The US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point this month marks a significant shift in monetary policy as the central bank seeks to dampen war-induced inflationary pressures. Although it is the first time the Fed has hiked rates since July 2023, in some respects it represents a return to normal after many years of artificially low borrowing costs.
While estimates of AI spending across regions are hard to find, every available measure shows the scale of investment in Europe is an order of magnitude smaller than in the US and China.
The period spanning the second half of 2025 and the first half of 2026 marked a watershed moment for smaller US companies, as they outperformed their larger counterparts by some margin – putting the asset class firmly back on the map for investors.