In the last few years, lithium has emerged as one of the most crucial metals for the global electric transition.
This is mainly due to its widespread usage in electric vehicles (EVs), through lithium-ion batteries. These provide high energy density, a lightweight structure and fast-charging capacity, along with a long cycle life, which supports modern driving range and performance.
As such, it has become key to achieving widespread, practical advancements in automotive electrification.
However, lithium continues to face vital long-term structural supply challenges, which has led to more EV producers considering other alternatives like manganese and magnesium.
Magnesium, another critical metal for electric vehicles and energy storage batteries, could potentially be a key alternative to lithium in EVs.
This is because it is cheaper, abundantly found across the world and also stores more energy. It is also considered to be safer than lithium, as it does not form the sharp spikes known as dendrites that cause lithium batteries to sometimes short or catch fire.
A magnesium battery can also hold more energy in a smaller space, which could have significant size and efficiency benefits for EV makers who want to make more compact vehicles.
It is also one of the most common elements found both in seawater and in the ground, which could help makers bypass potential supply constraints with lithium down the line.
Magnesium ions also carry double the charge of lithium ions, at a +2 charge, which can help support a higher volumetric capacity, enabling more compact, energy-dense power storage for both EVs and other devices.
China produces the overwhelming majority of the world’s magnesium, accounting for around 87% to 95% of the world’s primary magnesium in 2025, coming up to anywhere between 830,000 and 950,000 metric tons, according to Visual Capitalist’s Elements.
This is mainly from extensive dolomite reserves, with the largest magnesium reserves being in the Liaoning province.
The second top producer of magnesium is Israel, which extracts the metal mainly from the Dead Sea. Russia and Brazil are other major producers, with some key magnesium reserves being located in Satka and Brumado.
Manganese is also emerging as a support to lithium batteries, rather than fully replacing them. This is due to manganese batteries having a much lower energy density and not being easily rechargeable hundreds of times. They also provide lower voltage.
As such, they work well to support lithium systems in hybrid setups but fail under heavy power demands.
One of the biggest challenges facing lithium supply is slow project timelines. This is because opening a new lithium mine takes an average of 16 to 18 years, from initial discovery to first production. This is mainly due to complex permitting rules, exploration rights and financing issues in many regions of the world.
Hard rock mining also produces significant waste and brine extraction consumes vast amounts of water in the arid regions lithium is usually found in. This leads to more scrutiny from local communities and environmental groups as well.
Similarly, due to lithium prices having crashed recently, following previous oversupply, mining investment and exploration budgets have now reduced somewhat. This significantly threatens the pipeline for future production and the global green transition.
The majority of lithium is also concentrated in Australia and South America’s “Lithium Triangle,” whereas China controls a significant portion of the refining capacity required to make battery-grade material.
Currently, most magnesium batteries still in the testing phase by entities like the University of Waterloo.
However, some major automakers are increasingly developing and experimenting with magnesium-rich or manganese-doped alternatives like Lithium Manganese-Rich or LMFP cells or long-term magnesium chemistry.
MG (SAIC Motor) has recently deployed new Lithium-Manganese-Oxide (LMO) semi-solid-state SolidCore battery tech in models like the MG4 EV Urban, which is scheduled to hit UK and European markets by the end of 2026.
General Motors and LG Energy Solution are currently aiming for a 2028 commerical launch for advanced lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery cells. These use high manganese content to decrease costs and raise energy density for future electric trucks and SUVs.
Similarly, Toyota has also funded long-term dedicated research into replacing standard lithium chemistry with high-capacity magnesium alternatives. However, it is still unclear when commercial vehicles could be using this technology, as researchers are still awaiting further electrolyte stabilisation.
Great Wall Motor also uses semi-solid magnesium casting technology to reduce component weight, while Tesla integrated selective magnesium alloy components inot the Model 3 and Model Y.
While magnesium batteries are seeing more interest as potential alternatives to lithium now, significant challenges remain before they can be mass-adopted yet.
