Written Commentary
The Ghost in the Machine Q3 2025
October 6, 2025
Welcome to the Q3 2025 edition of the Ghost In The Machine
Welcome to the Q3 edition of the Ghost In The Machine, as many risk assets continue to thrive, despite the heightened levels of uncertainty, and above all government policy ambiguities, amid continued trade and geopolitical tensions.
In this issue, there are deep dives into how to manage an often-overwhelming deluge of data, looking at unifying systems, leveraging automation, investing in data quality and prioritising real time processing amongst other factors. Tagging on to this is a further exploration of power grid readiness for AI data centres, and deployment of Data Centre Reserve Management (DCRM) frameworks.
This year’s US Corn crop is expected to be one for the record books, but how big is big? While a number of agricultural commodities have come under pressure, Raw Sugar has been trading in a relatively tight range, we take a closer look at what might jolt it out of its reverie.
In the maritime sector, Copenhagen is a major shipping hub despite Denmark not being a natural commodity hub; how did this come about, and are there lessons to learn in this era of international trade tensions? Dry Bulk Shipping earnings have been surprisingly resilient in the face of tensions and disruptions, but investment has lagged and a renewals gap has emerged, with potential implications for costs.
There is a revisit of European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) implementation, and whether it might be delayed yet again as US tariffs add to regulatory compliance stress.
Critical Minerals supply chain concerns are at the top of many developed economy governments list of priorities, as they seek to decouple and de-risk from China’s dominance, with the GCC region emerging both as an alternative for processing, as well as a major upstream investor.
Finally, there is a close look at potential headwinds for US Personal Consumption.
Marc Ostwald
Chief Economist & Global Strategist
ADM Investor Services International Limited
Chief Economist & Global Strategist
ADM Investor Services International Limited
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