GII Attracts $100 Million Growth Capital for its Investment Expansion

Whish Money SAL, a leading fintech company is proud to announce the launch of Whish Pay on Shopify, the world’s leading e-commerce platform. Whish Pay, is a payment checkout solution launched by Whish Money that enables businesses to offer easy and secure payments. This achievement aims to revolutionize digital payments and accelerate e-commerce growth. 

“At Whish Money, we are committed to empowering businesses with innovative financial solutions. This integration is a game-changer for regional e-commerce,” said Toufic Koussa, Co-Founder and CEO of Whish Money. “Whish Pay on Shopify empowers merchants with a frictionless checkout experience, eliminating the pain points of online payments and providing entrepreneurs with the tools to succeed in a digital world.”

Whish Pay delivers a seamless payment experience that combines speed and scalability. It ensures immediate fund settlement, eliminates chargeback risks, and offers a competitive fee structure that fosters sustainable growth. This integration grants Shopify Merchants direct access to Whish Money’s engaged user base of over 1 million customers, enabling payments directly from their Whish wallets

Commenting on this partnership, Jad Fakhani, also known as Wolfofbey, a leading entrepreneur and prominent mentor in e-commerce in the Middle East, remarked: “Whish Pay on Shopify marks a transformative step for the region’s digital commerce. It empowers local businesses to expand rapidly, compete globally, and succeed with unmatched speed, security, and simplicity.”

Already trusted by top platforms for its checkout solutions, Whish Pay’s launch on Shopify makes digital payments accessible for even more merchants. It reflects Whish Money’s commitment to advancing its digital footprint and support regional businesses with forward thinking fintech solutions.

Egypt has officially allocated a 174-square-kilometre (67-square-mile) plot along its Red Sea coast to the Ministry of Finance, to be used as part of its strategy to issue Islamic bonds and reduce mounting public debt, according to a decree published in the official gazette.

While the gazette did not detail the specific mechanisms through which the land would support financial operations, the move is widely seen as part of Egypt’s broader plan to leverage state-owned assets to raise funding. The government has increasingly turned to asset-backed instruments—such as sukuks—to navigate the pressures of a prolonged economic crisis.

This is not the first time Egypt has used large-scale real estate allocations to attract foreign capital. In early 2024, the country struck a landmark $35 billion agreement with the United Arab Emirates to develop a 170-square-kilometre stretch of land along the Mediterranean coast. That deal was viewed as a turning point in the country’s efforts to stabilize its economy and attract Gulf investment.

Since then, Egyptian authorities have been courting other major regional investors, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait. Talks have been ongoing, with officials and investment bankers indicating that Egypt is pursuing several multibillion-dollar projects to bring in much-needed hard currency and revive its struggling economy.

In parallel with these land-backed initiatives, Egypt plans to issue $2 billion worth of sukuks—Islamic-compliant financial instruments—in 2025. Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk told Reuters in April that this offering is part of a broader funding strategy aimed at diversifying financing sources and appealing to Sharia-compliant investors in the Gulf and beyond.

The allocation of Red Sea land adds to a growing list of state efforts to unlock value from underutilized assets and channel those funds toward debt relief and development goals. As Egypt continues to grapple with inflation, currency devaluation, and external debt repayments, such moves underscore the government’s increasing reliance on innovative financing mechanisms to restore macroeconomic stability.

The rush of financial firms setting up in Abu Dhabi to tap the oil-rich emirate’s wealth funds and Middle East markets will continue at pace, the official in charge of expanding its financial hub has predicted.

Abu Dhabi, which holds 90% of UAE’s oil reserves, has accelerated efforts to diversify its economy, leaning on its vast sovereign funds that together manage almost $2 trillion of capital.

Abu Dhabi Global Markets still lags Dubai, but the number of firms registered in the center rose by 32% last year, and the amount of assets managed by firms there grew 245%, as the likes of BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, AXA, PGIM and hedge fund Marshall Wace all set up or registered funds there.

Harrison Street, a U.S. firm focused on alternative real estate assets with about $56 billion in assets under management, said it was opening an office in Abu Dhabi.

The center reported last week that new operating licenses increased 67% in the first quarter of this year taking the total number of firms there past 2,380.

“We still have very strong growth,” ADGM’s Chief Market Development Officer, Arvind Ramamurthy said, noting that the pipeline of new firms looked strong for the rest of the year, but refrained from giving a forecast for assets growth.

“Will it be 245% again this year? I wish. Let’s see,” he said in an interview late on Monday.

Firms from Japan, India and China are also setting up in growing numbers – asset managers and financial institutions but also crypto and artificial intelligence firms, Ramamurthy said.

With cryptocurrency regulations in place since 2018, Abu Dhabi has become a major center for such investment, with sector heavyweights such as Circle and Coinbase represented there, while Abu Dhabi-backed investment group MGX has recently invested $2 billion worth of crypto tokens – issued by U.S. President Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial venture – in the world’s biggest crypto exchange, Binance.

As we’ve come to expect from markets in 2025, another 24 hours of news headlines roiled markets. According to Josh Gilbert, Market Analyst at eToro, initially, there was optimism following Trump’s “very good” call with China’s Xi Jinping, which revived hopes of trade negotiations progressing. However, the market quickly changed its focus to the Trump/Musk spat that unfolded via social media, sending Tesla shares tumbling 13% overnight. 

