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Boston Globe
23-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Pride parades around the country have taken a hit this spring, but not in Boston
Gary Daffin, a member of Boston Pride for the People's executive committee, says nearly half of that amount last year came from corporate sponsorships, and nearly half came from registration fees from groups that want to participate — the two main sources of funding. Advertisement Daffin expects a similar budget for the events this time around: just above $700,000. So far, all the big sponsors are back — a list that includes Delta Air Lines, MFS Investment Management, the Boston Foundation, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Eastern Bank, MassMutual, Rockland Trust, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Eversource, and National Grid. The big-ticket corporate sponsorships range from $10,000 to $50,000. He said a few previous sponsors have not yet committed, but they're not among the big contributors. This is the third year that the event has been organized by Advertisement This year, Daffin said the organizers had been concerned that fund-raising could take a hit because of economic uncertainties and the anti-DEI rhetoric in Washington, including executive orders targeting diversity programs. 'There was a fear that people were not going to reply to our requests,' Daffin said. 'But almost everyone who was there last year is back. It just took a little longer [to line up the commitments]. It's a relief, though we still need a little bit more money. We're not there yet.' This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene. Jon Chesto can be reached at
Zawya
25-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
European shares helped by optimism around tariffs, dollar perks up
European shares rose on Tuesday, taking their cue from a strong overnight rally on Wall Street on hopes of narrower-than-feared U.S. tariffs, while the dollar continued its cautious rebound, trading near three-week highs against a basket of peers. Europe's broad Stoxx 600 share index was up 0.6% in early trading with most national benchmarks and sectors cautiously in positive territory. Investors' primary focus was the impending reciprocal tariffs promised by U.S. President Donald Trump and, while Trump said on Monday automobile tariffs were coming soon, he indicated that not all of his threatened levies would be imposed on April 2 and some countries may get breaks. That led to an exuberant "risk-on" reaction in U.S. markets and the S&P 500 closed at its highest in more than two weeks, while a rally in tech stocks led Nasdaq up more than 2%. S&P 500 share futures were steady in European trade on Tuesday. But investors remain on edge before the April 2 deadline. "Headline risks (are) the global investors' daily lot," said Benoit Anne, senior managing director, at MFS Investment Management's strategy and insights group. "Only Covid caused more concern over policy uncertainty at the global level. We are currently facing numerous sources of risks, with the risk of trade war escalation standing out as the key item to watch." Tariff news was also showing up in the oil market. Prices were up for a fifth day in a row, with Monday's and Tuesday's rises on the back of concerns about supply after Trump issued an executive order declaring that any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela would pay a 25% tariff on trade with the U.S. Brent futures were up 44 cents to $73.43 a barrel and U.S. crude climbed 38 cents to $69.49. Both benchmarks gained more than 1% on Monday. BETTER DATA Investors were also digesting activity and sentiment data this week. German business morale rose in March, as companies expect a recovery after two years of contraction in Europe's largest economy. The data comes after Germany passed a landmark bill to massively boost infrastructure and defence spending. That was also supporting European shares and caused German bond yields to tick higher, with the 10-year Bund yield last up 4 basis points at 2.82%. In the U.S. on Monday, S&P Global's flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, increased, suggesting the economy was regaining speed after hitting a soft patch halfway through the first quarter. But so-called hard data, including retail sales and the employment report, have hinted at cracks in the foundation of the economy. The broad risk on mode led to a selloff in safe haven bonds. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose 8 bps on Monday, and was a further 2 bps higher on Tuesday, at 4.354%, its highest in a month. Higher yields supported the U.S. dollar, which has been under pressure in recent months. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six peers, touched a three-week high on Monday, and was last at 104.26. The dollar hit a three-week high against the rate-sensitive yen at 150.95, after jumping 0.9% in the previous session. The strong dollar also cast a shadow across emerging markets. The Indonesian rupiah sank to its lowest level since June 1998, during the Asian financial crisis, on mounting concerns over the country's fiscal health. Shares were also under pressure across Asia and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.35%, as tech stocks led a broad selloff. The Hang Seng is up 17% this year though, still the best-performing major stock market in the world, on AI bets after startup DeepSeek's sparkling debut. Gold was up a touch at $3,022 per ounce.
