Slow food for thought

Insights and research on global events shaping the markets

The city of Birmingham, the second largest in England after London, has announced to its residents that it can no longer meet its financial obligations. What are the causes and consequences? Birmingham has always been at the heart of the UK's growth, from its role in the Industrial Revolution as a manufacturing powerhouse to its current importance as a centre for finance, education and culture. Its diverse population, rich heritage and strategic location have made it a magnet for business, tourism and investment. However, the recent financial crisis has cast a shadow over its illustrious history, raising questions about its future and the wider implications for other UK cities.

The world, and the markets, have done better than survive one of the most resounding bank failures in history. But at what price? Fifteen years ago, a monument to global finance collapsed, leaving behind a gap of more than $600 billion. On the night of 14 September 2008, Washington decided to let go of the Lehman Brothers investment bank. And what Wall Street feared the most became reality: a major bank went bankrupt, plunging the financial markets and the global economy into an immense unknown.

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Fast food for thought

Insights and research on global events shaping the markets

The Fed held its September meeting and the message from Jay Powell was clear: they will continue to keep rates elevated until inflation moves more convincingly toward 2.0%. The Fed held rates steady at 5.25% - 5.5% at this meeting but kept the option of an additional rate hike on the table, maintaining its outlook for a peak fed funds rate of 5.6%. The S&P 500 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite reacted negatively, dropping 2.9% and 3.6% respectively. That marked the third straight negative week and worst weekly performance since March for each. As Vanda Research notes, inflows into the artificial intelligence (AI) sector continue to decline.

The hawkish pause by the Fed has sent U.S. real yields to levels not seen since 2008, triggering a market selloff in credit.

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22/09/2023

Crypto corner

A monthly deep dive into crypto assets

Crypto Corner

Insights and research on global events shaping the markets

For the past few months, ChatGPT and artificial intelligence have been making the headlines. This trend obviously quickly made its way into the crypto world. Below, we attempt to define AI tokens and take a closer look at some of the most prominent ones.

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