About this content About Angela Harmantas Angela Harmantas is an Editor at Proactive. She has over 15 years of experience covering the equity markets in North America, with a particular focus on junior resource stocks. Angela has reported from numerous countries around the world, including Canada, the US, Australia, Brazil, Ghana, and South Africa for leading trade publications. Previously, she worked in investor relations and led the foreign direct investment program in Canada for the Swedish government ...

Core Insights - The article discusses the investment strategies and focus areas of The Pragmatic Investor, which aims to build diversified portfolios to preserve and increase wealth [1] Group 1: Company Overview - The Pragmatic Investor is led by economist James Foord, who has a decade of experience analyzing global markets [1] - The investment group covers various sectors including global macro, international equities, commodities, technology, and cryptocurrencies [1] Group 2: Services Offered - The Pragmatic Investor provides features such as a dedicated portfolio, weekly market update newsletters, actionable trades, technical analysis, and a chat room for investor engagement [1]

Core Insights - Commerce is experiencing fragmentation, leading to increased volatility in prices for essential economic components [1] Industry Summary - The basic building blocks of the economy are witnessing more price fluctuations, indicating a shift in market dynamics [1]

Group 1: ETF Industry Overview - The global ETF industry is valued at $21 trillion, with a notable surge in oil prices impacting market dynamics [1] - ETFs are currently experiencing inflows of $8 billion per week, surpassing last year's pace of $6 billion [2][3] - The trading crowd is showing interest in international and emerging markets ETFs, while some funds like SLV and GLD are seeing outflows [3] Group 2: Performance of Specific ETFs - The IGV software ETF has seen a significant decline of 22% this year, indicating vulnerability in the software sector, particularly related to AI [4] - The JAAA ETF, launched by Janus Henderson, has absorbed $2.7 billion in assets year-to-date, reflecting strong institutional demand [10][11] - The Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM) has outperformed traditional emerging market indices, with a 100% return over five years [46][49] Group 3: Market Trends and Investor Behavior - There is a shift in investor focus towards commodities, particularly energy, as geopolitical risks become more pronounced [21][23] - The trend of rising expense ratios in ETFs is noted, particularly with the increase in active ETFs, which tend to have higher fees [20] - Investors are increasingly looking for diversified exposure in their portfolios, moving away from single commodity investments [22][24]

Core Insights - The article does not provide specific insights or analysis related to any company or industry, focusing instead on the author's background and experience in the financial sector [1]. Summary by Categories - **Experience and Focus**: The author has over five years of experience in the financial industry, primarily focusing on commodities, foreign exchange, and cryptocurrencies [1]. - **General Issues**: The author also engages in writing about broader topics such as equity research, economics, and geopolitics [1].

Core Insights - The article does not provide specific insights or analysis related to any company or industry, focusing instead on the author's background and experience in the financial sector [1]. Summary by Categories - **Author's Experience**: The author has over five years of experience in the financial industry, primarily focusing on commodities, foreign exchange, and cryptocurrencies [1]. - **Writing Focus**: The author also writes on broader topics such as equity research, economics, and geopolitics [1]. - **Colleague Mention**: A colleague, Crispus Nyaga, is noted as a fellow contributor [1].

Group 1 - Proactive Investors provides fast, accessible, informative, and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience [2] - The company specializes in medium and small-cap markets while also covering blue-chip companies, commodities, and broader investment stories [3] - Proactive's news team delivers insights across various sectors including biotech, pharma, mining, natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto, and emerging technologies [3] Group 2 - Proactive has a history of adopting technology to enhance workflows, utilizing decades of expertise from its content creators [4] - The company employs automation and software tools, including generative AI, while ensuring all content is edited and authored by humans [5]

Market Overview - U.S. stocks experienced a decline, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping over 350 points on Thursday. The Dow decreased by 1.21% to 49,515.62, the NASDAQ fell by 1.55% to 22,709.08, and the S&P 500 dropped by 1.18% to 6,859.69 [1] Sector Performance - Utilities shares increased by 2.4% on Thursday, while information technology stocks fell by 1.5% [1] Company Performance - American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) saw its shares rise approximately 5% after reporting positive fourth-quarter results. Adjusted earnings were $1.19 per share, down from $1.24 a year ago but above the Street estimate of $1.15. Revenue reached $5.314 billion, surpassing the analyst consensus of $4.887 billion [2] Commodity Market - In commodity trading, oil prices fell by 1.6% to $63.60, gold decreased by 0.1% to $5,097.40, silver dropped by 1.4% to $82.745, and copper fell by 0.4% to $5.9445 [3] European Market Performance - European shares showed mixed results, with the eurozone's STOXX 600 rising by 0.16%, Spain's IBEX 35 Index falling by 0.63%, London's FTSE 100 slipping by 0.15%, Germany's DAX gaining by 0.98%, and France's CAC 40 rising by 1.04% [4] Asia Pacific Market Performance - Asian markets closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei down by 0.02%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index down by 0.86%, China's Shanghai Composite up by 0.05%, and India's BSE Sensex down by 0.66% [5] Economic Indicators - U.S. initial jobless claims decreased by 5,000 to 227,000 in the first week of February, compared to market estimates of 222,000. Additionally, U.S. natural-gas stocks dipped by 249 billion cubic feet, compared to market estimates of a 257 bcf decline [6]

Core Insights - Jeremy Szafron has joined Kitco News as an anchor and producer, bringing extensive experience in journalism with a focus on finance and commodities [1][5] Group 1: Career Background - Jeremy began his journalism career in 2006 at CTV, initially covering entertainment before transitioning to business reporting, particularly in mining and small-cap sectors [2] - He gained recognition for his macro-financial and market trends analysis, becoming a sought-after commentator on CTV Morning Live and CTV News Network [2] Group 2: Notable Achievements - A significant milestone in Jeremy's career was his coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, where he highlighted the Olympic community and hosted segments from various Country Houses [3] - He developed an online video news program for PressReader, which is a digital newsstand featuring 8,000 newspaper and magazine editions in 60 languages from over 120 countries [3] Group 3: Entrepreneurial Ventures - In 2012, Jeremy launched The Green Scene Podcast, quickly amassing over 400,000 subscribers and establishing himself as a prominent voice in the cannabis industry [4] - Following this success, he created Investor Scene and Initiate Research, platforms that provide exclusive market insights and deal-flow opportunities in mining and Canadian small-caps [4] Group 4: Professional Expertise - Jeremy has served as a market strategist and investor relations consultant for various publicly traded companies across mining, energy, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and technology sectors [5] - He holds a BA in Journalism from Concordia University, which has supported his diverse career trajectory [5]

Core Insights - Governments have become increasingly aware of the importance of energy and food supplies due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine [1] Group 1 - The pandemic has heightened awareness regarding energy supplies [1] - The war in Ukraine has intensified concerns about food supplies [1]