Market Trends

London – September 17, 2026 -- BASF retook the top spot in the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies ranking with $70.0 billion in 2025 sales, even as sector-wide net profits collapsed 81.9% year-on-year.

BASF overtakes Sinopec to lead global chemical rankings

The Germany-based producer displaced China's Sinopec, which posted $66.3 billion in sales for second place. US-based ExxonMobil ranked third at $53.4 billion, followed by PetroChina at $42.1 billion and Dow at $40.0 billion, according to the annual ICIS Chemical Business ranking, which converts figures to US dollars using year-end 2025 exchange rates.

New York – September 16, 2026 -- Active ETFs have moved into the mainstream of adviser portfolios, with 71% of surveyed advisers planning to increase their use over the next two years, according to MSCI Inc.'s (NYSE: MSCI) ETF Intelligence Survey 2026, which polled 450 advisers across the U.S. and Europe.

Already, 87% of respondents hold active ETFs, and the shift is displacing incumbent fund structures rather than simply adding new options. Fifty-eight percent of advisers say a new active ETF allocation from a manager they already use would most likely replace an existing mutual fund or UCITS holding.