Altana

Altana reports half-year sales of around €1.7 billion (+3.1%) and an EBITDA of €332 million (+14.4%). The specialty chemicals group invests 7% of sales in R&D and is expanding an innovation center (€25m) and production capacity (€6m) at its Wesel site. Management says regional presence and specialized products provide resilience against geopolitical uncertainty and confirms the full-year forecast. » More on faz.net

Altana acquired Cervo AI to deploy agentic AI for customs brokerage automation, aiming to speed paperwork, codify standard operating procedures and shift pricing toward outcome-based models. CEO Evan Smith says tariffs have not returned manufacturing jobs to the US but redirected Chinese-origin goods through third-party countries, raising costs and supply-chain complexity. Altana is rolling out Product Passports and a federated data architecture to give governments and logistics providers continuous visibility and to simulate and mitigate choke points like the Strait of Hormuz. The company positions AI-driven network mapping as critical for trade resilience, economic security and rerouting during geopolitical disruptions. » More on theverge.com

Hedge fund Altana, founded by Lee Robinson, is taking bearish positions against insurers such as Lincoln National, MetLife and Berkshire Hathaway via credit default swaps. Altana is launching a new fund to hedge against an expected downturn in the $1.8 trillion private credit market as well as falling market liquidity and a cooling in AI. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are reportedly also offering hedging products on demand, while volumes and costs for default protection on insurers have recently risen. Analysts and regulators point to greater illiquidity in life-insurer portfolios due to private‑credit exposures. » More on finanzen.net