This will provide a hit to overall market sentiment, particularly tech, but may not be something long-lasting other than for Tesla. They’ve already had a pretty terrible start to the year, surrendering their EV crown to BYD and losing market share globally, so this political punch is only going to put downside pressure on Tesla shares. The EV slowdown hit hard, but being in the political firing line adds a new layer of risk for Tesla investors.

Despite the noise, global equities remain elevated after a strong run since April. But that momentum faces a test. Tariff tensions and political risk continue to cloud the outlook, and for the rally to continue, investors will need clarity on trade and policy, both of which remain elusive for now.

In the UAE, local markets have held firm near multi-year highs, supported by strong earnings and President Trump’s recent visit, helping to bolster regional confidence. This alongside a pipeline of exciting IPOs and solid macro backdrop is drawing sustained foreign investment. The performance from DFM and ADX this year, outperforming the S&P500 only solidifies the UAE’s position as a growing global financial hub that investors shouldn’t ignore. 

With so much uncertainty in markets, we continue to see a compelling case for keeping long-term exposure to gold. Over the long term, we believe gold remains a strategic asset: a core holding amid accelerating de-globalization, and a transition asset during a period marked by policy uncertainty. It offers stability against risk events while providing a reliable longer-term store of value and, importantly, as a portfolio diversifier. Even in the age of digital assets and AI, a bit of that classic yellow metal can provide balance and reassurance.

The nation’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors grew their way to a new milestone.

The advisory teams that made it into this year’s ranking reported total assets under management of $6.1 trillion, for an average of $5.1 billion per team—both record highs for the dozen years during which Barron’s has ranked the Top 1,200. Last year’s ranking had $5.6 trillion in total AUM and $4.6 billion average AUM per team. In the past decade, the 1,200 cohort has increased its total AUM by 135% and its average revenue by 147%.

Amid all the growth, several advisors made big moves in this year’s rankings, including W Janet Dougherty of Cresset in Chicago, who re-entered the ranking at No. 37 in Illinois after moving from J.P. Morgan . Meanwhile, Ash Chopra of Syon Capital in San Francisco jumped 47 spots in California to No. 47; Hillary Cullen of UBS Private Wealth Management in New York rose 20 spots to No. 77; and Jon Neuhaus of Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management in Los Angeles moved up 14 spots to No. 6 in California. Fourteen percent of the Top 1,200 advisors didn’t appear in the ranking last year.

Teams Are a Trend

Top advisory practices have ridden a wave of healthy markets, but that is only part of the growth story. Whereas a decade ago many of the best advisors were sole practitioners with modest support staff, now advisors are working in increasingly complex team configurations.

These teams are allowing advisors to provide an array of wealth management services in addition to the investing expertise that usually sits at the heart of their offerings. As teams acquire more skill in estate planning, taxes, lending, and other value-adds, they are attracting and retaining more business.

For investors looking for a new financial advisor, the trend toward expansive teams is good news. For starters, larger teams have built-in redundancy that helps with succession in the event that advisors depart the practice. A team structure also creates a great training environment for younger, more diverse wealth managers—a wellspring of workers who will be sorely needed in the coming years.

As many of the advisors who built the nation’s best teams enter the late innings of their careers, an advisor shortage is brewing. A recent McKinsey study says the advisor workforce may be short 100,000 advisors by 2034.

How We Do It

The Top 1,200 is Barron’s largest advisor ranking, and it’s actually 51 individual rankings—one for each state plus Washington, D.C., with the number of advisors represented in each determined by its relative population and wealth. Advisors who wish to be considered for the ranking complete a 100-plus-question survey about their businesses, and this year’s ranking had more than 7,600 applicants, up 16% from last year.

Like all of Barron’s advisor rankings, this Top 1,200 list uses both quantitative and qualitative measures . Client assets managed by an advisor, along with the growth of those assets, are a good signifier of the general health of a practice. We also use advisors’ revenue numbers as a proxy for client satisfaction—clients vote on the way advisors are serving them with the fees they’re willing to pay. Last, we evaluate a range of qualitative elements, including regulatory records, advanced credentials and designations on a team, and the nature and structure of an advisor’s team.

We hope this year’s list will give investors a great starting point for finding the best advisor for their needs.

Corrections & Amplifications :   Jack Taylor of Truist Investment Services is No. 6 in North Carolina in Barron’s 2025 Top 1,200 Financial Advisors ranking. The advisor originally listed in that spot was removed from the ranking. All the other advisors ranked in that state moved up one place, and R. Neil Stikeleather of Merrill Wealth Management was added to the list at No. 30. Read more about our ranking and see a link to the corrected list at  barrons.com/AdvisorRanks .

OPINION 

Regardless of whether you are a Trump supporter or not, given the stock market turmoil and what can only be interpreted as personal attacks on global trading partners, Trump is quickly becoming one of the most globally polarising presidential figures in US history.

The trade war threatens global economic stability and reverses 80 years of globalisation. Geopolitics shape the global financial landscape, resulting in trade wars, wars, and sanctions, forcing nations to rethink their economic strategies.

Expect significant volatility to continue because we are in for a bumpy and uncertain ride during the remaining term of Trump’s presidency; diversification across lowly correlated asset classes has never been more critical.

Trumpenomics might be the most crucial economic experiment in modern history, and if you think this has no impact on Australians, think again.   

FROM A US PERSPECTIVE, PERHAPS THE COUNTRY HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO DO SOMETHING DRASTIC 

The US economy is the world’s largest consumer of products, and its trade deficit is running at US$147.9 billion per month. This is certainly not sustainable. 

