NEWSLETTER of February 13, 2026

The following content has been added at finexpert:

GLOBAL EQUITIES IN 2026: SAME, SAME… BUT DIFFERENT
FTSE Russell - The FTSE All World Index returned 23.1% in 2025. Outperforming the US by the widest margin in 16 years. Broadening of the global equity rally – by industry and geography – was a key theme. Meanwhile the US became even more concentrated. The top 10 names in the FTSE USA are now nearly 40% and the top 2 stocks weigh more than the combined weight of the Energy, Utilities, Real Estate, Telecommunications and Basic Materials industries. Markets rerated in 2025, with richer valuations leaving less room for multiple driven index growth; this puts more emphasis on delivery of earnings growth. Developed Asia ex Japan and Emerging Markets have the strongest forward EPS growth estimates. In many ways, 2026 looks like a continuation of 2025, rather than a reset. Several factors which supported Developed ex US and EM are likely to persist in 2026 providing tailwinds to ex-US assets. >more

KfW Research
LEASINGNUTZUNG IM MITTELSTAND BLEIBT STABIL
KfW Research - Leasing is an established procurement tool among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2024, around 18% of SMEs will have concluded leasing agreements for the acquisition of fixed assets – unchanged from 2021 (18%). This is shown by a special evaluation of the KfW SME Panel. Fixed assets continue to be purchased much more frequently than leased in SMEs. Leasing was most commonly used in the larger SME segment (55%). In a sector comparison, SMEs in the service sector were ahead (20%); in manufacturing (18%) and construction (11%), usage declined slightly. Data for the overall leasing market show that passenger cars were by far the most frequently leased items in 2024. Nevertheless, leasing has the potential to make an important contribution to the dual transformation of the economy. This is because leasing is a suitable (financing) alternative for investment projects in the areas of digitalization and climate neutrality. >more

GERMAN VENTURE CAPITAL BAROMETER Q4 2025
KfW Research - The business climate on the German venture capital market (VC market) slumped significantly in the final quarter of 2025. The sentiment indicator fell sharply to -32.4 points in the fourth quarter of 2025. The indicator for the current business situation declined by 25.9 points to -37.5 points, while the indicator for business expectations slumped by 38.9 points to -27.4 points. At the end of 2025, investor sentiment was thus only slightly above its five-year low at the end of 2022 following the rapid interest rate turnaround to combat inflation. Compared to the almost steady recovery in sentiment between 2022 and 2024, sentiment in 2025 was very volatile. >more

GERMAN PRIVATE EQUITY BAROMETER Q4 2025
KfW Research - The mood among German private equity investors is brightening. The business climate indicator for the segment of the equity capital market focused on investments in established companies rose by 20.0 points to -16.7 points in the fourth quarter of 2025. Following the surge in sentiment in the second quarter and the subsequent hard landing in the third quarter, the rollercoaster ride of emotions on the German private equity market continued into the end of the year. The indicator for the business situation rose more significantly than the indicator for business expectations, climbing 29.5 points to -11.2 points compared to a rise of 10.5 points to -22.1 points. >more

INDUSTRIE: TALFAHRT BEENDET, ERHOLUNG 2026/27 DANK FISKALIMPULSEN
Deutsche Bank Research - Industrial production in Germany fell by 1.6% in 2025. The decline in production slowed significantly compared to 2024 (-4.8%). In addition, the downward trend of previous years came to an end in the course of 2025. We are confident that manufacturing output in Germany will rise again in 2026 and 2027. However, this would not come close to offsetting the losses of previous years. Structural reforms are essential to strengthen Germany as an industrial location in the long term beyond the next two years. >more

THE RESEARCH BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS
Toomas Laarits, and Jeffrey Wurgler
2025
Browser data from an approximately representative sample of individual investors offers a detailed account of their search for information, including how much time they spend on stock research, which stocks they research, what categories of information they seek, and when they gather information relative to events and trades. The median individual investor spends approximately six minutes on research per trade on traded tickers, mostly just before the trade; the mean spends around half an hour. Individual investors spend the most time reviewing price charts, followed by analyst opinions, and exhibit little interest in traditional risk statistics. Aggregate research interest is highly correlated with stock size, and salient news and earnings announcements draw more attention. Individual investors have different research styles, and those that focus on short-term information are more likely to trade more speculative stocks. >more

BLOCKING THE CREDIT CHAIN: CRYPTOCURRENCIES, DEPOSITS, AND BANK LOAN GROWTH
Allen N. Berger, Jiarui Guo, Stephen A. Karolyi, and Leili Pour Rostami
2026
We find that retail bank deposits decline in markets with a higher share of cryptocurrency-investing households during periods of high cryptocurrency returns. Exploiting cross-sectional variation in banks’ spatial exposures to these households, we find this dynamic aggregates to the bank level and leads to lower loan growth for exposed banks. It also extends to the county level, producing slower establishment and employment growth, particularly in bank-dependent industries. Our results highlight a novel indirect exposure of banks to cryptocurrency markets, illustrating how participation in cryptocurrency markets can affect the real economy by weakening traditional financial intermediation. >more