Latest news with #NigelGreen
Straits Times
25-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Singapore shares rise, tracking regional gains; STI up 0.6%
The optimism here sent the benchmark STI up 0.6 per cent or 21.68 points to 3,925.98 with gainers easily outpacing losers 333 to 170 on robust trade of 1.5 billion securities worth $1.5 billion. PHOTO: ST FILE SINGAPORE – The stability of the cease-fire between Israel and Iran has plenty of sceptics but there were enough true believers across major regional markets to drive shares higher on June 25. The optimism here sent the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.6 per cent or 21.68 points to 3,925.98 with gainers easily outpacing losers 333 to 170 on robust trade of 1.5 billion securities worth $1.5 billion. Wall Street set the direction of travel overnight, where stocks put on gains after the cease-fire seemed to hold firm. The tech-focused Nasdaq led the way, surging 1.4 per cent, while the Dow Industrials rose 1.2 per cent and the S&P 500 advanced 1.1 per cent and is now within touching distance of the record close recorded in February. Oil prices went the other way, falling 6 per cent, and are now below the level when fighting began earlier this month. Regional bourses mostly followed in similar fashion. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.4 per cent, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.2 per cent and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 per cent. Australian stocks swung between gains and losses throughout the day and ended virtually flat. Mr Nigel Green, chief executive of global financial advisory company deVere Group, noted that global markets were 'dangerously relaxed' over the wider global risk of the conflict between Iran and Israel. For instance, equity markets are not showing the 'defensive rotation' expected of investors when there are many risk indicators. He called on investors to adjust their allocations to provide more downside protection and global diversification. Meanwhile, the STI's top gainer was the Singapore Exchange, which climbed 3.7 per cent to $14.41, while the losers were led by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, down 1.4 per cent to $2.19. CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust was the most actively traded blue-chip counter by volume, with 90.5 million units changing hands. The units closed at $2.15, up 0.5 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Singapore shares rise, tracking regional gains; STI up 0.6%
[SINGAPORE] Shares on the Singapore bourse closed higher on Wednesday (Jun 25), in line with gains across regional markets as the ceasefire between Iran and Israel held firm. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.6 per cent or 21.68 points to 3,925.98. Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 333 to 170, after 1.5 billion securities worth S$1.5 billion were traded. The top gainer on the STI was the Singapore Exchange , which climbed 3.7 per cent or S$0.51 to S$14.41. The biggest decliner was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding . The counter fell 1.4 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.19. CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust was the most actively traded blue-chip counter by volume, with 90.5 million units worth S$193 million changing hands. The counter closed at S$2.15, up 0.5 per cent or S$0.01. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Regional bourses were mostly in the black on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.2 per cent and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 per cent. In a note on Wednesday, Nigel Green, the chief executive of global financial advisory company deVere Group, said that global markets were 'dangerously relaxed' over the wider global risk of the conflict between Iran and Israel. For instance, equity markets are not showing the 'defensive rotation' expected of investors when there are many risk indicators. He called on investors to adjust their allocations to provide more downside protection and global diversification.
Khaleej Times
24-06-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Middle East turmoil lays the case bare for real portfolio diversification
The volatile developments across the Middle East — culminating in a dramatic US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran — underscore, yet again, a powerful and urgent truth: diversification isn't optional. It's a necessity. Markets around the world have been on a knife's edge for nearly two weeks, reacting sharply to every twist in the conflict. Brent crude tumbled nearly 5% after Iran's missile strike on the Al Udeid air base, interpreted by markets as a restrained signal rather than an escalation. With confirmation of the ceasefire, European stocks have surged — Germany's DAX jumped 2%, the French CAC 40 climbed 1.8%, and futures for the S&P 500 in the US are pointing higher. Yet energy stocks have taken a hit as oil prices slide. Nigel Green, CEO of global financial advisory deVere Group, said the 'whiplash' in prices across commodities, equities, and safe-haven assets is not just a response to geopolitics — it's a 'flashing red warning light' for investors with narrow allocations. 'The events of the past two weeks are a textbook case for true portfolio diversification,' he says. 'One day oil is spiking on nuclear fears, the next it's plunging on de-escalation. Stocks swing wildly depending on headlines out of Tehran or Tel Aviv. You can't build or preserve wealth if your investment strategy is overly concentrated in one region, sector, or asset class. That's not a strategy; that's a gamble.' As the conflict escalated, oil prices spiked on fears of supply disruption. Brent crude surged above $72 before crashing back to near $68 following signs of restraint and the ceasefire announcement. Defence stocks rallied while Middle East-exposed emerging markets sank. Gold flirted with $2,400 as investors scrambled for safety. Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at said t he broader market response to Iran's recent military action has been surprisingly subdued. The attack — targeting a US military base — was expected to rattle investors, yet the global reaction has been more one of tentative relief than alarm. This suggests the strike was largely symbolic rather than escalatory in nature, limiting its impact on financial markets. "Despite the pullback, the move appears to be relatively controlled. Long-term fundamentals supporting gold remain intact, though technical traders are now eyeing the $3,330 level as a key support zone. A decisive move below this threshold could signal a deeper retracement and a change in market sentiment." Nigel Green says that for investors, this sequence of events should trigger immediate action. 'Every global investor must ask themselves today: Am I protected against geopolitical shocks? Do I have meaningful exposure to counter-correlated assets? Am I truly diversified across sectors, geographies, currencies, and asset classes?' 'Diversification doesn't mean owning five different tech stocks or parking all your money in a single bond fund. It means uncorrelated positions across the risk spectrum—think gold, infrastructure, dividend-paying stocks, green energy, and alternatives like real estate and digital assets,' Green said. Mideast tensions out, trade uncertainties in Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst at Swissquote Bank, said Middle East tensions suddenly waned after Iran fired missiles at a US air base in Qatar — having reportedly informed the US in advance. As a result, the missiles were intercepted. President Trump called Iran's move 'weak' and announced a few hours ago that Israel and Iran had reached a ceasefire agreement. 'A surprisingly swift development. Once again, Iran appears to have retaliated just enough to save face — without triggering broader escalation. Tensions will likely ease from here if Israel reciprocates. However, it remains unclear whether an actual ceasefire is in place, as missiles reportedly continue to be fired across the border. Iran has said it will stop if Israel does, but Israel has yet to make a formal statement,' Ozkardeskaya said. Nigel Green also warns that while the ceasefire offers relief, it doesn't remove risk. This truce is fragile. It's politically brokered and militarily uneasy. One wrong move and tensions could flare again, dragging markets down with them. That's the danger of relying too heavily on a single narrative or region in your portfolio.' The deVere CEO notes that while markets may breathe a sigh of relief in the short term, the deeper issue is structural instability in a critical region for energy, security, and global trade routes. 'The Middle East remains a geopolitical powder keg, and history tells us that calm doesn't last. What does last is a properly diversified portfolio, one that absorbs these shocks without falling apart.' With global equities rallying and oil prices sliding, some investors may be tempted to lean back into familiar strategies. Nigel Green says this would be a critical mistake. 'When markets are jittery, many investors double down on what they know— often increasing risk without realising it. What's needed now is a measured, deliberate shift into broader exposure.' 'You diversify when the skies are clear, so that you're protected when the storm breaks. But after what we've just seen in the Middle East, the need for real diversification isn't hypothetical, it's immediate,' Green concluded.
News.com.au
23-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
US-Iran crisis reveals US dollar's waning safe haven status
We're entering an era of multi-polar safe havens, writes Nigel Green. As the world holds its breath waiting for Iran's next move following targeted US airstrikes on its nuclear infrastructure, global financial markets are offering a parallel story – one just as consequential. The story is this: the US dollar, once the unchallenged sanctuary in global crises, no longer commands the same automatic confidence. Historically, events like these – volatile, unpredictable, and geopolitical – would have sent investors rushing into the dollar. It was the default play: the bigger the risk, the stronger the greenback. Not this time. Yes, the dollar edged higher following the strikes. But the climb was shallow, cautious, and short-lived. Investors, it seems, are no longer all-in on the greenback as the world's panic room. This is a striking departure from the past. In the wake of the Gulf War, after 9/11, and during the global financial crisis, capital sought refuge in the dollar almost reflexively. It wasn't even a debate. The currency was seen as a bastion of liquidity, legal stability, and unrivalled central bank credibility. Today, that narrative is fraying. A big part of the shift lies in the sheer accumulation of economic risk tied to Washington. The dollar has already shed 8.6% this year against a basket of its major peers – a loss that coincides not just with geopolitical uncertainty, but with growing disquiet over US debt, erratic policymaking, and the long shadow of tariffs under President Donald Trump's administration. Trade policy now functions more as a weapon than a framework. Allies are alienated, supply chains are disrupted, and investors are left parsing tweets rather than policy briefs. The result? A growing discomfort with relying solely on the US financial ecosystem in turbulent moments. This latest crisis underlines how deep that discomfort runs. Markets are nervous, yes. But they're increasingly directing their anxiety elsewhere – into gold and Bitcoin, into commodities, into the Swiss franc, and into asset classes outside of the dollar's traditional sphere of dominance. What's emerging is a quiet but consequential reordering of global capital flows. If Iran retaliates forcefully, and oil prices spike, we may indeed see a rush to safety, but it won't necessarily land in the same place it used to. Some capital will still move to the dollar. But some will shift elsewhere, and crucially, it will shift more cautiously. This isn't just a reaction to the latest headlines. It's the result of a slow, multi-year reassessment. Since the 2008 financial crisis, confidence in the dollar's durability has been steadily chipped away. Unprecedented money printing under quantitative easing undermined long-term value. In parallel, the US's political dysfunction, ballooning deficit, and frequent use of economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool have made the currency feel less like a safe asset and more like a lever of power that could be turned off. It's no surprise, then, that central banks have been quietly diversifying. A growing number are adding to gold reserves, trimming their dollar holdings, and exploring alternatives. The rise of central bank digital currencies, and the sustained interest in Bitcoin and other decentralised assets, are all expressions of the same trend: the hunt for safety is evolving. None of this means the dollar is finished. Its size, liquidity, and institutional depth remain enormous. But the gravitational pull it once exerted over markets is weakening. That is the unmistakable takeaway from this week's hesitant reaction. There's also a broader shift at play. Investors today have more tools, more information, and more optionality than ever before. The idea that safety only comes in one shade – the green of the US dollar – is no longer credible. We're entering an era of multi-polar safe havens. What worries me most is that many institutions still operate as if the old order holds. They make decisions based on a playbook written in the 20th century. But that playbook is rapidly becoming obsolete. If this crisis deepens, as seems increasingly likely, the market reaction may reinforce the trend. More investors will start questioning not just whether the dollar is safe, but whether it's still the safest, and that's a subtle but seismic shift. The challenge for policymakers in Washington is to understand the implications before it's too late. Restoring trust in the dollar's role as the world's primary haven will take more than reactionary rhetoric. It will require fiscal discipline, policy consistency and a less antagonistic approach to international trade and diplomacy. Until then, the dollar's aura will continue to fade. We're watching Tehran closely. But we should also be watching the flows of capital, and where they're no longer going. That, too, tells us everything we need to know about the current state of global trust. Nigel Green, is the group CEO and founder of deVere Group, an independent global financial consultancy. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the interviews in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of Stockhead.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US strikes on Iran could hit American economy at a fragile time
The U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend could ratchet up the pressure on an American economy that's turned increasingly fragile as a weekslong global trade war takes a toll. America's entry into what had been attacks between Israel and Iran is most likely to impact oil prices, investors said, which could ripple through the economy by causing higher transportation and gas prices, just as overall inflation throughout the economy has seemed to be contained. Energy analyst Rachel Ziemba told USA Today on June 22 oil prices may not trade much higher until and unless there's a sustained supply shock, like Iran deciding to block the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Iran's parliament on June 22 reportedly approved a measure endorsing exactly that, though whether it happens comes down to Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Ziemba calls that a 'low probability, high impact' risk – and one that commodities traders will likely struggle to price. That means energy prices may be volatile until conditions settle down – even as summer vacations start in earnest and a massive heat wave grips the central and eastern parts of the country. Any shock to financial markets and disruption of American consumers' expectations for the summer months comes as the overall economy is weakening quickly. "The world economy is not in a strong position to absorb another energy shock," warned Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, a financial advisory firm. The U.S. joining the conflict between Israel and Iran raises the risks of a "sharp, global reaction," Green added. 'Investors are currently positioned for rate cuts, stable energy prices and an orderly global outlook," he said in a June 18 note. "A sudden and serious expansion of this conflict would force a violent repricing of risk across all major asset classes.' On June 18, the Labor Department reported that claims for unemployment insurance continued to rise. 'Uncertainty is leading companies to trim staff ahead of what could be a downturn in the economy. Batten down the hatches is what company executives are saying as the trade war and rumors of real war are starting to take a toll on the business outlook,' said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist with market research firm FWDBONDS LLC, in an email. Analysts at Oxford Economics take a more benign view. 'Rising Middle East tensions represent another adverse shock to an already weak economy,' they wrote on June 18. Their models suggest that oil prices at about $130 a barrel would pressure inflation to 6%. Post-pandemic inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022. That would put the Federal Reserve in a difficult position. The Fed raises interest rates to tame inflation, and cuts them to support borrowing and economic growth. So far this year, the central bank has held rates steady as it waits to see more information about how tariffs are playing out in the economy, but that may change. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, speaking after the central bank held interest rates steady for the fourth consecutive meeting on June 18, told reporters the Fed is watching the situation in the Middle East, "like everybody else is." "What's tended to happen is when there's turmoil in the Middle East, you may see a spike in energy prices," Powell said prior to the U.S. strikes. "Those things don't generally tend to have lasting effects on inflation, although of course in the 1970s, they famously did, because you had a series of very, very large shocks. But, we haven't seen anything like that now." The U.S. economy is far less dependent on foreign oil than it was back in the 1970s, Powell added. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US strikes on Iran nuclear sites could hit weakening American economy Error 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
