The American economy's growth was described as ‘strong' by the US Federal Reserve, which continued its policy of raising short-term interest rates in June. The interest rate range was even raised, to what seems a more aggressive level. Moreover, the risk of a full-blown trade war has been raised by the application of customs tariffs on steel and aluminium. Such trade tensions continued to impact investor confidence and equity markets in June. While the defensive sectors (utilities, real estate, consumer durables) outperformed, cyclicals (industrials, financials and energy) were in decline this month. Within EdR US Value, the worst performances came from our investments in the commodities sector, impacted by widespread fears of slowing global trade and falling demand. Crude oil prices (WTI) climbed 10% over the month, given Opec's decision to put through a measured increase in production, with demand remaining sustained, and US reserves continuing to decline. Energy stocks cautiously welcomed the oil rebound and we remain invested throughout the value chain (from producers and service companies to equipment and infrastructure). We have strengthened our investments in the healthcare sector through CVS, which has a large network of pharmacies and medical prescription management sites. Its growth prospects are also being driven strongly by its deployment of clinics in its pharmacy network, as well as its intended merger with the healthcare mutual, Aetna. Based on this first semester, we expect to see our Growth strategy continuing to out-perform at the expense its Value counterpart, with which it has now established a performance gap of almost 800 bps. While EdR US Value has shown how to take advantage of the early rebound in energy-related stocks, there is still significant revaluation potential available through other investments.