Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

The Coincident Barometer falls for the second consecutive month, while the Leading Barometer rises in April, returning to the upward tendency that began at the end of last year. Both indicators remain slightly above the 100‑point mark, indicating a continuation of moderate growth for the world economy, despite the uncertainties generated by the war between the U.S./Israel and Iran.

In April, the Global Coincident Economic Barometer falls by 0.2 point, reaching 102.1 points, while the Global Leading Economic Barometer rises by 1.7 points, reaching 102.9 points, its highest level since March 2022 (103.1 points). With this result, the Leading indicator again records a level above that of the Coincident indicator, a situation quite common in recent years. The Coincident indicators of Asia, Pacific & Africa and Europe drive the reduction of the overall indicator.

'Although the war against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz dominated the headlines in March, the movements in the two global indicators were relatively modest. Both indicators remain slightly above average. For now, it seems that survey participants think this war will be temporary and largely regional, and therefore will not affect their economic situation too much', comments Jan-Egbert Sturm, director of the KOF Institute, on the latest results.

Coincident Barometer – regions and sectors

The 0.2‑point decrease of the Coincident Barometer in April results from the negative contribution of 0.3 points from Europe and 0.1 points from Asia, Pacific & Africa. The Western Hemisphere contributes positively with 0.2 points and maintains the highest level across the regions. This result is driven by the United States, which appears to maintain a favorable assessment of the economy.

Among the coincident sector indicators, only Services rises, Industry remains constant, and Wholesale and retail trade, Construction and Economy (aggregated development of economies — Overall Economic Development — which is based on variables representing overall business and consumer evaluations) fall this month. With this result, Services records the highest level among the sectors.

Leading Barometer – regions and sectors
The Leading Global Barometer rises by 1.7 points in April, with a positive contribution from the Western Hemisphere, contributing with 1.2 points, and from Asia, Pacific & Africa, contributing with 0.5 points. Europe remains constant in the month. With this result, the Western Hemisphere indicator reaches its highest level since August 2021 (116.7 points), driven by Canada and the United States, showing optimism about the economy even after the outbreak of the war involving Iran.

All leading sector indicators rise in the month, with Wholesale and retail trade standing out, reaching its highest level since May 2022 (114.4 points), and Construction, which also records its highest level since 2022, when it reached 105.5 points in July.

Six months since the fragile and ineffective ceasefire was implemented in Gaza on 10 October 2025, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is raising the alarm on continued violent attacks by Israeli forces and an ever-expanding military control of the Strip. At the same time, the living conditions of Palestinians remain dire, against the backdrop of a continuous and deliberate pattern of obstruction of aid by Israel, which is translating into entirely preventable deaths. MSF's medical teams are witnessing firsthand that, while the intensity of the conflict has decreased, the reality in Gaza remains catastrophic.

As of 8 April, at least 733 people have been killed and 1,913 have been injured since the ceasefire on 10 October, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. MSF teams have responded to multiple mass casualty incidents on a monthly basis, treating at least 244 patients for injuries caused by Israeli attacks, including many children.

Since the ceasefire, MSF teams have done over 40,000 dressings for patients with wounds from violent trauma, including gunshots, blasts or other kinds of weapons. Since 10 October 2025, medical teams have treated over 15,000 trauma cases in MSF's two field hospitals alone, both from recent injuries and wounds requiring long-term care. In MSF's clinic in Gaza City alone, over 18,000 dressings were done, with over 60% for trauma wounds.

“Six months on, the ceasefire has failed to end the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, with Israeli authorities continuing to impose conditions intended to destroy conditions of life.  Despite the reduction of the intensity of violence, Israeli attacks are continuous and the situation remains catastrophic. People's needs are massive, yet the Israeli authorities have continued to systematically restrict the entry of humanitarian aid,” says Claire San Filippo, Emergency Manager for MSF.

People face shortages of clean water, food, electricity, and access to healthcare, with the decimated health system being further strangled by obstructions to aid, and by Israel's deregistration of 37 international NGOs providing vital assistance in Gaza, including MSF. Since 1 January 2026, MSF has been blocked by Israeli authorities from bringing any medical or humanitarian supplies into Gaza. At the same time, Israel is also preventing most medical evacuations for patients needing specialised care outside of Gaza. Currently, over 18,500 people in Gaza remain on the medical evacuation list, including 4,000 children, according to the WHO.

