All posts by PARKERYL

Produced and issued for the coin collector community, the United States Mint will release its 2025 Proof Set today at noon ET. Found within this year’s annual set are ten proof quality examples of the nation’s circulating coinage, all manufactured at the U.S. Mint’s San Francisco facility.

Each clad coin in the set features the U.S. Mint’s proof finish, highlighting sharp reliefs and mirror-like backgrounds with frosted, sculpted foregrounds. Struck multiple times with polished dies and hand-polished blanks, these coins exhibit greater detail than their circulating counterparts.

This year’s proof set includes ten coins:

• 2025-S Native American $1 Coin (honoring Mary Kawena Pukui)
• 2025-S Kennedy Half Dollar
• 2025-S Ida B. Wells Quarter
• 2025-S Juliette Gordon Low Quarter
• 2025-S Dr. Vera Rubin Quarter
• 2025-S Stacey Park Milbern Quarter
• 2025-S Althea Gibson Quarter
• 2025-S Roosevelt Dime
• 2025-S Jefferson Nickel
• 2025-S Lincoln Cent

The set’s five quarters are housed together in a single protective lens, mirroring their presentation in the earlier released 2025 Quarters Proof Set, which contained the same coins and launched on February 20. These quarters stand out not only for their designs but also because they are issued exclusively in 2025.

Another year-specific release in the set is the Mary Kawena Pukui Native American $1 Coin, which will also be produced only in 2025. The remaining five coins – the Kennedy half dollar, Roosevelt dime, Jefferson nickel, and Lincoln cent – feature longstanding designs that have appeared in previous years.

2025 Proof Set Coin Specifications

Here are the specifications for the clad coins included in the set:

 

Recent annual sales of the proof sets have reached the following figures:

2024 Proof Set	355,754
2023 Proof Set	369,233
2022 Proof Set	400,001
2021 Proof Set	512,866
2020 Proof Set	464,730
2019 Proof Set	601,364
2018 Proof Set	517,081
2017 Proof Set	568,678

 

Price, Limits and Ordering

Priced at $40.25, the set costs more than last year’s version, which contained the same number of coins and debuted at $35. Notably, the U.S. Mint set a maximum mintage of 420,002 for this release, whereas the 2024 set had no stated mintage limit.

San Francisco Mint-struck 2025 Proof Sets are available for purchase directly from the U.S. Mint through its online store page for annual sets.

No household order limit has been established for this product.

Updated on March 3rd, 2025 by Felix Martinez

The Dividend Aristocrats are a group of 69 companies in the S&P 500 Index, with 25+ consecutive years of dividend increases. The Dividend Aristocrats each have strong business models, with competitive advantages that provide them with the ability to raise their dividends each year.

There are currently 69 Dividend Aristocrats. You can download an Excel spreadsheet of all 69 Dividend Aristocrats (with important financial metrics such as price-to-earnings ratios and dividend yields) by clicking the link below:

 

Disclaimer: Sure Dividend is not affiliated with S&P Global in any way. S&P Global owns and maintains The Dividend Aristocrats Index. The information in this article and downloadable spreadsheet is based on Sure Dividend’s own review, summary, and analysis of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) and other sources, and is meant to help individual investors better understand this ETF and the index upon which it is based. None of the information in this article or spreadsheet is official data from S&P Global. Consult S&P Global for official information.

In order to become a Dividend Aristocrat, a company must possess a profitable business model and durable competitive advantages, along with the ability to raise dividends even during recessions.

Consumer staples stocks such as Amcor plc (AMCR) have all the necessary qualities of a Dividend Aristocrat.

Amcor has increased its dividend for over 27 years in a row. Thanks to a very strong product portfolio, it has maintained its dividend growth streak.

Business Overview

Amcor plc, which trades on the NYSE today, was formed in June 2019 after the merger between two packaging companies, U.S.-based Bemis Co. Inc. and Australia-based Amcor Ltd.

Amcor develops and manufactures a wide range of packaging products for many consumer uses worldwide, including food and beverage, medical and medicinal, and home and personal care.

It consists of two main business segments: Flexible Packaging and Rigid Packaging.

Source: Investor Presentation

Amcor reported its second quarter Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 results on February 4th, 2025. Amcor reported solid financial results for the second quarter and first half of fiscal 2025, reaffirming its full-year outlook. In the December 2024 quarter, net sales reached $3.24 billion, with GAAP net income of $163 million and adjusted EPS rising 5% to 16.1 cents per share. First-half net sales totaled $6.59 billion, with GAAP net income of $354 million and adjusted EPS increasing 5% to 32.2 cents per share. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of 12.75 cents per share, reflecting a slight increase from the previous year.

Amcor continued to demonstrate steady volume growth, marking its fourth consecutive quarter of sequential improvement. Adjusted EBIT rose 5% in the second quarter and 4% for the first half on a comparable constant currency basis, supported by expanding margins and strong cost management. Despite challenges in certain sectors like healthcare, the company maintained stability across its flexible and rigid packaging segments. It also reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 guidance, projecting adjusted EPS of 72–76 cents per share and free cash flow between $900 million and $1 billion.

A major highlight of the quarter was Amcor’s announced merger with Berry Global, which is expected to accelerate growth and enhance shareholder value. The combination will create a stronger, more innovative packaging company with $650 million in identified synergies. The deal is expected to close by mid-2025, expanding Amcor’s portfolio and strengthening its position in key markets. CEO Peter Konieczny emphasized that the merger aligns with Amcor’s focus on customers, sustainability, and innovation.

