Investing.com -- European travel to the U.S. showed signs of stabilising toward the end of 2025 after a difficult year in which inbound passenger flows from the region fell sharply, according to a Kepler Cheuvreux report. The note said international traffic into the U.S. became “one of the main pain points for long-haul carriers in 2025,” as many European travellers were deterred by President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and political actions and “subsequently chose to spend their holidays elsewhere.” Data from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office showed inbound traffic from all major regions declining from February, with European flows suffering most during the summer holiday period. While IATA figures suggested only modest changes in international traffic growth for North America-based airlines, Kepler analysts noted that U.S. carriers’ international exposure is heavily skewed toward the U.S. point of sale, masking the weakness in foreign-origin demand. A closer look at country-level figures flags wide divergence across Europe. Per Kepler’s report, French and German travel into the U.S. fell sharply in parts of the year, dropping by around 20% year on year in certain months, while Spanish, Italian and British travellers “mostly seemed not to care too much about U.S. President Trump’s rhetoric and continued to travel to the U.S. in larger numbers compared to the previous year.” The third quarter marked the low point for most countries, followed by a rebound in the final months of 2025, particularly for Germany. Kepler analysts said the latest quarterly data suggested traffic had “passed the trough and is already rebounding in Q4 2025,” despite disruptions linked to the U.S. government shutdown and domestic air travel issues in November. Early indicators for 2026 were also described as encouraging. Booking data from travel technology firm Amadeus showed reservations made in December for travel to North America between early June and mid-July 2026 were up 15% year on year, a period that coincides with the FIFA World Cup being held across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. While the analysts said historical comparisons were unavailable, they added the figures “do not feel like a disappointment,” given expectations for a World Cup-related uplift. Search activity offered a similar signal. Google Trends data for major European markets including Germany, France, Spain and the U.K. showed growing interest in flights to the U.S. in January, broadly mirroring the improvement seen in actual passenger numbers. Taken together, the broker said the various data points pointed to “green shoots” for transatlantic travel. While acknowledging the limited visibility so far, Kepler said the evidence suggests European passenger flows to the U.S. are set to recover from depressed 2025 levels, a development that would be a key positive for long-haul carriers in 2026. EU-U.S. travel represents a major profit pool for British Airways parent IAG (LON:ICAG), making the recovery a positive for the group, while Deutsche Lufthansa (ETR:LHAG) — which faced some of the toughest headwinds in 2025 — also stands to benefit. The fastest way to find out is with our Fair Value calculator. We use a mix of 17 proven industry valuation models for maximum accuracy. Get the bottom line for LHAG plus thousands of other stocks and find your next hidden gem with massive upside.

Investing.com -- Wolfe Research believes the U.S. economy may face a widening gap between ambitious growth expectations and slowing population trends, raising the pressure on productivity, including artificial intelligence, to drive output in the coming years. Analyst Stephanie Roth stated in a note this week that administration officials have pointed to “4%+ real GDP growth in 2026,” well above the 2% to 2.5% consensus, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent citing scenarios of “4–5% real growth and 7–8% nominal growth.” Roth questioned how fast the economy can expand when population growth is decelerating sharply. The latest Census estimates show net international migration fell to 1.3 million in 2025 from 2.7 million the prior year, contributing to population growth of just 0.5% in 2025. Incorporating Congressional Budget Office forecasts, Wolfe Research expects population growth of 0.2% in 2026. Against that backdrop, the firm believes productivity must do more of the work. Roth wrote that Wolfe Research estimates AI could boost labor productivity “by roughly 40bp per year on average over the next decade, with a peak annual boost of nearly 70bp during the adoption phase.” Productivity has averaged about 1.8% in recent years, above the 1.2% rate of the 2010s but still short of levels seen during the tech-driven boom of earlier decades. According to Wolfe Research, productivity grew 2.2% in the 1990s and 2.7% in the 2000s. Under Wolfe Research’s framework, peak AI adoption could lift productivity growth by around 0.65% in 2027. “Assuming a base of 1.8% productivity, that would put average productivity close to the 1990s and just behind the 2000s,” Roth concluded. Which stock should you buy in your very next trade? AI computing powers are changing the stock market. Investing.com's ProPicks AI includes dozens of winning stock portfolios chosen by our advanced AI. Year to date, 2 out of 3 global portfolios are beating their benchmark indexes, with 88% in the green. Our flagship Tech Titans strategy doubled the S&P 500 within 18 months, including notable winners like Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%). Which stock will be the next to soar?