One of the biggest drawbacks of magnesium is slow ion movement, which means that magnesium particles move more slowly inside the battery materials.
This causes very slow charging times and weak power during fast acceleration, along with poor cold-weather performance. These factors could make it much harder for magnesium batteries to match fast-charging and high-power lithium EV batteries.
Finding a liquid, solid or electrolyte that lets magnesium move easily without breaking down is hard too, currently, as electrolytes that successfully move magnesium ions efficiently end up corroding the internal battery components.
Similarly, finding a cathode material that can withstand insertion and removal of magnesium ions without breaking down remains incredibly complex.
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The world’s largest cryptocurrency touched an intraday high of $79,500 on Friday, its best level in months, before easing to around $77,700 at the time of writing, leaving it up more than 25% since Monday.
The rally caps one of Bitcoin’s most dramatic weeks in years, following a stretch in which the token had lagged well behind its 2025 highs for much of 2026.
For six straight weeks, Bitcoin had been stuck grinding between $62,000 and $66,000, having fallen over 50% from the all-time high of around $126,000 it reached last year in October, to the low of roughly $57,600 it hit early in July of this year.
That prolonged malaise had encouraged traders to build up bearish positions over the course of the year, betting the token’s underperformance would continue. When the price broke higher this week, those bets unwound violently leading to an episode of forced short covering.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, and other digital assets have also surged on the same wave of positioning and momentum was reinforced by signals of extra liquidity from Washington.
The US Treasury doubled the size of its bond buybacks earlier in the week to calm a jittery bond market, and when yields climbed back regardless, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed on Thursday to increase the buybacks even further.
Easier financial conditions and a softer dollar tend to favour riskier assets such as Bitcoin.
Regulatory developments also added further fuel. On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a proposal called “Regulation Crypto Assets”, offering crypto issuers lighter registration requirements.
A day later, US President Donald Trump hosted Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse, Gemini’s Winklevoss twins and other industry leaders at the White House, pushing Congress to pass the long-delayed Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act.
The bill, which would split oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, cleared the House last year but remains stalled in the Senate, needing 60 votes to clear a procedural hurdle on 15 September that it is not yet assured of overcoming.
Among the most striking moments of Wednesday’s summit came when US President Donald Trump said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was working to bring Hyperliquid, a decentralised derivatives exchange, onshore “in a fully compliant legal fashion”, though the regulator has yet to publish any timeline for doing so.
The comment sent HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, surging 25% within 24 hours.
As it stands, HYPE is trading at around $74, up more than 30% since Trump’s remarks.
The decentralized exchange, popular with perpetual futures traders, has become something of a proxy for how far Washington’s warmer stance on crypto could extend.
South Korea plans to create a “Future Response Fund” to channel tax revenue generated by the country’s semiconductor boom into programs supporting younger generations and investment in future growth industries, particularly AI, the budget ministry said on Friday.
The fund
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Earnings Call Insights: OSI Systems (OSIS) Q4 2026
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ALK-Abelló A/S reports Q2 results
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Accelerating yield hikes fuel capital repatriation, threatening to drive up USD debt issuance costs.
Japan’s rapidly rising interest rates are providing another significant variable for corporate treasurers with upcoming bond offerings or refinancings to monitor.
While the deluge of debt issued by so-called hyperscalers has yet to increase other companies’ borrowing costs, it’s critical for treasurers to track it alongside another recent development: rapidly rising Japanese interest rates.
The Japanese government and private investors hold $1.2 trillion of U.S. federal debt, more than any other country, according to the Congressional Research Service, and they are major investors in U.S. corporate bonds. Three years ago, the 10-year Japanese government bond rate was close to zero, as it had been for decades, prompting Japanese investors to seek yield abroad. The rate began increasing in 2022 and has nearly doubled over the past year, approaching 2.9% by mid-August.