MSF's health facilities are facing critical shortages and ruptures of medicine and medical equipment – including gauze, compresses, and sterile medical equipment (gloves, gowns, and disinfectant for surfaces), as well as medication, including medicines for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), like insulin. These shortages are impacting critical treatments for chronic diseases, increasing suffering for people in Gaza while also stripping away their dignity.

 “All the elderly people in our family have unfortunately passed away during this catastrophic war,” says Rami Abu Anza, MSF nurse in Gaza. “They all had chronic diseases, and they suffered due to the unavailability of these medications, in addition to the living conditions and the collapse of the healthcare system.”

“We suffered a lot to get treatment,” says Mohammed Abo Zaina, a 69-year-old patient in MSF's NCD patient cohort. “We can't find blood pressure medication, nor diabetes medication, nor heart medication. We suffered mentally and physically. And we are elderly people. We are very, very exhausted. Nothing is available. No living, no dignified life, no shelter, no livelihood.”

In Gaza, approximately 90 per cent of people have been forcibly displaced, often multiple times, and live in tents or makeshift shelters, and the situation has not significantly improved since the ceasefire. In MSF-supported primary healthcare centres in Al-Mawasi and Al-Attar, Khan Younis, between October 2025-March 2026 the most prevalent health conditions are directly linked to dire living conditions and overcrowding, including upper respiratory infections (42%), skin diseases such as scabies and lice (16,7%) and diarrhea (8,4%).

The space where people are living is continuously shrinking and framed by violence. Since the ceasefire, the Gaza Strip has been effectively divided along the “yellow line”, which marks an area under full Israeli military control (58 per cent of the territory), pushing Palestinians into only 42 per cent of largely destroyed territory. The yellow line is not clearly marked, and is continuously shifting westwards to the sea, squeezing hundreds of thousands of people into a tiny, overcrowded patch of land. The perimeter of the yellow line has become a kill zone, with gunfire, airstrikes, and shelling from Israeli forces happening daily. Israeli warships are also firing inward from the sea, trapping people with active firing on all sides.

On 6 April, at least 10 people were killed and several others wounded near Maghazi Refugee Camp in Gaza following armed clashes and an Israeli strike. MSF teams at our field hospital in Deir-El-Balah treated 16 patients, half of them with critical injuries. “Among the critical cases, there were two young girls of seven and eight years old,” says Dr Murad Saliha, MSF doctor. “Both of them had life-threatening injuries and were rushed to emergency surgery. Fortunately, despite limited resources, our medical team was able to save both their lives.”  

MSF calls on world leaders and governments, including the United States and its allies including Australia and New Zealand to use all political levers to put pressure on Israeli authorities to protect civilians, restore dignified conditions of life, and urgently allow unhindered humanitarian aid into Gaza, as is Israel's obligation as the occupying power.

MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation.  MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. Every year more than 120 Australians and New Zealanders go on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières  working as: doctors, midwives, psychologists, laboratory technicians, human resource/finance coordinators, pharmacists, mental health specialists and logisticians. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au

OrbitronAI has announced the launch of NovaOS, a platform designed to support the deployment and management of AI agents in regulated industries such as aerospace, energy, government and industrial enterprises, enabling organizations to deploy AI within legacy enterprise infrastructure without replacing existing systems.

The system introduces a structured approach to AI operations, focusing on auditability, human oversight, and compliance. NovaOS acts as a control layer on top of existing enterprise systems, allowing organizations to manage how AI agents are deployed and operated without replacing current infrastructure.

“The bottleneck holding enterprises back from AI is not model quality – it is governance, isolation, and operational control,” said Saul Adomaitis, Founder and Global CEO of OrbitronAI. “NovaOS closes that gap. Regulated industries can now deploy AI agents that are fully auditable, human-supervised, and compliant by design – not as an afterthought.”

The platform is architected around a six-layer value stack in which every agent action passes through policy enforcement, approval gates, and a complete audit trail. Human-in-the-Loop supervision is embedded at the platform level: high-risk actions always require human approval before execution.

Core capabilities include a visual workflow builder (NovaOS Studio) with pre-built components and natural-language Copilot, enterprise integrations via Model Context Protocol (MCP) Gateway enabling connection to ERP and CRM systems without custom code, and knowledge and document intelligence (RAG) that turns internal data into actionable insights.