Investing.com - Reverse stock splits may not alter a company’s fundamentals or intrinsic value, but purchasing a basket of firms which have carried out this maneuvre has led to outperformance on average, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. A reverse stock split reduces the number of shares outstanding by a certain ratio. In one example, a "1-for-10" reverse split would give each current stakeholder 1 share of stock for every 10 they own, decreasing the number of shares outstanding by a factor of 10 and boosting the price of each share by the same amount -- all without changing the total value of a company. The main reason a group would choose to carry out such a move is a desire to lift the price of the shares, the Morgan Stanley analysts including Todd Castagno and Clinton Chang argued. "With an artificially higher stock price, a company’s stock might potentially: meet the stock exchange’s minimum share price requirement and avoid delisting, improve its credibility among investors, open itself up to additional institutional investors with minimum share price requirements, and reduce volatility and turnover in its shareholder base," they wrote. Generally, however, a reverse stock split can be a signal that a company is grappling with years of underperformance, the analysts flagged, adding that a boost to the stock from the reverse split would also not change the underlying fundamentals or economics of a business. Citing an internal study, the Morgan Stanley strategists said this "conventional wisdom largely holds true -- struggling companies tend to continue to do so and underperform the market." Reverse splits have only primarily worked for small-cap stocks in the past, with averages lifted by a few outsized extreme turnarounds, for instance in healthcare names like Nutex Health and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, the analysts said. "The median return of any company that executed a reverse stock split, irrespective of market cap, showed minimal relative return deviation from the market," they wrote. The median reverse stock splitting companies lag the market by 7.5% in the six months and 4.6% in the 12 months post-conversion, the analysis found. But, when the corporate action does work, the stock materially outperforms, the analysts said. They added that, if an investor had bought a collection of reverse splits, the big winners would have driven outperformance in the basket.

Investing.com -- India’s newly signed free-trade agreement with the European Union is being described by economists as a turning point in the country’s trade strategy, offering near-universal access to one of the world’s largest markets at a moment when global supply chains are being reshaped. The agreement grants India preferential access across 97% of EU tariff lines, covering 99.5% of trade value, with a significant share eligible for immediate duty elimination, according to an ING Economics. Unlock exclusive analyst ratings, real-time revisions, and price forecasts with an InvestingPro subscription - now 50% off The scope and depth of the deal have led some analysts to label it the “mother of all deals,” reflecting both its scale and its potential impact on India’s export competitiveness. The deal comes as Asian economies step up efforts to diversify exports away from the United States, a shift that helped support regional export growth last year, ING said. The India-EU pact reinforces that trend, while also underscoring what the note described as the EU’s “patient, pragmatic approach” to accommodating India’s sensitivities around market access. The EU already accounts for about 17% of India’s exports, just behind the U.S. at 21%. The EU’s share has risen by roughly 3 percentage points since the pandemic, and India’s export mix to both markets is broadly similar, with petroleum products carrying a larger weight in shipments to Europe. ING said that if high U.S. tariffs on Indian goods persist, the agreement allows India to pivot toward the EU “without overhauling its export mix.” More than 60% of India’s merchandise exports to the EU come from a handful of categories, including petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, electronics and minerals, alongside auto components and textiles. The elimination of tariffs across a wide range of goods is expected to particularly benefit labour-intensive sectors such as marine products, leather and footwear, garments, handicrafts, gems and jewellery, plastics and toys. These industries, which ING said account for close to 2% of India’s GDP in exports, have been among the most affected by U.S. trade barriers. “These sectors are highly labour-intensive and low-value-added, exactly where India competes directly with China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam,” the note said, adding that lower EU barriers could strengthen job creation in some of India’s largest employment-generating industries. The deal also preserves limits in politically sensitive areas. India has shielded agriculture and dairy, while agreeing to tariff reductions in areas such as food, beverages and automobiles, a balance ING said allows market expansion “without compromising domestic interests.” Beyond trade, the agreement could reshape investment flows. The EU accounts for about 15% of India’s foreign direct investment, led by the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France. While most EU investment has historically gone into services such as IT and software, ING said deeper integration could revive FDI momentum in manufacturing sectors including automobiles, chemicals and construction at a time when India’s net FDI inflows have softened. Services are also a central pillar. India already exports services worth about 1% of GDP to the EU and runs a surplus of roughly 0.2% of GDP. The agreement includes what ING called “broader and deeper” commitments across 144 services subsectors, covering IT, professional services, education and business services, creating a more predictable environment for Indian providers. “The agreement marks a significant milestone for both India’s trade diversification ambitions and Asia’s evolving export landscape,” the note said. What are the best investment opportunities in 2026? The best investments start with better data. Going with your gut has its place, but when excitement masquerades as intuition, it can lead to costly mistakes—or analysis paralysis. InvestingPro+ combines institutional-grade data with AI-powered insights that you don't need a finance PhD to understand. It won't guarantee winners, but it will certainly help you find more of them, more often. So what are the best investments of 2026 so far?

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