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The energy transition - the process of moving away from greenhouse gas intense energy consumption towards more renewable energy sources - presents a significant positive demand shock for the metals needed to build out grid infrastructure, distribution and transmission cabling, vehicle charging infrastructure, battery components, solar panels, and wind turbines....

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The start of 2023 has marked the return of tech growth stocks alongside the surge of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs). The biggest tech companies in the world have benefitted from the buzz created by ChatGPT and rapidly rising enthusiasm around AI in general. Nvidia, a leading semiconductor company seen as one of the main AI...

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The failed rebellion by the Wagner group over the June 24th weekend brought to light not only the ineptitude of the Russian top military command but also the carefully crafted image of President Putin as the guarantor of stability. Putin’s assertion that the quick end of the 24-hour revolt had shown the unity of Russians behind him was contradicted by footage of...

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Cocoa continued its upward price trajectory, rising 3% over the prior month (22 May to 23 June 2023). The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has corrected its forecast for the supply deficit on the cocoa market in the current crop year up from 60,000 tonnes to 142,000 tonnes as production is expected to be lower and grinding higher than previously expected....

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Paradoxically, aluminium was one of the worst performing base metals over the past month (22 May to 23 June 2023) despite the bauxite ore ban potentially tightening the market. In 2022, Indonesia produced some 21 million tonnes of bauxite, according to data from the US Geological Survey, making it the world’s fifth-largest producer. Almost 85 percent was exported...

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There are a variety of risks to consider when investing in AT1 Contingent Convertible bonds (affectionately known as ‘CoCos’). These financial instruments, issued by financial institutions, may appear peculiar on first inspection but, once you get to know these quirky financial instruments better, you will better appreciate their unique risk/return profile. CoCos...

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To shed some light on the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), and discuss the role of the supporting infrastructure enabling this boom, we were delighted to leverage the expertise of Eric Rothman, Portfolio Manager, Real Estate Securities with CenterSquare. CenterSquare is a dedicated real estate investment manager, with around $14 billion under management,...

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Copper is one of the few elements that has been used by humans for over 10,000 years. Archaeological evidence suggests that copper was first discovered and utilised by ancient civilisations as early as 9000 BCE1. Its malleability, durability, and excellent conductivity made it highly prized for tools, weapons, and decorative objects. Copper's rich history as a...

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The inflation battle is far from over in the UK. In fact, the nature of inflation is taking a new form as the root cause moves away from external to more domestically driven shocks. While the headline rate remained unchanged at 8.7%yoy in May, core inflation accelerated to 7.1% in May from 6.8% in April, marking the highest rate since March of 19922. In response...

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Gold is arguably the most sensitive commodity to monetary policy. The metal operates more like a pseudo-currency than a regular commodity (a regular commodity’s price is driven by the balance of supply and demand, gold is driven by many of the macro determinants of currencies). After hiking rates every meeting since February 2022, the Federal Reserve (Fed) took a...

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The recent earnings announcement from Nvidia was historic. It’s not often that a firm shifts revenue guidance for an upcoming quarter from $7 billion to $11 billion. Nvidia’s total market capitalisation touched $1 trillion, something very few companies ever achieve1. An overzealous valuation? Professor Aswath Damodaran of New York University2, well known for...

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In our previous blog, Will AI workloads consume all the world’s energy?, we looked at the relationship between increasing processing power and an increase in energy demand, and what this means for artificial intelligence (AI) from an environmental standpoint. In this latest blog, we aim to further illuminate this discussion with a case study of the world’s biggest...

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This week we learnt how vital Central Bank communication is to global financial markets. The trio of central banks – The Federal Reserve (Fed), European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) held their respective meetings. Each of the central banks tried to convey how they will navigate monetary policy amidst a slowing economy and avoid a hard landing. ...

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On big questions like this, almost nothing stays constant. When we consider a new technology: We cannot assume that rates of adoption or usage will remain constant—they may drop, they may even grow. We cannot assume that the technology supplying our energy needs will remain constant—there could be breakthroughs in efficiency or changes in the overall energy...

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MIT Technology Review recently put on its EmTech Digital conference. It will come as no surprise that this year’s focus was generative artificial intelligence (AI). There is a sense that generative AI, in its many different forms, is important and that it will have an economic impact, but it’s not yet clear exactly how this will manifest itself in the coming...

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We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Janelle Teng of Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP). Janelle is a vice president at BVP, focused primarily on cloud software, infrastructure and developer platforms. WisdomTree began working with BVP in 2020 to launch WisdomTree’s Cloud Computing Strategy which tracks the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index. This blog is a...

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Ethereum’s network keeps evolving When the ethereum network enabled withdrawal of staked Ether (ETH) and related rewards on 12 April 2023, several upgrades were made into the blockchain. Many investors wonder why the ‘Shanghai upgrade’ was rebranded as ‘Shapella upgrade’. This was due to the fact that software upgrades were made both on the execution layer of the...

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The geopolitics of wheat has once again come under the spotlight. Wheat prices jumped 4%1 as news broke out that a major dam Kakhovka in southern Ukraine had been destroyed. This is not the first mishap with the dam, as both Russia and Ukraine accused each other of planning sabotage back in October 2022. In Ukraine, flooding caused by the destroyed Kakhovka dam...