#foreign-exchange-risk

#foreign-exchange-risk

Annaly's dividend coverage is tight but intact. The company paid $0.70 per share quarterly throughout 2025, and its non-GAAP earnings available for distribution covered that payout in every quarter, ranging from $0.72 to $0.73 per share.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF offers pure market beta at an expense ratio of 0.03%, with top holdings like NVIDIA and Apple making up over 36% of the fund.

Ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt global markets and oil prices, adding a persistent layer of uncertainty for UK firms. This geopolitical instability is driving higher cost pressures and intensifying concerns around supply chains and energy security, all of which are critical factors in strategic business decision making.

Gold spot prices reached $4,829 per troy ounce at the end of the week, marking a fourth consecutive weekly gain. COMEX futures closed at $4,879, up 1.48%, driven by Iran's Strait of Hormuz truce and U.S. dollar weakness.

The Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (NYSEARCA:DBC) is up 42% over the past year, and nearly 29% year-to-date. These gains reflect a war that has scrambled global commodity supply chains from crude oil to wheat to fertilizer.

The most senior officials from the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of England are expected to take part in a desktop stress test to respond to another Lehman Brothers-style collapse.

Gold miners have been making a killing after a lull, and they're well-positioned to keep doing so. Profits are rising sharply across the industry, and they're using this to explore for even more gold.

"This is a system shock," says Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group. "You have a material energy supply disruption and a structural shift toward fragmentation."

Dollar weakness matters enormously for emerging market equities because most of these companies earn revenues in local currencies. When the dollar softens, those earnings translate into more dollars for U.S.-based investors, giving the portfolio a currency tailwind on top of any underlying business performance.

The tensions between the United States and Iran have pushed oil prices higher, raising fears of energy-driven inflation, which helped support both the dollar and Treasury yields. The 10-year yield has climbed to its highest level in roughly two weeks.

U.S. financial markets experienced a volatile week, largely influenced by geopolitical developments in the Middle East and fluctuations in energy prices. Investor sentiment was driven primarily by external events rather than domestic fundamentals.

The dollar stabilised to a certain extent today after retreating in the prior session, but could remain relatively volatile as markets react to geopolitical developments in the Middle East. Treasury yields were firmer following a pullback on Monday as well.