The Finish EU presidency, the European Commission and the European Parliament on Monday evening all agreed on the common classification system for environmentally-sustainable investment. The final confirmation will be done by EU ambassadors on Wednesday and by a plenary vote that will probably take place in January 2020.

Negative yields are forcing insurers to diversify their investments. They are adding more esoteric fixed-income assets, private assets and real estate. Insurance-owned asset managers have struggled to adapt. They are at risk of losing business to external, independent asset managers with expertise in private debt, private equity and real estate.

Because green bond issues tend to be smaller, they tend to be less liquid. A green bond is (1) a regular bond plus (2) some green promises. Denmark’s proposed innovation is to sell those parts separately, a conventional government bond and a green certificate, which is a zero-coupon bond with zero redemption at maturity and can be traded separately.

After five years of negative rates imposed by the European Central Bank, German lenders are breaking the last taboo: Charging retail clients for their savings starting with very first euro in the their accounts. They are preparing for a prolonged period of negative rates as Europe’s economy slows. In September, the ECB reduced the deposit rate to minus 0.5%.

The head of investments at Finland’s Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co. says his industry is “just starting to see what kind of new challenges negative rates will cause.” The steps he’s taken so far have led away from easy-to-sell assets, as liquidity becomes a luxury. It’s a way to preserve returns, but means delving into assets that might be hard to offload.

An extended period of negative or record low interest rates has put huge pressure on pension funds in the Netherlands. Assets in pension funds in the Netherlands total $1.5 trillion. These entities count on bonds for stable returns to fund payouts to pensioners. The stricter, more reliable pension systems could be the ones to face complications.

From London to Switzerland to parts of the U.S., the rich are looking to store precious metals, cash and cryptocurrency. For some, it’s the threat of a global recession. Others are avoiding bank deposits as negative interest rates force lenders to charge for holding cash. Many are concerned about natural disasters.

The technology giant said last week it’s exploring how it can partner with banks to offer checking accounts through its Google Pay app. Citigroup Inc. and a California credit union signed on as initial partners for the effort – a move that could help them pick up extra customers as the industry contends with slowing growth in deposits.

A new business field could open for German banks from 2020: the sale and custody of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies. The draft law passed by the German parliament will make this easier. Banks will be able to offer to their clients in online banking in addition to classic securities such as shares and bonds also the buying of crypto currencies.

The plunge in interest rates is wreaking havoc on funds. In the Netherlands, the government has come under pressure to change retirement system rules so schemes can effectively shrink deficit. One of the Netherland’s biggest industry-sector funds plans to cut the pensions by up to 10%. Millions more around the world are facing the same retirement insecurity.

Prodded by their own governments into slashing emissions and getting out of coal, European companies are a step ahead of their US counter parts. “There’s definitely a trend here,” said Peter Henry, managing director at HW Anderson Ltd. in New York. “There are opportunities for them to apply similar strategies that have worked in Europe.”

In a recent UBS survey of wealthy investors and entrepreneurs, U.S. investors reported having 21% of their portfolios in cash, on average. Over the last 40 years, the dollar has done more declining than appreciating. If you’re earning 1% or 2% on your cash and the dollar starts to fall, you will see your purchasing power erode very quickly.