There’s something about December that seems to charm equity markets into a year-end flourish.
For decades, investors have noted how the final month of the calendar tends to bring tidings of green screens and positive returns, fuelling what has become known as the Santa Claus rally.
But behind the festive metaphor lies a consistent, data-backed pattern.
Over the past four decades, the S&P 500 has gained in December about 74% of the time, with an average monthly return of 1.44% –– second only to November.
This seasonal cheer is echoed across European markets, with some indices showing even stronger performances.
Since its inception in 1987, the EURO STOXX 50, the region’s blue-chip benchmark, has posted an average December gain of 1.87%. That makes the Christmas period the second-best month of the year after November’s 1.95%.
More striking, however, is its winning frequency. December closes in positive territory 71% of the time — higher than any other month.
The best December for the index came in 1999, when it surged 13.68%, while the worst was in 2002, when it fell 10.2%.
Rally gathers steam in late December
Zooming in on country-level indices further reinforces the seasonal trend.
The DAX, Germany’s flagship index, has shown an average December return of 2.18% over the past 40 years, trailing only April’s 2.43%. It finishes the month higher 73% of the time, again tying with April for the best track record.
France’s CAC 40 follows a similar pattern, gaining on average 1.57% in December with a 70% win rate, also ranking it among the top three months.
Spain’s IBEX 35 and Italy’s FTSE MIB are more moderate but still show consistent strength, with December gains of 1.12% and 1.13% respectively.
But the magic of December doesn’t usually kick off at the start of the month. Instead, the real momentum tends to build in the second half.
According to data from Seasonax, the EURO STOXX 50 posts a 2.12% average return from 15 December through year-end, rising 76% of the time.
The DAX performs similarly, gaining 1.87% on average with a 73% win rate, while the CAC 40 shows even stronger second-half returns of 1.95%, ending positive in 79% of cases.
What’s behind the rally? It’s not just Christmas spirit
So what exactly drives this December seasonal phenomenon? Part of the answer lies in fund managers’ behaviour.
Christoph Geyer, an analyst at Seasonax, believes the rally is closely tied to the behaviour of institutional investors. As the year draws to a close, many fund managers make final portfolio adjustments to lock in performance figures that will be reported to clients and shareholders.
This so-called “price maintenance” often leads to increased buying, especially of stocks that have already done well or are poised to benefit from short-term momentum.
This behavioural pattern gains importance in years when indices such as the DAX trade within a sideways range — as has been the case since May this year. A sideways market is one where asset prices fluctuate within a tight range, lacking a clear trend.
According to Geyer, a breakout from this sideways range for the DAX appears increasingly likely as December kicks in.
From mid-November to early January, historical patterns suggest a favourable outcome, with a ratio of 34 positive years versus 12 negative for the German index — and average gains exceeding 6% in the positive years.
While past performance does not guarantee future returns, December’s track record across major global and European indices provides a compelling narrative for investors.
In short, December’s strength is not just about festive optimism. It’s a convergence of seasonal statistics, institutional dynamics, and technical positioning.
Disclaimer: This information does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research to ensure investments are right for your specific circumstances. We are a journalistic website and aim to provide the best guidance from experts. If you rely on the information on this page, then you do so entirely at your own risk.
The new name, image, and likeness (NIL) guidelines allow college athletes to make money from sponsorships, social media, and brand deals.
A revenue-sharing lawsuit allows schools to share a percentage of their athletic revenue with players.
With money playing a larger role in school sports, athletes will face more pressure.
Many people know how well certain professional athletes are paid. But it may come as a surprise to know that now, college athletes are also earning income. Due to the name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules and a revenue-sharing settlement, college athletes are bringing home paychecks. This is changing the world of college sports.
Name, Image, and Likeness Profitability
On July 1, 2021, the NCAA enacted a policy that allows college athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). NIL is an athlete’s personal brand for which they can be paid by third parties. This policy came about from the Supreme Court’s decision in NCAA v. Alston, which stated that the NCAA cannot restrict athletes from profiting from their name, image, or likeness.
Now, according to NCAA policy, athletes can endorse products, sign sponsorship deals, engage in commercial opportunities, monetize their social media presence, and take advantage of other sources of revenue generation.
To remain compliant with the policy and be eligible to continue playing sports, players must track expenses, maintain earning records, and file taxes as they would on other income.
While the NIL ruling allows athletes to profit nationwide, state laws play a role in how athletes can earn income, too. Some states restrict profiting from gambling and alcohol deals. Others are less strict. As a result of this patchwork legislation, state NIL laws have become an important factor in how families and athletes decide what school to attend.
Revenue Sharing for Athletes
The settlement of the House v. NCAA lawsuit in June 2025 resulted in another big change in college sports. The court determined that Division I schools can share up to 22% of profits with athletes, determined as the average of media rights, ticket sales, and sponsorships earned by a Power Five School. The cap is $20.5 million in 2025, which will increase by approximately 4% every year.
This greatly impacts school athletic budgets, requiring changes to contracts and reorganization of finances to ensure revenue-sharing can be met. The changes have also led to the creation of an oversight body, the College Sports Commission, which will be responsible for compliance.
Actual Impact
The NIL and revenue-sharing opportunities are already reshaping how college sports are conducted, viewed, organized internally, and how players make school decisions.
For example, NiJaree Canady, a softball pitcher for Texas Tech, joined the school after signing a $1 million NIL deal in 2024 with Texas Tech’s NIL collective, the Matador Club. In 2025, she signed another $1 million-plus deal to remain with Texas Tech.
“Nija Canady is the most electrifying player in softball. She’s box office and she goes out every day and competes,” her manager, Derrick Shelby of Prestige Management, told ESPN. “The decision to stay at Tech was not difficult. This program has taken care of her. They have showed how much she is appreciated. The entire staff, her teammates, the school in general have been great.”
As a portion of schools’ earnings will now go to athletes, colleges are looking for ways to bring in additional revenue streams. This puts a massive strain on school budgets, and especially on smaller schools’ athletic programs.
Schools are already being savvy and turning to other sources of revenue like stadium concerts or facility rentals. For example, Coldplay performed at Stanford University.
How Athletes Can Navigate the NIL Landscape
Here are a few tips for how student athletes can navigate NIL opportunities:
Stay on top of taxes: Track all of your income and expenses, create business structures that benefit you, and maintain a budget.
Build your brand early: You’re selling a version of yourself, so focus on your strengths, such as athletic skills, academics, your online presence, and social work.
Understand your school’s legal jurisdiction: Know the NIL rules in your state. These will shape the deals you make. Work with your NIL compliance office.
Use collectives carefully: A NIL collective is an independent entity that isn’t run by the school. Ensure there’s transparency, fairness, and compliance with Title IX.
Rely on school resources: Check the types of resources your school has to guide you through this process, including counseling, workshops, and deal support.
Note
NCAA athletes are now hiring sports agents and financial advisors to help sign deals and plan their finances.
Future Trends and Financial Implications
NIL and revenue-sharing mean certain students have become semi-professional athletes. That status can involve wealth, fame, and the pressure that comes with being in the spotlight. Significant financial investments in student athletes can lead to a lot of stress and mental health challenges for young adults.
Additionally, as the big sports schools expand to attract top-tier athletes, smaller institutions and Olympic sports will need to reposition themselves to remain competitive.
The Bottom Line
College athletes now perform under a new set of rules that allow them to make money, sign deals, and build their brands, all before graduating. With NIL and revenue-sharing, they have stepped into semi-professional roles that offer financial opportunities and fame, and all of the pressure that comes with it.
While big-name sports schools are well-positioned to attract top talent, smaller schools might struggle to keep up. This could have an array of impacts on attendance levels and budgeting. As this new period evolves, students, schools, and lawmakers will have to adapt.
