J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images CEFA: Welcome to CEF Insights, your source for closed-end fund information and education, brought to you by the Closed-End Fund Association. Today we are joined by Axel Merk, President and Chief Investment Officer for Merk Investments. Merk Investments is the investment advisor of ASA Gold & Precious Metals Limited ( ASA ). We're so glad you could be with u...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images CEFA: Welcome to CEF Insights, your source for closed-end fund information and education, brought to you by the Closed-End Fund Association. Today we are joined by Axel Merk, President and Chief Investment Officer for Merk Investments. Merk Investments is the investment advisor of ASA Gold & Precious Metals Limited ( ASA ). We're so glad you could be with us. Axel Merk: It's great to be with you again. CEFA: Axel, markets have seen some volatility with shifts in U.S. trade policy, as well as geopolitical tensions. Federal deficits are challenging, but the U.S. economy has been resilient. Where do you see the investment markets currently, and what is your outlook for the rest of 2026? Axel Merk: Thanks for asking me when the news is changing every day, it seems. For the time being, and we're recording this three weeks into the Iran war, for the time being, the market is pricing things in as a shock. And the reason I phrase it this way is because, looking out a few months, the market seems to be pricing in some sense of normalcy, whatever that might mean. The one thing I would suggest as a word of caution as to where we're going to go the shock we're experiencing is a supply shock. And the economically sound reaction to a supply shock tends to be politically unattractive. Politicians tend to do the economically wrong thing when we are faced with a supply shock. If you go to the 1970s, for example, you have an oil shock, and you react with price controls. Not that price controls are in the cards right now, but for the time being, we have extensive volatility. There are supply issues, and if you go through the noise that's extremely volatile, yields are higher, inflation might be higher, but for the most part, markets are holding up. CEFA: Merk Investments has specialized expertise in the gold, precious metals, and minerals sector. When we last spoke in October 2024, gold was trading around $2,650 per ounce, and now gold trades o...
(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging more than 3 percent to above the 53,900 level, with gains acros
(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging more than 3 percent to above the 53,900 level, with gains acros
在设计上海展会总监谭卓看来,设计、时尚、科技之间的交融与关联度越来越深,“尤其是如今科技、AI带来的种种变革,赋予了设计新的工具与生命力”。 3月22日,“设计上海”2026落幕,来自20多个国家和地区的500多个品牌围绕四大板块,为从业者和爱好者带来一场灵感之旅。 今年,展会从浦东的世博展览馆搬回上海展览中心,时间也从6月改回3月,赶上春日的第一波观展热潮。正式启幕前,Design in the...
在设计上海展会总监谭卓看来,设计、时尚、科技之间的交融与关联度越来越深,“尤其是如今科技、AI带来的种种变革,赋予了设计新的工具与生命力”。 3月22日,“设计上海”2026落幕,来自20多个国家和地区的500多个品牌围绕四大板块,为从业者和爱好者带来一场灵感之旅。 今年,展会从浦东的世博展览馆搬回上海展览中心,时间也从6月改回3月,赶上春日的第一波观展热潮。正式启幕前,Design in the City项目已于3月初提前上线,发布年度《城市设计指南》,串联起100多个创意目的地,勾勒出上海的独特城市风貌与创意生活方式。 走进展馆,设计与艺术、科技、时尚、生活方式之间的互相渗透越发明显。在家具与灯具展区,丹麦品牌GUBI再现经典,构建跨越近百年的设计系列;生活方式品牌“上下”融合传统匠心与当代设计,带来有温度的东方设计。在厨卫和整装展区,高端设计方案富有层次,全屋定制、智能家居等品类表现亮眼。新材料与应用展区呈现众多国际品牌的最新材料与应用方案,引领设计走向未来。生活方式与配饰展区一如既往人气高涨,带货能力不容小觑。 受大环境影响以及上海展览中心建筑空间限制,本届展会规模、布展陈列亦迎来挑战,不少品牌都以轻量化的姿态参展。正如面向潜力设计师的TALENTS奖项,今年给出的命题“About Time”——设计本就是与时间相伴的创作,既需要在时光中沉淀思考,也需要以时代为底色表达创新。 在从业者圈圈看来,与往年相比,今年的品牌、人流、展位质感都肉眼可见“收敛”,没有前几年的浮夸和热闹,多了几分务实与克制。“少了玄机,多了实用;少了噱头,多了性价比与落地性。与其说是看设计,更想看行业的真实体温。有人说一年不如一年,但换个角度:大浪淘沙,留下的都是真刚需、真实力。设计行业在冷静,我们也在回归生活本身。” 小而美的设计 去年浦东美术馆的大展《缔造现代:来自巴黎奥赛博物馆的艺术瑰宝》,吸引百万人次观展,文创销售数千万元。其中,梵高画作衍生品如星空、向日葵包袋等受到年轻人喜爱,成为他们表达艺术态度的新方式。 在上海博物馆等文化机构,类似的LOQI文创包袋同样颇为热销。知名IP、图案丰富、自重轻、不到百元价格,让年轻人毫不费力地背着环保袋走上街头。2010年创立于德国柏林的LOQI是全球环保袋领域的头部品牌,与卢浮宫、泰特美术馆、荷兰国家博物馆、梵高博物馆等合作开发产品,将艺术、...