Lotfi Karoui, a multi-asset credit strategist at PIMCO, noted in an Aug. 3 report the accelerating reduction in U.S. Treasury purchases by non-U.S. public and private sector entities. The best evidence of that trend is Japan, he wrote, where Bank of Japan (BoJ) data show government and private Japanese investors becoming net sellers of long-term U.S. debt securities in the 12 months leading up to May 31, following three years as net buyers.
There is little evidence so far of a “sell America trade,” Karoui said, and demand for U.S. corporate credit remains strong. But issuers may have to pay more for it.
The U.S. federal government must fund a record deficit, and investment-grade corporate issuance in August, typically a slow month, is setting records.
“If Japanese investors are also selling U.S. securities into the market, that’s a lot of selling pressure that could push up U.S. rates,” said Amol Dhargalkar, senior managing director at Chatham Financial, which advises corporates on debt and hedging strategies. U.S. issuers, he added, could see wider spreads on top of a higher benchmark rate.
One indication of further retrenchment by Japanese investors, Dhargalkar said, would be more non-Japanese issuers pursuing yen offerings to take advantage of growing demand for yen-denominated securities. Alphabet and Berkshire Hathaway recently completed large yen offerings, and he anticipates more, especially from companies with Japanese operations that can avoid costly currency hedges.
Another wrinkle is the intervention starting in late July by the Japanese and U.S. governments to counter the yen’s dramatic weakening against the U.S. dollar by selling dollars and buying yen. Further yen appreciation will likely require more rate hikes by the BoJ, according to Aug. 5 commentary by Fitch Ratings, prompting even more yen repatriation.
“This is one of many new avenues that CFOs and their finance teams have to make sure they’re looking at as they consider capital markets transactions,” Dhargalkar said.
John Hintze is a contributing writer based in the U.S.
Deere beats top-line and bottom-line estimates; updates FY26 outlook
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The US national debt now stands at a record $40 trillion (€34.4tn), while the Treasury has responded to the bond market pressure by pledging to buy back far more of its own older securities.
Washington’s two announcements landed on the same day and represent two symptoms of the same underlying strain: a government borrowing at a record pace just as buyers of its longest-dated debt are demanding higher returns to keep lending.
Buybacks work like a targeted repurchase. Rather than printing new money, the US Treasury uses cash it already has to repurchase older, harder-to-trade bonds from investors, improving liquidity without changing the total stock of debt.
From 9 September, the maximum size of each buyback operation in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year markets will at least double, from $2 billion (€1.7bn) to $4 billion (€3.4bn), running through the next quarterly refunding on 4 November.
The US Treasury said the change reflects “strong sponsorship from market participants” in that part of the curve, but the timing of the decision was no accident.
The 30-year yield had climbed on Tuesday to its highest level since 2007 amid what analysts called a buyers’ strike stretching back to late June, aggravated by a swelling supply of corporate debt tied to AI data centre spending.
Yields duly fell after Wednesday’s announcement, with the 30-year dropping roughly 9 basis points and the 10-year around 6, and Wall Street rallied.
Asked whether Americans should worry about the volatility, US President Donald Trump simply said: “No, I don’t think so.”
However, not everyone is convinced the fix goes deep enough.
The size of the increase is modest next to the $32 trillion (€27.5tn) Treasury market it is meant to steady, and notable economist Mohamed El-Erian suggested the outsized market reaction reflected hopes of broader intervention to come rather than the direct effect of the buybacks themselves.
Thomas Simons, chief US economist at Jefferies, said the announcement broke with Treasury’s usual pattern of steady, well-flagged communication about its borrowing plans and felt “shot from the hip”.
The debt figure, confirmed by US Treasury data covering Tuesday, splits into $32.27 trillion (€27.75tn) held by the public and $7.78 trillion (€6.69tn) owed between government accounts.
It arrived roughly two fiscal years earlier than expected as the US Congressional Budget Office projected in May 2023 that the threshold would not be crossed until 2028, and it came remarkably fast even by recent standards: $39 trillion (€33.5tn) was reached only in March, $38 trillion (€32.6tn) the previous October.
