This year’s European summer heatwave and drought has the potential to worsen the current energy crisis, as river water levels have dropped significantly.

June marked another month of strong volatility, with core rates moving sharply upwards over the first half, while the second half saw some respite, albeit in a fairly turbulent environment.

Global equity markets further corrected in June, delivering the worst first half-year returns in over 50 years (for developed markets). The Fed made it very clear that combating inflation was its first priority, even if this could potentially lead to a recession. This hard landing scenario really spooked investors, who reduced their stock holdings. Additionally, the war in Ukraine continues, and apart from the human suffering, continues to put pressure on food and energy prices.

As the investment community was slowly preparing for a well-deserved summer break, a higher-than-expected US CPI read revived fears that a recession might be around the corner. Uncontrolled inflation is pushing central bankers to continue raising the cost of capital, as the Fed did at its June meeting.

Every day we are reminded of the sweeping impact of climate change. As a responsible investor, we have a key role to play in financing the transition towards a low-carbon economy ….we have a role in financing a transition that takes place in a just and equal way … and we can help control climate change.

Recent rises in inflation -- to levels not seen in decades -- have negatively affected returns across most asset classes.

Since the beginning of the year, the European market – like its peers - has suffered a severe correction.

Candriam’s evaluation of its portfolios’ carbon footprint takes into account scopes 1 and 2 of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the different private issuers included in the SRI funds and their benchmark indices.

For many years, and with the gradual rise of ESG investing, investors have been excluding the defence sector from their investments due to the adverse nature of armaments which have often served to infringe human rights and led to devastating effects on human lives and the overall well-being of society.