In this edition, China's consumption push extends opportunities; AI investments stay strong, but US tariffs pose risks to other areas; value in travel sector elusive, even as penchant for trips persists; and ZTO Express, Nike, and Sodexo.

Ageas was spun out of Fortis during the financial crisis after a consortium including Banco Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland launched a failed bid for ABN Amro. The takeover was badly timed and ambitious, and to fund it Fortis started selling noncore divisions while writing down collateralised debt. As Fortis’ capital began to decline, the company initiated a rights issue and the long-held promised dividend was suspended. As Fortis’ share price began to decline and financial market conditions continued to worsen, with a series of leadership changes customers began to withdraw deposits. Fortis was approached by the government and sold its domestic banking operations to the Belgium government, and BNP Paribas and was asked to spin off its insurance and asset management divisions.

Ageas was spun out of Fortis during the financial crisis after a consortium including Banco Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland launched a failed bid for ABN Amro. The takeover was badly timed and ambitious, and to fund it Fortis started selling noncore divisions while writing down collateralised debt. As Fortis’ capital began to decline, the company initiated a rights issue and the long-held promised dividend was suspended. As Fortis’ share price began to decline and financial market conditions continued to worsen, with a series of leadership changes customers began to withdraw deposits. Fortis was approached by the government and sold its domestic banking operations to the Belgium government, and BNP Paribas and was asked to spin off its insurance and asset management divisions.

Hannover Re is a Germany-based reinsurance company with a strong reputation in writing specialist lines of reinsurance and a low-cost operating model. The business and its management team are highly disciplined, rarely ever making an acquisition and favouring a strategy of special dividends over committing to buybacks when looking to return excess capital to shareholders. We also find the business innovative in finding alternative and unearthed profit sources.