China, #UAE Lead List of Those at Risk From Trump’s #Iran Tariff - Bloomberg

China, UAE Lead List of Those at Risk From Trump’s Iran Tariff - Bloomberg

China and the United Arab Emirates are Iran’s largest trading partners, putting them at the top of the list of countries at risk of being hit by President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff threat.

Trump said Monday he would impose a 25% tariff on goods from nations doing business with Iran, which also puts the US’s European allies in the mix.

The initiative, which Trump said would take effect “immediately,” is likely intended to further isolate and pressurize Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime as it cracks down on more than two weeks of nationwide protests. The US leader has openly backed the demonstrators, and had already made a series of non-specific threats to intervene.

China — with which Trump agreed a trade truce in October — tops the ranking of Tehran’s trading partners, with commerce amounting to $17.8 billion in 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund. Iran sends close to 90% of its oil to China.

The UAE comes second in the ranking with $16.1 billion, before a large drop off to Turkey in third, with $8.8 billion.

European economies are also exposed. Iran’s trade with Germany and Switzerland amounted to almost $3.5 billion combined. India, another country to have grappled with Washington over trade, is fourth on the list. Uzbekistan, with which Trump announced a trade and economic deal in November, had $1.3 billion in trade with Iran in 2024.

Trump didn’t specify which transactions, goods, or entities would be subject to the tariffs, or how they would be enforced. Iranian trade data is opaque, as the country publishes limited statistics to avoid sanctions and operates routes through third countries.

Iranian protests erupted late last year after a sudden collapse in the value of the currency, partly as a result of severe economic sanctions linked to the country’s nuclear program. They have since broadened into the biggest and most violent challenge to Khamenei’s rule, capturing the attention of world leaders and inflating the price of oil.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday became the first Group of Seven leader to predict the downfall of Iran’s regime, saying it’s in its “final days.”

China, the UAE, Turkey and India have has yet to comment on the proposed measures.

Mubadala-Backed CI Buys Invesco’s Canadian Fund Assets - Bloomberg

Mubadala-Backed CI Buys Invesco’s Canadian Fund Assets - Bloomberg

Atlanta-based Invesco Ltd. is selling its C$26 billion ($18.7 billion) Canadian investment fund business to CI Global Asset Management, furthering the M&A trend in the country’s mutual fund industry.

CI will become the manager for 100 Invesco mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, bringing the Toronto-based firm’s assets to C$170 billion. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Invesco will stay on as a sub-adviser to 63 of those funds, representing about half the assets, or C$13 billion.

Invesco will be “reducing its Canadian operating footprint,” Andrea Raphael, its chief communications officer, said in an emailed statement. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.

The Canadian mutual fund industry has consolidated over the past decade as the rise of ETFs and increased regulatory scrutiny led to lower fees and thinner margins. CI Financial Corp. itself was taken private last year by Mubadala Capital in one of the largest-ever acquisitions by an Abu Dhabi entity in the financial sector.

The Invesco transaction “will cement our ranking as one of the largest investment fund companies in Canada and position the firm for continued growth,” Kurt MacAlpine, CI’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Trimark History

Invesco Canada’s predecessor companies have a storied place in the country’s mutual fund industry.

Trimark Financial Corp. was founded by Robert Krembil, Michael Axford and Arthur Labatt in 1981. Focused on value investing, it was Canada’s sixth-largest mutual fund company with C$25 billion in assets before Britain’s Amvescap struck a deal to buy it in 2000.

Trimark “was a firm that launched products that they thought would really improve investor outcomes. They didn’t just launch the flavor of the day,” said Dan Hallett, head of research at HighView Financial Group in Oakville, Ontario. He lauded Trimark for starting Canadian natural resources and small-cap funds in 1998, before those strategies had widespread investor interest and proven returns.

CI has attempted to buy this division before. In 2005, it unsuccessfully tried a hostile bid for Amvescap, partly motivated by its desire to own the Trimark operations. Amvescap changed its name to Invesco in 2007.

Mutual fund and ETF assets in Canada totaled C$3.2 trillion as of Nov. 30, according to the Securities and Investment Management Association, with ETFs accounting for 22% of that amount.

Most Gulf bourses gain on rising oil prices | Reuters

Most Gulf bourses gain on rising oil prices | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf closed higher on Tuesday helped by climbing oil prices, while investors assessed the possible impact on the dollar and interest rates after the U.S. administration threatened Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell with a criminal indictment.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - extended gains as heightened concerns surrounding major producer Iran and potential supply disruptions overshadowed the prospect of increased crude supply from Venezuela.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab advanced 1.4%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab rising 1.9% and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (1211.SE), opens new tab jumping 4.9%.

Elsewhere, oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab climbed 2.7%.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab gained 0.8%, with top lender Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU), opens new tab rising 1.7% and sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank (DISB.DU), opens new tab was up 1.2%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab added 0.3%.

In the U.S., the Trump administration appears to be on the offensive again against the Federal Reserve, reviving concerns about the central bank's independence and contributing to greater uncertainty over the economic outlook.

Gulf markets often track shifts in U.S. rate expectations, as most regional currencies are pegged to the dollar.

Further fuelling geopolitical worries, U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that any country doing business with Iran will be hit with a 25% U.S. tariff, as Washington considers how to respond to Iran's crackdown on major anti-government protests.

The Qatari index (.QSI), opens new tab concluded 0.6% higher, with Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab putting up 1.8%.

Post trading hours, the Gulf's biggest lender by assets Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, which ended 1% higher, reported an annual net profit of 17 billion riyals ($4.66 billion).

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EXG30), opens new tab rose 0.7%, with Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA), opens new tab leaping 4.5%.