Ya Libnan
17-03-2025
- Business
- Ya Libnan
Trump is making foreign stocks Great Again
Top curve represents Hong Kong stock market performance + 20.20 % Center curve represents Europe stock markets +4.3% Lowest curve represents US stock markets -6% For years, the S&P 500 soared above the stock indexes of other countries. But since Trump's inauguration, it has fallen 6 percent and is now trailing major markets in Europe and China. By Joe Rennison President Trump has promised to create an age of American exceptionalism with policies that put the United States first, and ahead of other nations. But Mr. Trump's moves in the early days of his administration have had the opposite outcome for the American stock market. The S&P 500, which for years had been soaring above the stock indexes of other countries, is now trailing major markets in Europe and China, as investors have started to pull money from the United States and reallocate it around the world. Since Mr. Trump's inauguration, the S&P 500 has fallen 6 percent, while the Dax index in Germany has risen 10 percent and the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 index has gained more than 4 percent. Other U.S. indexes have fared even worse, as European markets have been buoyed by plans for military spending on the continent after Mr. Trump made it clear he wants those nations to do more to protect themselves. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong has soared further, rising more than 20 percent since Mr. Trump took office in January, driven by the Chinese government's efforts to stimulate its economy. Mexico's IPC index, which is domestically focused and proving resilient to Mr. Trump's steep tariffs, is 5 percent higher. With American markets being whipsawed by the uncertainties over Mr. Trump's tariff policies and deep cuts to the federal government, investment advisers have started steering clients to other stock markets around the world. 'It is definitely time to be looking at ex-U.S.,' said Jitania Kandhari, deputy chief investment officer of the solutions and multi-asset group at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. She said she had noticed an uptick in conversations with clients looking to increase their exposure to international stocks. Even global markets that have slumped have managed to outperform the S&P 500. The FTSE All-World index has dropped 2.9 percent since the inauguration, weighed down by U.S.-listed stocks. Canada's TSX index has dropped 2 percent. And the Japanese Nikkei 225 has fallen 3.6 percent. In recent weeks, Wall Street has sent out a raft of bank research notes, client presentations and trade ideas that recommend a pivot away from the United States. 'Respect resilience, fade U.S. exceptionalism, and worry about policy shocks,' read the title of one of those presentations from Bruce Kasman, chief economist and global head of economic research at J.P. Morgan. Brad Rutan, a market strategist at MFS Investment Management, said he also saw opportunities outside the United States. 'It's safe to say that there is plenty of room now for international equities.' Over the past week, investors pulled money from funds that buy U.S. stocks for the first time this year, according to weekly data that runs through Wednesday from EPFR Global. The withdrawal totaled a modest $2.5 billion, which compares with the roughly $100 billion inflow in the first nine weeks of 2025. While some traders are exceptionally quick to react to new information in the market, others, especially those that expect to be invested for a long time like pension funds or university endowments, can take months to move their money around. 'After such a protracted outperformance of the U.S. versus Europe, these things can't turn 180 degrees in a month,' said Greg Boutle, head of U.S. equity and derivative strategy at BNP Paribas. 'There are probably many investors that have not reallocated yet.' If investors continue to pull their money from U.S. stocks and invest in foreign markets, it could add to the selling pressure that last week dragged the S&P 500 into correction, defined as a fall of more than 10 percent from its peak. U.S. markets are so large that a complete exodus by foreign investors is near impossible, Ms. Kandhari said, 'but the shift can definitely create market moves.' The recent withdrawal comes after years when the U.S. stock market was the envy of the world, attracting foreign investors looking for higher returns than their home markets could provide. Roughly $420 trillion flowed into funds that buy U.S. stocks in 2024, according to data from EPFR Global, helping lift major indexes higher and contributing to the growth of a handful of big technology companies. Roughly two-thirds of the valuation of the FTSE All-World Index comes from U.S. stocks, with nine of the top 10 stocks in the index by size coming from the United States. In the year leading up to the presidential election, the S&P 500 outperformed many of the other indexes around the globe, rising 32 percent. The next best was Germany's Dax, up 27 percent. Many investors are still bullish on U.S. stocks over the long term and believe they will again outperform foreign stocks. Europe may be ramping up government spending, potentially spurring growth. But that boom could be driven by a fear of war, not because of sustainable economic strength. And if the United States enters an economic downturn, the rest of the world is unlikely to be spared from the fallout. 'I think eventually all of this uncertainty settles down and we will still be left with a U.S. that has advantages that Europe and other countries don't have,' said Paul Christopher, head of global market strategy at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. Other investors are wondering whether the current moment could be the beginning of an inflection point, upending the long-running trend of U.S. exceptionalism in financial markets. 'I think that discussion is happening,' Ms. Kandhari said. New York Times