Published on 28/11/2025 – 17:03 GMT+1 •Updated
17:16
The EU member states agreed on Friday to cut tariffs on US imports as outlined in a controversial trade deal agreed last summer between the European Commission and the Trump administration to the detriment of European goods.
The move comes as US trade representatives urge EU capitals to fast-track the implementation of the deal which foresees the EU dropping tariffs to zero on most US industrial goods. A US delegation visited Brussels this week for talks.
The idea of adding a so-called “sunset clause” – a mechanism that would end the tariff concessions after a period of five years if the deal is not renewed – sparked a debate among EU countries but did not go ahead, signalling that member states do not want to antagonise Trump.
The EU-US trade agreement was concluded in July after months of tensions after US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on partners worldwide in what he called “Liberation Day” for America. Under the deal, the EU will pay 15% tariffs on its exports to the US, while reducing its own tariffs on most US industrial products to zero.
No ‘sunset clause’ yet, but the Parliament could fight it
The deal has been widely criticised as a humiliation for Europe, although the Commission has defended it since arguing that it was the best possible outcome in the face of Trump’s aggressive trade stance. The alternative, Brussels argued, would have been worse.
Still, on Friday, the 27 backed the Commission’s much-maligned deal with a majority.
They also approved a clause allowing the Commission to suspend the deal if the US fails to implement it, as well as a safeguard mechanism enabling the Commission to temporarily halt the agreement if US imports surge and disrupt the European single market as a result of tariff concessions.
Member states also debated the introduction of a “sunset clause” that would permanently end the tariff reductions after five years if the deal is not renewed – an idea they expect the European Parliament to champion in upcoming talks.
Both institutions must agree on a common text by next spring to finalise the tariff cuts. According to an EU diplomat, most member states could accept adding the clause, but Germany opposes it as it fears retaliation.
The head of the Parliament’s trade committee, German MEP Bernd Lange (S&D), has already included the idea of a sunset clause in his report on the deal’s implementation which will serve as the basis for the European Parliament’s debate.
Inside the Commission, officials hope the Council and Parliament will refrain from unravelling the agreement negotiated with Washington on the basis that it could trigger another round of escalation and amplify a trade war.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) began to restore trading on Friday after a technical issue disrupted operations on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq.
The shutdown was triggered by a cooling system failure at a data centre in the Chicago area, according to the facility’s operator, CyrusOne.
Engineering teams have since restarted several chillers and installed temporary cooling equipment to stabilise conditions, a spokesperson told Bloomberg.
According to CME Group’s indications, trading in US equity futures should be restarting soon after a glitch knocked it out for several hours.
The CME, one of the world’s largest derivatives exchanges, hosts near-continuous trading in millions of contracts tied to the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq 100. Friday’s interruption left traders grappling with uncertainty as they awaited the restoration of the platforms that underpin much of global futures activity.
The outage halted trading of US Treasury futures, while European and UK bond markets that trade on a different exchange were reported unaffected.
Futures in individual stocks were not affected, either. Coinbase Global rose 2.6% in pre-market trading as Bitcoin stayed above $91,000.
Wall Street is operating on an abbreviated schedule on Friday after being closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Stock trading will close at 1pm Eastern Time (7pm CET).
In European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.20% after the release of fresh inflation data.
Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.23% on gains in energy and mining stocks. The CAC 40 in France rose 0.19%.
In other dealings, Brent crude, the international standard for pricing, rose 0.13% to $62.62 per barrel.
Catastrophe bonds — as the name may suggest — aren’t for fledgling investors. Even so, these high-yield, high-risk securities are attracting growing interest as natural catastrophes intensify.
First developed for the US market in the 1990s, cat bonds are issued by governments, insurers, or reinsurers to cover the costs of natural disasters. Investors buy the instrument in the hope that a payout won’t be triggered, meaning they’ll get their money back plus a return. Alternatively, in the case of a bond-triggering natural disaster, the issuer will keep the capital to cover the fallout.
“From the perspective of insurers and reinsurers, cat bonds provide access to an alternative source of capital that is more flexible than on-balance sheet capital and can be targeted towards absorbing specific types and layers of risk,” said Brandan Holmes, VP-senior credit officer at Moody’s Ratings. “Cat bonds can also be more cost effective than traditional reinsurance,” he told Euronews.
The appeal of these securities has gained prominence in the wake of recent disasters like Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa. Crucially, capital markets provide nations with a vital means to lower insurance costs at a time when aid spending in rich countries is dropping. Repeated natural disasters can push governments into insurmountable debt, particularly as the cost of servicing those dues becomes higher.
From an investor perspective, the instrument also has its perks. Not only do the bonds carry attractive yields because of their risky nature, they provide portfolio diversification because of their limited correlation with financial markets. This means that when stocks and typical bonds fall at the same time — an uncommon but real scenario — catastrophe bonds offer some protection. “They also tend to have relatively short maturities which provide investors with flexibility in asset allocation decisions,” said Holmes.
Complex trigger conditions
According to data firm Artemis, the outstanding value of the global cat bond market is around $57.9 billion (€49.93bn). Despite the growing climate risk, these assets also saw historically strong returns in 2023 and 2024, reaching 20% and 17% respectively.
One factor boosting returns is that investors only pay out if certain conditions are met. For example, when Hurricane Beryl hit Jamaica last year, the nation failed to get any cat bond coverage when air pressure failed to drop below a certain threshold. On the other hand, in the wake of this year’s Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica will receive a full payout of $150 million (€129.37mn) thanks to its World Bank catastrophe insurance.
Analysts stress that the complex conditions surrounding cat bonds make the product unsuitable for inexperienced investors. “You have to have a really good understanding of the risk passed on,” said Maren Josefs, credit analyst at S&P Global. She added: “What we’ve also seen recently is investors presuming they are investing in extreme events, like a really big hurricane or earthquake. But over the last few years, mid-sized events such as tornadoes, wildfires, or floods have been happening with greater frequency, meaning some investors were surprised when they lost money to these sorts of natural disasters.”
Institutional investors are currently the key purchasers of cat bonds. However, there are ways for retail investors to gain indirect exposure to the product. Earlier this year, the world’s first ETF (exchange traded fund) investing in cat bonds made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange, meaning fund managers can now pool investor contributions to buy cat bonds. In the EU, the instruments aren’t easy for non-professionals to access, but indirect exposure is possible through UCITS, a type of mutual fund.
“The actual cat bond that gets issued, there’s no way that either a US or EU retail investor can just buy that,” said Johannes Schahn, an associate at Mayer Brown who advises on debt issuance. “They’re only offered to qualified investors,” he continued, “but what has been happening occasionally is that mutual funds invest or partially invest in cat bonds.”
ESMA weighs in
Despite the perks of these securities, their availability may be further restricted in the EU in the coming years. This comes after a report from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), sent to the European Commission this summer, advising that cat bonds shouldn’t be included in UCITS. The market watchdog clarified that UCITS should only hold a small indirect exposure of up to 10% to these instruments.
While ESMA’s recommendation has ignited conversations around the risks of cat bonds for non-professional investors, Kian Navid, senior policy officer for investment management at ESMA, told Euronews that the advice sent to the Commission wasn’t passing a value judgement on the investments. “It is not that ESMA’s technical advice takes a position against retail investors accessing cat bonds per se. The advice is not about outlining what constitutes a good or bad investment, but it provides data and risk analyses for the European Commission’s consideration,” he explained. “However, conceptually, if you opened up UCITS to alternative assets (like cat bonds) beyond 10%, that would risk blurring the lines between UCITS and alternative investment funds (AIFs).”
A decision from the Commission is still pending, and this will involve public consultations and further market analysis in 2026. Even so, it remains to be seen whether catastrophe bonds will appeal to European tastes.
“It’s a product that is established in the US market and less so in Europe,” said Patrick Scholl, partner at Mayer Brown. “I don’t know if there are many interested investors here… But if we see more catastrophe-driven developments in the region, we might see more of these products in Europe.”
NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. WIRE SERVICES
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O’Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.
Daily content from Financial Times, the world’s leading global business publication.
Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.
National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O’Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.
Daily content from Financial Times, the world’s leading global business publication.
Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.
National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
Enjoy additional articles per month.
Get email updates from your favourite authors.
THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
Enjoy additional articles per month
Get email updates from your favourite authors
Sign In or Create an Account
or
Article content
TORONTO — dynaCERT Inc. (TSX: DYA) (OTCQB: DYFSF) (FRA: DMJ) (“dynaCERT” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce a non-brokered offering for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $2,000,000 (the “Offering”). The Company is offering convertible unsecured units at a price of $2,000,000 per unit (“Convertible Units”). Each Convertible Unit will consist of: (a) one (1) Convertible Note bearing an annualized interest of five percent (5%) maturing on the two (2) year anniversary of issuance and convertible at the option of the holder in whole or in part into an aggregate of 13,333,333 common shares of the Company (the “Shares”), being a conversion price of $0.15 per Share; and (b) 6,666,667 common share purchase warrants (the “Warrants”). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one (1) Share at an exercise price of $0.20 per Share for a period of two (2) years.
Article content
Article content
Article content
The gross proceeds of the Offering will be used to finance sales of the Company’s HydraGEN™ Technology Products to participants in the mining, oil & gas, transportation and generator sectors on a global basis and for working capital and for general corporate purpose.
Article content
Top Stories
Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Article content
The Offering will be offered for sale to purchasers: (i) in all provinces of Canada pursuant to available private placement exemptions; and (ii) in offshore jurisdictions (as may be agreed to by the Company) pursuant to available prospectus or registration exemptions in accordance with applicable laws.
Article content
In accordance with applicable securities laws, the Convertible Notes and all of the Warrants issued under the Offering (in addition to any Shares issued upon conversion of the Convertible Notes or exercise of the Warrants) will be subject to a hold period that will expire four (4) months plus one (1) day after the date of Closing. No commissions or finders fees are payable in respect of the Offering.
Article content
Closing of the Offering is subject to completion of formal documentation and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Article content
The securities offered hereby have not and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”) and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless the securities have been registered under the 1933 Act, or are otherwise exempt from such registration.
Article content
Also effective on this date, and by mutual agreement, Jean-Pierre Colin has resigned his position as an officer and a director of the company to dedicate his full time to his corporate finance, M&A and corporate strategy advisory services to public and private companies. dynaCERT thanks Jean-Pierre for his nine years of dedicated service and wishes him well in his future endeavours.
Article content
About dynaCERT Inc.
Article content
dynaCERT
Article content
Inc. is a Canadian Cleantech company based in Toronto specializing in technologies for reducing CO₂ emissions from internal combustion engines. The company has invested heavily in research and development and has its own production facilities with a capacity of up to 36,000 HydraGEN™ units per year.
Article content
In addition to the HydraGEN™ hardware, dynaCERT operates HydraLytica™, a cloud-based platform for capturing real-time data—the basis for monetizing CO₂ savings. dynaCERT methodology has also been Verra-certified, which will provide access to the global market for tradable carbon credits in future.
This press release of dynaCERT Inc. contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements”. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause dynaCERT’s actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this news release due to certain material risk factors.
Article content
Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate” and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance of achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.
Article content
Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: uncertainty as to whether our strategies and business plans will yield the expected benefits; availability and cost of capital; the ability to identify and develop and achieve commercial success for new products and technologies; the level of expenditures necessary to maintain and improve the quality of products and services; changes in technology and changes in laws and regulations; the uncertainty of the emerging hydrogen economy; including the hydrogen economy moving at a pace not anticipated; our ability to secure and maintain strategic relationships and distribution agreements; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR+ at
The AI research firm OpenAI is collaborating with Stripe to launch Instant Checkout, a facility that authorizes single-item purchases via ChatGPT.
ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free users can purchase items directly from Etsy sellers and Shopify merchants, including cosmetics firm Glossier and clothing brands SKIMS and Spanx.
The longer-term aspirations are to attach multi-item carts and expand merchants and regions. OpenAI has publicized that ChatGPT already boasts 700 million weekly users who use it for product discovery.
According to recent research from McKinsey & Company, 44% of users who have tried AI-powered search say it has become their “primary and preferred” option, compared with 31% who favor traditional search tools.
Instant Checkout is powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), a merchant-fr iendly open standard co-developed by Stripe and OpenAI that enables a conversation among buyers, AI agents, and businesses to complete a transaction.
The ACP operates across platforms, payment processors and business types, allowing rapid integration without transposing their backend systems.
It positions merchants in control of the customer relationship. When an order is placed, ChatGPT sends the necessary details to the trader’s backend via the ACP.
Retailers then process or decline the order and remit the funds through their existing providers, while also handling all customer fulfilment requirements and support.
“The real question retail leaders should be asking is not how revolutionary ChatGPT is but what customer problems it solves,” says Edosa Odaro, an AI advisor and author. “It’s whether retailers use it to make shopping more human, not less. ChatGPT can help customers articulate what they’re looking for to make confident purchasing decisions. But only if retailers design these systems to enhance human connection and align with human values rather than replace them.”
Odaro anticipated that other AI retail models would expand into this genre of commerce, but the question is whether retailers build AI that serves customers or algorithms. Most AI retail tools will optimize vendor revenue over customer value.
Black Friday refers to the day after Thanksgiving and is symbolically seen as the start of the critical holiday shopping season for retailers.
In the lead-up to Black Friday, stores typically offer big discounts on electronics, toys, clothing, and other popular gift items.
Also important to retailers: Cyber Monday, the first day back to work for many consumers after the long holiday weekend, during which online retailers offer major discounts.
What Is Black Friday?
Black Friday refers to the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. It has become a day of special shopping deals and discounts, and is said to mark the beginning of the holiday shopping season.
The sales figures from Black Friday are often considered a sign of the overall economic health of the country and a way for economists to measure the confidence of the average American when it comes to their discretionary spending. Lower Black Friday sales figures are sometimes taken as a harbinger of slower economic growth.
Investopedia / Michela Buttignol
Understanding Black Friday
It’s common for retailers to offer special promotions online and in-store on Black Friday. Many open their doors during the pre-dawn hours on Black Friday to attract customers or even keep their operations going well into the night on Thanksgiving. It’s also become increasingly common for retailers to offer “Black Friday” deals well in advance of the actual day.
Really avid bargain hunters have been known to camp out overnight on Thanksgiving to secure a place in line at their favorite store; the most fanatical might even skip Thanksgiving dinner altogether and head to the open stores. The promotions typically continue through Sunday, and both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers experience a surge in sales.
Fast Fact
Black Friday also refers to a famous stock market crash that took place on Sept. 24, 1869. On that day, after a period of rampant speculation, the price of gold plummeted and stocks followed suit.
Black Friday and Retail Spending
Retailers may spend an entire year planning their Black Friday sales. They use the day as an opportunity to unload overstock inventory and offer doorbusters and discounts on seasonal items, such as holiday decorations and typical holiday gifts.
The doorbusters often include big-ticket items like TVs, smart devices, and other electronics, luring customers in the hope that, once inside, they will also purchase higher-margin goods. Black Friday advertisements are often so highly anticipated that retailers go to great lengths to ensure they don’t leak out publicly beforehand.
Competition among consumers for limited supplies of the hottest trending items has sometimes led to violence and injuries in the absence of adequate security. For example, on Black Friday in 1983, customers engaged in scuffles, fistfights, and stampedes in stores across the U.S. to buy Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, that year’s must-have toy, which was also believed to be in short supply. Appallingly, a worker at one big-box store was trampled to death on Black Friday in 2008, as throngs of shoppers pushed their way into the store the moment the doors opened.