The platform also supports persistent cross-session memory across multiple dimensions, an agent marketplace for managing deployments across business units, and full observability with evidence export, ensuring that all actions are logged, traceable, and audit-ready.

NovaOS supports four deployment strategies – Managed Cloud, Bring Your Own Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), On-Premise, Air-Gapped, and Hybrid – with production regions active in Middle East, Europe, and North America. All deployment options include tenant isolation, data residency compliance, and encrypted communication between services.

The platform is AI model agnostic, allowing organizations to run agents on the large language model of their choice without vendor lock-in. The platform is designed for organizations where data sovereignty, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance, and Arabic NLP readiness (roadmap Q3 2026) are strategic requirements.

Geneva, Switzerland, 9 April 2026 – For the first time in over a decade, global youth representation in parliaments has shown no progress, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union's (IPU) biennial report, Youth participation in national parliaments. The findings come amid growing demands from young people for a greater say in political decisions.

The new IPU report reveals that the proportion of members of parliament (MPs) aged 30 or under remains at 2.8% – no change from the previous report in 2023. This marks the first time since 2014, when the IPU began tracking youth participation in politics, that progress has halted.

And over a third of parliamentary chambers worldwide (37.1%) have no MPs aged 30 or under.

The report warns that, with half the world's population aged under 30 but so few MPs in this age group, democracy and development are at risk.

Decline in young women MPs

The situation is particularly stark for young women. The proportion of female MPs aged 30 or under has dropped to 1.2% of all parliamentarians, down from 1.4% in 2023.

Similarly, the share of women MPs aged 40 or under in parliaments has declined from 7.9% to 6.9%, although overall the proportion of MPs aged 40 and under has increased slightly by 0.2 percentage points to reach 19.2%.

Growing Gen Z dissatisfaction

The report notes that the lack of progress is especially troubling given rising levels of mobilization of young people, driven by concerns over economic insecurity and democratic accountability, as seen in recent protests around the world.

The report argues that when young people are absent from or underrepresented in parliamentary chambers, it undermines the legitimacy of these institutions and weakens public trust in democracy.

Success stories

Despite the overall stagnation, some countries are making strides, including the top three parliaments with the highest proportion of young MPs in the IPU ranking:

Armenia leads, with 16.8% of its lower chamber lawmakers aged 30 or under, exceeding the IPU's 15% target. This achievement follows the country's 2018 “Velvet Revolution”, which saw a surge in youth participation in politics.

In second place, Turkmenistan also stands out, with 13.9% of its MPs aged 30 or under. The country's shift from a bicameral to a unicameral parliament may have contributed to the increase, as upper chambers often have fewer young representatives.

Ecuador's progress, coming in third with 13.7% of MPs aged 30 or under, may be largely attributable to a 2022 law requiring 25% of electoral candidates to be young adults.

And in Senegal, although only 44th in the overall ranking, recent elections have brought a wave of younger politicians into Parliament, making it one of the top country increases compared to previous elections.

Solutions

According to the report, young MPs can bring bring fresh perspectives, digital skills and future-facing policies. But eligibility rules, biases and online aggression are among the challenges that may stop many from getting into – or remaining in – politics.

Key actions of the IPU's I Say Yes to Youth in Parliament! campaign, such as youth quotas, lowering the age of eligibility to run for office, and supporting channels into parliament like youth caucuses, are among the proven ways to increase youth participation.

The 2025 report also analyzed the effect of term limits for the first time, showing that countries with such limits have significantly higher proportions of young MPs than the global average.

Background

The report is the IPU's most comprehensive to date, based on 2025 data from 210 parliamentary chambers, (150 single or lower chambers and 60 upper chambers).

It also highlights the voices of young MPs themselves, incorporating insights from interviews with 64 current and former young MPs (47% of them women) from 53 countries. These MPs shared their perspectives on entering parliament, the obstacles they face, and their recommendations for improving youth participation.

The forthcoming 152nd IPU Assembly, taking place in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 15 to 19 April 2026, will have a focus on youth participation with its overall theme of Nurturing hope, securing peace and ensuring justice for future generations.

