NEWSLETTER of October 17, 2025

The following content has been added at finexpert:

EIF | Invet Europe
EIF EQUITY SURVEY 2025
Invest Europe, the association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors, as well as their investors, has collaborated with European Investment Fund, Europe’s largest venture capital investor, to release the EIF Equity Survey 2025. The study takes the pulse of PE and VCs operating in Europe and finds an improvement in current market sentiment versus 2024 levels, as well as a recovery in future expectations, particularly for fundraising and exits, compared with early 2025 when the threat of tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty swept through markets. >more

KfW Research
KFW VENTURE CAPITAL-DASHBOARD Q3 2025
German start-ups raised less capital in the third quarter of 2025 than in previous quarters. In total, they raised around €1.3 billion – a decline of 47% compared to the strong second quarter. From April to June, however, market activity was dominated by six mega rounds in which well over €100 million was invested. In the third quarter, there was only one such mega round. At 200, the number of transactions remained only slightly below the previous quarter. >more

Deutsche Bank Research
DEUTSCHLAND-MONITOR BAUFINANZIERUNG Q4/2025
The ECB's cycle of interest rate cuts is likely to be over. By contrast, we expect long-term mortgage rates to continue rising. Interest rate volatility is therefore likely to decrease. We expect our index to reach 88 points by the end of 2025. Despite the rise in financing interest rates, we are very optimistic about completion figures. The construction sector could also benefit from multiple technological revolutions, which could lead to strong growth in completion figures in the medium to long term. >more

Deloitte
ECONOMIC TREND BRIEFING – WIRTSCHAFT IN ZWEI GESCHWINDIGKEITEN: FLASH-ERGEBNISSE DES DELOITTE CFO SURVEY HERBST 2025
In spring, despite the US tariff announcements at the time, the Deloitte CFO Survey showed surprisingly resilient prospects for German companies. Companies wanted to adapt to the new circumstances by increasing investment. Together with the reforms announced by the new federal government, there was hope for an economic turnaround. However, the results of the current CFO Survey for autumn 2025 show that the spirit of optimism has waned, at least from a corporate perspective. Business prospects are stagnating and are even deteriorating for the manufacturing sector. The survey, which was conducted from 11 September to 2 October 2025, involved 171 chief financial officers from large German companies. >more

CEO STRESS, AGING, AND DEATH
Mark Borgschulte, Marius Guenzel, Canyao Liu, and Ulrike Malmendier
2025
We assess the long-term effects of managerial stress on aging and mortality. First, we show that exposure to industry distress shocks during the Great Recession produces visible signs of aging in CEOs. Applying neural-network based machine-learning techniques to pre- and post-distress pictures, we estimate an increase in so-called apparent age by one year. Second, using data on CEOs since the mid-1970s, we estimate a 1.1-year decrease in life expectancy after an industry distress shock, but a two-year increase when anti-takeover laws insulate CEOs from market discipline. The estimated health costs are significant, also relative to other known health risks. >more

ESG NEWS, FUTURE CASH FLOWS, AND FIRM VALUE
François Derrien, Philipp Krueger, Augustin Landier, and Tianhao Yao
2025
We investigate the expected consequences of negative ESG news on firms' future profits.  After learning about negative ESG news, analysts significantly downgrade their forecasts at short and longer horizons. Negative ESG news affect forecasts more strongly at longer horizons than other types of negative corporate news. The negative revisions of earnings forecasts following negative ESG news mostly reflect expectations of lower future sales (rather than higher future costs). Quantitatively, forecast revisions can explain most of the negative impacts of ESG news on firm value. Analysts are correct to revise forecasts downward following negative ESG news.  >more