The Surprising Origins of Black Friday
The concept of retailers throwing post-Turkey Day sales started long before the name “Black Friday” was coined. In an effort to kick off the holiday shopping season and attract hordes of shoppers, stores have promoted major deals the day after Thanksgiving for decades, banking on the fact that many businesses gave their employees that Friday off.
So why the name? Some say the day is called Black Friday as an homage to the term “black” referring to profitability, which stems from the old bookkeeping practice of recording profits in black ink and losses in red ink. The idea is that retail businesses can sell enough on this single Friday (and the ensuing weekend) to put themselves “in the black” for the year.
However, long before it started appearing in advertisements and commercials, the term was actually used by overworked Philadelphia police officers. In the 1950s, crowds of shoppers and visitors flooded the City of Brotherly Love the day after Thanksgiving. Not only did Philadelphia stores tout major sales and the unveiling of holiday decorations on this special day, but the city also hosted the Army-Navy football game on Saturday of the same weekend.
As a result, traffic cops were required to work 12-hour shifts to deal with the throngs of drivers and pedestrians, and they were not allowed to take the day off. Over time, the annoyed officers—using a descriptive that’s no longer acceptable—started to refer to this dreaded workday as Black Friday.
The term spread to store salespeople who used “Black Friday” to describe the long lines and general chaos they had to deal with on that day. It remained Philadelphia slang for a few decades, as well as spreading to a few nearby cities, such as Trenton, N.J.
Finally, in the mid-1990s—celebrating the positive connotation of black ink—”Black Friday” swept the nation and started to appear in print and TV ad campaigns across the United States.
The Evolution of Black Friday
Somewhere along the way, Black Friday made the giant leap from congested streets and crowded stores to fevered shoppers fighting over parking spaces and tussling over the latest must-have toy. When did Black Friday become the frenzied, over-the-top shopping event it is today?
That would be in the 2000s when Black Friday was officially designated the biggest shopping day of the year. Until then, that title had gone to the Saturday before Christmas. Yet, as more retailers started promoting “can’t miss” post-Thanksgiving sales, and the Black Friday discounts grew deeper and deeper, American consumers could no longer resist the pull of this big shopping day.
In 2011, Walmart announced that, instead of opening its doors on Friday morning, it would start sales on Thanksgiving evening. That started a frenzy among other big-box retailers, who quickly followed suit. Today, Black Friday is a longer event— essentially a Black Weekend.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 197 million consumers in the U.S. shopped during the 2024 five-day holiday weekend between Thanksgiving Day and the following Monday, down from more than 200 million the previous year. Each shopper spent an average of $235 on gifts during that period.
Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday
For online retailers, a similar tradition has arisen on the Monday following Thanksgiving—Cyber Monday. The idea is that consumers return to work after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend ready to start shopping—and on their employer’s time. Online retailers often herald their promotions well in advance of the actual day in order to compete against the Black Friday offerings at brick-and-mortar stores.
Fast Fact
Also part of Thanksgiving holiday weekend shopping is Small Business Saturday, which was created to encourage consumers to patronize their local small businesses.
The Economic Significance of Black Friday
Some investors and stock analysts look at Black Friday numbers as a way to gauge the overall health of the entire retail industry. Others scoff at the notion that Black Friday has any real fourth-quarter predictability for the stock markets as a whole. Instead, they suggest that it only causes very short-term gains or losses.
However, in general, the stock market can be affected by people having extra days off for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It tends to see increased trading activity and higher returns the day before a holiday or a long weekend, a phenomenon known as the holiday effect or the weekend effect. Many traders look to capitalize on these seasonal bumps.
When Is Black Friday in 2025?
Black Friday always occurs the day after Thanksgiving. In 2025, Black Friday takes place on Nov. 28.
Why Is Black Friday Important to Economists?
Some economists consider Black Friday to be a good gauge of consumer confidence and consumers’ likely discretionary spending going forward.
When Did Cyber Monday Start?
Cyber Monday, the Monday following the Thanksgiving weekend, was launched in 2005 by Shop.org, an online arm of the National Retail Federation.
The Bottom Line
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has long been viewed as the start of the holiday shopping season. Consumers seek out big discounts offered by retailers, while economists use overall sales figures as a measure of consumer confidence and the health of the economy.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has profoundly altered how Europe conceives of war.
Gone are the days when a handful of defense conglomerates waited on ministers to greenlight billion-euro programs before daring to manufacture. Amid uncertainty about US military support, leaders in Germany and other states have recognized they need to bolster their defenses. The European Defense Agency estimates that the EU will invest approximately €130 billion (about $151 billion) in defense this year, up from €106 billion in 2024. At the same time, venture capitalists have invested $1.5 billion in European defense startups, according to Oxford Analytica.
Of the more than 230 startups founded since 2022, German companies such as Helsing, EuroAtlas, Quantum Systems or ARX Robotics offer real change to their government’s defense ministry, eager to triple its budget. Helsing, for instance, is an outfit that provides Ukraine with drones, which are then updated every few weeks. ARX Robotics is developing spy cockroaches, equipped with cameras, that can collect information in hostile territory. EuroAtlas builds autonomous underwater vehicles that can monitor cables on the ocean floor. Finally, Quantum Systems is developing a drone that intercepts and neutralizes hostile unmanned aircraft.
German companies are at the forefront of the battle, but they are not alone. Tekever, a Portuguese entity with offices in the UK, the US, and France, manufactures a variety of drones that are quickly tested in Ukraine. British startups are also redesigning the battlefield. Kraken Technologies has two plants in the UK and, soon, a third in Hamburg, Germany. Its star product, K3 Scout, is an autonomous unmanned surface vehicle that can carry various weapon platforms onto the high seas.
Cambridge Aerospace, another UK startup, was co-founded by Steven Barrett, an aerospace engineer and Cambridge University professor. The company, created in 2024, focuses on making inexpensive drones to intercept ballistic missiles.
France, the startup nation dreamed by President Emmanuel Macron, refuses to be outpaced. Harmattan AI, founded in 2024, has already secured contracts with the French and British defense ministries. It is producing 1,000 autonomous reconnaissance and combat drones for the French military, while Alta Ares refines battlefield intelligence software that processes drone footage even without an internet connection.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that Washington can reduce duties on EU steel and aluminium but only if the Europeans agree to ease the implementation of digital rules following a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
Lutnick, who is a close ally of President Donald Trump and negotiated on his behalf a trade deal with the EU over the summer introducing 15% tariffs, said that European should reassess the way they implement their flagship policies on digital regulation if they want further tariff relief. Lutnick did not call to remove the rules but did say the way in which they are applied should be “more balanced” for American tech companies.
Brussels is desperately seeking to obtain a reduction of the 50% tariffs that the Trump administration imposed on European aluminium and steel in June under pressure from the industry.
The US does want the EU “to put these rules away, but find the balanced approach that works for us,” he told reporters in Brussels. “Then we will, together with them, handle the steel and aluminium issues.”
“The enforcement is quite aggressive at times”
Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Greer were in Brussels meeting with EU27 trade ministers and Commission boss Maroš Šefčovič for a working lunch.
The implementation of the trade deal signed over summer was at the center of the discussion, which was “open and direct,” according to an EU diplomat.
The EU and the US clinched a trade deal in July in which the US tripled tariffs on EU while Europeans agreed to cut tariffs for most US industrial goods at 0%. US tariffs on EU steel and aluminium remain stuck at a much higher rate of 50% despite the deal.
Lutnick and Greer also met EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen who stressed in a statement the importance of the Digital Market Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA), the two landmark digital regulations applied in the EU. The comments suggest the Commission is not ready to water them further for the time being.
To counter the US offensive on its digital legislation, EU Trade Commissioner Šefčovič said that the EU is working hard to explain its legislation to the US and stressed that there no discriminatory practices applied to US companies. The rules, he argued, are the same for everyone operating in the EU single market regardless of their origin.
Still, the US insists that is not the case and American Big Tech is being punished.