The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It was founded in 1889 as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 183 national Member Parliaments and 15 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes peace, democracy and sustainable development. It helps parliaments become stronger, younger, greener and more gender-balanced. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world.

Port-Sudan,15 April 2026 – As Sudan marks the third year of a devastating war, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) condemns the unleashed violence, widespread impunity and constrained humanitarian access amid the collapse of the health system.

New research shows workers are more effective in spotting scams targeting their company.

9 April 2026 – Key points:

Three in four employees spotted a scam targeting their workplace, leading to the prevention of the scam, compared to around half of senior managers.

In cases where scams were successfully perpetrated, 42 per cent of employees reported feeling suspicious during the incident – underscoring the importance of educating staff to recognise red flags and how to act quickly.

The vast majority of workplace scams arrive via email, often targeting routine activities like processing invoices.

Australian employees are proving more scam‑savvy than their bosses, with new data showing employees are far more likely than managers to identify a scam attempt, even as business email compromise (BEC) continues to cost Australian businesses millions each year.

BEC scams, otherwise known as payment redirection, remain the most common way scammers infiltrate workplaces, with 73 per cent of scams targeting businesses arriving via email. These scams typically involve requests to add/change payment details or approve transfers, often appearing to come from a trusted senior leader or supplier.

The research, conducted by CommBank’s Behavioural Science Team across 1,126 employees, managers and owners of small, medium and large businesses, found that 76 per cent of employees spotted a scam targeting their workplace which led to the prevention of the scam, compared with just over half (53 per cent) of managers.

However, in instances where scams were successful, 42 per cent of employees and 20 per cent of managers felt suspicious but the scam was successful anyway, highlighting both a critical gap in scam awareness at all levels of organisations, and the importance of educating staff to recognise red flags and how to act quickly.

In most cases (61 per cent) where workplace scams were successful, it was because subtle abnormalities were not identified, highlighting the crucial role that independent checks and awareness among staff play in preventing funds being misdirected.

According to William Mailer, Chief Behavioural Scientist at CBA, scammers are exploiting normal workplace behaviours and pressures rather than technical gaps alone, often mimicking real suppliers, colleagues or executives and using authentic‑looking email addresses – a hallmark of business email compromise scams.

“Business email compromise scams are designed to feel routine and familiar; they mirror how we normally work and communicate often using familiar corporate language. By targeting everyday tasks we perform on auto-pilot, scammers exploit moments when we are less likely to stop, check and reject,” Mailer said.

“When people are busy, under pressure or responding to requests that appear to come from senior leaders or trusted suppliers, they’re more likely to rely on instinct rather than stopping to verify. That’s exactly the moment scammers are counting on.”

Stress a contributing factor

The research also shows workplace conditions can significantly influence outcomes. High workplace stress was present in 59 per cent of organisations where scams succeeded, compared with 38 per cent where scams were unsuccessful, reinforcing the link between pressure, speed and increased risk.

While responsibility for preventing scams is often seen as a technology issue, the findings suggest this mindset may leave businesses exposed. More than half of employees (55 per cent) and 44 per cent of managers believe IT and cyber security teams are most responsible for preventing workplace scams, despite employees being the first line of defence.

Those who successfully avoided scams pointed to human awareness as the decisive factor. Sixty‑eight per cent said spotting red flags saved them, while 47 percent credited scam training and education, highlighting the value of regular, practical training across all levels of a business.

“The strongest protection against scams isn’t just better systems – it’s encouraging work practices where people pause, question and double‑check, even when a request appears legitimate,” Mailer said.

“Empowering employees and leaders to slow down and verify unusual requests and even making this part of normal workplace routines and rituals, can make the difference between stopping a scam and suffering a significant financial loss.”

The findings serve as a timely reminder for Australian businesses to stay alert to business email compromise scams, ensure leaders are just as vigilant as their teams, and foster cultures where questioning unexpected or urgent payment requests is encouraged, regardless of who they appear to come from.

Indicators of a payment redirection scam

• Unexpected or urgent payment requests;
• Requests to update bank details or make payments to new accounts;
• Tone of the email feels unusual or overly pushy such as claiming to be a senior executive or trusted supplier.

How to protect your workplace

Train staff to always verify payment requests via an independent and trusted channel and not the contact details on the email or invoice.

Set up a payment approval process for your business, preferably requiring multiple approvers, with no exceptions.

