China’s six largest state-owned banks are set to distribute more than 420 billion yuan (US$61 billion) in dividends for 2025, extending record-high payouts and strengthening their appeal as a source of stable income as investors rotate into defensive assets amid low interest rates. Combined payouts from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Agricultural Ban...
China’s six largest state-owned banks are set to distribute more than 420 billion yuan (US$61 billion) in dividends for 2025, extending record-high payouts and strengthening their appeal as a source of stable income as investors rotate into defensive assets amid low interest rates. Combined payouts from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications and Postal Savings Bank of China were expected to...
Shares of Samsung Electronics rose as much as 4.8% on Tuesday after the South Korean technology giant forecast record quarterly profit amid strong demand for artificial intelligence chips. Shares later pared gains to trade up 0.52%. In its preliminary earnings guidance, Samsung projected its operating profit for the January-March quarter to reach 57.2 trillion won ($37.8 billion), up more than eig...
Shares of Samsung Electronics rose as much as 4.8% on Tuesday after the South Korean technology giant forecast record quarterly profit amid strong demand for artificial intelligence chips. Shares later pared gains to trade up 0.52%. In its preliminary earnings guidance, Samsung projected its operating profit for the January-March quarter to reach 57.2 trillion won ($37.8 billion), up more than eightfold from just 6.69 trillion won a year ago. That profit, if it comes to fruition, would represent a quarterly record — nearly three times the previous high — and would exceed estimates of 42.3 trillion won from LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate. Meanwhile, the company's estimated consolidated revenue was projected to surge nearly 70% from a year ago to 133 trillion Korean won. Samsung's upbeat guidance was likely driven by its memory chip business, particularly demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI computing. Its Device Solutions division, which includes memory chips, accounted for 39% of Samsung's revenues and 57% of its operating profits in 2025. Demand for high-bandwidth memory chips has become so explosive over the past year that it has triggered shortages across the memory market, driving massive price and volume spikes for memory makers like Samsung. The results also reflect that Samsung has been strengthening its position in high-bandwidth memory chips after giving up an early lead to its South Korean rival SK Hynix. The company is expected to report full earnings later this month. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Ekaterina79/iStock via Getty Images Commentary as of 12/31/25 The fund posted returns of -0.18% (Institutional shares) and -0.17% (Investor A shares, without sales charge) for the fourth quarter of 2025. The fund underperformed its benchmark as inflation expectations declined and the U.S. nominal yield curve generally steepened. We slightly increased the long exposure to out-of-benchmark Consumer ...
Ekaterina79/iStock via Getty Images Commentary as of 12/31/25 The fund posted returns of -0.18% (Institutional shares) and -0.17% (Investor A shares, without sales charge) for the fourth quarter of 2025. The fund underperformed its benchmark as inflation expectations declined and the U.S. nominal yield curve generally steepened. We slightly increased the long exposure to out-of-benchmark Consumer Price Index basket-linked assets, while we slightly reduced the long position in five-year breakevens (the difference in yield between nominal U.S. Treasuries and Treasury inflation-protected securities with comparable maturities). The fund held a relative value position in UK breakevens and maintained a yield curve-flattening position in Japanese nominal rates. Contributors Detractors The tactical long position in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) was a notable contributor as spreads tightened due to Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cuts and a steepening of the yield curve (where long-term yields increase faster than short-term rates). The rental inflation-linked and credit strategies benefited from positive carry (income) and a generally supportive fixed income backdrop. The fund's exposure to five-year U.S. inflation breakevens performed weakly as inflation expectations declined, moving against our view, while U.S. rates also detracted. The yield curve generally steepened, and the fund's "flattener" (positioning that seeks to benefit from a flattening of the yield curve) weighed on performance, though some of that drag was reversed after we shifted into a "steepener" position in December. The Japanese rates position detracted modestly as the Japanese yield curve steepened overall, against our view that it would flatten. Click to enlarge Further insight We slightly decreased the allocation to agency MBS in October and November, while we added back some exposure in December given expectations that spreads would tighten. The fund maintained its modest long position in Bra...