“The enforcement is quite aggressive at times,” Greer said about EU tech rules, adding that the US government wants to make sure their companies do not see their global revenues “affected” by foreign rules. In his comments, Greer’s tone was severe.
Brussels recently launched investigations against Amazon and Microsoft under the DMA which prevents big platforms from abusing their dominance in the tech market. It also hit Google with a €2.95 billion over antitrust rules despite the threats from the US.
As the United States and China escalate their tariff standoff, Japan’s electronics industry is reconfiguring its global production footprint to minimize exposure to geopolitical risks.
Leading component makers, such as Murata and TDK, are shifting manufacturing to Southeast Asia and Mexico. At the same time, Tokyo Electron plans to expand its US operations to match those in Japan, steps that reflect a broader recalibration of supply chains in response to political and market pressures.
Guided by the 2022 Economic Security Promotion Act, Japan is pursuing resilience across semiconductors, defense, energy and rare earths, sectors central to its national security and economic competitiveness.
Newly appointed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration expects to advance this industrial realignment, a strategy that blends fiscal activism with government-led investment in strategic sectors.
A cornerstone of this strategy is the development of “Silicon Island,” Japan’s growing semiconductor hub in Kyushu. The government has pledged roughly 732 billion yen (about $4.9 billion) in subsidies to support Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s second advanced plant in Kumamoto.
This is being matched by a new research collaboration with Intel to bolster Japan’s domestic chip design and fabrication capabilities. These projects aim to secure Japan’s role in the global semiconductor ecosystem while reducing dependency on China.
At the same time, Tokyo is acting to secure critical minerals vital to high-tech industries. Amid a global race to diversify supply chains, the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), an agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), has signed a memorandum of understanding with US rare earth developer REalloys Inc.
The agreement outlines cooperation in technology transfer, joint development and structured access to rare earth alloys and magnets.
The partnership extends Japan’s diversification strategy beyond Asia to North America, ensuring stable access to materials such as neodymium and samarium, essential for electric vehicles, advanced semiconductors, and defense systems.
Together, these initiatives highlight how Tokyo is using industrial policy not only to protect its manufacturing base but also to redefine its role in the emerging geopolitics of supply chain security.
Three major Emirati institutions are betting that India’s banks and nonbanking financial companies (NBFCs) will bring the country’s financial sector into the global spotlight in 2025.
In October, Dubai-based Emirates NBD Bank (ENBD) PJSC—the UAE’s second-largest lender—agreed to acquire a 60% controlling stake in India’s RBL Bank Ltd. through a $3 billion preferential share issue, marking the largest-ever foreign direct investment in India’s financial services sector.
The deal is also the largest ever equity fund raised in the Indian banking sector and the largest fund raised via preferential issuance by a listed company in India. It will mark the first acquisition of a majority interest in a profitable Indian bank by a foreign bank.
The boards of both banks have approved the amalgamation of ENBD’s Indian branches with and into RBL Bank, which will occur after the preferential issuance into RBL Bank.
As a part of the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s takeover regulations, ENBD will make a mandatory offer to buy up to 26% stake from RBL Bank’s public shareholders.
This will be a major capital boost for RBL Bank to strengthen its balance sheet, increase its lending capacity, and pursue expansion. But for ENBD, it can tap into RBL Bank’s 15 million customers, a network of 564 branches, 1347 business correspondent branches, and 415 ATMs.
Another transaction in October was the Abu Dhabibased International Holding Company’s (IHC) agreement to acquire a 43.5% stake, valued at $1 billion, in India’s Sammaan Capital, an NBFC focused on mortgage loans.
It was one of the largest investments in India’s NBFC sector, betting on housing loans. IHC will have to execute an open offer to buy an additional 26% stake for retail investors as per Indian takeover regulations.
Earlier in May, Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation acquired a 20% stake in India’s Yes Bank for $1.6 billion, and increased the stake to 24.99%. It was the country’s largest crossborder financial sector merger and acquisition.
Private credit has grown into a major force in corporate finance, serving as an alternative to traditional banks.
From senior, cash-flow-based direct lending to mezzanine, venture, distressed, and asset-based finance, proponents argue that these more tailored solutions give companies flexibility, speed, and confidentiality. This means that, while banks face strict oversight, private credit funds remain lightly regulated. As a result, critics continue to highlight systemic risks and the lack of investor protection.
Global Finance has created a five-part FAQ section that aims to answer some key questions about private credit: who uses private credit, how it has grown, what financing solutions it offers, where the capital originates, and how regulators are responding to its rapid growth and growing interconnectedness with traditional banks.
What is Private Credit and Who Uses It?
How has private credit grown in importance since the Great Financial Crisis? What is the current market size in the US and other regions?
How Private Credit Fills The Financing Gap For Corporates?
How does private credit meet various financing needs for companies that often can’t access the syndicated loan market?
Who Provides The Capital Behind The Private Credit Boom?
Which investors supply the majority of the capital for private credit?
Why Banks And Private Equity Firms Are Both Competing And Collaborating In Private Credit?
Why are banks both increasingly cooperating and competing with PE firms in providing private credit?
Why Regulators Are Watching Banks’ Growing Exposure To Private Credit?
Why are banks both increasingly cooperating and competing with PE firms in providing private credit?
The United States’ Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick are arriving in Brussels on Monday for what is expected to be a tense showdown with EU trade ministers.
After months of recriminations on both sides of the Atlantic over the implementation of this summer’s trade deal, the EU and the US are now expected to confront their most contentious differences head-on.
Washington will press to fast-track the deal’s rollout while pushing the bloc to scrap EU legislation it considers unfair to US companies, while Brussels will seek additional exemptions from the 15% US tariffs on its exportsand warn its counterparts about the potential fallout of US investigations into European products.
Ahead of the meeting, EU diplomats said they expected the discussion to be “frank”.
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US president Donald Trump clinched a trade deal in July after weeks of negotiations in which the EU tried to minimise the impact of Washington’s newly aggressive trade agenda. In the end, von der Leyen was able to strike a deal that EU-produced goods arriving in the US would be taxed at a rate of 15% while Brussels lifted its duties on most US products.
Presented by the Commission as the most advantageous deal it could get, the agreement has been widely criticised across the EU. The European Parliament, which has to vote on the Commission’s proposal to remove tariffs on US goods, is set to amend the deal and is discussing a 18-month suspension clause.
The US is complaining that the EU’s legislative agenda is moving too slowly. EU lawmakers will vote on the text in January and they should agree on a common text with EU member states next March or April – a timescale radically longer than the Trump administration’s preference.
Greer raised the issue in a meeting with European Parliament president Roberta Metsola last Friday.
EU faces criticism “with good confidence”
The EU is ready to face US criticism “with good confidence” an EU diplomat said, noting that the legislative process in Brussels could have taken a lot longer.
“To my knowledge, the US administration has not taken its decisions through Congress, so it doesn’t take quite as long in the US,” another EU diplomat said, implyingthat the US trade agenda was mainly decided from the White House.
The EU plans to show unity by handing over a list of proposed exemptions to the 15% tariffs they hope to obtain from the Americans. The list includes products such as wines, spirits and pasta.
“American friends are very much aware of where the European Union would like to see tariff reductions,” the same EU diplomat said.
For the Commission, which has competence to negotiate with Washington, the list of exemptions “remains a priority,” according to its deputy chief spokesperson, Arianna Podesta.
The EU is also concerned about the future of its steel exports. The US already imposes 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium, and has extended them to some 407 derivatives. A consultation already underway may see further derivatives added to the list.
As EU diplomats see it, adding tariffs on steel derivatives would go against the whole “spirit” of this summer’s agreement. The same goes for investigations still open by Washington into products such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and medical devices.
EU investments will also be on the agenda. Greer and Lutnick will meet in the afternoon, EU business representatives with EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.