Federal debt stands at an all-time high of US$36.4 trillion, equating to 123% of GDP. This has been built up over decades because of the American consumer’s voracious appetite for cheap products delivered to them through globalisation.

However, the music has to stop one day to avoid continuing to fall into the inevitable debt spiral.  

Trump argues that the fall in manufacturing in the US from 15.8% to 10.1% of GDP in the past 25 years has resulted in the single most significant deterioration in the living standards of the middle class, with the wealth being transferred to manufacturing economies such as China and Japan.   

 Despite Trump’s bizarre public interpretation of tariffs, they essentially tax US citizens’ consumption. Trump is infatuated by the Gilded Age in the US (1870 – 1900), when there was no personal income tax and governments raised most of their income through tariffs.  

DEGLOBALISATION 

Over the past 80 years, globalisation has been a powerful growth engine, lifting billions out of poverty, lowering consumer prices, and fostering unprecedented economic interdependence.

For the US economy, globalisation enabled access to vast export markets, cheap imports, and global capital flows, keeping inflation in check and sustaining consumer demand.  

Globalisation has delivered extraordinary prosperity to the US, with the complex, interconnected global supply network we enjoy today.

The benefits of this network have been built over decades, with many US firms opening complex international supply chains to extract maximum global competitiveness. We do not know how they will be impacted, what the unintended consequences of these companies needing to trade under the new world order will be, and how this will affect both US and global markets. 

Before the Global Financial Crisis, global trade exceeded 60% of world GDP. Since then, geopolitical fragmentation, supply chain vulnerabilities, and rising protectionism have ushered in an era of deglobalisation. The peak of globalisation is widely considered to have occurred in the mid-2000s.  

A deglobalisation trend gathered pace during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting countries’ vulnerabilities and sovereignty in severe crises. It is important to note that from an economic standpoint, we have reached a pivotal point where the benefits of globalisation have been fully absorbed by our current Western economies.

Therefore, the current costs of global trade outweigh the benefits and a growing group of economists such as Dani Rodrik, Richard Baldwin and Nouriel Roubini firmly support deglobalisation.  

The irony of Trump’s intentions regarding tariffs is that they have a sound fundamental economic basis when applied evenly, fairly, and measuredly. They are not an attack on trading partners, but a tax placed on consumers.  

However, when tariffs are intentionally imposed to harforeign countries, we enter a different geopolitical game, resulting in trade wars, shifting alliances, increased global tensions, conflicts, and the risk of wars.   

1https://www.economist.com/international/2009/02/19/turning-their-backs-on-the-world 

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM HISTORY 

Two historical case studies provide glimpses of rational thinking that supports tariffs: the US-China trade war initiated by Trump in his first term in office, and Russia’s economic resilience under Western sanctions, offer valuable lessons for Australia.  

 While distinct in their circumstances, both examples underscore the importance of self-sufficiency, local manufacturing, and strategic economic policies to withstand external pressures.  

UNDERSTANDING TRUMP’S TARIFF WARS 

During Trump’s first presidency, he launched a tariff war, primarily targeting China, to reduce the US trade deficit and encourage domestic manufacturing. His administration imposed tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese imports, arguing that unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft had disadvantaged American businesses.  

The strategy was designed to make imported goods more expensive, incentivising firms and consumers to buy domestically produced alternatives. 

While the immediate effects included increased costs for US consumers and retaliatory tariffs from China, the broader goal was to shift supply chains, encourage domestic production, and reduce reliance on foreign economies. Some industries benefited—such as steel and aluminium manufacturing—while others, such as agriculture, suffered from reduced exports due to retaliatory measures.  

The long-term impact remains debated, but the lesson is clear: economic policy tools, such as tariffs, can strategically reorient an economy toward self-reliance. 

RUSSIA’S ECONOMIC RESILIENCE UNDER SANCTIONS 

A parallel case is Russia, which, despite facing heavy sanctions from Western nations, after its 2014 annexation of Crimea and, more significantly, after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine managed to sustain and even grow its economy.  

Sanctions aimed to cripple key industries, limit access to global financial markets, and pressure the government into compliance. However, Russia’s response was instructive. The country aggressively pivoted toward self-sufficiency, particularly in food and energy production.  

Russia mitigated the impact of sanctions by increasing local manufacturing and shifting trade to non-Western partners such as China and India. The Ruble remained relatively stable due to strict capital controls and alternative trade agreements.  

This demonstrated how a nation can adapt when forced into economic isolation by fostering domestic industries and securing alternative markets. 

TRUMP’S THE ART OF THE DEAL

Perhaps it is worthwhile to delve into Trump’s psychology, which has been formed throughout his career, a businessman deeply rooted in high-stakes negotiation, underpinned by access to immense financial resources and brand capital.  

Inheriting a real estate business from his father, Trump expanded the empire into Manhattan’s luxury property market, leveraging aggressive deal-making and media-savvy self-promotion.

Trump consistently positioned himself as a power negotiator, unafraid of risk or confrontation. This negotiating style, as erratic and aggressive, comes from a position of power and wealth, which has paid off all his life and is all that he knows. 

Now, as President, he is applying the same leadership style while in charge of the largest economy in the world, as he has done throughout his life.  Regarding the position on tariffs, do not expect any consistency; he will pivot and change his position as frequently as he changes his underwear, leaving everyone consistently guessing.

Meanwhile, Trump-esque logic and rationale will always justify his actions with gusto and unquivering confidence.  