 

Source: Investor Presentation

Growth Prospects

Amcor is counting on its Bemis acquisition to drive strong growth over the next half-decade. The main factors that will drive this growth acceleration are its global footprint, which will open up new attractive end markets and customers for the company’s products, and greater economies of scale, which will drive efficiencies and higher margins.

Another growth catalyst for Amcor is the emerging markets such as China and Latin America, where economic growth is high and demand for packaging products is rising.

The company is also undergoing an aggressive share buyback program that should boost per-share growth.

Furthermore, its balance sheet is quite strong, with a relatively low leverage ratio, giving it flexibility to finance its dividends and share repurchases and remain opportunistic about future growth opportunities.

We believe that all of these factors should combine to generate solid 4% annualized earnings per share growth over the next half decade.

Competitive Advantages & Recession Performance

Its industry leadership position fuels Amcor’s competitive advantages. Although Amcor’s headquarters are in Europe, its largest markets are in the Americas. That means Amcor should be relatively safe from potential future declines to the pound (or to the Australian dollar, for that matter).

In addition, Amcor’s products are used every day around the world. People around the world will continue to need packaging. Amcor’s emphasis on recyclable and reusable products should appeal to more environmentally conscious end users, while the merger with Bemis brings it huge prospects in developing markets.

Plus, with the merger into one gigantic manufacturing entity, Amcor has increased ability to negotiate better costs from its suppliers. This should make Amcor an unstoppable force in the packaging industry.

Amcor is also fairly resistant to recessions. As Amcor as it exists today (post merger) was not a publicly-traded company during the Great Recession, its earnings-per-share performance during the downturn is not available.

It is reasonable to assume Amcor’s earnings-per-share would decline somewhat during a recession, as the company’s global business model is reliant on economic growth. But it should continue paying (and raising) its dividend each year for the foreseeable future.

Valuation & Expected Returns

We expect Amcor to generate earnings per share of $0.73 in 2025. Based on this, shares of Amcor are currently trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.8.

Even using a conservative multiple, we think that a recession-resistant Dividend Aristocrat with mid-single-digit growth prospects such as Amcor should trade for 15 times earnings. Therefore, we view the stock as undervalued valued right now.

A fair five-year expected earnings-per-share growth rate of 4.0% and the 5.0% dividend yield will help boost shareholder returns. We expect annualized total annual returns of approximately 10.7% through 2030.

Final Thoughts

Amcor is uniquely positioned for strong growth in the coming years thanks to its recent acquisition, which has opened up several new attractive end markets and provided an opportunity to unlock valuable synergies. Furthermore, the company has the balance sheet to fund growth investments and share repurchases, which should boost EPS moving forward.

As a result, we think that shares offer decent value here. With expectations of ~10.7% annualized total returns over the next half decade, we view Amcor as an attractive buy right now.

That said, it could be an opportunity for dividend growth investors with a more conservative outlook, as its 5.0% yield is above average for the S&P 500 and its strong growth track record and recession-resistant business model make it an attractive long-term holding.

Finally, with its solid growth outlook, it will likely continue growing its dividend for the foreseeable future.

If you are interested in finding more high-quality dividend growth stocks suitable for long-term investment, the following Sure Dividend databases will be useful:

The major domestic stock market indices are another solid resource for finding investment ideas. Sure Dividend compiles the following stock market databases and updates them monthly:

Editor’s Note: A lot of folks know I recommended NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) back in 2019.

And since then, that stock has soared more than 3,000%.

I still consider NVIDIA my Stock of the Decade. But I don’t love the stock. Because after more than four decades in the market, I’ve learned not to “fall in love” with any particular stock.

Instead, I let the fundamentals speak for themselves. And that’s why I rely on my proven quant system to be my guiding star.

After all, it doesn’t have an emotional connection to a stock. It lets the numbers do the talking.

My friend and colleague Keith Kaplan, operates the same way.

Keith is a gifted computer programmer and fintech pioneer. He’s the CEO of a company called TradeSmith, which produces some of the most powerful stock-trading algorithms I’ve seen. More than 60,000 people use Keith’s algorithms to track some $30 billion in assets. And they’ve reported making millions in the process.

For the past three months, Keith’s team has been working on a highly secretive project.
It’s a new kind of algorithm designed to do one thing: detect the start of technical melt-ups before they happen.

And right now, it’s pointing to an ultra-rare event poised to disrupt the market…
In fact, it has only been seen twice before going back to the year 1900. And that’s why Keith is making what he calls “the biggest prediction in TradeSmith’s 20-year history.”

And just days from now, he’ll reveal his full prediction for the first time ever.

On February 27 at 8 p.m. Eastern, Keith will take you behind the paywall of his powerful $5,000 software to reveal 10 tech stocks poised soar as this event unfolds.

Either one could become the Next NVIDIA in terms of potential gains.

You’ll get his full list – and his full prediction – when you join his briefing next Thursday. I suggest you go here and get your name on Keith’s attendee list right now.

**************************

I love stocks and the market. I love reading about, thinking about it and, best of all, profiting from it.

But year after year, I found the same thing happening to me over and over again.

I was great at buying the right stocks… but I was a terrible investor.

If you’re anything like the average investor, this has happened to you too.

Ask yourself this: How many times have you bought a stock, then sold it, just to find out that it rose much further?

This happens for a few reasons. And chances are, if you’re anything like me, it’s happened to you in the past… a lot.

To help prevent this kind of impulsive decision making, I made it my mission to develop a system that prevents me from doing that to my portfolio…

It has worked wonders for me!