The trade deal includes an EU pledge of €600 billion in investments in the US even though Brussels has no direct control over the private sector, which is the only force capable of actually delivering those investments.
Monday’s meetings will not be an easy task for the Europeans, as US pressure has been unrelenting since Donald Trump returned to the White House, with the president repeatedly threatening new tariffs or targeting EU legislation he deems too restrictive for US companies.
However, the EU has so far not looked intimidated, and is continuing to enforce the digital legislation that Trump and his administration have condemned.
In the last few weeks, Brussels has launched antitrust investigations against Amazon and Microsoft and hit Google with a €2.95 billion for abusing its dominant position in the advertising technology industry – moves that have not gone unnoticed in Washington.
LONDON (AP) — The publisher of Britain’s Daily Mail has entered exclusive talks to buy Telegraph Media Group in a deal that would link two news groups that have traditionally supported the right-leaning Conservative Party. Read More
Expanding coverage is critical as losses exceed existing protection.
Climate change, urbanization, and inflation are combining to make losses from natural catastrophes like hurricanes and wildfires far more severe. The difference between total global economic losses and the portion covered by insurance policies rose 3.1% year over year, reaching $1.83 trillion in 2023, according to Swiss Re. That difference in global protection has increased by more than 40% since 2013. If the huge, largely uninsured and underreported losses resulting from cybercrime are included, the uninsured exposure across global economies exceeded $2 trillion in 2023.
“The protection gap means that many individuals and SMEs lack basic risk-buffering mechanisms when facing natural disasters, health shocks, or unexpected events,” says Giulio Terzariol, CEO Insurance at Trieste-headquartered Generali Group. “This not only amplifies poverty and delays recovery, but also directly affects social stability and sustainable economic development.”
Terzariol suggests that reducing this shortfall in protection is a moral obligation and a business opportunity for the insurance industry. “The responsibilities and opportunities linked to protection gaps complement each other, showing the importance of aligning business models with social value.”
He is not alone. A recent survey of more than 500 insurance executives by The Economist Impact and technology advisor SAS found that 78% of respondents considered closing the gap an ethical obligation of the industry, and 76% also viewed it as a “significant” business opportunity. However, closing the shortfall presents significant challenges for the industry.
Global Warming Worsens Problem
The definitions and estimates of the overall insurance coverage divide vary, but it is widely acknowledged that the gap has increased dramatically over the last decade. Global warming and more erratic weather patterns are major factors. The wildfires in Southern California earlier this year are only the latest example.
Franklin Manchester, global insurance strategic advisor at SAS
“Increasing climate volatility is playing a critical role in [the growth of] the protection gap,” says Sridhar Manyem, senior director of industry research and analytics at AM Best. “There are two aspects to this. First, the frequency and severity of climate-related events are increasing, and secondly, population bases are increasingly migrating to places that are prone to these events.” With reinsurers raising rates and tightening terms with insurers, the market is getting squeezed. “The combination of these conditions has made insurers increasingly risk averse.”
In developed markets like the US, which accounts for more than half of all written property and casualty (P&C) premiums globally, insurers are reducing their exposure to high-risk regions, such as Florida and California. Premiums for coverage have risen by high double digits in many areas, and large companies like State Farm, Farmers Insurance, and Nationwide have adopted policy non-renewal strategies to reduce their exposure. Allstate stopped writing new homeowners, condo, and commercial insurance policies in California in 2022.
The result is increasingly high insurance costs and a growing number of consumers and businesses choosing not to purchase insurance. “Over the last five years, the instance of individuals choosing not to have insurance has been growing,” says Franklin Manchester, global insurance strategic advisor at SAS. “Am I going to pay my insurance premium or buy groceries? Am I going to meet salaries for my business or cut coverage because I can’t afford it? Those are real choices that consumers and businesses are going through.”
Proceed With Caution
Giulio Terzariol, CEO Insurance at Trieste-headquartered Generali Group
The issue of affordability is an even bigger barrier in underinsured developing countries. Markets like China, India, Southeast Asia and Latin America represent enormous opportunities for global insurance carriers, particularly for life insurance and property casualty policies. According to Swiss Re research, just 6% of the $291 billion in economic losses from natural catastrophes in China over the last 10 years was covered by insurance—a staggering protection gap of 94%. The figure is 91% in India and 81% for the whole of Latin America. “Global developing markets are much less penetrated than North America,” says James Colaco, Global Insurance Leader for Deloitte. “The rising middle classes in these markets are generating more wealth and need protection.”
Colaco sees life insurers developing operations in these markets, but with the uncertainties around climate change and higher inflation, P&C insurers are proceeding more cautiously. “The developing economies are avenues to grow for insurers, but they need to approach them with caution.”
As big as the opportunity in developing markets is, it comes with major challenges. The most important thing is convincing customers with next to no experience with insurance of the product’s value proposition. “Customer education and trust are the primary challenges,” says Generali’s Terzariol, whose company has growing operations in Asia. “Many potential customers lack awareness of the value and role of insurance and even have a sense of distrust about it.”
The solution, he suggests, is simpler, more transparent and accessible products, educational programs fostering risk awareness, and faster and more efficient claims processing. Policies also must be affordable for lower-income populations. “Price sensitivity is a key characteristic of developing markets. We must develop cost-efficient solutions and be more flexible in payment methods to make insurance truly affordable,” says Terzariol.
AI’s Promise
Technology offers the best means to develop cost-efficient offerings like parametric insurance—policies with payments triggered by objective parameters, and micro-insurance—simpler policies with lower coverage limits and more affordable premiums.
A lack of historical loss and claims data has been a barrier for insurers looking to enter developing markets. However, technology can help bridge the gap. “Advances in technology like artificial intelligence, remote sensing, big data and satellite imagery allow insurers to get fundamental knowledge about risks without having to invest in claim systems, adjusters and other personnel in remote regions,” says AM Best’s Manyem.
AI models and mobile platforms can make insurance operations from risk assessment to product distribution to claims processing and customer service far more efficient and less costly.
Ultimately, AI is expected to have profound effects across all global insurers’ operations, but it also may be the key to help companies enter new, under-insured markets where the protection gap is greatest. “Insurers entering new markets have to capture the hearts and minds of customers and AI and digital, more personalized service will change the game,” says Colaco. “Every insurer will eventually embrace AI, but those adopting it earlier will have an advantage.”
At the end of the day, however, AI won’t close the global insurance protection gap. Neither will insurance companies on their own. In many emerging markets, insurance will remain unaffordable and require government subsidies to be viable. The same is true of high-risk regions in developed markets where the scale of losses can now be so huge that insurance and reinsurance companies can’t cover them on their own.
“The widening of the protection gap is the result of multiple factors acting together and it stems from the increasing complexity of risks,” says Terzariol. “We need to establish long-term solutions involving public-private partnerships that can play a greater role in risk prevention, recovery, and public risk-sharing mechanisms.”
Trump and some of Wall Street’s power players reignite a decades-old question: Should companies be judged every three months, or twice a year?
Corporate America is once again at odds over whether to maintain its 50-year tradition of quarterly reporting or join Europe and parts of Asia in adopting a semi-annual schedule.
It’s not the first time for this debate. President Donald Trump brought it up during his first term, but nothing came of it. This time, Trump is joined by Wall Street power players like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in championing the idea.
At stake is nothing less than the rhythm of American business. Every quarter, earnings season arrives like clockwork: a high-stakes ritual in which CEOs and CFOs parade their numbers, hype their narratives, and face a barrage of analysts’ questions. The spectacle moves markets, shapes careers, and, critics contend, forces companies into a cycle of short-term thinking. Missing an earnings report requires additional paperwork and, perhaps, the threat of delisting.
The notion of fewer earnings reports hasn’t sat well with some finance veterans, however.
Short-seller Jim Chanos, known for exposing Enron’s accounting transgressions, blasted efforts to loosen disclosure rules as a “gift to corporate opacity,” particularly Trump’s suggestion that the US could emulate China’s semi-annual model. “China should not be a model for American financial oversight,” Chanos warned on X.
