Real Estate, Biotech and Naked Swims! The Belgian stock market is reputed for its Real Estate and Biotech or Medtech companies. Real estate stocks had a glorious ride, sponsored by the ECB’s lenient policies. Ultralow and negative interest rates pushed valuation and earnings higher and so went those stocks. Until the day of reckoning. And it came with a vengeance. Real estate ...

The global transition to clean and renewable energy sources has significantly accelerated in recent years, with solar photovoltaic (PV) installations spearheading this movement. The statistics are nothing short of impressive: a staggering 1,047 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV systems have been installed worldwide, representing a remarkable twenty-six-fold growth since 2010. In 2022 ...

The past two years have provided bond investors with several lessons. The foremost lesson is that inflation hasn’t disappeared indefinitely. Consequently, the era of ultra-low interest rates isn’t everlasting either, especially as central banks have begun raising interest rates to fight inflation. This trend is illustrated in the graph below. Interest rates in both the US and E ...

The presence of electric vehicles on our roads is becoming ever more pronounced. In the first quarter of 2023, fully electric cars accounted for 13.4% of all new car sales in Europe. Scandinavia has traditionally been at the vanguard of this movement. Norway leads the way with an impressive 84%, followed by Sweden at 36.2% and Finland at 31.4%. The Netherlands comes in a close ...

Obesity: What Are We Solving For? The discourse surrounding the optimal treatment for obesity - and its corresponding financial reimbursements – is currently in the spotlight. This renewed interest is spurred by the rapid emergence of a new class of injectable weight-loss treatments: the GLP1 drugs. GLP-1 or glucagon-like peptide-1, is a hormone released in the gut after food ...

What Are Nature-Based Solutions? The concept of nature-based solutions has many definitions. One prominent definition from the International Union for Conservation of Nature:   “Nature-based solutions are actions inspired and supported by nature. They are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits, and help build resilience.”   This ...

Breaking Resistance, Building the Future For the past three weeks, academics as well as the general public were under the spell of a potential superconductor at room temperature. A superconductor is a substance that offers no resistance to the electric current when it becomes colder than a critical temperature. The material has the physical property where electrical resistance ...

In an essay titled “Regrets on Parting with my Old Dressing Gown”, the eighteenth-century French philosopher Denis Diderot tells of being presented with a beautiful scarlet dressing gown. The author’s joy quickly turns to dissatisfaction as, compared to his new garment, his old possessions seem tawdry and inelegant. This sets of a shopping spree, which sees him replacing his ol ...

Although the Belgian summer has been especially, well, Belgian this year, climate change has been wreaking havoc in many parts of the world. Forest fires in Hawaii and Greece, floods in Italy, and extreme heat in many regions are being reported. The urgency and severity of climate change is unavoidable at this point. Yet, many people struggle with how to turn those heartbreakin ...

In the global pursuit of a greener and more sustainable future, the Paris Agreement stands as a testament to the commitment of 195 countries to mitigate climate change. Within Europe the European Union's Green Deal was reached in 2020, shaping the pathway across various sectors to address the climate challenges ahead. The financial sector plays a pivotal role in driving the tra ...