And it can help you too.

And today I’m going to show you how it works…

The Right Way to Buy and Sell

In October 2016, I bought Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

This action makes me look like a genius; AMD has gained more than 1,000% since I bought into the stock.

But I’m not a genius because I sold nearly right away …

Why did I sell?

I trusted my gut. The same gut that I trust to judge right and wrong and who to be friends with. You know, the emotional being in me that makes all my decisions.

Clearly, that didn’t work out well for me. And you probably have a lot of these types of examples too.

So how is it that we can buy the right stocks, but we wind up being terrible investors?

Well, because we make quick decisions when we trust our gut.

Do you have a regimented process for understanding exactly when to buy a stock, how much to buy, and when to sell it?

I do NOW, and it all starts with this formula below …

Before I unpack this for you, let me tell you about the findings of two Nobel Prize winners in behavioral economics.

You may have heard about Richard Thaler and Daniel Kahneman. Their groundbreaking studies of behavioral economics and investor psychology ultimately won them both the Nobel Prize.

Their first finding was that we are “risk-seeking when we’re losing.”

This is simple. And I bet you’ve had this happen plenty of times. I call it “rationalizing your decision after you make it.” When a stock is falling, you say to yourself:

• I’m going to buy this on the dip.
• This stock will come back, and my break-even price will be lower.
• It’s just a paper loss.

Really, what you’re doing is adding more risk to your position. You are “seeking out more risk” by buying more OR holding on to a falling stock.

Momentum is the single most important factor in investing. MSCI Inc. has studied this factor and labeled it one of the most important in reference to a stock’s rising or falling. Here’s what that means in plain speak: When a stock has a confirmed uptrend, it is more likely to rise in the short term. When a stock has a confirmed downtrend, it is more likely to fall in the short term.

And by buying more of a stock as it’s falling, or by “waiting” for that stock to turn around, you are taking on risk and even increasing risk. You are setting yourself up to lose more money.

So how do you combat that? You cut your losses when a stock is in a confirmed downtrend. Stop the bleeding.

But what Thaler and Kahneman found about winning is even more important to understand. They found that when a stock rises, we are “risk-averse when we are winning.”

Here’s what that means, and I’m sure you’ve been there with me. Typically, when a stock is rising, we get excited. We have a winner! So we decide to sell our stock to “lock in our gains.”

Folks, that’s lowering our risk. That’s taking money off the table.

But we’re winning!

When a stock is rising, and it is in a confirmed uptrend, you are winning. Here is where you want to take more risk, folks!

This is the BEST TIME to either ride the winner higher or even add more money to the position to take advantage of its short-term rising outlook.

And that leads me to our (TradeSmith’s) discovery of the single most important number in investing AND why it works.

This number is the formula I showed you above for the “VQ,” which stands for Volatility Quotient.

And it solves so many problems that individual investors face today. Certainly people like me, and likely you as well.

It’s a measure of historical and recent volatility – or risk – in a stock, fund, or crypto. And that measurement is really focused on the moves a stock, fund, or crypto makes.

Here’s what it tells you (I’ll just refer to stocks, but it covers everything we track):

• How much of a stock to buy.

• And how risky that stock is – how much movement you should expect.

To show you an example, here are the VQs of some popular stocks:

Let me leave you with a single nugget that may change your investing life forever. It certainly has changed mine …

The trend is your friend.

If the confirmed trend is up, stay in your stock. Ride the winner! If the trend is a confirmed downtrend, cut your losses.

The best way to get the most out of a winner and cut the loser (and of course, winners become losers at times) is to deploy a trailing stop. A trailing stop acts as a point at which you sell a stock (or any other fund, crypto, etc.).

When you buy a stock, you specify what your trailing stop is – most people pick a “generic” number like 25%. That means that from the moment you own a stock, there is a stop loss number at which you will then sell the stock, and the trailing stop trails the highs (but not the lows) that the stock makes.

If you buy a stock at $100 and it goes down over time by 25% and never makes a new high since you purchased it, you sell at $75.

If that stock rises to $200 and never falls 25% from a high, you’re still in that position, and your stop out point is $150.

So you ride your winners and cut your losers.

But NO TWO stocks, funds, or cryptos are the same. That’s why you can use the VQ number for each stock you buy to determine exactly what the right stop loss would be.

Looking at the table I posted above with popular VQs, that means your stop loss for Johnson & Johnson would be about 12%. But for Tesla, your stop loss would be around 49%.

Tesla moves around more than three times as much as Johnson & Johnson. Now you know that if you were to buy Tesla, you would have to suffer through a lot of thrashing around, but it may be worth it.

And on my AMD trade, had I followed a 25% trailing stop, I would have made nearly 50% instead of losing 3.5%!

And had I used a VQ-based trailing stop, well, I could have followed the signals and made more than 1,300%. I would have known that AMD is risky and moves around a lot.

So… the VQ is important. It sets expectations and gives you a framework for making better decisions.

It turns great stock pickers into great investors!

I honestly believe it’s the most important number in investing.

On Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. Eastern, I’m going to unveil the biggest prediction in my company’s 20-year history. And I’ll explain how anybody can use the VQ to make data-driven decisions about their investments. It’s free to attend; all you have to do is register.

Happy investing!

