H2 2025

Circle’s rapid rise as a stablecoin issuer, highlighted by a record-breaking IPO and expanding institutional adoption, mirrors a broader shift toward regulated digital finance. The GENIUS Act, passed in June 2025, reinforces this momentum by introducing strict standards for transparency, reserves, and consumer protection, positioning stablecoins as core components of the future financial system.

Visa and Mastercard dominate credit card transactions, charging US merchants significantly higher fees than elsewhere. Unsurprisingly, US merchants are desperate to escape these hundreds of billions in costs.

As global competition intensifies, China’s dominance over rare earth elements has become one of the most potent tools in its geopolitical arsenal. By controlling the extraction, refining, and global supply chains of these critical materials, Beijing holds extraordinary leverage over key sectors like defence, clean energy, AI, and electric vehicles, forcing the West into a high-stakes race to reduce its dangerous dependency.

On 23 June 2025, Holcim will separate into two distinct entities: Amrize and Holcim. Shareholders will receive one share of Amrize for each share of Holcim held (1:1 ratio). Amrize will comprise Holcim’s North America operations, while the remaining company—Holcim (RemainCo)—will retain all assets and operations outside the United States and Canada.

Leonard Lauder, chairman of Estée Lauder Companies and creator of the “Lipstick Index,” passed away on 14 June 2025. As the beauty industry reflects on his legacy, is his famous theory still relevant today?

Apple's ongoing Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 offered a glimpse into the company's future, marked by a significant user interface overhaul and a carefully orchestrated push into AI. However, for investors already holding a cautious stance on the tech giant, the event appears to have furthered existing concerns rather than alleviating them.

With over eight years in development and an estimated $2 billion budget, GTA VI may be the most ambitious cultural product ever made, and for Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of the game's publisher Rockstar Games, the investment seems justified. However, news that the game won’t hit shelves until 26 May 2026 sent Take-Two’s shares tumbling.

The UAE is rapidly emerging as a global AI hub, driven by large-scale infrastructure investments, strategic partnerships with leading US tech firms, and an ambitious national agenda to embed artificial intelligence across government, education, healthcare, and security.

A central bankers’ update