Perhaps this is where the high-risk strategy evolves. There is no doubt he is going for broke, and it is anyone’s guess as to where this will end.  There may be global recessions with markets overwhelmingly turning pessimistic. 

Alternatively, he will end up with low interest rates so that government debt is more manageable, thereby reducing income tax and regaining local popularity by reorienting the economy in record time as world leaders cave into Trump’s outrageous demands and hurt the Chinese economy. It is also plausible that straight base 10% tariffs are applied, with the exception of China; only time will tell.  

LESSONS FOR AUSTRALIA AND INVESTORS 

Despite Trump’s overall strategy with tariffs in these unprecedented times, any politician, economy, asset class, or equity fund manager can go from hero to villain back, and then back to hero overnight.

Investors should take note and ensure they do not make decisions based on pure emotion and be led by animal spirits (the collective mood of the market). 

Many economists and politicians have been calling for an emergency rate cut. This is highly unlikely, despite these recent events damaging consumer and business confidence. There are endless permutations on how this may impact our economy.

Our Reserve Bank Governor has on many occasions said that they make decisions based on data. There is still inflationary pressure that could be placed on our economy from the shifting nature of trade and geopolitics, and there is no need to rush to a decision that could be made in haste.  

Whether Trump plays the long or short-term game, tariffs will accelerate the deglobalisation trend. Australia must focus on reducing import dependence, strengthening local manufacturing, and diversifying trade partnerships.  

From an investment perspective, there has never been a more critical time to ensure the right diversification in one’s investment portfolio.

Despite the best research conducted by large fund managers regarding the correct composition of shares, fixed interest, alternative assets, and private funds within the portfolio, there is often a lack of understanding of how these types of, either black swan events or long structural changes to the economy, can set back one’s portfolio so considerably.  

As a private credit fund manager, we can only see increased investor demand in Australia as there continues to be growing uncertainty and volatility in the equity markets.  

Paul Miron has more than 20 years of experience in banking and commercial finance. After rising to senior positions for various Big Four banks, he started his own financial services business in 2004.

msquaredcapital.com.au

While golden visa schemes proliferate, Switzerland remains famously protective about buying property in the country.

Rules known as Lex Koller, introduced in 1983, prohibit foreigners from buying homes in cities like Geneva and Zurich. And in the few locations where foreigners can buy, purchase permits come with rules around size and occupancy.

But non-Swiss buyers who have coveted an Alpine home now have a pathway to ownership, and it’s likely to come with financial upside. The Swiss government has waived residency requirements in a handful of locations where developers have negotiated exemptions in exchange for billions of dollars of investment in construction and improvements.

Andermatt, a village 4,715 feet above sea level in the centre of the Swiss Alps, is the largest municipality to open up to foreign buyers.

Its main investor, Egyptian magnate Samih Sawiris, “believed Andermatt could become a full-town redevelopment when he first visited in 2005, but the key was to offer real estate to people outside of Switzerland,” said Russell Collins, chief commercial officer of Andermatt-Swiss Alps, Sawiris’s development company.

“We became the only large-scale real estate development in Switzerland with an exemption from the Lex Koller regulations.”

In the ensuing decades, Andermatt has become a major draw for high-net-worth buyers from around the world, said Alex Koch de Gooreynd, a partner at Knight Frank in London and head of its Swiss residential sales team.

“What the Andermatt-Swiss Alps guys have done is incredible,” he said. “It’s an impressive resort, and there is still a good 10 years’ worth of construction to come. The future of the resort is very good.”

Andermatt’s profile got another boost from the 2022 acquisition of its ski and resort operations by Vail Resorts, which runs 41 ski destinations worldwide.

“Vail has committed to 150 million Swiss francs (US$175 million) in investments, which is another game-changer,” de Gooreynd said.

“If you’d asked me about Andermatt 10 years ago, I would have said the ski areas weren’t good enough of a draw.”

Along with the five-star Chedi Andermatt hotel and residences, which opened in 2013, residential offerings include the Gotthard Residences at the Radisson Blu hotel; at least six branded residences are planned to open by 2030, according to Jeremy Rollason, director for France, Switzerland, and Austria at Savills Ski.

“Most of these are niche, boutique buildings with anywhere from eight to 14 units, and they’re releasing them selectively to create interest and demand, which has been a very successful approach,” he said.

“Andermatt is an emerging destination, and an intelligent buy. Many buyers haven’t heard of it, but it’s about building a brand to the level of Verbier, Courchevel or Gstaad.”

The Alpinist, Andermatt’s third hotel residence, is slated to open in 2027; with 164 apartments, the five-star project will be run by Andermatt-Swiss Alps, according to Collins.

Other developments include Tova, an 18-unit project designed by Norwegian architects Snohetta, and La Foret, an 18-apartment building conceived by Swiss architects Brandenberger Kloter.

Prices in Andermatt’s new buildings range from around 1.35 million francs for a one-bedroom apartment to as much as 3.5 million francs for a two-bedroom unit, according to Astrid Josuran, an agent with Zurich Sotheby’s International Realty.

Penthouses with four or more bedrooms average 5 million-6 million francs. “Property values have been increasing steadily, with an average annual growth rate of 7.7% in the last 10 years,” she said.

“New developments will continue for the next 10 years, after which supply will be limited.”

Foreign buyers can obtain mortgages from Swiss banks, where current rates hover around 1.5% “and are declining,” Josuran said.

