Hi, this is Andrea in Prague. Welcome to our weekly newsletter on what’s shaping economics and investments from the Baltic Sea to the Balkans. You can subscribe here . Get It Done President Volodymyr Zelenskiy didn’t mince his words with Ukrainian lawmakers. Either get on with passing the necessary legislation, or go and serve the country on the front line in the war against Russia. The sharp mess...
Hi, this is Andrea in Prague. Welcome to our weekly newsletter on what’s shaping economics and investments from the Baltic Sea to the Balkans. You can subscribe here . Get It Done President Volodymyr Zelenskiy didn’t mince his words with Ukrainian lawmakers. Either get on with passing the necessary legislation, or go and serve the country on the front line in the war against Russia. The sharp message came as representatives of the International Monetary Fund headed to the country. Their mission was to check on progress on the amendments needed to ensure aid from Ukraine’s $8.1 billion package keeps flowing, as my colleagues Volodymyr Verbianyi and Olesia Safronova reported from Kyiv. Parliament’s 393 members have until the end of this month to get the changes approved by at least 226 votes, otherwise the war-torn nation will find itself in increased difficulty. But they’ve been stalling because the measures are unpopular with the electorate, raising taxes on businesses and households just after the war entered its fifth year. The prospect of having IMF funds frozen couldn’t come at a worse time. Ukraine is already strapped for cash after Hungary vetoed a European Union loan package worth more than €90 billion ($104 billion) because of a dispute over oil supplies . Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban defied pressure from European allies, saying he won’t budge until oil flows from Russia are restored. The central bank may have to lend directly to the government to plug the hole like it did in the first year of the full-scale war, Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said earlier this month. Zelenskiy needs the support. He’s fighting to keep his allies close and engaged, both at home and abroad. The coming weeks will show whether his threat to parliamentarians has worked. The IMF’s next review of Ukraine’s program is scheduled for June. Around the Region Montenegro: The EU is close to overcoming a key obstacle to the Balkan nation’s membership bid: its de-facto adoption of the eu...
narvo vexar/iStock via Getty Images Q4 2025 Fund Performance Summary For the quarter ending December 31, 2025, the fund's total return was -2.05% on NAV and -5.67% on market price versus a 1.71% return for the blended comparator index (30% MSCI ACWI Index, 20% ICE BofA All US Convertibles Index, and 50% Bloomberg US High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index). The fund's one-year return was 8.06% on NAV an...
narvo vexar/iStock via Getty Images Q4 2025 Fund Performance Summary For the quarter ending December 31, 2025, the fund's total return was -2.05% on NAV and -5.67% on market price versus a 1.71% return for the blended comparator index (30% MSCI ACWI Index, 20% ICE BofA All US Convertibles Index, and 50% Bloomberg US High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index). The fund's one-year return was 8.06% on NAV and 10.53% on market price versus 12.35% for the comparator index. Fund positioning reflected a growing conviction that AI infrastructure narratives were approaching their apex, prompting a gradual reduction in momentum-driven mega caps while increasing exposure to pro-growth cyclicals. The long portfolio generated solid returns, led by industrials, which benefited from spillover effects from data center buildouts. Advantaged Yield, Earned Distributions The fund (CPZ) provides monthly distributions that have been less dependent on interest rates than traditional income strategies. As of December 31, 2025, the fund has paid distributions totaling $9.93 per share since inception. The fund is currently paying monthly distributions of $0.1400 per share. This distribution aligns with the investment team's prioritization of healthy shareholder distributions. We continue to have confidence in the fund's ability to sustain its risk-managed returns across the equity and fixed-income markets while allowing investors to participate directly in those returns through higher monthly payouts. Leverage The ability to employ leverage is a feature of our strategy. We maintained leverage of $120 million during the quarter. We believe the judicious use of leverage, at approximately 27% as of December 31, 2025, will be accretive to performance as it has been over the fund's life. Never a Dull Moment The Calamos Phineus Long/Short Fund (Class I shares at NAV) declined -1.32% in Q4 on an average net equity exposure of 16.6%— below the fund's 28.4% historical average and reflecting our systematic re...
