) in benchmarked assets,' said Ali Zaidi, Global Head of Real Assets at London Stock Exchange Group. 'The rising requirement to systematically channel flows towards companies and assets with unambiguous sustainability credentials is not only prudent risk-management but speaks to the long-term viability of investment. Measurabl's groundbreaking asset-level approach enables FTSE Russell to create benchmarks with quantifiable sustainability uplift and contributes towards our shared goal of greening of the built environment.' Measurabl is in the process of building a broad industry coalition to shape the future, and ensure investment-grade data and effective, scalable solutions are available to all the key players in the real estate industry—from owners and operators to governments and consultants. They are calling on partners, collaborators, and forward-thinking leaders to join them in this effort. If you're interested in contributing your expertise or learning how to get involved, please email leaders@ With more than €3.128 trillion in estimated global annual commercial real estate transaction volume across lending, acquisitions, refinancing, insurance, and leasing, the need for investment-grade sustainability data has never been greater. 'Measurabl is fundamentally a data company and, now, with nearly 2 billion square meters of granular sustainability data, we have the unique ability to drive the richest and most actionable insights, benchmarks, and integrations to provide value for everyone in the real estate ecosystem,' said Kumar Brahnmath, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Measurabl. 'This is the beginning of a connected, integrated, AI-enabled ecosystem where Measurabl is the sustainability source of truth powering real industry progress.' Anyone can access the free solution today and get value immediately. Measurabl provides tutorials and support on its webpage as well as inside the application, and is working with a quickly growing network of consultants, owners, operators, and more, to provide support to building owners. Meanwhile, existing Measurabl customers already have access to free features as well as their paid premium capabilities. About Measurabl Measurabl is the world's most widely adopted sustainability data management platform for real estate, empowering nearly 1,000 organizations across 100 countries—representing more than $3 trillion in assets under management—to measure, manage, and objectively report on performance. With more than 21 billion square feet of real estate under management, Measurabl delivers innovative technology solutions that help customers streamline reporting, reduce environmental impact, and achieve measurable financial results. Learn more at Media ContactsPJ Appletonpj@ press@ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
23 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Norway, US Have a ‘Good Tone' in Tariff Talks, Stoltenberg Says
Norway is addressing 'some real issues' in its trade talks with the US and still aims to prevent increases in tariffs, according to the country's finance minister. If a deal doesn't materialize, Norway will likely do more business with other countries, Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday. He said his country has close contacts on tariffs with both the European Union and the US.