The US government borrowed $1.8 trillion (€1.5tn) in the first ten months of this fiscal year alone, already more than it borrowed in the whole of the last one, as spending on Social Security, Medicare, defence and interest payments continues to outrun revenue.
“The national debt is not just a number on the government’s balance sheet,” said David Young, president of the Conference Board’s CEO Center, noting it shapes the financial decisions Americans make daily.
The two stories feed each other.
A bigger debt load makes investors warier about lending long-term, which pushes yields higher. In turn, higher yields then raise the government’s own interest bill, adding further to the debt the US Treasury has to finance next.
Wednesday’s buyback expansion may ease the immediate pressure, but it does nothing to slow the borrowing driving it.
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Oil prices rose on Thursday, holding near their highest levels in weeks, as the deadlocked standoff between the United States and Iran kept supply concerns elevated in the Middle East.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.3% to $91.90 a barrel, while US benchmark crude edged up 0.2% to $84.57 a barrel.
Prices have climbed steadily since the start of August, when Brent was trading at around $87.38 a barrel, as the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz keeps supply concerns elevated even without any single new escalation.
Both benchmarks remain well above the barrel prices they were trading at before the war began.
Global shares rallied on Thursday, reversing course after Wednesday’s heavy sell-off in artificial intelligence-related stocks, after the US Treasury Department said it would at least double the size of its buyback operations for longer-dated government debt, to $4 billion (€3.4bn) or more per operation, starting in September.
The move eased pressure on bond markets that had pushed yields to multi-decade highs in recent months, and lifted risk appetite across Asia.
South Korea’s Kospi surged 6.1% to 6,858.91, rebounding sharply after sinking 5.8% on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics jumped 9.7%, while SK Hynix surged 14.1% after the memory chipmaker announced a share buyback plan.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added roughly 0.9%, while the Topix rose 0.8%, recovering some of Wednesday’s losses. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.1% to 25,786.32, and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,905.23. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3% to 9,066.40.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to around 4.64%, from 4.71% on Tuesday, while the 30-year yield dropped to 5.18% from 5.28% — pulling back from its highest level since 2007.
Yields have climbed in recent months on concerns over inflation stemming from the war in Iran and rising government debt.
Japan’s 10-year government bond yield, which had been trading near a three-decade high, fell to around 2.83% from more than 2.89% on Wednesday.
On Wall Street on Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% for its first gain in four sessions, snapping a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite each added 0.2%.
The US dollar rose to 158.60 yen from 158.16, while the euro slipped slightly to $1.1676 from $1.1677.
Additional sources • AP
Aegon reports 1H results; on track to meet or exceed all group financial ambitions for 2026
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TORONTO — Sherritt International Corporation (“Sherritt” or the “Corporation”) (TSX:S) today provided an update on the court application brought by Kyma Capital Limited (“Kyma”) seeking to compel a shareholder meeting by the end of September 2026. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) advised that it could not compel such a meeting within the timeframe requested by Kyma.
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In an endorsement issued today, the Court addressed the press release issued by Kyma that suggested a shareholder meeting had already been called for the end of September, finding that no such meeting had been called. The Court stated:
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“It has also come to my attention that the applicant [Kyma] has put out a press release suggesting that a shareholder’s meeting has already been called for the end of September. That is not, of course, true. The applicant has sought to do so, but it has not yet been called and given the court’s timetable will not be called unless the respondent [Sherritt] agrees to do so on consent (which it has not). It is not to anybody’s advantage to carry on the court room battle through press releases nor is the creation of confusion among shareholders helpful to the process. I accept that the release was an error and urge the applicant to issue an appropriate correction as soon as possible.”
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The Company expects that an application by Kyma to have the Corporation’s combined annual and special meeting of shareholders held on a date earlier than the currently scheduled date of December 15, 2026 will be heard in late September. Sherritt remains focused on navigating the significant challenges currently facing the Corporation and urges stakeholders to exercise caution regarding any statements made by third parties. The Corporation will continue to provide factual updates as developments warrant.