Keith Kaplan

CEO, TradeSmith

Written by the Market Insights Team

A new regional trade war

Kevin Ford –FX & Macro Strategist

Most market participants were expecting a pause in tariffs for at least another month. However, following last weekend’s heated meeting with Ukraine’s leader, it seems President Trump couldn’t afford to adopt a softer stance. He made it unequivocally clear that there’s no room for America’s closest neighbors to negotiate their way out of these duties. This marked a shift from his typical transactional approach, igniting concerns across equity markets, which erased last Friday’s gains. A wave of risk-aversion swept through North American markets as investors grappled with the implications of a new regional trade war.

Interestingly, the USD/CAD’s reaction to Trump’s confirmation of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and confirmation of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs has been notably subdued compared to a month ago. This could reflect tariff fatigue, the market’s preemptive pricing of the news, or an adaptation to the ever-evolving tariff landscape. However, the most compelling factor appears to be the shifting narrative around the US dollar. Recent soft macro data, fears of competitive devaluation, and potential policy missteps have weighed heavily on the greenback, softening its immediate impact on the Loonie. Yesterday, the US dollar DXY index dropped 0.9%, underscoring this trend. In the chaos of price discovery, the dollar’s dominance has waned, US rates are lower, Bitcoin has retreated from six-digit highs, and US stocks have shifted from leaders to laggards.

Over the past two weeks, the macro narrative has shifted dramatically. On February 12^th, Fed Chair Jay Powell highlighted solid economic growth during his Congressional testimony. Yet, just two weeks later, the Atlanta Fed Nowcast slashed its Q1 GDP estimate from +2.9% to -1.5%, driven by trade disruptions as Americans rushed to import goods ahead of tariffs. Other factors—declining consumer confidence, weaker retail activity, and falling inflation expectations—have compounded the slowdown.

Adding to uncertainty, yesterday, the ISM manufacturing index slipped to 50.3 in February, missing expectations. Gains in supplier delivery times offset declines in new orders and employment, but without the supplier delivery boost, the index would have signaled contraction. While a US recession remains unlikely, the risks of a broader slowdown are steadily gaining traction.

For now, when it comes to this regional trade war, the key concern is duration. The longer tariffs remain in place, the more challenging it will be—particularly for Canada—to adjust its fiscal, monetary, and internal trade policies to this new economic reality.

USD: Macro weakness trumps tariff risks

Boris Kovacevic – Global Macro Strategist

Investors don’t like to fight an economic trend once it has established itself. That risk averse behavior is on display this week as investors continue to rotate from equities to bonds on every data miss we get. Mounting signs suggest that U.S. economic momentum is slowing. Last week’s data surprised to the downside, and the deterioration continued with the latest ISM PMI report. The manufacturing barometer rose less than expected in February, inching up from 50.9 to 50.3—barely signaling expansion. Meanwhile, the employment index slipped into negative territory, and price growth accelerated in anticipation of tariffs.

The impact: The Atlanta Fed’s Q1 GDP nowcast plunged from 2.3% just two days ago to -2.8%, a dramatic 5% downward swing. This shift underscores the transition from U.S. exceptionalism to rising stagflation risks. The dollar fell nearly 1%, erasing last week’s tariff-induced gains. So far, our Greenback thesis from a month ago has proven correct—we expected the U.S. dollar to be pulled between tariff hikes (supportive) and weakening macro data (detrimental). With tariffs seemingly better priced in than deteriorating data, EUR/USD and GBP/USD have responded asymmetrically in our favour.

However, FX investors cannot afford complacency regarding trade risks. President Trump dismissed any hope of further tariff delays on Canadian and Mexican goods, tweeting yesterday that negotiations were off the table. Equity benchmarks declined across the board as the dollar regained some stability, yet the tariff drama was insufficient to fully offset the macro-driven losses from yesterday’s session.

EUR: supported by European defence spending

George Vessey – Lead FX & Macro Strategist

It doesn’t bode well for Europe that US President Donald Trump followed through on his tariff threats against Mexico, Canada and China, promoting swift retaliation from the latter two. European equity future are down almost 1% this morning, reversing some of Monday’s defence-led rally as investors upped their bets that governments across the region will have to boost expenditure and shoulder more of the burden for their security. Will this really support Eurozone growth and curtail some of the ECB’s easing cycle though?

The main reason for the euro’s resilience of late has been the softer US economic backdrop, but the news of potential increases in Eurozone defence spending also appears to have lifted euro sentiment. EUR/USD rose back above $1.05 briefly, rebounding from a two-week low of $1.0360 touched on Friday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain and France will lead a “coalition of the willing” to draft a plan with Kyiv and allies to end the Russia-Ukraine war and ensure security guarantees for the US. Germany may play a key role in boosting defence spending, with reports suggesting new special funds of up to €900bn for defence and infrastructure spending. This spending and rising hopes of a peace deal in Ukraine supported the euro, trumping the tariff risk for now, but increased risk aversion across financial markets will likely limit the upside potential, and indeed we’ve seen EUR/USD slip back under $1.05 already this morning.

On the macro front, yesterday’s Eurozone inflation data revealed inflation fell for the first time in four months to 2.4%, underpinning ECB rate-setters’ hopes that the recent uptick in price pressures is proving temporary. The February figure was slightly worse than economists’ expectations 2.3%, however, two measures of underlying inflation also ticked down, such as services inflation, which came in at 3.7% from 3.9%  – the lowest level since April 2024.

GBP: turning bullish versus dollar

George Vessey – Lead FX & Macro Strategist

Sterling catapulted above its 100-day moving average of $1.2620 yesterday, recording a daily gain of around 1% and hitting a fresh 2025 high of $1.2723. Such a move could lead to further gains towards the 200-day moving average at $1.2785 with short-dated implied volatility on the pound rising for a fifth straight day — the longest winning streak since late December.

