Concerns that escalating trade tensions will slow global growth have prompted equity markets to retreat from recent highs and have helped send global bond yields lower.

No news was good news for global equities.

Germany, known for its fiscal probity, is considering loosening the purse strings to help finance a climate protection program.

Working together with its research and development unit main incubator, Commerzbank is the first German bank to develop a blockchain-based payment solution for machine-to-machine (M2M) payments.

On Thursday, Deutsche Börse announced an unscheduled change to the MDAX index.

As investors have gravitated towards safe haven assets, demand for Austria’s 100-year sovereign bond has been especially notable.

When an investor is forced to sell out of their portfolio during a market drawdown, they not only lock in otherwise-temporary losses, but they also prevent their assets from fully participating in the market recovery (and future gains).

In the first half of 2019, Commerzbank continued growth in customers and assets.

More conciliatory comments from the US administration on US–China trade have helped equity markets recover part of their recent sharp losses.

Trump on Monday accused China of “currency manipulation” after the country’s authorities allowed the yuan to reach a decade-plus low against the US dollar.