Compared to other countries with Alpine resorts, Switzerland also offers tax advantages, said Rollason of Savills. “France has a wealth tax on property wealth, which can become quite penal if you own $4 million or $5 million worth of property,” he said.

Andermatt’s high-end lifestyle has enhanced its appeal, said Collins of Andermatt-Swiss Alps.

“We have three Michelin-starred restaurants, and we want to create a culinary hub here,” he said. “We’ve redeveloped the main shopping promenade, Furkagasse, with 20 new retail and culinary outlets.

And there is a unique international community developing. While half our owners are Swiss, we have British, Italian and German buyers, and we are seeing inquiries from the U.S.”

But Andermatt is not the only Swiss location to cut red tape for foreign buyers.

The much smaller Samnaun resort, between Davos and Innsbruck, Austria, “is zoned so we can sell to foreigners,” said Thomas Joyce of Alpine property specialist Pure International.

“It’s high-altitude, with good restaurants and offers low property taxes of the Graubunden canton where it’s located.”

At the Edge, a new 22-apartment project by a Dutch developer, prices range from 12,000-13,500 francs per square metre, he said.

As Andermatt’s stature grows, this is a strategic time for foreigners to invest, said Josuran of Sotheby’s.

“It might be under the radar now, but it’s rapidly growing, and already among Switzerland’s most attractive ski locations,” she said. “Now’s the time to buy, before it reaches the status of a St. Moritz or Zermatt.”

Give gold bugs their due. The yellow metal has been a light in the investing darkness. At a recent $3,406 per troy ounce, it’s up 30% this year, to the envy of stock, bond, and Bitcoin holders. Cash-flow purists will call this a flash in the pan, but they should look again. Over the past 20 years, SPDR Gold Shares , an exchange-traded fund, has surged 630%—85 points more than SPDR S&P 500 , which tracks shares of the biggest U.S. companies.

That isn’t supposed to happen. If businesses couldn’t be expected to outperform an unthinking metal over decades, shareholders would demand that they cease operations and hoard bullion instead. So, what’s going on? If this were gasoline or Nike shoes or Nvidia chips, we would look to supply versus demand. With immutable gold, nearly every ounce that has ever been found is still around somewhere, so price action is mostly about demand. That has been ravenous and broad since 2022.

That year, the U.S. and dozens of allies placed sweeping sanctions on Russia, including its largest banks, and China went on a bullion spree. Its buying has since cooled, but other central banks have stepped in. Perhaps this is unsurprising, in light of a decades-long diversification by finance ministers away from the U.S. dollar, which is down to 57% of foreign reserves from over 70% in 2000. But the recent uptick in gold stockpiling looks to JPMorgan Chase , the world’s largest bullion dealer, like a debasement trade. Investors are nervous about President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his browbeating of the Federal Reserve Chairman over interest rates, and blowout U.S. deficits.

Surging Demand

It isn’t just bankers. Demand among individuals for gold bars and coins has been surging, with some dealers experiencing sporadic shortages. Gold ETFs were bucking the trend, but flows there have turned solidly positive since last summer, including recently in China. All told, there is now an estimated $4 trillion worth of gold held by central banks, and $5 trillion by private investors. Calculated against $260 trillion for all financial assets, including stocks, bonds, cash, and alternatives, that works out to a global gold portfolio allocation of 3.5%, a record.

What’s next? BofA Securities says that central banks have room for much more gold buying, and that China’s insurance companies are likely to dabble, too. RBC Capital Markets analyst Chris Louney says ETFs could drive demand growth from here, especially if angst reigns. “Gold is that asset of last resort…the part of the investing universe that investors really look for when they have a lot of questions elsewhere,” he says.

Russ Koesterich, a portfolio manager for BlackRock , a major player in ETFs including the iShares Gold Trust , says that gold has proven itself as a store of value, and deserves a 2% to 4% weighting for most investors. “I think it’s a tough call to say, ‘Would you chase it here?’ ” he says. “There have been some pullbacks. Those might represent a good opportunity, particularly for people who don’t have any exposure.”

Daniel Major, who covers materials stocks for UBS , points out that gold miners mostly haven’t wrapped themselves in glory in recent years with their dealmaking and asset management. As a result, a major index for the group is trading 30% below pre-Covid levels relative to earnings. UBS increased its 2026 gold price target by 23%, to $3,500 per troy ounce, before gold’s latest lurch higher. Many miners are producing at a cost of $1,200 to $2,000. Major has bumped up earnings estimates across his coverage. “I think we’re gonna see further upward revisions to consensus earnings,” he says. “This is what’s attractive about the gold space right now.”

Major’s favorite gold stocks are Barrick Gold , Newmont , and Endeavour Mining . More on those in a moment. We also have thoughts on how not to buy gold—and what not to expect it to do: Don’t count on it to keep beating stocks long term, or to provide precise short-term protection from inflation spikes and stock swoons. But first, a little history, chemistry, and rules of the yellow brick road.

Flesh of the Gods

The first gold coins of reliable weight and purity featured a lion and bull stamped on the face, and were minted at the order of King Croesus of Lydia, in modern-day Turkey, around 550 B.C. But by then, gold had been used as a show of riches for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians called gold the flesh of the gods, and laid the boy King Tutankhamen to rest in a gold coffin weighing 243 pounds. The Old Testament says that under King Solomon, gold in Jerusalem was as common as stone. Allow for literary license; silicon, an element in most stones, is 28.2% of the Earth’s crust, whereas gold is 0.0000004%.