We’ve recently been reporting whether the pound would exhibit it’s typical risk-averse behaviour in the wake of tariffs or whether it is safe haven of sorts as the UK is seen as less vulnerable to US tariffs due to the UK’s goods trade deficit with the US. Arguably, it’s neither in this case, as FX markets appear to be more concerned around the economic slowdown in the US alongside European leaders pushing forward with plans to boost defence spending and support Ukraine. Sterling also gained strength from expectations that UK interest rates will remain higher for longer. Bank of England Deputy Governor Ramsden highlighted that persistent wage pressures could keep inflation above target, though he noted future rate cuts may not be gradual. This outlook, combined with geopolitical developments, has boosted investor confidence in the pound for now.

There is certainly evidence of trade-sensitive currencies weakening with GBP/CAD rising to a new 7-year high and GBP/AUD scaling a new 5-year high, but the illiquid and risk-sensitive Swedish krona has been the top performer this week. The krona has emerged as a favoured currency, surging more than 2% versus the US dollar on Monday and GBP/SEK falling almost two standard deviations more than its average daily shift to the downside. Why? Because the Sweden’s military industry is seen as a major beneficiary of any funding increase with defence exports among the biggest of major economies as a share of GDP.

US dollar keeps losing ground against majors

Table: 7-day currency trends and trading ranges

Key global risk events

Calendar: March 03-07

All times are in ET

Have a question? [email protected]

*The FX rates published are provided by Convera’s Market Insights team for research purposes only. The rates have a unique source and may not align to any live exchange rates quoted on other sites. They are not an indication of actual buy/sell rates, or a financial offer.

Across Asia, banks are deeply embedding adherence to both general ESG principles and the UN Sustainable Development Goals into their core business operations, client relationships, and finance products. Increasingly the banks limit financing of coal operations, weapons manufacturers, manufacturers of environmentally harmful chemicals, and other businesses deemed detrimental to the environment and societies. Instead, through green and sustainability-linked loans, bonds, and other products, the banks are striving to help the countries, organizations, and citizens they serve become environmental stewards. (In fact, Asian corporations often turn to banks for help setting their own environmental policies and procedures.) These activities are particularly important on a continent historically plagued by significant air, water, and soil pollution. Finance products offered range from retail solar mortgages and special loans for electric vehicles to bonds financing the construction of massive wind-power farms and green steel manufacturing plants.

Asia wields significant economic influence on the world stage. But poor infrastructure, political instability, and massive income inequality leave a significant portion of the Asian populace living in poverty. Understanding that sustainable development includes improving the lives of the disadvantaged, banks now offer a host of microloans to historically underrepresented business owners—from female entrepreneurs to small-scale farmers.

Banks like to tout their ESG achievements, and these achievements aren’t just puffery. Banks’ significant reporting on their environmental efforts demonstrates their sustainability leadership, engendering confidence in customers and investors.

DBS

Best Bank for Sustainable Finance

Best Bank for ESG-Related Loans

Best Bank for Transition/Sustainability-Linked Loans

DBS’ portfolio of sustainable finance products is vast, ranging from green loans and sustainability-linked loans to social loans and green trade finance. The bank’s green financing portfolio in China alone grew 62% from 2023 to 2024. DBS acted as sole green finance adviser for a 500 million Japanese yen (about $3.3 million) loan for Envision Energy, a wind-turbine manufacturer. DBS was selected by the People’s Bank of China for this role. Envision will use these funds for the construction of a 100 MW wind-power project to serve the national grid in Puyang. The project is expected to generate 270 GW of renewable energy and avoid an estimated 212,600 tons of carbon emissions annually.

In Singapore, DBS acted as financial adviser and mandated lead arranger for a loan to renewable-power generator Rexus Bioenergy. This loan will fund a wood-to-energy plant. The plant will help transform Singapore’s significant wood waste into potassium fertilizer, compost, and other agricultural materials. Transition/sustainability-linked loans include a 350 million Hong Kong dollar (about $45 million) deal with Kwoon Chung Bus, for which DBS acted as mandated lead arranger. Kwoon Chung Bus is Hong Kong’s largest bus company. This loan will help it reduce greenhouse gases through the adoption of more environmentally friendly Euro VI diesel commercial vehicles into its fleet.

CTBC (Project Trinity/Offshore Wind)

Sustainable Finance Deal of the Year

CTBC Bank called upon its extensive knowledge of the offshore wind sector and CTBC’s relationships with state-owned banks to achieve financing for Ørsted’s Project Trinity (see the Global Winners section of this article). In fact, CTBC Bank was able to bring three state-owned banks into the deal. Through those relationships and other activities, CTBC Bank helped Ørsted implement Trinity to enhance the existing Greater Changhua Offshore Wind complex. Phases 1 and 2 of this project became operational in 2023, providing power to roughly a million homes. Project Trinity, expected to be completed by 2026, will power an additional million households. This clean energy will aid Taiwan in meeting its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. CTBC Bank acted as mandated lead arranger, financial adviser, and agent for this project.

China Central Depository & Clearing Co.

Best Platform/Technology Facilitating Sustainable Finance (Non-Bank)

The State Council of the People’s Republic of China is the nation’s chief administrative authority. In 1996, it funded the China Central Depository & Clearing Co. as a reorganization of the former National Exchange and Trading System. This company acts as a centralized financial enterprise, providing financial market infrastructure services to banks across China. Services focus on the depository and clearing of government bonds and other securities. The company has played a significant role in the development and standardization of China’s bond market—improving the safety of bond issuances, and easing registration, custody, and settlement processes. In addition to work discussed in the Global Winners section of this article, the company develops indices related to sustainable development and has crafted new standards for ESG evaluation.

