Category: Markets

In the life of a company, just as it occurs in a person’s life, there are significant instances that mark a deep shift from the previous life. One amongst them is the IPO, which is an acronym that stands for Initial Public Offerings. An IPO is a procedure through which a private company offers its shares among the public (the so-called creation of the free float) for the first time on a regulated market. Upon making this shift, a company transitions from being privately held by a select group of owners and investors to being publicly owned. A company is regarded as private when its shares are held by a relatively limited number of shareholders. These shareholders often include initial investors such as the company’s founders, their family and friends,…

James Harris Simons, the famed mathematician and hedge fund manager, has died at the age of 86, according to a statement from his family foundation. He was widely known among investors for leveraging quantitative analysis and mathematics to create complex algorithms, taking advantage of the market inefficiencies. Jim Simons was born in Massachusetts in 1938 and he has liked mathematics from a very young age. He graduated from the MIT with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and earned a doctorate in the same subject at the age of 23. He soon began working in the academic world where he contributed to the development of knowledge in string theory, quantum field theory and condensed matter physics in the 1970s. Thanks to his talent, in 1964, he started working for the National…

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) recently made a strategic move in the banking sector, unveiling its proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of Banco Sabadell. This proposition, presented at a premium of 30% over the closing price recorded on April 29th, amounts to a substantial figure of approximately $12 billion. The motive behind BBVA's ambitious bid is clear: to solidify its position as a dominant force within the European banking landscape. By merging with Banco Sabadell, BBVA aims to create the second-largest bank group in Europe, boasting an anticipated market capitalization of €70 billion. This would place BBVA in close contention with industry heavyweight BNP Paribas, which currently leads with a market capitalization of €77 billion. However, despite the allure of BBVA's offer, Banco Sabadell has opted to reject the…

Considering that the next few years will be crucial for the spread and development of electric vehicles, we have witnessed a great shift as of 2023 alone.  At the end of last year, we counted a total of 25,6 million vehicles, whereas 14 million of those sold within the year, registering a 35% year-on-year increase from 2022. Furthermore, forecasts from the 2023 edition of the Global EV Outlook (GEVO-2023) predict a total of 381 million EV vehicles by 2032.  As far as sales are concerned, they tend to remain concentrated in specific areas: nearly 95% of the total were registered in China (57%), Europe (22%) and in the USA (13%). While the rest of the world is still catching up, in order to increase global sales, the most effective strategy…

Is the old saying "Buy dollars, wear diamonds" truer now than before? This saying suggests that by investing in dollars and bonds, one can accumulate enough wealth to afford luxury items like diamonds. However, in the current economic and political landscape, it is increasingly difficult to predict with reasonable certainty when the Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rates. In the United States, the inflation rate for March was 3.5%, exceeding the expected 3.4% and higher than the 3.2% recorded in February 2024. This persistent inflation suggests that the previously anticipated interest rate cuts in 2024 may be too ambitious and should be reconsidered. Conversely, inflation in the Eurozone in March was 2.4% compared to 2.6% in February 2024, leading to expectations of a potential rate cut in June.…

INTRODUCTION Boeing is one of the major companies that operate in the aviation industry (commercial airplanes, defense, space, and security). The main competitor in the production of bigger widebody and narrowbody aircrafts is Airbus, while for defense, space, and security segments the major ones are Lockheed, Northrop and General Dynamics. WHAT HAPPENED? In the first quarter of 2024 Boeing lost $355 million on falling revenue. This is a clear sign of crisis for the company that must also deal with increasing scrutiny over safety concerns after several whistleblowers reported various manufacturing problems concerning Boeing 737 and 787. CEO David Calhoun assured the public that Boeing is focusing on fixing the manufacturing issues and that’s why they are not working on the financial results. The most recent incident happened in January…

In the broad and intricate universe of bonds, junk bonds are one category among many. Junk bonds, also referred to as high-yield bonds or speculative bonds, represent one of the numerous categories of corporate debt securities: these are typically issued by companies or firms burdened with heavy debt or those carrying a speculative level rating (which are usually in a start-up phase). They offer higher interest rates compared to regular corporate bonds due to their increased risk and lower credit ratings. It is important to remember that, just because a security offers higher returns, it does not necessarily mean it is superior to others: there is a common misconception that higher risk always yields higher returns. The truth is, while there is indeed a positive correlation between risk and return,…

A highly debated topic today concerns the possibility of keeping the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. As of today, only a consultation has been launched with the aim of making this idea legal and effective. Many investors hope that this is just the beginning of a process that will end with the implementation of such a rule in all markets worldwide, not just in Wall Street. This initiative prompts us to reflect on the real advantages of uninterrupted market opening, considering the increasingly strong competition from cryptocurrencies, which are open to trading without hourly and daily limits. It is still premature to express an opinion on the acceptance of this initiative, but we can highlight the advantages and disadvantages of continuous…

Ever since the discovery of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the attention towards Artificial Intelligence has now touched an all time high. With a burgeoning market valued at an estimated USD$200bn, many companies are pivoting towards the sector. Amongst the many firms investing in the market, the most important worth mentioning is Microsoft. Its strategic investments in AI have significantly enhanced its product offerings across its vast portfolio, further solidifying its position as a titan in the tech industry. After the USD$13bn invested in OpenAI, Microsoft has struck a deal with French artificial intelligence start-up Mistral AI as it seeks to broaden its involvement in the fast-growing industry. Born in April 2023 from ex DeepMind Arthur Mensch and ex Meta Timothée Lacroix and Guillaume Lample, the Paris based company is currently building both…

Inflationary pressures easing faster in the Eurozone Inflation in the Eurozone is approaching the 2% target, reaching 2.4% in March, exceeding US forecasts. This has led investors to speculate that the ECB could cut interest rates before the FED does. Central bank policy rates are shown in figure 1.  Conversely, US inflation surpassed forecasts, rising from 2.4% in January to 2.5% in February. As a result, investors are revising down their expectations for rates cuts by the FED as Jay Powell stated that high US inflation may keep the bank from cutting rates, as previously anticipated. Powell explained that the rates will be lowered only when the FED will have greater confidence that inflation is moving steadily towards the target. Meanwhile, the ECB has announced its intention to reduce interest…