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About Sherritt
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Sherritt is a world leader in using hydrometallurgical processes to mine and refine nickel and cobalt – metals deemed critical for the energy transition. Leveraging its technical expertise and decades of experience in critical minerals processing, Sherritt is committed to expanding domestic refining capacity and reducing reliance on foreign sources. The Corporation operates a strategically important refinery in Alberta, Canada, recognized as the only significant cobalt refinery and one of just three nickel refineries in North America.
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Sherritt’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “S”.
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Certain statements and other information included in this press release may constitute “forward -looking information” or “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) under applicable securities laws (such statements are often accompanied by words such as “anticipate”, “forecast”, “expect”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “estimate”, “intend” or other similar words).
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All statements in this press release, other than those relating to historical information, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the Corporation’s intention to provide ongoing updates.
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The Corporation cautions readers of this press release not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement as a number of factors could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation, continued risks related to Sherritt’s operations in Cuba and future actions taken by the U.S. government toward Cuba, including with respect to the U.S. administration’s May 1, 2026 Executive Order expanding sanctions against Cuba; level of liquidity of Sherritt, including access to capital and financing; the Corporation’s ability to negotiate and finalize a definitive agreement in respect of a recapitalization transaction, including the completion and timing thereof, the terms on which it may be completed and the receipt of all required approvals; the Corporation’s ability to restart its business and restore normal operations, including the ability to obtain restart financing; the risk to or loss of Sherritt’s entitlements to future distributions (including pursuant to the Cobalt Swap) from the Moa JV; the inability of the Corporation to comply with debt restrictions and covenants; the inability of the Corporation to comply with the listing requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange or another recognized stock exchange; uncertainty in the ability of the Corporation to enforce legal rights in foreign jurisdictions; uncertainty regarding the interpretation and/or application of the applicable laws in foreign jurisdictions; tax risks; political, economic and other risks of foreign operations; security market fluctuations and price volatility; risks related to environmental liabilities including liability for reclamation costs, tailings facility failures and toxic gas releases; compliance with applicable environment, health and safety legislation and other associated matters; risks associated with governmental regulations regarding climate change and greenhouse gas emissions; risks relating to community relations; maintaining social license to grow and operate; risks associated with the operation of large projects generally; the ability to replace depleted mineral reserves; risks associated with the Corporation’s joint venture partners; risks associated with mining, processing and refining activities; reliance on key personnel and skilled workers; risks related to the Corporation’s corporate structure; foreign exchange and pricing risks; credit risks; future market access; interest rate changes; risks in obtaining insurance; uncertainties in labour relations; legal contingencies; risks related to the Corporation’s accounting policies; uncertainty in the ability of the Corporation to obtain government permits; failure to comply with, or changes to, applicable government regulations. The key risks and uncertainties should be considered in conjunction with the risk factors described in the Corporation’s other documents filed with the Canadian securities authorities, including without limitation the “Managing Risk” section of the Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2026, the “Managing Risk” section of the Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the three months and year ended December 31, 2025 and the Annual Information Form of the Corporation dated March 23, 2026 for the period ended December 31, 2025, each of which is available on SEDAR+ at
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Technology HSBC, Standard Chartered Test Interbank Tokenized Deposits On SWIFT
Banks clear major milestone toward real-time, cross-border tokenized deposits.
Tokenized deposits are a step closer to broader institutional use as HSBC Holdings PLC and Standard Chartered PLC completed the first bank-to-bank transaction via the banking messaging consortium SWIFT’s digital blockchain-backed ledger, the banks reported on Aug. 19.
“As institutional demand grows for faster, more efficient ways to move liquidity, and optimize working capital increase, interoperable tokenized deposits will play an increasingly important role in helping corporate and institutional clients manage treasury, unlock operational efficiencies and support real time liquidity management across markets,” said Mark Willis, head of emerging payments, transactions services, and digital assets at Standard Chartered, in a prepared statement.