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers was equally blunt, calling the proposal “a bad idea whose time should never come.” He added, “America’s capital markets have thrived precisely because of their accountability and transparency…frequent accountability and substantial sharing of information have been central to that.”
Still, while Summers and Chanos want to uphold the earnings season pastime, several corporate advisors opined that the appeal of less frequent reporting is simpler than that: cost savings.
The Cost Of Compliance
For Aslam Rawoof, partner at Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, filings are about transparency as well as scale.
“I don’t think that a one-size-fits-all approach makes sense for every single company,” he says of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) current quarterly Form 10-Q requirements. For smaller firms with limited resources, quarterly reporting is an added strain.
“I have clients that run the gamut from a market cap of $10 million to $8 billion,” Rawoof says. “For some of the smaller clients, forcing them to do quarterly reporting costs a lot of money because oftentimes they don’t have any in-house lawyers: so all the work is being done by external counsel.”
The legal tab alone can be daunting. Securities law, Rawoof notes, isn’t something one can “dabble in.” Companies must go to Wall Street-caliber firms, and those don’t come cheap.
“Then there’s the auditors,” he says. “They don’t provide an audit opinion on quarterly numbers, but even their reviews can cost tens of thousands of dollars. I’ve seen quotes of $75,000 per quarter for an auditor review.”
Those recurring costs add up quickly, with some reported estimates exceeding $1 million for companies with a market cap of over $10 billion.
“So, I can see where this proposal makes sense,” Rawoof says. “The idea isn’t to end quarterly reporting altogether, it’s just to make it optional. If a company wants to report twice a year, it should be allowed to.”
SEC Chair Paul Atkins downplayed the relevance of the 10-Q in a TV appearance in September. “Professionals,” he explained, tend to prefer the earnings calls: “scripted sorts of events to make sure that everything from the company’s perspective meshes with what their overall disclosure is.”
Atkins thinks it’s a good time “to look at the whole panoply of ways that people get information, how it’s disseminated, and what’s fit for purpose.”
A Populist Twist On Corporate Reform
The question of how often public companies should report their earnings has always been closely tied to the larger debate about corporate short-termism.
In 2015, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed “quarterly capitalism” while on the US presidential campaign trail. The obsession with short-term profits, she said, led companies to cut pay and forward-looking investments just to meet investors’ expectations.
Last month, the Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE) took up the cause and petitioned the SEC to give companies the option to report semi-annually.
The move would be seismic. Since 1970, when the SEC first introduced the 10-Q, US public companies have been required to disclose their results every three months. The system was born out of a post-Depression-era desire for accountability. Today, critics say it fuels short-termism, volatility, and burnout.
With envy, they look abroad. In Asia, most markets rely on annual and semi-annual disclosures. China allows quarterly results, but primarily for investor relations. Hong Kong requires annual and half-year reports, and Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea generally follow a semi-annual schedule, with quarterly updates optional and mostly provided by large-cap companies.
The European Union banned mandatory quarterly reporting in 2013, arguing it encouraged short-termism. The UK followed suit, and while investors initially feared less transparency, markets adapted.
Julie Herzog, Pierson Ferdinand partner
Europe’s six-month schedule “works fine in that context,” says Omar Choucair, CFO of Trintech, a financial software provider, and a former KPMG executive. “But for US markets, quarterly reporting has become best practice. It keeps investors informed and management teams disciplined.”
Still, Choucair sees an upside: Semi-annual reporting would lower compliance costs and “encourage” IPOs.
Over the past 25 years, the number of publicly listed US companies has fallen by nearly half while the number of private equity-backed firms has surged more than 500%, according to PitchBook. The result: fewer IPOs, more concentration risk, and shrinking opportunities for everyday investors. Just three companies—Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia—now account for 17.5% of the entire US stock market, up from 4.2% in 2015.
“We could see more IPOs,” Choucair argues. “Because the investment required to go public and to stay compliant would be lower.”
Pierson Ferdinand partner Julie Herzog agrees—up to a point.
“Today’s IPO hesitation is driven by valuation uncertainty, rates/volatility, litigation risk, research coverage dynamics, and abundant private capital,” she contends. “Cutting quarterlies doesn’t solve those frictions.”
In practice, she predicts, underwriters and institutional investors would still demand quarterly-style updates through 8-Ks.
“For micro- and small-caps, cost relief could help,” she concedes. “But any opacity premium the market applies can erase the benefit.”
‘Keep The Rhythm’
Quarterlies keep investors informed, prevent manipulation, and ensure comparability across companies, supporters maintain.
“Markets function best when participants share frequent, standardized baselines,” Herzog says. Reducing cadence increases monitoring costs, widens spreads, and raises the cost of capital, “often more than the savings on filings.”
The real solution for short-termism, she argues, isn’t fewer quarterlies.
“It’s smarter reporting,” she says. “Keep the rhythm, streamline the content, and reweight the conversation toward medium-term value creation rather than penny-perfect quarters.”
A hybrid model may offer the best of both worlds. “Scaled disclosure is sensible if designed carefully,” Herzog contends.
Large, accelerated filers should keep quarterly reporting, she envisions. After all, they have the potential to move markets. Smaller issuers could shift to semi-annual 10-Qs if paired with mandatory quarterly KPI updates and clear liquidity disclosures.
Such a tiered system eases the burden for smaller companies while preserving transparency for the largest. During M&A activity or financing rounds, banks and buyers would still demand quarterly-quality data. But for micro firms struggling under compliance costs, semi-annual reports could be a lifeline.
Whether the LTSE’s proposal will gain traction remains uncertain. Many see it as a long-shot bid by a smaller exchange to differentiate itself from the NYSE and NASDAQ. Yet, Atkins’s remarks suggests the winds may be shifting.
The Big Four accounting firms would likely feel the pinch, observers note. Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC currently earn millions from quarterly review work, and halving the reporting cadence could shrink that revenue stream. Some industry leaders stress, however, that the shift would have broader consequences.
For Victoria Woods, CEO of ChappelWood Financial Services, such a drastic change might strain the financial system long-term. The only way to know for sure? “Try it.”
“I would like to see a phased approach where a handful of firms across multiple market sectors test the concept of semi-annual earnings reports,” she says. “If investors accept it, roll it out over time to the broader market. If they don’t, maintain the status quo.”
Global Finance (GF): Garanti BBVA’s sustainable finance target of TRY 3.5 trillion (EUR$70 billion) is the highest in Turkey. What are your main goals?
Cemal Onaran (CO): Sustainable finance is not just a financial product: for us, it represents nearly two decades of corporate culture and long-term responsibility to society and the environment.
Our journey began in 2006, when we launched our Women Entrepreneurs Programme, placing social empowerment at the core of our sustainability vision. We then established an executive-level committee to embed sustainability more systematically and strategically across our organisation.
Cemal Onaran, Commercial Banking Executive Vice President | Garanti BBVA
Sustainability goes beyond good intention. It’s about transparently measuring and reporting – as well as continuously improving – our impact. Garanti BBVA was the first bank in Turkey to adopt the Equator Principles, and we monitor and publicly disclose our environmental and social performance in line with international standards. We are also proud to be recognised among global leaders in the CDP and Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
Today, ESG criteria are fully integrated into credit assessment and portfolio monitoring, helping us anticipate transition risks, support clients in carbon-intensive industries on their sustainability journeys, and capture new opportunities emerging from Turkey’s green transformation.