Encourage a culture where staff are comfortable to question a payment instruction even if it’s from a senior executive.

Keep up to date on latest trends and have regular conversations with your teams about the danger of scams.

Watch CommBank’s webinar on Business Email Compromise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI4EKOSPIwo

Complete the Digital Safety module of CommBank’s Business Masterclass: https://www.commbank.com.au/brighter/business-masterclass/digital-safety.html

Become a Cyber Warden for your business: https://cyberwardens.com.au/

For more on how CommBank helps protect businesses from scams and fraud, and what businesses can do to protect themselves, visit CommBank Safe for Business: https://www.commbank.com.au/business/security.html

About the research:

This research was conducted by CommBank’s Behavioural Science Centre of Excellence in January 2026 and is based on a national survey and behavioural experiment with 1,126 Australian employees, managers and business owners.

Participants assessed a series of realistic workplace emails, including both genuine and scam scenarios, and indicated whether they believed each was legitimate or fraudulent. Participants were randomly assigned to different conditions, allowing the study to test how factors such as time pressure and behavioural prompts (for example, pausing, verifying information or seeking advice) influenced decision-making.

The study also examined how individual factors such as confidence, prior experience, personality traits and demographics related to scam detection. The research aimed to understand what happens in the moment when people encounter scams, including the psychological and situational drivers of detection accuracy and errors.

Chinese authorities must ensure that Yu Wensheng is allowed to reunite with his family in Beijing without restrictions, Amnesty International said ahead of the human rights lawyer’s expected release from prison following a baseless “subversion” conviction.

Human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng is due to be released on 13 April after completing a three-year sentence for “inciting subversion of state power”. He was arrested on 13 April 2023, alongside his wife Xu Yan, while on their way to meet European Union officials in Beijing.

“If and when Yu Wensheng walks out of prison next week, his freedom cannot be partial. He must be allowed to return home, reunite with his family and resume his life and his work without surveillance, intimidation or other restrictions on his rights,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said.

In research released last year, focused on the application by Chinese courts of national security provisions to target human rights defenders, Amnesty International found that in 38 of the 68 cases reviewed – including Yu’s – the defendant had been sentenced to “deprivation of political rights” following the end of their prison sentence. This so-called “supplemental” sentence violates international standards; in practice, it is used to justify ongoing harassment of activists to ensure they do not continue human rights work.

“Yu Wensheng was punished for defending people from alleged abuses of power and advocating for a fairer, more accountable system. He should never have been jailed in the first place, and his persecution must end the moment he is released.”

Yu Wensheng previously served four years in prison between 2018 and 2022. Xu has said that during that time, she and her son faced surveillance and harassment by the authorities. She has reported that these activities continued during the current imprisonment, resulting in serious mental health impacts on their son, including since her release in January 2025.

“The suffering inflicted on Yu Wensheng’s family is a reminder of how China’s repression extends far beyond those it imprisons. The past impacts of this repression can never be undone, but the harm being done now can be stopped.”

Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan are prominent advocates for rule of law and human rights in China and have faced government harassment for years. Yu developed a profile as one of the best known and most vocal critics of human rights in the country, based on his experience seeking to defend victims of injustice and human rights violations.

“Yu Wensheng’s imprisonment was a clear attempt to send a warning to others in China who dare to defend human rights. Yet despite the government’s heavy-handed tactics, human rights defenders have refused to be silenced,” Sarah Brooks said.

Asia and the Pacific is ageing with over 500 million people now aged 65 and above. It is also transitioning from households with high fertility to longer lives and smaller families, while facing ageing populations, youth employment pressures and widening intergenerational inequalities.

Against this backdrop, the 82nd session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will be convened in Bangkok in the presence of ministers, policymakers and leading experts from across the region and guided by the theme “Leaving no one behind: Advancing a Society for All Ages in Asia and the Pacific”.

The session will spotlight policy solutions to ensure that no one is left behind in a region that is home to more than 60% of the world's population.  Delegates will also examine critical socioeconomic priorities, including decent work across all age groups, women's economic empowerment, the future of care systems and strategies to promote healthy and active ageing. Interactive dialogues will further highlight how governments can adapt labour markets, strengthen social protection and invest in lifelong learning to build more inclusive and resilient societies.