Interoperability remains one of the main barriers to tokenized deposit adoption.
The payment transaction sent by HSBC to Standard Chartered was recorded as a tokenized deposit obligation on HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service and Standard Chartered’s tokenized-deposit infrastructure, while SWIFT’s blockchain platform acted as the orchestration and record-keeping layer.
“It demonstrates how digital money issued by banks can be interoperable across institutions while maintaining the integrity and regulatory oversight of the existing financial ecosystem,” Lewis Sun, head of digital currencies at HSBC, added in the statement.
The transaction comes six weeks after SWIFT made its digital ledger platform available for initial use. SWIFT officials said the ledger will gain additional functionality after its initial go-live phase.
Tokenized deposits differ from stablecoins by their backers and how they operate. Private institutions issue stablecoins backed by an audited reserve of highly liquid financial instruments. Tokenized deposits are digital representations of bank deposits issued by regulated financial institutions and act as direct claims on those institutions. Owners can also convert tokenized deposits back into fiat currency and restore account balances.
For corporate treasuries, tokenized deposits provide the benefits of digital money — faster settlement, programmable money, digital asset integration, and immutable transactions — while maintaining existing banking relationships and aligning with existing banking regulations.
HSBC and Standard Chartered’s initial transaction via the SWIFT digital ledger is only the latest of such announcements in the past several weeks. A day earlier, the Canton Network announced that tokenized deposits are live on its network with HSBC, Lloyds Bank PLC, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in various stages of testing, TradingView reported.
In early June, U.S. payments rail operator The Clearing House, which is owned by 25 of the largest financial institutions, released plans to launch on-chain clearing and settlement of tokenized deposits within the established banking framework.
A month later, the Cari Network announced a soon-to-launch pilot to support real-time settlement, liquidity management, and digital money movement. Unlike other initiatives backed by tier-1 institutions, Cari Network is designed by U.S. regional institutions First Horizon Corp., Huntington Bancshares Inc., KeyBank National Association, M&T Bank Corp., Old National Bancorp, and SouthState Bank Corp.
The importance of these projects is less about how they achieve results and more about whether they can provide faster settlement, lower reconciliation costs, and real-time cash management. The next step will be whether these pilots develop into production-quality systems that can deliver interoperability and meet regulatory obligations across various jurisdictions.
Rob Daly covers fintech and the economy. Contact him at rdaly@gfmag.com.
Earnings Call Insights: Wolfspeed (WOLF) Q4 FY2026
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Earnings Call Insights: Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) Q2 2026
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Import businesses have felt the impact as rerouted cargo vessels clog unprepared African ports, tying up inventory.
Asset-light corporations are becoming asset-heavier organizations as the on-again, off-again closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to disrupt global supply chains.
During the 30 days preceding Aug. 17, an average of 16.9 ships passed through the Strait transporting 2.2 million barrels of crude and 380,000 barrels of petrochemicals, as reported by The Strait of Hormuz Ship Monitor. By comparison, during the first quarter of 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that 14.2 million barrels and 5.9 million barrels of petroleum products were shipped daily through the waterway — a decrease of approximately 84% and 94%, respectively.
According to the Atlas Institute for International Affairs, the Cape route is becoming the default option for vessels. As a result, import businesses have felt the impact as rerouted cargo vessels clog unprepared African ports, tying up inventory even longer.
Bolstering inventories and increasing liquidity buffers may initially have been a short-term response to the disruption, but industry insiders view the change as permanent.
“Just-in-time has become just-in-case, and that converted inventory is now on the CFO’s balance sheet,” John Stevens, senior vice president and global head of financial institutions and working capital at Kybira, told Global Finance. ”Higher [days inventory outstanding] stretches the cash conversion cycle and that cash has to come from somewhere: You borrow it or extend supplier terms.”
According to the authors of Allianz Trade’s Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) & Cash Collection Cycle (CCC) report, published in July, the disruption is expected to add a global average of two days to the CCC in the second half as its effects permeate supply chains.