Societe Generale

Best Bank for Sustainable Infrastructure/Project Finance

Societe Generale (SocGen) has done significant work in the construction of battery energy storage systems (BESSs). These systems enable energy from renewables—including solar and wind power—to be stored and released as needed. BESSs funded by SocGen will store energy associated with a 1.5 GW portfolio of eight solar and wind farms being constructed in Australia by Neoen. Also in Australia, SocGen acted as mandated lead arranger for $400 million Australian dollars (about $255 million) in debt financing for construction of the third phase of the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub. The hub, comprising three BESS storage projects of 200 MW each, will provide 1.6 GW of energy storage—capable of powering up to 200,000 Australian homes. In Indonesia, SocGen acted as mandated lead arranger for the Project IKN 50 MW solar power plant, along with associated BESS systems.

Maybank

Best Bank for Sustainable Financing in Emerging Markets

Best Bank for Sustainability Transparency

Maybank is committed to transparency in its ESG activities and in working with clients committed to environmentally sound operations. The bank often discusses its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. To clarify that goal, it recently published a 70-page white paper called Banking on a Better Tomorrow: Our Commitment to Net Zero. The paper provides a detailed report on the bank’s approach to setting net-zero targets for clients operating in hard-to-abate sectors. It specifically outlines goals for the power, agriculture, aluminum, and steel industries. Additional papers are planned for the commercial real estate and automotive sectors. To ensure that Maybank works with clients committed to sustainability, the bank has developed a proprietary Net Zero carbon calculator, helping Maybank integrate sustainability into its financing decisions. The bank also annually updates its sustainable product framework and transition finance framework.

In addition to Maybank’s work in emerging markets discussed under the Global Winners section of this article, in 2024 the bank launched the HERpower loan program to support women-led small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) whose companies focus on sustainability and social impact. The program provides female entrepreneurs with tailored financing solutions along with invitations to special events and workshops. Fees for traditional banking services are waived for program participants.

Bank Of China

Best Bank for Green Bonds

In the first half of 2024, the Bank of China underwrote 98.4 billion Chinese yuan (about $13.6 billion) in Chinese green bonds, ranking first among Chinese banks. The scale of overseas green bond underwriting that year was $9.2 billion. Among the green bonds issued in 2024 were $940 million for Belt and Road Initiative countries, allocated to promote sustainable development. Projects funded include green and social efforts such as electric-vehicle battery manufacturing in Hungary, renewable-energy transmission in Slovakia, wind power in Uzbekistan, and sustainable fisheries in Chile. Also of note was the September issuance of a $400 billion green bond in Dubai. Proceeds will fund construction of a hybrid solar/photovoltaic power project. A second project in that country will reduce railways’ CO2 emissions by about 334,000 tons annually.

Industrial Bank of Korea

Best Bank for Social Bonds

From January through November of 2024, the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) issued a total of 8.6 trillion South Korean won (about $6 billion) in social bonds. The bank reports that these bonds account for more than 22% of its own portfolio and more than 70% of all the social bonds issued by South Korean banks. Among these were an $800 million diversity and inclusion social bond to finance micro, small, and midsize enterprises (MSMEs) owned by women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups. This was the bank’s largest-ever foreign currency bond issuance. This issuance builds on a $600 million five-year, gender-equity-themed social bond issued by IBK in 2023. Proceeds from that bond were channeled toward the financing and/or refinancing of new and existing loans for women-led MSMEs.

BPI

Best Bank for Sustainable Bonds

Best Bank for Sustaining Communities

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has done extensive work in the field of sustaining communities. In 2024, the bank’s microfinance arm (BPI BanKo) partnered with agricultural fintech Agrilever to launch the AgriNegosyoKo Loan Program, aiming to help farmers in the Philippines strengthen their agricultural practices and improve their livelihoods. The AgriNegosyoKo Loan Program offers customized loans ranging from 50,000 to 300,000 Philippine pesos (about $863 to $5,180). These loans enable farmers to invest in land and equipment. Financial education is also offered. The bank’s new Green Solutions program marks the first collection of eco-friendly housing and automobile loans in the Philippines. The loans finance individuals’ purchase of solar panels as well as electric and hybrid vehicles. LavLoans (short for “lavender,” a color symbolizing support for those suffering from cancer) is a new program offering multipurpose cash loans to cancer patients and their families in need of immediate access to funds. No collateral is needed.

In addition to BPI’s work in sustainable bonds already noted in the Global Winners section of this article, BPI in 2024 served as sole issue manager, joint lead underwriter, and joint bookrunner for Maynilad water and wastewater service company’s 15 billion Philippine peso blue bond for sustainable water and wastewater management activities. It was the nation’s first SEC-registered blue bond.        —LS

Regional Winners: Asia-Pacific
Best Bank for Sustainable Finance	DBS
Sustainable Finance Deal of the Year	CTBC (Project Trinity/Offshore Wind)
Best Platform/Technology Facilitating Sustainable Finance (Non-Bank)	China Central Depository & Clearing Co.
Best Bank for Sustainable Infrastructure/Project Finance	Societe Generale
Best Bank for Sustainable Financing in Emerging Markets	Maybank
Best Bank for Green Bonds	Bank of China
Best Bank for Social Bonds	Industrial Bank of Korea
Best Bank for Sustainable Bonds	BPI
Best Bank for Sustaining Communities	BPI
Best Bank for ESG-Related Loans	DBS
Best Bank for Sustainability Transparency	Maybank
Best Bank for Transition/Sustainability Linked Loans	DBS

Housing affordability continues to be a challenge in the U.S. Several recently released data points are just the latest illustrations.