In the first half of 2025, we surpassed our initial sustainable finance target of TRY 400 billion for the 2018-2025 period. Our new commitment is TRY 3.5 trillion in sustainable financing for 2018-2029, the highest for Turkey’s banking sector. The additional TRY 3.1 trillion will support projects focused on energy transition, sustainable production and consumption, sustainable water and waste management, conservation of natural capital, and inclusive growth. Further, to help tackle the climate crisis, we are implementing tangible measures to lower emissions within our own operations and throughout our portfolio. Garanti BBVA’s decarbonization roadmap is fully aligned with BBVA Group’s global net-zero strategy, anchored in our 2050 net-zero commitment and our 2040 coal phase-out commitment. Guided by BBVA’s global vision and Garanti BBVA’s leadership in Turkey, we continue to play an active role in driving this transformation, ensuring that sustainability remains at the heart of our business and contributes meaningfully to the country’s long-term transition.
GF: The bank’s sustainable financing portfolio spans energy transition to sustainable manufacturing. How do you balance climate action and inclusive growth financing?
CO: We have a dual commitment to sustainability: advancing climate action while promoting inclusive growth. Financing the green transition is essential, but so is ensuring no-one is left behind.
That’s why our sustainable finance portfolio encompasses both environmental and social dimensions. We channel funding not only to large-scale renewable energy projects, but also to SMEs, women-led enterprises, and underserved communities. We ensure financial innovation and social inclusion progress hand-in-hand.
İrem Barzilay (IB): Empowering employees to drive this transformation is equally essential. We continue to train and equip our relationship managers with sustainability expertise and access to innovative financial solutions, enabling them to offer effective advisory services that support clients’ transition strategies.
This approach enables us to finance large-scale green infrastructure projects while advancing social impact initiatives, such as our flagship Women Entrepreneurs Programme, which has provided more than TRY 225 billion in financing to women-owned businesses and supported 6,000 participants.
GF: How do you differentiate your offering to maintain a leading position in this fast-changing environment?
IB: Our core products include green loans, social loans and bonds that support renewable energy and energy-efficiency investments, sustainability-linked loans (SLLs), eco-friendly vehicle loans, energy efficient housing and leasing products, and blue finance products focused on water and marine ecosystem preservation.
İrem Barzilay, Sustainability Director | Garanti BBVA
In all cases, these are designed to create environmental and social value. Our differentiation also comes through acting as a strategic partner to clients, advising on their decarbonization strategy, and facilitating access to sustainable capital markets. Especially for our clients active in carbon-intensive sectors, we provide active advisory services to help them design and execute decarbonization and ESG roadmaps, ensuring that they are aligned with the transition toward a low-carbon economy and meet evolving regulatory and stakeholder expectations.
By taking this approach, Garanti BBVA is at the forefront of sustainable finance in Turkey. For example, we pioneered one of the country’s first green bonds, issued one of the first ESG-linked syndicated loans, and structured one of the earliest gender equality-themed facilities.
Building on this legacy of innovation, Garanti BBVA issued the first Biodiversity Blue bond in Turkey. This landmark transaction supports the preservation of biodiversity across the Mediterranean basin. By integrating blue finance principles with nature-positive investment, it marks a new milestone in mobilising capital for the planet’s vital natural assets.
This bond also represents the next chapter of our sustainability vision: extending beyond decarbonization to foster an economy that is both environmentally responsible and socially inclusive.
GF: What are the most promising areas of innovation that will shape Garanti BBVA’s sustainable finance journey in the coming years?
IB: We see significant momentum ahead in emerging areas such as blue finance and natural capital investments. Since early 2024, we have channeled close to TRY 1 billion into blue finance initiatives, primarily supporting the construction and modernization of wastewater treatment facilities. Our recent biodiversity bond issuance marks an important step forward, positioning us for the next phase of sustainable finance. These investments not only safeguard vital ecosystems but also generate tangible economic value, reflecting how sustainability and growth increasingly go hand in hand.
At the same time, we are deepening our focus on transition finance, a crucial enabler for high-emission sectors to decarbonize responsibly. With our dedicated sustainability advisory team, we are supporting our clients in setting credible, science-based targets and implementing actionable pathways. We aim to help Turkey’s industries maintain their global competitiveness amid rising stakeholder expectations and regulatory requirements.
CO: The next frontier of sustainable finance will be defined by how effectively we integrate data into financial decision-making. We see strong potential in digital ESG solutions, which are becoming critical to a resilient and future-ready economy.
We have also digitalised sustainability-themed credit applications, allowing clients to access sustainability-focused loans through mobile and internet banking channels. This digital integration significantly reduces their operational footprint and promotes wider adoption of sustainable finance.
Looking ahead, we will continue to combine our technological capabilities, advisory strength and international experience to ensure sustainable finance not only supports business transformation but also accelerates Turkey’s transition to a low-carbon and inclusive economy.
Since the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) was re-established in 1991, Poland’s capital market experienced significant growth: market capitalization expanded from PLN 161 million to more than PLN 2.2 trillion. Alongside this development, custodians and local depository banks emerged as critical partners for global custodians, foreign investment banks, pension funds, and insurance companies.
Today, custodians do more than clearing and settling transactions. They are long-term partners expected to deliver high-quality services, anticipate client needs, and co-create tailored solutions. Rising regulatory requirements and higher operating costs are reshaping the industry, and shrinking margins, limited diversification, and lack of economies of scale forced many banks in CEE, including Poland, to exit custody in the past decade. For custodians, this creates an urgent need for reliable partners with long-term vision.
IT Investments – A Springboard or a Cost Burden
Sustaining custody services requires continuous investment in dedicated systems while leveraging the bank’s broader IT initiatives. To remain competitive, custodians must align investments with the bank’s overall strategy to maximize value. Sorbnet, Poland’s Real-Time Gross Settlement (RGTS) cash system, upgraded to ISO20022 standards, improving the cash leg of Poland’s settlement cycle, and tools, such as OCR, digitalized process flow for documentation, advanced connectivity solutions for data, and machine learning for inquiries, enhance and streamline processes. Such initiatives can significantly improve overall efficiency and service quality and demonstrate how leveraging bank-wide projects can strengthen custody services without duplicating costs.
National Champions
Global clients often must decide whether to choose an international custodian offering regional coverage or a strong domestic bank acting as a national champion. While global players benefit from broad networks, their local presence is often limited. Local champions, like Bank Pekao, rely on their balance sheet, liquidity, and deep domestic economy commitment.
Robert Smuga, Managing Director, Head of Financial Institutions and Custody | Bank Pekao
They finance top players across many industries and support strategic projects. Post-trade services to domestic financial institutions with insurers and fund managers provide critical mass for investments and resource allocation.
Successful offerings to domestic pension and mutual funds rely on accommodating bespoke requirements. Efficient and top quality international standard services for assets in foreign markets require a local champion to select optimal sub-custody services abroad, and growing those assets may be factored into mutually beneficial partnerships.
Combining active sub-custody network management on numerous markets, meeting requirements of domestic and foreign clients, and sustaining bespoke solutions as a differentiator are best practices that require smart solutions and agility to keep efficiency, but create tremendous opportunity. They can be used across client bases, shaping the offering from market intelligence and lobbying power, through connectivity, to stringent SLAs on service.
The unique positioning and value proposition of local champions make them reliable partners for long-term growth and viable alternatives to local affiliates of global players.
Bank Pekao’s Value Proposition
Bank Pekao’s history as a custodian dates to the re-establishment of the WSE in 1991. We have grown alongside Poland’s capital market and its expertise and dedication have been instrumental to its development. We succeeded in making the significant leap required to catch up with mature global markets.
Today, Bank Pekao, is Poland’s second largest universal bank and a leader in custody. The bank serves global custodians and international broker-dealers, including clearing for WSE’s remote members. It expanded as a local depository bank, supporting pension and investment funds and ongoing IT developments range from maintaining cyber-security resilience to fostering data-driven or DLT-based services for clients.
The bank’s diversified business model, experienced custody team, and balance sheet unmatched in strength and liquidity are competitive advantages no other Polish custodian can claim.
Bank Pekao is grateful for the trust of long-standing clients and is fully dedicated to supporting them for many years to come.
