Bits & Pieces
Edition #298 | 25/09/2026
Most traded | Markets & Macro | Roche | Chart of the Week | ETFs under current | Retirement in Focus
Instead of diplomacy, Xi and Trump mainly engaged in diplotainment at their White House meeting, as former US official Danny Russel dubbed it. From Washington, we turn our gaze to Switzerland. Although pharmaceutical giant Roche has some catching up to do in the weight loss trend, it still scores with a crucial advantage over the competition. In Munich, meanwhile, everything revolves around the Oktoberfest beer mug. Find out who the real beneficiaries are. Plus: what you can add to your portfolio if you are hungry for tomorrow's energy.
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Note: The data refers to the ratio of purchases and sales of the 100 most traded stocks in the Scalable broker between 18/09/2026 and 24/09/2026.
In the spotlight: Meta
To go with the new AI agent "Muse", Mark Zuckerberg presented the matching wearable "Muse Charm" in a retro Tamagotchi look. With this, Meta directly links its AI model to tangible hardware – a move with trend potential. Wall Street celebrated this and sent the stock to a new high.
Pandas and skirmishes
Following tariff disputes and a fierce rivalry over chips and AI, relations between China’s head Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump are considered tense. The market watched their meeting in Washington all the more closely. On Wednesday afternoon, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan landed at Joint Base Andrews military base.
There was little trace of the fierce rivalry between the heads of state. Xi emphasized that both nations should strive for "peaceful coexistence". On the critical topic of Taiwan, Xi tried to persuade Trump not to interfere. And although the elite of the tech world attended the dinner at the White House – including Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Jensen Huang (NVIDIA), and Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX), with the exception of Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei – there was a lack of major AI news. Beijing merely stressed that it was capable of keeping artificial intelligence, or as Trump called it: "super intelligence", under human control. A more tangible outcome of the meeting: Xi promised the US two new giant pandas.
As a reminder: In spring 2025, tensions escalated significantly. Washington pushed tariffs on Chinese imports up to 145 %, while Beijing retaliated with 125 % counter-tariffs and a halt on raw material exports. In May, the US and China hit the pause button in Geneva with the Busan Agreement. This trade policy truce has now been extended until January 10, 2027.
Swiss substance
Under high pressure, Roche is trying to enter the booming weight loss market, which has so far been split between rivals Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. In a phase 2 study of its active ingredient Enicepatid, the pharmaceutical group recently celebrated an average weight loss of 15,5 % among its test subjects. The Swiss company is venturing into unfamiliar territory here, as its true strength traditionally lies in a variety of other disciplines.
- Broad foundation: Whether oncology, neurology, immunology, or ophthalmology, Roche's pharmaceutical division is very broadly positioned and less dependent on individual medications compared to competitors. In the first half of 2026, the MS drug Ocrevus was the top seller, accounting for about 11,4 % of group sales. The core business cushions the decline in COVID-19 tests, which boosted the diagnostics division – the second pillar – extremely during the pandemic.
- Rich pipeline: According to CEO Thomas Schinecker, Roche has a total of 19 investigational drugs that could reach the market by 2030. Revenue growth in 2026 is projected to be in the mid-single-digit range.
- Fine dividend royalty: Roche has consistently increased its payout in Swiss francs for over 30 years. Although the strong currency, patent expirations, and cheaper generic competition create headwinds, Roche remains a prime example of defensive quality.
Switzerland retains a withholding tax of 35 % on dividends, of which only 15 % can be offset against German capital gains tax. With the Tax Voucher from Scalable, which you will now find automatically and free of charge in your Scalable inbox 60 days after the ex-date for any Swiss dividend, you can reclaim the difference from the Swiss authorities.
O’zapft is
Average price for a Oktoberfest beer mug (Maß), indexed (1980 = 100)
Sources: Statistical Office Munich; Open Data Munich; Oktoberfest.de; Destatis. DM values converted at the fixed rate of €1 = DM1.95583, CPI for 2026 projected using the August rate (+2,9 %).
It is not just Germans who love beer: millions of people from all over the world travel to Munich's Theresienwiese every year to celebrate the epitome of German craftsmanship in huge festival tents.
The breweries charge handsomely for this deeply rooted tradition. Since 1980, when a liter of beer cost the equivalent of €2.51 (DM4.90), the average price has grown to €15.61 this year. That is a "Wiesnflation" of a staggering 522 %. By comparison: if the price were calculated based on actual inflation since 1980, a Maß would theoretically cost only €6.78 today. So a liter of beer at Oktoberfest costs more than double what it should based on normal inflation – which would be around 171 %.
Few realize, however, that: while only the six major Munich breweries are allowed to serve beer at Oktoberfest, a considerable portion of the money collected goes into the pockets of global, publicly listed corporations. For instance, Löwenbräu and Spaten belong to the Belgian Anheuser-Busch InBev, while Hacker-Pschorr belongs to Paulaner, which in turn is 30 % owned by the Heineken group. Only Augustiner is privately held; Hofbräu is 100 % owned by the Free State of Bavaria.
From the power outlet to the smart city
Whether AI, electric vehicles, or heat pumps – if the power stops flowing, everything comes to a standstill. Energy only reaches EV charging stations or data centers with the right infrastructure. In addition, the EU's recently adopted the Electrification Action Plan to increase the share of electricity in energy consumption to 46 % by 2040. This is intended to double the current value. Implementing these plans requires additional investment – and with the right ETFs, you can bring the entire value chain of this networked and electrified future into your portfolio.
The Amundi MSCI New Energy UCITS ETF focuses on power generation itself, specifically on renewable energies such as solar and wind power. Clean electricity comes here from companies like Denmark's Vestas or Spain's Iberdrola.
With the VanEck Electrification and Power Infrastructure UCITS ETF, you bet on the toolmakers for the physical grid. To be included, at least 50 % of revenues must be related to electric and power infrastructure. Here, investments are made in real pure players like the Italian cable manufacturer Prysmian or the US specialist for grid expansion, Quanta Services.
The iShares Smart City Infrastructure UCITS ETF provides key players building the city of tomorrow. The fund has a US weighting of over 50 %, but prevents dominant individual positions through adjusted equal weighting. Here, cybersecurity specialist Palo Alto Networks stands shoulder to shoulder with platforms like Uber.
A defensive anchor is provided by the Xtrackers S&P Global Infrastructure Swap UCITS ETF. Here, the focus is on a foundation of established basic utility providers, including the US energy supplier NextEra Energy or the Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge.
In this section, we provide quick, direct answers to your key questions about the proposed retirement savings account for Germany.
I currently have a Riester plan and am considering switching to the AVD. How do the basic allowance and the required personal contribution differ between the models?
- With the AVD, the state basic allowance is tied to a minimum annual contribution of €120. This can be made flexibly, for example as a one-time payment, monthly at €10, or quarterly. If you invest €1,800 a year and are eligible, you receive the full basic allowance of €540.
- That is more than three times the maximum Riester basic allowance of €175. To receive this, eligible individuals generally need to pay in 4 % of their previous year's gross income (minus allowances) per year.
Editorial deadline: Friday, 7 a.m.
Sources: Scalable and dpa-AFX