This chart, based on National Association of Realtors data, shows that homebuyers have been getting older for years—but their current levels are at multi-decade highs. Meanwhile, the median age of homebuyers reached an all-time-high of 56 in 2024.

The median homebuyer jumped to 56 as housing costs continue to rise.

Other data from the NAR, meanwhile, showed that fewer than a quarter of home purchases in 2024 were made by first-time homebuyers, the lowest levels on record.

“The number of first-time homebuyers is way down, and the median age of all homebuyers is way up. You have to be older and wealthier just to afford a home now,” Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said.

Home Prices Out of Whack With Incomes

Home prices have been steadily rising, gaining a further 3.9% in December. Mortgage rates have remained at nearly 7%, adding to borrowing costs. 

Incomes haven’t kept up with housing price hikes. The latest data from the Atlanta Federal Reserve shows that to purchase a median-priced U.S. home at $390,333 in January, buyers would need an annual income of $124,150. That’s well above the actual median annual income of $79,223.

Without a significant drop in mortgage rates and an increase in housing inventory, housing prices are likely to continue to be a barrier of entry for young people into the housing market.

“The whole starter home ladder to home equity has been yanked away. Until we get back to that point, younger generations are having to rely on winning the lottery or generational wealth or working at hig- paying jobs just to afford any kind of home,” Frick said. “The whole situation is very contorted and unfair.”

Earlier this week, I caught myself daydreaming about what it would be like to have $215 million.

I was driving on I-95 near our Baltimore offices when I saw one of the billboards for the Powerball lottery.

It’s easy to get lost in the fantasy of having that much money and imagining how your life would change.

New houses, new cars, exotic vacations … and definitely no more work.

Of course, I don’t play the lottery. The odds of winning are about one in 300 million, and to me that sounds like wasting money.

To put those odds in perspective:

• The odds of dying from a shark attack are 1 in 3.7 million, according to the International Shark Attack File.
• The odds of dying from hornet, wasp or bee stings is about 1 in 54,000, according to the National Safety Council.

I don’t worry about those remote risks, and the odds of winning the lottery are even longer!

Sadly, too many investors treat the stock market like a lottery – putting money into “cheap” moonshot stocks that generate no earnings in the hope that they’ll get lucky, pick the right one, and retire tomorrow.

While that strategy might work for the luckiest of investors, if you want to put the probabilities on your side, you need to know about the Iron Law of the Stock Market…

The Best Road to Growing Your Wealth

Right now, we’re finishing one of the most pivotal times of the year when companies report their quarterly results.

Market legend Louis Navellier has always called earnings season “my favorite time of year.”

That’s because he focuses on fundamentally strong companies … the ones that are expected to post superior earnings.

And that’s what’s at the heart of the Iron Law of the Stock Market: If a company massively grows its sales and earnings, its stock price will grow, too.

Yesterday, Louis provided an earnings season update to his Growth Investor subscribers.

The majority of stocks are beating analysts’ earnings expectations, including our own Growth Investor stocks. According to FactSet, of the S&P 500 companies that have posted results, 76% have exceeded analysts’ earnings estimates and 62% have topped analysts’ sales forecasts.

If we stay focused on companies with accelerating earnings and sales momentum, as well as positive analyst revisions, the vast majority of our stocks will knock it out of the park and rally strongly. And that has been the case during the fourth-quarter earnings season.

We’ve had 40 Growth Investor companies release quarterly results so far, with 28 of these companies topping analysts’ earnings estimates. Our stocks have achieved an 8.5% average earnings surprise, versus the S&P 500’s 7.3% average earnings surprise.

No One Bats 1,000 – But Data Provides the Edge

Of course, no strategy is perfect.

Some of Louis’ recommended stocks missed estimates and saw their prices pull back.

But the data provided during earnings season is what provides the crucial input for Louis’ Stock Grader system.

At the end of every earnings season, Louis uses this data to refine his recommendations, ensuring that he remains invested in the “crème de la crème” of the market.

Next week, market leader – Nvidia (NVDA) – reports earnings as a sort of grand finale to this earnings season. Growth Investor subscribers can use Louis’ Stock Grader tool to see how Nvidia rates any time.

Below is a Stock Grader sample complete with a price chart from the last two years.

In the picture above, you can see the horizontal-colored bands provide a grade history over the last two years.

This is the system Louis used to recommend NVDA in 2019 … before it went on to gain more than 3,000%.

Another benefit of Stock Grader is the ability to compare stocks with its Analyze feature. Here is NVDA compared to other semiconductor stocks.

Growth Investor subscribers can run their own stocks through the system and then save those picks to track their grades over time.

Recently, Louis’ Stock Grader system flagged a remarkable improvement in one semiconductor stock’s fundamentals. The company’s grade jumped from D to B, signaling potentially significant upside…

You can learn more about this opportunity here.

It can be fun to fantasize about winning the lottery and getting rich quick. But, investing using the Iron Law of the Stock Market – investing in stocks with growing sales and earnings – is likely to provide a higher probability outcome.

