Spring Waves

Of all the many problems caused by Covid-19, three of the most visible have been food insecurity, the demise of small businesses and asset market volatility🧐

All of those things might be poised to get worse, thanks to an unexpected but important financial shift. Big banks, including Amro, and Paribas, are either pulling out of commodity trade financing or scaling it back. This will leave a funding hole for some farmers, agricultural producers and distributors, as well as grocery chains and other small and medium-sized companies that represent crucial parts of the global food supply chain.👈

Leading groups including , and have attracted record investment during the pandemic, according to data from Fund Research, which tracks the investment activities of more than 180 of the world’s largest funds

But , a portfolio manager at Federated Hermes, said the combination of new regulations and a move by the administration to prohibit investors from investing in companies with suspected ties to the military, had heightened risk.

As governments combat a resurgent pandemic, the chief executive of , the world’s largest , is fighting his own battle.
“Many of our differentiators, all our knowledge, our actual capabilities, will not be as important any more,” Mr Diess told the in an interview at ’s sprawling headquarters in .