Tighter belts in Asia – Sound Economies with Mel & Peter, 21 May 2026

Hardly a reset – Sound Economies with Mel & Peter, 25 June 2026

Oil prices are back to pre-conflict levels amid good progress on US-Iran negotiations, yet financial markets and household lifestyles did not get a reset from the high costs the war brought on. We explore what’s next after high fuel prices, a brief sell-off of AI stocks, the latest on MSCI’s ruling on Indonesia, and Japan’s momentum in arms exports in this episode. Timestamp: (00:00) - Lundgreen's Invest - High-Tech Defence Fund secures quadruple exit (00:31) - Episode rundown (00:51) - Intro (01:20) - Quick updates (03:21) - Relaxed defence exports in Japan (07:08) - Global AI stocks sell-off (11:46) - MSCI postpones decision on Indonesian stock market (16:32) - Oil prices back to normal? (24:53) - Our global outlook

Hawks stepping up – Sound Economies with Mel & Peter, 18 June 2026

A hawkish US Federal Reserve is out to fight high inflation, which we see fueling greater volatility for the rest of 2026. We also look at disappointing consumption data in China, discuss expectations of faster gold accumulation by central banks, and share our expert outlook on the defence sector. Timestamp: (00:00) - Lundgreen's Invest - High-Tech Defence Fund secures quadruple exit (00:31) - Episode rundown (00:50) - Intro (01:19) - Quick updates (03:58) - Total retail sales in China slide down (12:06) - Our insights into the defense sector (18:59) - Central banks taking on more gold (22:42) - US Fed's way forward (27:16) - Our global outlook

Choices have been made – Sound Economies with Mel & Peter, 11 June 2026

The European Central Bank raised interest rates today – a move we do not agree with, as this will kill any remaining chance of a growth rebound for the region. This episode, we also look at faster US inflation; how the mega-IPOs of SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI will affect global stocks; and Brazil’s plan to ramp up oil production. Timestamp: (00:00) - Episode rundown (00:21) - Intro (00:48) - Quick updates (02:21) - Brazil's prospects to expand oil production (06:36) - AI companies mount mega IPOs in Wall Street (15:04) - US inflation picks up (18:09) - A suggestion for the ECB (22:15) - Our global outlook

Playing checkers with China stocks – Sound Economies with Mel & Peter, 4 June 2026

Chinese equities are becoming more attractive among global investors and family offices. At home, however, the state is cracking down on outbound equity investments. This episode, we also raise concern about Japan’s new debt for continued oil price subsidies and the rising popularity of convertible bonds in the US. Timestamp: (00:00) - Episode rundown (00:20) - Intro (00:48) - Quick updates (02:18) - New supplementary budget in Japan builds on growing debt (07:12) - More international investors rebalancing towards China stocks (12:16) - Chinese government cracks down on US equity investments (16:40) - Warning signs for US convertible bonds (22:15) - Our global outlook

Envisioning the world after war – Sound Economies with Mel & Peter, 28 May 2026

How will the global economy look like when the Russia-Ukraine and US-Iran conflicts are resolved? Let's find out. This episode also looks at Chinese property developers investing into semiconductor firms to rescue valuations, Italy’s slow progress on reforms, and major central banks signaling openness to rate hikes amid high inflation. Timestamp: (00:00) - Episode rundown (00:23) - Intro (00:50) - Quick updates (02:16) - China's property firms find workaround to save valuations (07:25) - Italy's reform attempts fall short (13:18) - Central banks on rate hikes amid persisting inflation (22:33) - What's in for the global economy beyond the US-Iran conflict (30:03) - Our global outlook