Among a line-up of events, the 2026 session will also feature dialogues with ministers from Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States; intergovernmental subregional organizations and will convene the Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA).

Key speakers:
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana    
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
H.E. Sihasak Phuangketkeow
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand
H.E. Jeyhun Bayramov
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Azerbaijan
H.E. Thongsavanh Phomvihane
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lao PDR
Hon. Panapasi Nelesone
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Tuvalu
H.E. Fakir Mahbub Anam
Minister of Science and Technology, Bangladesh
H.E. Mikheil Sarjveladze
Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, Georgia
H.E. Gustav N. Aitaro
Minister of State, Palau
H.E. Upali Pannilage    
Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Sri Lanka
H.E. Fane Fotu Fituafe  
Minister of Internal Affairs, Tonga
H.E. Zhaoxu Ma
Deputy Foreign Minister, China
H.E. Alexander Alimov
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation
H.E. Maksut Shadayev
Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, Russian Federation  
H.E. Yalchin Rafiyev
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Azerbaijan
H.E. Perhat Yagshiyev
Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy, Turkmenistan
H.E. Pema Lektup Dorji
Foreign Secretary/Deputy Foreign Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bhutan.

*Note: Key speakers listed may be subject to change. Please refer to the CS82 webpage for updates.

April 8 2026 – A significant relief rally is now underway, but oil prices are set to remain structurally higher, warns the CEO of one of the world's largest independent financial advisory organisations.

The warning from deVere Group's Nigel Green comes as US stock futures surge following President Donald Trump's decision to suspend military action against Iran for two weeks, easing immediate fears around a prolonged disruption to global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Global markets responded instantly. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped sharply, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 posted gains above 2%, signalling a powerful rebound in risk appetite.

Oil prices, which had surged amid supply fears, pulled back aggressively as traders priced in a temporary easing of geopolitical risk.

Nigel Green says: “Markets have been primed for this moment. Positioning had become defensive, volatility was elevated, and energy prices were reflecting worst-case assumptions.

“A pause, even a temporary one, releases that pressure very quickly.”

He continues: “A relief rally of this magnitude reflects how stretched sentiment had become.

“Investors were bracing for escalation that could have choked off a fifth of global oil supply. Remove even part of that threat and capital flows back into equities at speed.”

Equity markets had already shown signs of anticipating an off-ramp, with major indices stabilising despite ongoing tensions.

The latest move confirms that investors are highly sensitive to geopolitical signals and willing to rotate rapidly as narratives shift.

Nigel Green explains: “Tech could lead the rebound because it was hit hardest by rising yields and risk aversion. Lower energy prices reduce inflation expectations at the margin, which supports valuations.

“We expect strong moves in megacap tech and AI-driven names.”

He adds: “Consumer discretionary will also benefit. Lower oil feeds through to gasoline prices, which supports spending.

“Airlines, travel, and retail are also going to be immediate winners from cheaper fuel and improved sentiment.”

Financials are also likely to participate in the upswing. Improved market stability tends to support deal activity and risk-taking, both critical for bank earnings.

The deVere chief executive notes: “Banks perform better in environments where uncertainty declines. A pause in conflict reduces tail risks, which is constructive for credit markets and capital markets activity.”

Energy stocks, however, face a more nuanced outlook.

He says: “Energy equities may see short-term pressure as crude pulls back, but the structural backdrop remains tight. Supply constraints have not disappeared.

“A two-week pause does not rebuild inventories or solve geopolitical fragmentation.”

Crude oil remains significantly higher on the year, reflecting underlying supply risks that extend beyond the current conflict. Any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, even temporarily, provides breathing space but does not eliminate vulnerability in global energy logistics.

Nigel Green cautions: “Oil is unlikely to return to previous lows quickly. The geopolitical premium is now embedded. Even with de-escalation, traders will price in the risk of renewed disruption.”

Central to the market's next move is the credibility of the two-week window.

He says: “Investors have seen this timeline before. A short-term pause creates relief, but it also introduces a countdown. Markets will quickly shift focus from celebration to scrutiny.”

Diplomatic signals, compliance with ceasefire terms, and coordination over shipping routes through Hormuz will all be closely monitored.

Nigel Green adds: “If progress towards a durable agreement emerges, the rally can extend and broaden. Industrial stocks, emerging markets, and cyclicals would then have room to catch up.”