Xiaomi’s updated SU7 electric vehicle (EV) is expected to bite into the market share of Tesla and some domestic rivals in China, as demand weakens and regulators tighten oversight Founder and CEO Lei Jun on Thursday announced official pricing for the new-generation smart sedan, with the standard edition starting at 219,900 yuan (US$31,900) and the pro and max variants set at 249,900 yuan and 303,9...
Xiaomi’s updated SU7 electric vehicle (EV) is expected to bite into the market share of Tesla and some domestic rivals in China, as demand weakens and regulators tighten oversight Founder and CEO Lei Jun on Thursday announced official pricing for the new-generation smart sedan, with the standard edition starting at 219,900 yuan (US$31,900) and the pro and max variants set at 249,900 yuan and 303,900 yuan, respectively. The figures are 10,000 yuan lower than pre-sale estimates, but 4,000 yuan higher than the first-generation SU7, which launched in March 2024 at 215,900 yuan. Advertisement Lei said the adjustment reflected significant improvements in vehicle configurations and rising supply chain costs , adding that the new model offered strong value for money. Citibank described the pricing as fair and suggested the model’s mature monthly run-rate could return to 270,000 units, according to a note on Thursday. Advertisement “When compared with competing brands in the same price range, it is roughly on par or slightly better than peers, without very obvious advantages beyond the average level,” said Citi analyst Kyna Wong. “We believe it will marginally take some of the Tesla Model 3, Zeekr 007 and Xpeng P7 market share.”
China’s ravenous appetite for silver lifted overseas purchases to an eight-year high at the start of 2026, as importers fed a surge in industrial and investment demand. The world’s biggest buyer pulled in over 790 tons in the first two months, including nearly 470 tons in February, the highest ever for that month, according to Chinese customs data on Friday. Strong demand has pushed local prices w...
China’s ravenous appetite for silver lifted overseas purchases to an eight-year high at the start of 2026, as importers fed a surge in industrial and investment demand. The world’s biggest buyer pulled in over 790 tons in the first two months, including nearly 470 tons in February, the highest ever for that month, according to Chinese customs data on Friday. Strong demand has pushed local prices well above international benchmarks, whittling down already-low exchange stockpiles and hoovering up metal from abroad. Silver prices have never had such a volatile start to a year, soaring about 70% on a wave of speculative buying from China and elsewhere, before abruptly giving up their gains at the end of January. The strong import figures suggest physical consumption in China has been sustained despite shifts in trading flows. Demand has come from both retail investors piling into silver bars , an alternative to increasingly pricey gold, and solar manufacturers front-loading production ahead of the removal of export tax rebates on April 1. The solar industry consumes about a fifth of annual supply, and is overwhelmingly located in China. Demand for physical bars is very strong, and solar cell manufacturers “are going gangbusters,” said Rhona O’Connell , head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia at StoneX Group Inc. “At the same time, inventories in Chinese exchanges have been falling lower and lower, which has its own psychological effect.” Much of the metal has flowed through Hong Kong, a gateway for precious metals headed to the mainland, as traders sought to profit from an attractive arbitrage opportunity. In the first two months, prices in the territory for the large silver bars traded by banks have attracted a premium of as much as $8 an ounce, when they usually trade at a discount to the benchmark in London, said Stanley Cheung, managing director of AC Precious Metals Refinery Ltd. China’s lofty imports have yet to disrupt the London market, thanks to a record infl...
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and a veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, has emerged as the highest-profile political figure in the Islamic Republic after the killing of its leaders. A pillar of the Iranian establishment for some three decades and one of the Islamic republic’s most prominent non-clerical figures, Ghalibaf, 64, now appears to be playing a key role spearheading...
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and a veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, has emerged as the highest-profile political figure in the Islamic Republic after the killing of its leaders. A pillar of the Iranian establishment for some three decades and one of the Islamic republic’s most prominent non-clerical figures, Ghalibaf, 64, now appears to be playing a key role spearheading the war effort. Whereas the son and successor of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not appeared in public and has issued just three written statements, Ghalibaf has been unleashing regular posts on X and giving multiple interviews. Advertisement “We are in an unequal war, with an asymmetrical set-up, we must do something and use equipment with our own culture, design and creativity,” he told Iranian television on Wednesday. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in 2024. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament via dpa In a post on X, he added that after attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure, “an eye-for-an-eye sum is in effect, and a new level of confrontation has begun”.