Ideas
European banks cheap with improving earnings.
Europe's earnings story is not as dependent on AI capex as the US, and European banks are a key part of that earnings strength. Europe offers interesting regional diversification and active opportunities with less AI correlation than other regions.
Overweight Europe, underweight US equities.
European quarterly earnings impressed and broadened beyond energy into financials and banks. Europe is building on strength with successive quarter-on-quarter earnings growth, a rare trait, and on a relative basis Invesco is underweight US equities and overweight Europe on the valuation and broadening recovery story, while US capex and stretched expectations are concerns.
Overweight Europe, underweight US equities.
European quarterly earnings impressed and broadened beyond energy into financials and banks. Europe is building on strength with successive quarter-on-quarter earnings growth, a rare trait, and on a relative basis Invesco is underweight US equities and overweight Europe on the valuation and broadening recovery story, while US capex and stretched expectations are concerns.
AI infrastructure benefits from price war/adoption.
The next leg of the AI rally can come from a price war in large language models and even faster adoption; that supports infrastructure plays including chips, GPU rental rates, data centers and cloud servers because volumes move higher, though investors need to be selective because not everyone wins.
Prefer front-end over long-end Treasuries.
The bond market is worried about the long end, where yields are setting new highs above 5% on a weekly basis because of the inflation outlook, government supply, and heavy corporate issuance for AI data center buildout. Bond yields can continue to rise.
Prefer front-end over long-end Treasuries.
Treasury bill issuance is being absorbed well by money markets, and the front end is the sweet spot for now because the three-year auction had solid demand while the 10-year and 30-year auctions tailed at high yields.
Alphabet strong balance sheet; debt attractive.
Alphabet's debut Australian dollar bond offering is a smart way to access cheap debt rather than a sign of desperation; US IG credit is tight, Alphabet has very strong cash flow and balance sheet, and it is making progress monetizing AI through custom chips and search, supporting favorable credit positioning.
Asia AI hardware trade looks attractive.
Anthropic's revenue growth is causing bullishness in tech under the hood in Asia, with strong performance from the picks-and-shovels trade in Japan and Taiwan. Investors are deciding the water is clearer in hardware in China and Hong Kong while software titans fight it out.
Dollar weakens; EM currencies outperform.
Soft US data including retail sales and the University of Michigan survey is causing doubts over how far the Fed can hike, pressuring the dollar. At the same time, other central banks may act more, making emerging market and Asian currencies more attractive; EM currencies have risen for seven straight weeks and the dollar can continue to weaken.
Dollar weakens; EM currencies outperform.
Soft US data including retail sales and the University of Michigan survey is causing doubts over how far the Fed can hike, pressuring the dollar. At the same time, other central banks may act more, making emerging market and Asian currencies more attractive; EM currencies have risen for seven straight weeks and the dollar can continue to weaken.
Copper miners benefit from record copper.
Copper is near a record high in London, up almost 16% this year, with metal flowing toward the US and tariff uncertainty causing other markets to scramble for supply. That is expected to lift copper miners including Antofagasta, KGHM Polska, Atalaya Mining and BHP.
Healthcare has strong earnings, interesting valuation.
Healthcare is interesting as a portfolio building block because it has the second-strongest earnings expectations after technology and offers exposure away from the concentrated AI trade.
AI trade has further upside.
The AI trade has further to go because earnings remain the key driver and 2027 forecasts are into the 20s, but the journey will be rocky; portfolios should keep AI exposure while diversifying across Europe, banks and healthcare.
Copper squeeze supports higher prices.
Copper has a supportive big picture with struggling mine supply and fast-growing demand. Near term, tariff expectations are sucking metal into the US and leaving the rest of the world tight, with the London prompt spread above $500, a temporary supply squeeze that supports higher copper prices.
Oil risks supported by Hormuz disruptions.
Continued strikes on vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz and escalating regional fighting are keeping oil prices elevated around $90 a barrel. Some barrels are getting through via dark transponder-off shuttle runs, but the supply situation remains tight and vulnerable to escalation.
Gold benefits from weaker dollar.
A weaker dollar and a potentially weaker interest rate environment are benefiting precious metals and gold as traders pare bets on Fed hikes. Metals are stronger across the board, with gold a direct beneficiary of dollar weakness.
This Bloomberg Markets video, published August 17, 2026,
features Ben Gutteridge, Krissy, Anthony Stevens, Paul Dobson, Alex Morgan, Helen Jewell, Martin Ritchie, Anthony DiPaola, Mona Cunningham
discussing EUFN, VGK, SPY, AIQ, SMH, US long-end Treasuries, US2Y, GOOG, Asia AI hardware, USD, EMLC, BHP, ANTO, KGH, ATYM, XLV, XLK, COPPER, WTI, GLTR, GLD.
16 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers:
Ben Gutteridge,
Krissy,
Anthony Stevens,
Paul Dobson,
Alex Morgan,
Helen Jewell,
Martin Ritchie,
Anthony DiPaola,
Mona Cunningham
· Tickers:
EUFN,
VGK,
SPY,
AIQ,
SMH,
US long-end Treasuries,
US2Y,
GOOG,
Asia AI hardware,
USD,
EMLC,
BHP,
ANTO,
KGH,
ATYM,
XLV,
XLK,
COPPER,
WTI,
GLTR,
GLD