Enjoy your weekend,

Luis Hernandez

Editor in Chief, InvestorPlace

Written by the Market Insights Team

Global equity benchmarks are tumbling as US President Donald Trump proceeded with 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and raised the tariff on China to 20% from 10%. Safe haven currencies are outperforming, but surprisingly, the Chinese yuan has also strengthened. The pound is near multi-year highs against the trade-sensitive Aussie and Canadian dollar’s. The euro is showing resilience, but the Swedish krona is a clear winner after European leaders pushed forward with plans to boost defence spending. The US dollar, meanwhile, is reeling from weakening US economic activity.

USD: Macro weakness trumps tariff risks

Boris Kovacevic – Global Macro Strategist

Investors don’t like to fight an economic trend once it has established itself. That risk averse behavior is on display this week as investors continue to rotate from equities to bonds on every data miss we get. Mounting signs suggest that U.S. economic momentum is slowing. Last week’s data surprised to the downside, and the deterioration continued with the latest ISM PMI report. The manufacturing barometer rose less than expected in February, inching up from 50.9 to 50.3—barely signaling expansion. Meanwhile, the employment index slipped into negative territory, and price growth accelerated in anticipation of tariffs.

The impact: The Atlanta Fed’s Q1 GDP nowcast plunged from 2.3% just two days ago to -2.8%, a dramatic 5% downward swing. This shift underscores the transition from U.S. exceptionalism to rising stagflation risks. The dollar fell nearly 1%, erasing last week’s tariff-induced gains. So far, our Greenback thesis from a month ago has proven correct—we expected the U.S. dollar to be pulled between tariff hikes (supportive) and weakening macro data (detrimental). With tariffs seemingly better priced in than deteriorating data, EUR/USD and GBP/USD have responded asymmetrically in our favour.

However, FX investors cannot afford complacency regarding trade risks. President Trump dismissed any hope of further tariff delays on Canadian and Mexican goods, tweeting yesterday that negotiations were off the table. Equity benchmarks declined across the board as the dollar regained some stability, yet the tariff drama was insufficient to fully offset the macro-driven losses from yesterday’s session.

EUR: supported by European defence spending

George Vessey – Lead FX & Macro Strategist

It doesn’t bode well for Europe that US President Donald Trump followed through on his tariff threats against Mexico, Canada and China, promoting swift retaliation from the latter two. European equity future are down almost 1% this morning, reversing some of Monday’s defence-led rally as investors upped their bets that governments across the region will have to boost expenditure and shoulder more of the burden for their security. Will this really support Eurozone growth and curtail some of the ECB’s easing cycle though?

The main reason for the euro’s resilience of late has been the softer US economic backdrop, but the news of potential increases in Eurozone defence spending also appears to have lifted euro sentiment. EUR/USD rose back above $1.05 briefly, rebounding from a two-week low of $1.0360 touched on Friday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain and France will lead a “coalition of the willing” to draft a plan with Kyiv and allies to end the Russia-Ukraine war and ensure security guarantees for the US. Germany may play a key role in boosting defence spending, with reports suggesting new special funds of up to €900bn for defence and infrastructure spending. This spending and rising hopes of a peace deal in Ukraine supported the euro, trumping the tariff risk for now, but increased risk aversion across financial markets will likely limit the upside potential, and indeed we’ve seen EUR/USD slip back under $1.05 already this morning.

On the macro front, yesterday’s Eurozone inflation data revealed inflation fell for the first time in four months to 2.4%, underpinning ECB rate-setters’ hopes that the recent uptick in price pressures is proving temporary. The February figure was slightly worse than economists’ expectations 2.3%, however, two measures of underlying inflation also ticked down, such as services inflation, which came in at 3.7% from 3.9%  – the lowest level since April 2024.

GBP: turning bullish versus dollar

George Vessey – Lead FX & Macro Strategist

Sterling catapulted above its 100-day moving average of $1.2620 yesterday, recording a daily gain of around 1% and hitting a fresh 2025 high of $1.2723. Such a move could lead to further gains towards the 200-day moving average at $1.2785 with short-dated implied volatility on the pound rising for a fifth straight day — the longest winning streak since late December.

We’ve recently been reporting whether the pound would exhibit it’s typical risk-averse behaviour in the wake of tariffs or whether it is safe haven of sorts as the UK is seen as less vulnerable to US tariffs due to the UK’s goods trade deficit with the US. Arguably, it’s neither in this case, as FX markets appear to be more concerned around the economic slowdown in the US alongside European leaders pushing forward with plans to boost defence spending and support Ukraine. Sterling also gained strength from expectations that UK interest rates will remain higher for longer. Bank of England Deputy Governor Ramsden highlighted that persistent wage pressures could keep inflation above target, though he noted future rate cuts may not be gradual. This outlook, combined with geopolitical developments, has boosted investor confidence in the pound for now.

There is certainly evidence of trade-sensitive currencies weakening with GBP/CAD rising to a new 7-year high and GBP/AUD scaling a new 5-year high, but the illiquid and risk-sensitive Swedish krona has been the top performer this week. The krona has emerged as a favoured currency, surging more than 2% versus the US dollar on Monday and GBP/SEK falling almost two standard deviations more than its average daily shift to the downside. Why? Because the Sweden’s military industry is seen as a major beneficiary of any funding increase with defence exports among the biggest of major economies as a share of GDP.

GBP/AUD near 5-year high

Table: 7-day currency trends and trading ranges

Key global risk events

Calendar: March 3-7

All times are in GMT

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*The FX rates published are provided by Convera’s Market Insights team for research purposes only. The rates have a unique source and may not align to any live exchange rates quoted on other sites. They are not an indication of actual buy/sell rates, or a financial offer.