Marco Polo described palace walls in China covered with gold. Mansa Musa I of Mali in West Africa, on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, is said to have splashed so much gold around Cairo on the way that he crashed the local price by 20%, and it took 12 years to recover. To Montezuma, the Aztec king whose gold lured Cortés from Spain, the metal was called, as it still is by some in Central Mexico, teocuitlatl —literally, god excrement. Golden eras, gold medals, the Golden Rule, and golden calf—so deep is the historical association between gold and wealth, excellence, and vice that it seems to have a mystical hold on humanity. In fact, it’s more a matter of chemical inevitability.

Trade and savings are easier with money. Pick one for the job from the 118 known elements. Years ago on National Public Radio, Columbia University chemist Sanat Kumar used a process of elimination. Best to avoid elements that are cumbersome gases or liquids at room temperature. Stay away from the highly reactive columns I and II on the periodic table—we can’t have lithium ducats bursting into flame. Money should be rare, unlike zinc, which pennies are made from, but not too rare, unlike iridium, used for aircraft spark plugs. It shouldn’t be poisonous like arsenic or radioactive like radium—that rules out more elements than you might think. Of the handful that are left, eliminate any that weren’t discovered until recent centuries, or whose melting points were too high for early furnaces.

That leaves silver and gold. Silver tarnishes, but rarer, noble gold holds its luster. It is malleable enough to pound into sheets so thin that light will shine through. And, despite the best efforts of Isaac Newton and other would-be alchemists, it cannot be artificially created—profitably, anyhow. Technically, there is something called nuclear transmutation. If you can free a proton from mercury’s nucleus or insert one into platinum’s, you’ll end up with a nucleus with 79 protons, and that’s gold. Scientists did just that more than 80 years ago using mercury and a particle accelerator. But what little gold they produced was radioactive. If you think you can do better, you’ll likely need a nuclear reactor to prove it, but a large gold mine is one-fifth the cost, and we have to believe the permitting is easier.

We passed over copper due to commonness, but it has become too valuable to use for pennies. The 95% copper content of a pre-1982 penny is worth about three cents today. The equivalent amount of silver goes for $3.10, and gold, more than $320. But the three trade in different units. A pound of copper is up 17% this year, at $4.72. Silver and gold are typically quoted per troy ounce, a measure of hazy origin and clear tediousness, which is 9.7% heavier than a regular ounce. A troy ounce of silver is $32.70, up 13% this year.

Some Finer Points

Confused? This won’t help: The purity of investment gold, called its fineness, is measured in either parts per thousand or on a 24-point karat scale. A karat is different from a carat, the gemstone weight, but our friends in the U.K.—who adopted troy ounces in the 15th century—often spell both words with a “c.” Gold bricks like the ones central banks swap are called Good Delivery bars, and weigh 400 troy ounces, give or take, worth more than $1.3 million. If you buy a few, lift with your legs; each weighs a little over 27 regular pounds (as opposed to troy pounds, which, it pains us to note, are 12 troy ounces, not 16).

There are many options for smaller players, like Canadian Maple Leaf coins, which are 24-karat gold; South African Krugerrands, at 22 karats, and alloyed with copper for durability; and Gold American Eagles, 22 karats, with some silver and copper. Proof coins cost extra for their high polish, artistry, and limited runs, and may or may not become collectibles. Humbler-looking bullion coins are bought for their metal value. Prefer the latter if you aren’t a coin hobbyist. Avoid infomercials and stick with high-volume dealers. Even so, markups of 2% to 4% are common. Costco Wholesale , which sells gold in single troy ounce Swiss bars, charges 2%, but often runs out, and limits purchases to two bars per member a day. Factor in the cost of storage and insurance, too.

ETFs are more economical. For example, iShares Gold Trust costs 0.25%, not counting commissions. For long-term holders, as opposed to traders, there is a smaller fund called iShares Gold Trust Micro , which costs 0.09%.

Resist fleeing stocks for gold. The surprisingly long outperformance of gold is mostly a function of its recent run-up. From 1975 through last year, gold turned $1 invested into about $16, versus $348 for U.S. stocks. That starting point has a legal basis. President Franklin Roosevelt largely outlawed private gold ownership in 1933; President Richard Nixon delinked the dollar from gold in 1971; and President Gerald Ford made private ownership legal again at the end of 1974.

Gold has been a so-so inflation hedge over the past half-century, and at times a disappointing one. In 2022, when U.S. inflation peaked at a 40-year high of over 9%, the gold price went nowhere. The problem is that high inflation can prompt a sharp increase in interest rates. “If people can clip a 5% coupon on a T-bill, often they’d prefer to do that than have either a lump of metal or an ETF that doesn’t produce cash flow,” says BlackRock’s Koesterich.

Likewise, while gold has generally offset stock declines this year, it hasn’t always done so in the heat of the moment. Recall tariff “liberation day” early this month, which sent U.S. stocks down close to 11% in three days and pulled gold down nearly 5%. “This isn’t an uncommon scenario,” says RBC’s Louney. “When investors were losing elsewhere in their portfolio, gold was sold as well to cover those losses.”

Our top tip on how gold behaves is this: It doesn’t. People do the behaving, and they are appallingly unreliable. Use bonds as a stock market hedge. If they don’t work, fall back to patience. For inflation protection, think of assets that are a better match than gold for the goods and services that you buy every week. A diversified commodities fund has precious metals but also industrial ones, along with energy and grains. Treasury inflation-protected securities are explicitly linked to the consumer price index, which measures inflation for a theoretical individual whose buying patterns differ from your own, but are close enough.