The authors also expected that the U.S.-Iran conflict would result in a lighter version of the 2022 supply chain shock, little appearing in listed firms’ first-half financials and more tangible in the second half as the disruption permeates supply chains with a lag.
“Electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, automotive suppliers, metals and paper face the most direct pressure: already inventory-heavy and running elevated cycles, they have the least room to absorb a further DIO rise without tipping their financing needs into distress territory,” they wrote. “Construction and machinery & equipment carry the largest absolute cycles (approximately 103 days) and are unlikely to escape a broad inventory rebuild. Second, the shock should be partly offset by continued private-sector spending on AI infrastructure and data centers, which supports computers & telecoms and software & IT, keeping a meaningful share of the economy on a compressing or at worst flat trajectory.”
“Every day of DIO you add is cash pulled out of circulation, and that comes at a premium at current financing costs,” said Stevens. “CFOs should be pricing the free cash flow hits before any DIO build-up.”
Companies should count days and dollars rather than units, he added. “Any universal number, in either units or DIO, is a guess. Transit patterns through the Strait of Hormuz have been highly volatile, with flows falling sharply and recovery remaining uneven.”
There is light at the end of the tunnel — if a company’s balance sheet is large enough.
“Large, investment-grade buyers may be better placed to fund inventory builds, while their mid-market suppliers may not be,” said Stevens. “If payment terms are stretched to fund DIO extensions, the biggest squeeze can land one or two tiers down the value chain. Supply-chain finance can help address that gap when it is structured transparently and appropriately.”
Rob Daly covers fintech and the economy. Contact him at rdaly@gfmag.com.
The SEC announced on Tuesday that it had filed a proposal titled “Regulation Crypto Assets”, giving crypto entrepreneurs a clearer, considerably lighter route to raising capital under federal securities law, according to the press release published by the regulator.
It is the agency’s first formal rulemaking dedicated to crypto asset offerings, building on broader interpretive guidance the SEC issued in March, and would spare qualifying issuers the costly registration process required of most public offerings.
At the centre of the proposal sit two new exemptions.
The “startup exemption” would let an issuer raise up to $5 million (€4.3mn) over a four year period without registering the offering.
A second, the “fundraising exemption”, would permit raises of up to $75 million (€64.7mn) within any 12 month stretch, though issuers relying on it would still need to publish financial statements and meet ongoing reporting duties.
Both routes ask companies to give investors narrative, principles based disclosures, rather than the dense legal filings typically demanded of public listings.
The proposal also sets out a conditional safe harbour that could eventually place certain tokens outside the legal definition of a security, once an issuer has finished, or permanently abandoned, the managerial efforts it promised investors.
It would also override conflicting state registration rules for offerings made under the exemptions, sparing issuers from having to comply separately with individual state securities regimes.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins described the package as a “minimum effective dose” of oversight, protecting investors while leaving builders maximum room to innovate.
The reception of the proposal has been largely warm.
Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said the move finally delivers the tailored regulatory clarity the sector has sought for years. Cody Carbone, CEO of the Digital Chamber, likewise praised the plan, pledging support in helping the industry expand within the US rather than abroad.
However, the proposal is far from final. It stays open for public comment for 60 days once published in the Federal Register, meaning its provisions could still change, or be scrapped, before any final rule is adopted.
The SEC’s move comes roughly a week and a half after the US Senate left Washington for its summer recess without advancing the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633), the industry’s flagship bill, which would split oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
US Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed a cloture motion on the bill on 7 August, but lawmakers departed before a vote was held. That motion is now due to come up again on 15 September, a procedural hurdle rather than a final vote, once senators return.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has argued on more than one occasion that only Congress can deliver a lasting, “future-proofed” framework able to survive changes in political leadership, and the Commission says it still backs the bill’s passage.
Even so, with its timetable slipping into autumn, the regulator appears to have decided not to wait, instead using powers it already holds to offer the industry some certainty while lawmakers prepare to resume the debate next month.
