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The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has shaken the world, with such conflict in Europe being unprecedented in recent history. It is clear the Ukrainian people will bear the brunt of the suffering as their homes are transformed into warzones. This conflict will also bring wider implications for nearly every Continue Reading -
This is the second article in a series of three covering the outlook for capital markets in 2022. ECM were covered in the previous article. Look out for private equity and private credit next time, following on from today’s DCM overview. Moving into March, it’s already clear that staggering inflation Continue Reading -
Circle, the US financial technology company and creator of the stablecoin USDC, announced on February 14th that it would push back its planned deal of listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The company reported that it would seek new investors at a valuation between $7.65bn to $9bn, a substantial Continue Reading -
In early November 2021, the ‘MSCI Global Climate Select’ exchange-traded fund (ETF) was unveiled at the prestigious Glasgow COP26 summit. Traded under the title ‘NTZO’, the intention of the fund was to exclude companies with fossil fuel use entrenched in their production processes, whilst boosting holdings in companies with low Continue Reading -
On September 7, 2021, US financial technology company PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL) announced the acquisition of Paidy, a Tokyo-based, ‘Buy Now, Pay Layer’ (BNPL), service provider.1 Settled principally in cash, the $2.7bn transaction, equivalent to ¥300bn, further cemented the scramble for BNPL market share as the critical flashpoint of the 2021 Continue Reading -
Views on the equity market outlook are extremely divided at the moment. Following a two-week rally from recent lows, the equity market again extended losses on Thursday after the release of the higher-than-expected CPI report and on Friday with the rising tensions from Ukraine. Despite the hawkish Fed which signalled Continue Reading -
Disclaimer: this article was written for the 2021 CIBS Article Competition weeks prior to its publishing date and should not be taken as financial advice. Ferrexpo originated as a Soviet iron mining operation, but nowadays is listed on the LSE. It specialises in producing iron pellets, a relatively environmentally friendly Continue Reading -
Namibia, the sparsely populated nation home to vast swathes of desert and sand dunes, is undertaking an ambitious project to be at the forefront of global green hydrogen production. The Namibian government recently stated Hyphen Hydrogen Energy as the preferred bidder to undertake the development of Namibia’s first vertically integrated Continue Reading -
The US Bureau of Labour Statistics reports that nearly 50 million workers in the US stopped commuting and switched to working from home during the spring of 2020, resulting in an 850% increase in homeworking. Early data suggests these trends are here to stay, with companies expecting approximately 40% of Continue Reading -
This is the first article in a series of three covering the outlook for capital markets in 2022. The sectors covered will be DCM, private capital markets, and – in this article – ECM. Equity markets in the last year have shown remarkable recovery from 2020. The S&P 500 grew Continue Reading -
The private equity industry didn’t hold back in their spending this year. On the 5th of June 2021, the largest leveraged buyout (LBO) deal since the 2008 global financial crisis was announced: beating a rival bid from Brookfield Asset Management, a consortium of private equity firms (Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman Continue Reading -
The rate of inflation within Turkey has reached its highest level since Erdoğan , the president, came to power two decades ago. We can put much of the blame upon the president’s insistence that central bank chiefs contravene the conventional monetary policy that lowering interest rates leads to an increase Continue Reading -
“It may become warranted to increase the federal funds rate sooner or at a faster pace than participants had earlier anticipated.” 2022 starts with some disturbing news for investors: on January 5th, minutes from the Federal Reserve officials’ December meeting were released. Within which, they suggested the possibility of withdrawing Continue Reading -
In the wake of a booming global crypto-currency market, Nayib Bukele, the El Salvadoran President, has recently announced that the Central American country is intending to create the world’s first ever “bitcoin city”. This wild proposition will involve funding through the issuance of $1bn in sovereign bonds backed by the Continue Reading -
Inflation is soaring in the world’s largest economies now. In the U.S., consumer prices are racing at their quickest level since the 1990s. In China, factory gate prices rose at the fastest pace in 26 years in October, beating forecasts and further squeezing profit margins for producers already grappling with Continue Reading -
Officials at the US Federal Reserve have come under recent scrutiny following allegations of trading of non-public information. The Fed chair, Jerome Powell, swiftly took action to reassure onlookers and prevent any further perceived conflicts of interest, but the wider issue of government officials trading on insider knowledge remains a Continue Reading -
Emerging market stocks are lagging behind those in developed economies by the most since 2013’s “taper tantrum”, having ended the third quarter of 2021 down 8.1%, the worst quarter since the first of 2020 when Covid-19 hit. On the year, MSCI’s Emerging market (EM) index is basically flat, in stark Continue Reading -
The London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) is simply put, the global benchmark interest rate for borrowing costs between banks. However, despite being so simple in definition, Libor has had a truly scandalous existence, with the consequences of the financial crisis of 2008 having exposed Libor for being extremely un-robust. In Continue Reading -
GameStop at its peak was the world’s largest video game retailer, with its stock priced at around $60 a share in 2006. The precipitous decline of physical retail due to the pandemic and the prevalence of Amazon and digital video game sales led to GameStop being valued at only $3 Continue Reading -
Recently it was announced PayPal are in talks with social media site Pinterest about a takeover that could be worth $45bn; possibly resulting in one of the largest corporate takeover deals of the year. After a failed approach by Microsoft earlier this year, PayPal may be about to add Pinterest Continue Reading -
October 15th saw Alitalia flight AZ1586 touch down at Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci Airport and draw a close to the airline’s 75 year history. Since 2000 Italy’s national airline had only one profitable year and 2017 marked the beginning of the ultimate demise as state-appointed administrators stepped in to avoid Continue Reading -
Looking back to the past 2021, the overall theme is recovery. With financial stimulus from governments across the world, liquidity was injected into the market. For example, for most of the past year and a half, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been buying at least $120 billion of bonds each Continue Reading -
On October 7th, a £300m takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) was completed. A Saudi-led consortium completed the deal for the Tyneside football club, almost two years after political and commercial controversies put an end to original talks. The takeover marks a key turning Continue Reading -
Recently the world’s largest and most indebted real estate developer, China’s Evergrande, has been on the verge of defaulting. In the midst of China’s attempts to move its economy towards a more free market model, free from heavy government intervention, this crisis presents the Chinese government with a challenging decision: Continue Reading