Own a house. Stick with a workaday, reliable car. Yes, cars deteriorate. But so does nearly everything on a long enough timeline. Rely mostly on stocks, which represent businesses, which wouldn’t endure if they couldn’t turn raw inputs like commodities into something more profitable. There’s even a miner, Newmont, in the S&P 500.

The Case for Mining Stocks

Speaking of which, UBS’ Major recently upgraded both Canada’s Barrick and Denver-based Newmont from Neutral to Buy. “Both very much fall into that category of having a challenging recent track record,” he says. Newmont has lost 20% over the past three years while gold has gained 76%, which Major blames on difficult acquisitions and earnings shortfalls. Barrick, down 8%, has been in a dispute with Mali since 2023, when its government instituted a new mining code that gives it a greater share of profits. In recent days, authorities have shut the company’s offices in the capital city of Bamako over alleged nonpayment of taxes.

These are the sort of headaches that Krugerrands in a safe don’t produce. But Major calls expectations “adequately reset,” free cash flow attractive, and guidance achievable. Newmont, at 13 times next year’s earnings consensus, is selling assets, and Barrick, at 10 times, has healthy production growth.

Major also likes London-based, Toronto-listed Endeavour Mining , up 40% over the past three years and trading at nine times earnings, although he says it has “higher jurisdictional risk.” It is focused on West Africa, especially Burkina Faso, which had a coup d’état in 2022. You’d think the stock would be doing worse amid such political upheaval. Then again, Burkina Faso since 1966 has had eight coups, five coup attempts, and one street ousting of a president who tried to change the constitution to remain in power. That works out to an uprising every four years, on average.

Montezuma’s scatological name for gold might have been prescient, considering the sometimes-odious consequences for small countries that find it.

Saudi National Bank (SNB), the largest commercial bank in the Kingdom, has successfully issued Additional Tier 1 (AT1) sukuk worth SAR 1.73 billion (approximately $461.3 million), as part of its ongoing strategy to strengthen its capital base and support future growth initiatives.

The sukuk, which is denominated in Saudi riyals, carries a profit rate of 6% and is structured as a perpetual, callable instrument with a five-year non-call period. This structure enables the bank to reinforce its capital adequacy ratios in accordance with the Basel III regulatory framework, which is designed to enhance financial system resilience by ensuring banks maintain sufficient capital buffers.

The proceeds from the issuance will be utilized to further solidify the bank’s Tier 1 capital, enabling it to absorb potential losses while continuing to provide strong support to the Kingdom’s economic development and Vision 2030 goals. The issuance aligns with SNB’s broader objectives of maintaining a robust balance sheet and capital position amid an evolving global and regional financial landscape.

SNB Capital, the investment arm of Saudi National Bank, acted as the sole bookrunner, lead arranger, and lead manager for the transaction, reflecting the group’s comprehensive in-house capabilities in structuring and executing complex financial instruments.

This latest issuance also demonstrates investor confidence in SNB’s financial strength and long-term strategy, following a series of similar successful capital market transactions in recent years. The bank continues to play a key role in advancing the financial sector in Saudi Arabia, with this sukuk issuance further reinforcing its leadership in Islamic finance and Shariah-compliant funding instruments.

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) saw a 3.60 percent increase in its foreign currency reserves and liquidity, reaching QR 258.135 billion in May 2025, up from QR 249.165 billion in May 2024.

According to figures released by QCB, its official reserves rose by QR 8.706 billion, or 4.57 percent, year-on-year, reaching QR 198.712 billion by the end of May 2025. This increase occurred despite a decline of about QR 6.044 billion in QCB’s foreign bonds and treasury bills, which totaled QR 132.902 billion in May 2025.

The official reserves include key categories such as bonds and foreign treasury bills, balances with foreign banks, gold, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), and the State of Qatar’s share in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In addition to the official reserves, there are other liquid assets, namely foreign currency deposits. Together, these components make up what is referred to as the total foreign reserves.

As of the end of May 2025, gold reserves increased by nearly QR 16.012 billion year-on-year, reaching QR 44.339 billion, compared to QR 28.327 billion in May 2024. The balance of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) deposits from the State of Qatar’s share with the IMF increased by QR 67 million year-on-year, totaling QR 5.253 billion by the end of May 2025.

Balances with foreign banks decreased by nearly QR 1.328 billion, reaching QR 16.416 billion at the end of May 2025, compared to May 2024.

Lebanon has made progress on reforms needed to revive its economy but still has key steps to take and will need external funding on concessional terms, the International Monetary Fund said after several meetings in Beirut.

Lebanon’s economy went into a tailspin in late 2019, prompted by decades of profligate spending by the country’s ruling elite. Reforms required to access IMF funding were repeatedly derailed by political and private interests.

Lebanon’s new president and prime minister, both of whom took office in early 2025, pledged to prioritize reforms and secure an IMF financing agreement – but the country now faces additional needs with the widespread destruction and displacement caused by Israel’s military campaign last year.

“The authorities have made some progress recently, including the amendment of the Bank Secrecy Law and submission of a new bank resolution law to Parliament,” the IMF’s Lebanon mission chief Ramirez Rigo said in a written statement.

Rigo said his mission held “productive discussions” with Lebanese officials, including on restoring the viability of the banking sector, fiscal and debt sustainability and enhancing anti-money laundering and terrorism financing measures.

He said Lebanon’s medium-term fiscal framework should support the restructuring of Eurobond debts, which Lebanon defaulted on in 2020, leading to a sovereign default on its $31 billion of outstanding international bonds.