Failure to convert this pause into a longer-term framework would reverse sentiment just as quickly. “Volatility would return, oil would spike again, and equities would give back gains.”

Market participants are therefore balancing opportunity with caution.

The deVere CEO concludes: “This is a powerful rebound driven by the removal of immediate fear.

“Yet the underlying issues remain unresolved.

“Investors should participate in the upside, while recognising that the next phase depends entirely on whether diplomacy can deliver substance beyond a temporary halt.”

deVere Group is one of the world's largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients.  It has a network of offices around the world, more than 80,000 clients, and $14bn under advisement.

Redress Design Award calls for next generation fashion designers from around the globe to make fashion circular before 17 April deadline.

[8 April 2026, Hong Kong] – Asia‑focused environmental NGO Redress opens the Redress Design Award 2026, in their urgent scout for game changing designers for the 16th cycle of the world's leading sustainable fashion design competition. Together with Lead Sponsor, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), the competition educates designers from every corner of the world to clean up fashion's wasteful and polluting act.

“With one garbage truck of textiles being landfilled or incinerated every second and only 0.3% of the global textile industry being circular, fashion  has a long way to go to become innovative,” said Dr. Christina Dean, Founder and Board Chair of Redress. “Eighty percent of a product's environmental impact is determined at the design stage, so we must find the designers' talents who can transform fashion.”

Redress Design Award 2026 challenges designers, students, recent graduates and those with less than four years' professional experience, to create contemporary, fashion-forward collections using waste textiles and guided by circular design strategies including zero waste, upcycling, and design for recyclability.

Textile waste worsens as global search intensifies

With textile waste projected to increase by 60% between 2015 and 2030, the need for circular solutions, which keep materials in use, becomes more critical. Since launch in 2011 in Hong Kong, the Redress Design Award has educated over 23,000 emerging designers through online resources and in-person programmes and attracted over 4,500 applications from 92 global regions, from Hong Kong, USA, UK and South Africa to designers living closer to the textile manufacturing waste hotspots of China, Vietnam and India. Redress Design Award 2026 Semi-finalists will join the Redress Alumni Network, which offers ongoing support to over 350 designers as they develop their careers in sustainable fashion.

Winning experience; empowering people to protect the planet

The previous 2025 joint First Prize winner Hugo Dumas from France said, “Winning is not just about my designs, it's about proving that creativity can outpace crises.” Fellow 2025 joint winner Carla Zhang from Chinese Mainland added, “Winning this competition has empowered us to promote resourceful solutions to more of the industry and consumers, as a way to find value in overlooked materials. It's challenging, and I'm ready to rise to the challenge.”

Orsola de Castro, Author and Co-founder of Fashion Revolution and 2026 Judge, adds, “Now more than ever, we need to address the real solution which is to design waste out of the system entirely. This competition empowers emerging designers to create beautiful, commercial collections that protect people and the planet.”

Competition prizes and opportunities

A fully funded trip to Hong Kong for all Finalists, including masterclasses, industry immersion and participation in the Redress Design Award Grand Final Fashion Show
Editorial features and global media exposure
Expert mentorship from leading fashion and sustainability professionals
Access to Redress' global Alumni Network of 350+ like-minded designers

Applications are open now. Full guidelines, eligibility criteria, timeline and entry details are available at: Redress Design Award

The Redress Design Award (www.redressdesignaward.com) is the world's leading sustainable fashion design competition that educates and empowers emerging fashion designers about circular design techniques to reduce fashion's negative environmental impacts. Organised by Hong Kong-based, Asia-focused environmental NGO Redress since 2011, the competition partners with academic institutions globally and attracts designer applicants from over 50 countries and regions to win prizes that connect them with global-leading fashion businesses to accelerate the change to a circular fashion industry.

Redress (www.redress.com.hk) is a Hong Kong-based, Asia-focused environmental NGO with a mission to accelerate the change to a circular fashion industry by educating and empowering designers and consumers so as to reduce clothing's negative environmental impacts.

The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) since 2009, was established in June 2024.  CCIDA is  a dedicated office under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative sectors with a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate development of the arts, culture and creative sectors as industries.  CCIDA's strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaboration, promoting industrialisation of the arts, culture and creative sectors under the industry-oriented principle, and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital and our positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.

Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.