On Wednesday, the price of bitcoin passed the symbolic $60,000 mark for the first time since November 2021. Over the past 12 months, the price of bitcoin has risen by 160%. 

What are the factors behind the craze for the 1st digital currency in recent weeks? 

1/ The recent surge in bitcoin's price can be attributed to a significant increase in institutional interest, following the approval of 10 bitcoin (cash) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US earlier this year. The approval of these ETFs facilitates institutional investors' access to the cryptocurrency asset class. ETF purchases involve the acquisition of bitcoin for equivalent amounts. After just a month and a half of existence, Blackrock's iShares Bitcoin ETF holds over $8 billion in bitcoin assets.  

2/ The much-anticipated "bitcoin halving" event, scheduled for April this year, acts as a further catalyst. Historically, halvings have triggered massive rises in bitcoin, as the rewards for mining are halved, effectively reducing the marginal supply of bitcoin. 

3/ Hedge funds are anticipating a future imbalance between bitcoin supply and demand due to increased demand from ETFs and the halving of the marginal supply of bitcoin. A few figures to bear in mind (based on recent activity): assuming that net buyer flows from ETFs remain the same (or even increase), and considering that there are only 2 million bitcoin available on the exchanges (based on today's liquidity), this would mean that in 8 months' time, there will literally be no bitcoin available for sale on the exchanges... 

4/ The return of retail investors to the crypto market. While bitcoin spot ETFs had received a rather lukewarm reception from individual investors, bitcoin's recent surge is attracting speculators, including retail investors. 

The Magnificent Seven ("Mag 7") took the stock market to new heights last year. Apple, Meta, Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon, Alphabet (Google) and Microsoft saw their share prices rise sharply (doubling or tripling, for some), leading to a 25% rise in the S&P 500, Wall Street's flagship index. Today, their market capitalization is greater than the Indian and Japanese stock markets combined...

While there's a lot of talk about the Magnificent 7 ("Mag 7"), equity markets have been dominated since the start of the year by an even smaller number of stocks - the "Mag 4". Indeed, Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon have seen their market capitalization rise by $1.5 trillion in 2024. The other 96 stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index saw their market capitalization increase by a much more modest sum ($75 billion combined).

In the fourth quarter of 2023, US nominal GDP grew by 3.2% (year-on-year), according to data released on Wednesday. This means an increase of $334.5 billion in nominal GDP. However, over the same period, the United States took on an additional $834.2 billion in debt.

In other words, in the last quarter of 2024, it cost the US $2.50 in debt for every dollar of GDP. As Fed Chairman Powell recently stated, "we are on an unsustainable fiscal path"...

International Women's Day takes place this week (March 8). It's an opportunity to remind ourselves that women are still under-represented at the highest corporate levels, despite their undoubted talent for management. As this Personal Finance Club study shows, over the period 2012-2022, 92% of S&P 500 companies are headed by men. However, the study also shows that stocks of companies with female CEOs have strongly outperformed those with male CEOs (+384% vs.+261% over the 10-year period considered by this study).

Does this mean that investors should favor all stocks with female CEOs? No, because it's impossible to predict the future with any certainty. However, we do hope that this gender imbalance will change in the near future, and that all forms of diversity will be present at the highest levels of management. If you're a woman and want to take on a management role, go for it. We need more women managers!

In 2023, the leading Swiss watch brand produced 1.24 million watches, with sales of 10.1 billion Swiss francs ($11.5 billion). This represents an 11% increase on 2022, said analysts at Morgan Stanley and Swiss company LuxeConsult in a report published on Wednesday. The maker of the Daytona, Submariner and Datejust models increased its market share to just over 30% in 2023, its all-time high.

The graph below illustrates the remarkable growth in sales of HOKA and On Running over four years. HOKA, owned by Deckers Outdoor Corp ($DECK) and known for its cushioned maximum soles and colorful designs, has gained strong popularity among professional athletes and weekend warriors in recent years. The same goes for On Holdings ($ONON), another young challenger in the running shoe field, known for its distinctive CloudTec soles. This patented technology offers a unique blend of cushioning and responsiveness. Happy jogging to all!