“Given Lebanon’s substantial reconstruction needs, limited fiscal space and lack of capacity to borrow, the country will require significant support from external partners on highly concessional terms,” the IMF statement said.

The World Bank estimated Lebanon’s recovery and reconstruction needs following Israel’s military campaign at $11 billion. But the U.S. has said it opposes any reconstruction funds to Lebanon until Hezbollah – the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group that fought Israel last year – is disarmed.

Qatar’s ambitious push toward economic diversification under its National Vision 2030 is rapidly transforming the country into a magnet for global consulting firms specializing in technology, sustainability, and governance.

As the nation accelerates its investments in digital infrastructure, ESG compliance, and private sector development, a new wave of consulting expertise is entering the market bringing with it cutting-edge AI platforms, deep sectoral knowledge, and a strong focus on building local talent and institutional capacity, an official explains.

This growing influx signals both confidence in Qatar’s reform agenda and the rising demand for agile, innovation-driven advisory support across sectors.

Global consulting firms continue to play a key role by placing Qatar at the center of its ambitious plan to scale revenues from $24m to $100m in just two years.

Speaking to The Peninsula, Jamil Khatri, Co-Founder and CEO of Uniqus Consulting said “We are already on track for revenues of $50m this year. Qatar is critical to our $100m roadmap. We bring a highly differentiated approach — from deep expertise and global integration to a proprietary tech stack that sets us apart in the consulting landscape.”

The official underlines that there is a strong synergy with Qatar’s ambitious development goals, particularly as the nation advances its strategy toward economic diversification, digital transformation, and global competitiveness.

“Qatar’s Vision 2030 outlines a bold digital and economic transformation agenda, and believe it is well-positioned to contribute through our proprietary tech platforms, AI investments, ESG capabilities, and global expertise around risk management, he said.

“The Qatari vision of being in the top echelons of the business environment and digital competitiveness aligns well with our service offerings, Khatri said.

To ensure cultural relevance and impactful execution, companies are leaning on local partnerships and targeted talent strategies. A key example is its collaboration with the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (GORD) in the field of sustainability and ESG — a partnership the firm aims to deepen through its Qatar operations.

“We have already identified a local leader with a deep understanding of the market, to lead our operations in Qatar,” Khatri noted. “We’re committed to recruiting and nurturing local talent while leveraging Uniqus’ global skills to build awareness and capability in the Qatari market.”

“The GCC is undergoing a fundamental transformation driven by diversification, infrastructure, digital reform, and governance. Qatar, in particular, stands out as a beacon of this shift. As companies in the region move forward on this journey, the demand for agile, tech-enabled consulting will only intensify and that is a significant growth driver, he added.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), one of the leading Shari’a-compliant financial institutions in the region, has successfully priced a $750 million five-year sukuk at a profit rate of 4.803%, representing a spread of 80 basis points over U.S. Treasuries. The strong investor appetite allowed QIB to tighten pricing significantly from initial guidance, which was set in the range of 115–120 basis points over Treasuries.

The issuance attracted robust interest from regional and international investors, with the final order book exceeding $1.5 billion, excluding interest from joint lead managers (JLMs). This strong demand is a clear reflection of investor confidence in QIB’s creditworthiness, Qatar’s stable economic environment, and the resilience of Islamic finance structures in global capital markets.

Structured as a wakala/murabaha sukuk, the senior unsecured notes will be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market, further enhancing QIB’s visibility and access to global investors. The sukuk was issued under QIB Sukuk Ltd., a special purpose vehicle established to manage the bank’s $5 billion trust certificate issuance program, which remains subject to market conditions.

The transaction was backed by a consortium of high-profile financial institutions acting as joint lead managers. These include Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Dukhan Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, KFH Capital, Mashreq, QNB Capital, QInvest, SMBC, Standard Chartered Bank, and The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector.

This successful issuance highlights QIB’s strategic financial management and its continued ability to access diverse sources of funding in global markets while maintaining its commitment to Islamic finance principles.

Abu Dhabi’s economic growth will continue to remain resilient at 2.5% in 2025, driven by buoyant non-oil sector activity amid increased oil production, according to S&P Global Ratings.

The growth is forecast to accelerate to 3.5% on average over 2026-2028, underpinned by still-buoyant non-hydrocarbon activity rising 3% a year.

“We expect Abu Dhabi’s oil production will increase gradually since OPEC+ quotas are partially lifted and state-owned oil producer, refiner, and distributor ADNOC increases its capacity to 5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027 from 4.85 million bpd currently,” Giulia Filocca, Primary Credit Analyst, Dubai, S&P, wrote in the report.

Over the next few years, S&P expects the Ghasha gas and Ruwais LNG projects to significantly enhance Abu Dhabi’s gas production capacity. According to the rating agency, the exceptional strength of the government’s balance sheet provides a buffer to counteract fiscal and external shocks. “We expect the government will run fiscal surpluses over our forecast horizon to 2028, assuming Brent oil prices of $65 per barrel in 2025 and $70 per barrel beyond then,” Filocca said. She said Abu Dhabi’s fiscal buffers exceeded 300% of GDP, which underpins its creditworthiness, adding that regional tensions are anticipated to have a “limited effect on the emirate amid continued domestic stability”.

The emirate’s fiscal and external positions will remain strong over the next two years, thanks to its continued prudent policymaking and hydrocarbon sector price assumptions, Filocca stated.