Industrial Production rose marginally in May, up 0.1% M/M and 1.7% Y/Y, near record highs; capacity utilization was up 0.1 percentage points and 1.3 pp Y/Y; the multi-year slide in capacity utilization that began in Mar '22 has hopefully ended:
$4.7T raised and the bottleneck is infrastructure, not capital. Sovereign co-investment partnerships like G42-Stargate signal where the next deployment phase lands.
Global capital markets are incredibly hot:
Companies have raised a record $4.7 trillion in equity, corporate debt, and bank loans so far this year.
This marks the 3rd consecutive annual increase for this point of the year.
Total capital raised is also running ~$500 billion above the 2021 post-pandemic financing boom.
The surge has been driven primarily by technology companies seeking to fund AI spending, alongside record debt issuance to finance AI infrastructure.
Furthermore, investment-grade private credit issuance is not included in these figures, despite playing an increasingly important role in financing data centers, semiconductors, and power plants supporting the AI buildout.
Investors are pouring money into AI an unprecedented pace.
Inventory data backs your thesis. Relief trade is premature. Hormuz remains conditional and severely restricted. I track what's measurable: institutional performance. Mubadala published AED 1.4T AUM mid-conflict. That's verifiable resilience data, not narrative.
Even if Hormuz reopened the oil deficit doesn't care.
The IEA projects a supply shortfall through Q4 2026 regardless.
A small surplus might appear after that.
But rebuilding inventories back to 2025 levels? At least another year from now.
The market is pricing in relief.
The data isn't giving it.
Full analysis and the hidden moves I'm watching in my latest article.
Link in the comments 👇
Turkey at 4, China negative. EM dispersion is the allocation signal. Currency anchors with sovereign reserves to defend them separate investable regimes. The dirham peg held through successive shocks for a reason.
@bowtiedbrazil Regulatory text without enforcement track record is theater. ADGM's edge isn't common law on paper. It's DIFC court precedent applying those frameworks to real disputes. That's what allocators pay for.
@brett_mcgurk@biannagolodryga@cnni 'Toll free' remains aspirational. Iran's three-tier access system hasn't been dismantled. Mubadala published AED 1.4T AUM results during the restriction period. Institutional continuity is what allocators should track.
@TheStalwart Europe gets the holiday. The domicile decision flows where the tax regime lets you keep it. ADGM and DIFC licensing to US nationals tracks exactly this.
The @WorldBankGroup has closed its second Emerging Markets Securitization Program transaction, bringing total issuance to more than $1 billion and expanding private investment to create jobs & boost growth in emerging markets.
Learn more: https://t.co/gZujg6AAo6
Unlocking more institutional investment for emerging markets requires innovation, scale, and strong partnerships.
Enjoyed meeting with Sanjiv Misra and Murli Maiya of Clifford Capital to exchange views on originate-to-distribute models and securitization platforms that can channel more private capital into developing economies and support growth, jobs, and opportunity. @IFC_AsiaPacific
"In the months preceding the escalation, the operation of global #OilMarkets was deceptively calm. Brent crude settled into a range of approximately $62–$68 per barrel by December 2025, a price environment consistent with moderate structural surplus conditions. OPEC+ production restraint was holding, if imperfectly, while U.S. shale output reached record levels of approximately 13.4 million barrels per day (mb/d). Demand growth in China had decelerated markedly following a prolonged property-sector contraction, further suppressing the forward price signal". @RimBerahab@SabrineEmran
🔗Read more: https://t.co/9RjGxzXepG
@ember_energy Gas to balancing role is right. The binding constraint is the EM financing gap for clean infrastructure. ADFD's $1bn water platform (Jan 2026) uses concessional anchor capital to crowd in institutional investors. Sovereign wealth de-risking, not aid dependency.
Short squeeze requires durable de-escalation. Three-tier Hormuz system still operational, ceasefire collapsed within hours. Outflows are pricing a peace that hasn't arrived.
Is gold setting up for a short squeeze amid the Iran deal?
Gold funds posted -$2.3 billion in outflows last week, marking the 4th consecutive weekly outflow.
This brings the 4-week average of outflows to -$2.0 billion, the 2nd-largest on record.
This is only below the -$3.5 billion 4-week average record seen in February.
Meanwhile, the largest US gold-backed ETF, $GLD, has seen -$2.2 billion in outflows so far this month, on track for its 4th consecutive monthly withdrawal.
Year-to-date, $GLD has seen -$8.1 billion in outflows, on track for the first annual withdrawal since 2023.
Conditions are ripe for a short squeeze.
@PauloMacro Big move. For UAE allocators though, oil at $80 barely moves the needle. Non-oil GDP is 70%+ and ~$2.5T in sovereign reserves provides a fiscal buffer most EM lack. The thesis isn't oil-dependent.
@BlakeMillardCFA 22% ROE is impressive. Also late-cycle concentration in a handful of mega-caps. Record US entry multiples strengthen the allocator case for complementary exposure where the margin cycle is earlier.
'Emerging opportunities' is the right framing. The question for allocators: which EM regulatory infrastructure held under actual stress. ADGM kept processing licences through the conflict. That is the data point.
Nomura Investment Forum Asia wrapped up earlier this month in Singapore, attended by 4,500+ participants. From macro themes to emerging opportunities, 77 Nomura and industry speakers shared their perspectives on what’s shaping markets today. #NomuraForum
The euro area recorded a €1.0bn goods trade deficit in April 2026, while the wider EU registered a €7.1bn deficit.
This deterioration is totally linked to the Iran war’s energy shock. Europe paid an estimated €27bn more for imported oil and gas during the conflict’s first two months alone.
The EU total goods surplus was only €128bn in 2025. Without energy, the EU would have generated a surplus of approximately €427bn.
Europe’s with 57% of its energy consumption relying on imported fossil fuels, continues to leave its economy totally exposed to every geopolitical shock.
Energy sovereignty through renewables, electrification and an integrated European energy market is not merely climate policy.
It is essential to protecting Europe’s trade balance, industrial competitiveness and geopolitical autonomy.