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Viking Holdings (VIK) delivered another solid quarter, achieving double-digit growth in its key metrics and seeing its itineraries for the remainder of the year nearly fully booked.
“Our second quarter results reflect the continued execution of our long-term strategy and
The global securities and investment landscape is rapidly being reshaped. Among the challenging market conditions of recent years, institutional investors have turned to resilience-building as their central driver of growth. “The way our clients seek to build resilience varies across businesses, segments, and markets,” says Ee Fong Soh, Group Head of Financial Institutions, Securities & Fiduciary Services, Global Transaction Services, DBS Bank. “Yet we see a common dual objective across the board: the pursuit of diversification paired with an increased focus on asset safety.”
This objective – coupled with technological and regulatory advancements – is driving a monumental shift towards the coexistence and convergence of digital and traditional asset ecosystems. The parallel demand for both asset classes is particularly pronounced in Asia. “Huge leaps in digital asset product optionality are being made alongside growing demand for more traditionally perceived safe asset classes,” explains Soh.
This analogous demand has quickly raised expectations for custodians serving the region. In a recent survey of global financial institutions, 83.8% of respondents in APAC named custody as an institutional priority for digital asset use cases in the next 24 months1. This made custody the leading digital-asset priority in APAC – compared to only the third-ranked priority at the global level.
While digital asset adoption is growing rapidly in Asia, traditional asset classes remain the dominant contributor to institutional portfolios. As such, the best custodians must innovate in both the traditional and digital spaces. Soh notes that DBS has in recent years been working on maintaining a balance of progress in both.
“By pioneering solutions in both digital and traditional asset custody, we’ve empowered clients to create new operational efficiencies and growth possibilities.”
Ee Fong Soh, Group Head of Financial Institutions, Securities & Fiduciary Services, Global Transaction Services, DBS Bank
In traditional assets, infrastructure enhancements across Asia are enabling investors to diversify market access. For DBS, being at the forefront of the relevant advancements has enabled the bank to provide its clients with first-mover advantages. For example, in 2025 it became the first foreign bank to be approved as an RMB clearing bank, and to operate in China’s OTC bond market. Combined with offshore custody services capabilities, DBS’ institutional clients now benefit from a broader and more diverse range of market opportunities.
Beyond opportunity expansion, unlocking efficiency gains for clients has been a long-time priority for DBS. One example in 2025 was the introduction of its ‘One Bank’ model for asset managers, combining both banking and custody solutions in one place.
In digital assets, partnerships have been a critical enabler of opportunities. “Our strategic alliance with Franklin Templeton and Ripple last year set a milestone in expanding optionality to serve clients’ diversification needs,” says Soh. Together, these institutions are introducing innovative trading and lending solutions powered by tokenised money market funds.
Elsewhere, DBS recently became the first Asian bank to offer collateral agent services for crypto trading, enabling both crypto exchanges and their members to boost trading capacity and volumes. It also issued its first tokenised structured notes on a public blockchain, with distribution across multiple digital platforms.
With rising demand at both ends of the asset spectrum, and given the ongoing technological and regulatory changes, custodians must continue to evolve at pace.
Soh sees countless possibilities that could further elevate custodial services in Asia. “One exciting initiative underway at DBS is the establishment and expansion of an ecosystem for physical gold, with both custody and tokenisation,” she explains. In a first for the Singapore market, DBS will tokenise, distribute, and manage physical gold tokens entirely in-house. The bank also has plans to list the token on its DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx) and later expand the service to Hong Kong.
Irrespective of the opportunities and advancements ahead, safety must remain a priority. This should be driven by custodians themselves, with asset safeguarding upheld as a central promise in both the day-to-day and across innovation processes. Trust is a critical foundation, and investors are likely to place greater scrutiny on the track records of custodian partners.
“Prioritising trust and safety will ultimately provide the bedrock that enables resilience building in the blended world of digital and traditional investing,” concludes Soh.
