First of all, we would like to emphasize that our analysts continue to closely monitor the stocks in our portfolio at all times. We keep our radar on 24/7. Every week we provide updates, but whenever unexpected news emerges or another important event occurs, we will immediately respond with Breaking News updates. At the moment, we remain satisfied with all the stocks in the portfolio and continue to monitor developments closely. It was another volatile week on the stock markets, with hope and uncertainty alternating rapidly. Monday started nervously as tensions between the United States and Iran escalated, combined with ongoing unrest surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil trade. This immediately caused investors to become more cautious and increased volatility across the markets. Wednesday turned out to be the strongest trading day of the week. Reports suggesting that the US and Iran were close to reaching an agreement pushed markets toward record highs. Strong results from semiconductor companies and continued optimism surrounding artificial intelligence further supported market sentiment. That relief, however, proved short-lived. Later in the week, tensions escalated once again after President Trump increased pressure on Iran and new incidents occurred around the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, sentiment turned negative again on Thursday and Friday, putting pressure back on the stock markets. Nevertheless, it was notable that oil prices ultimately declined significantly on a weekly basis. Investors increasingly appear to believe that both parties have a strong interest in keeping the strait open and avoiding further escalation. Iran did respond to an American peace proposal, although no concrete details were released. US President Donald Trump called Iran’s response to the American proposal to end the conflict “totally unacceptable” on Sunday evening. According to the Iranian news agency Irna, Tehran wants to continue negotiations with the United States in order to end the conflict, but intends to postpone topics such as Iran’s nuclear ambitions until a later stage. At the moment, a ceasefire between the US and Iran remains in place, although both sides continue to test the agreement almost daily. Meanwhile, oil prices have started to rise again. The coming week will mainly revolve around US inflation data and the question of whether the Federal Reserve will need to keep interest rates higher for longer. Tuesday will be the most important moment, with the release of the CPI figures. Wednesday will follow with the PPI data, providing more insight into cost pressures for businesses and possible pressure on profit margins. Looking ahead, geopolitics will likely remain the dominant market driver for the time being. Market sentiment can currently shift rapidly due to news from the Middle East, leaving investors highly alert to new developments. Meanwhile, behind the scenes we are working hard on an analysis of a new stock for the portfolio. It concerns a banking stock where everything seemed to be going wrong just a few years ago, with excessive risks and major doubts from the market. However, a new CEO is now at the helm and the company appears to have regained control of the business. The latest results were certainly remarkably strong. So keep a close eye on your inbox. Brunel Brunel released an update last week that we view as cautiously positive. At first glance, the figures looked mixed, with revenue declining by 4% and EBIT coming in lower. However, beneath the surface we actually see several signals suggesting that the worst may now be behind the company. Most importantly, we are seeing a return to organic growth. Revenue increased organically by 1%, mainly driven by strong performances in the DACH region and stable developments in Australasia and the Americas. Underlying EBIT also improved organically by 5%, while margins remained stable at 2.7%. This shows that the cost-saving measures are beginning to take effect and that the operational foundation is gradually improving. In addition, management sounded noticeably more optimistic than in previous quarters. CEO Peter de Laat spoke about “encouraging” early signs of recovery and expects this trend to continue cautiously in the coming period. At the same time, Brunel remains realistic about the risks, particularly due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, where the company has significant exposure. For us, little changes in the broader investment case. Brunel remains active in attractive niches such as energy, engineering and infrastructure, sectors that are likely to benefit from structural investment trends over the longer term. While the stock may continue to move alongside broader economic uncertainty in the short term, we remain confident in the long-term outlook and continue to be highly positive about the company’s long-term potential. BP Oil and gas company BP has remained resilient in recent weeks, partly supported by higher oil prices and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The stock is now trading clearly higher than earlier this year, but precisely in this uncertain market environment we still view BP as an attractive hedge within the portfolio. At the same time, the company is working behind the scenes on a major restructuring. The new CEO, Meg O’Neill, is clearly taking a different approach from her predecessor and is steering BP back toward its core oil and gas activities. The organizational structure is being simplified, thousands of jobs are being cut, and the focus is once again shifting toward cost reductions, cash flow generation and returns. Several activities are also being sold or phased out, including parts of its North Sea operations and the gas station business in the Netherlands. Although this creates some short-term uncertainty, we believe BP is trying to become more efficient and profitable in a sector where scale, low costs and strong cash flows remain crucial. Recent quarterly results also showed that the company continues to benefit significantly from higher energy prices and geopolitical tensions. Naturally, BP remains highly dependent on oil prices and sentiment surrounding the Middle East. However, in the current market environment this is also one of the reasons why we continue to find the stock