Investors are weighing whether U.S. political gridlock could revive gold’s safe-haven appeal after what may be its weakest annual performance in over a decade. Matt Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife/John Hancock Investment Management, said if 2027 bears any resemblance to 2019 — when gold rallied — the metal’s current weakness could reverse. He added a congressional stalemate would lower the risk that fiscal policy pushes real yields higher. Miskin expects modest Democratic midt

EU food commissioner says there is currently no risk to food security, but food waste and its impacts are a real problem.

Chinese regulators held industry meetings on further refining the securities–funds–insurance swap facility (SFISF) and a relending tool for stock repurchases. The PBOC will launch a third SFISF operation and will accept institutional applications from tomorrow. SFISF lets eligible brokers, asset managers and insurers pledge bonds, equity ETFs and CSI300 constituent shares to swap into central-bank bills and other high-grade liquidity, which can be used to finance capital-market activity and support market stability. Participant demand—both application size and number of firms—exceeded the first two rounds, signaling strong take-up. Officials said the PBOC will further improve the SFISF mechanism and swap fees are likely to be reduced further.