Category: Markets

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…

Banking profits are rising thanks to the increase of the interest rates settled by the central banks, even if this positive result come from a particular economic environment due to the necessity to decrease inflation. Despite the positive year, recently, banks have faced period of negative tax of interest, liquidity woes and failure of banks like the Californian Silicon Valley bank, one of the largest hi-tech start-up financiers, and Credit Suisse, a multi-secular Swiss bank acquired by UBS. For this reason, Banca d’Italia Governor, Fabio Panetta, recalled to remain vigilant and keep focusing on the long-term target. As a matter of fact, banks need to adopt new technologies and features and especially implement artificial intelligence to their process as well as developing digital infrastructure. The graph below shows that banks…

The commercial real estate market is regarded as a vital indicator for economic well-being, boosting the interconnection of factors including local economies, population growth, interest rates, and government regulations. Through this article, we will try to understand the complexities of the real estate industry, recalling the trends of the past year and looking forward to what is going to be its evolution. The Current Global Real Estate Market Today, the global real estate market is a massive phenomenon in world economy, destined to reach an astounding value of US$637.80 trillion by 2024, with residential real estate dominating at US$518.90 trillion. These figures, extracted from a STATISTA analysis on global real estate markets, underscore the strength of the market on a worldwide scale. The market is projected to grow at an…

Tod’s is attempting to re-enter the market with a second public tender offer (PTO) after the failure of the first attempt in 2022, with a price per share of €40.00, not reaching the threshold set at 90%, forcing the group to withdraw the offer. The Della Valle brothers, Diego and Andrea, try again, supported by the private equity fund, L Catterton, participated by LVMH, on a percentage of 36% of Tod’s share’s, with the intention of obtaining delisting. The consequence of delisting is that the company will no longer be listed on Borsa Italiana S.p.A. and Tod’s ordinary shares will no longer be publicly traded on the Euronext Milan (EXM) segment. This move by Tod’s is not an isolated case, but rather, represents a trend of many companies showing this…

The fashion Industry has always represented one of the world’s biggest manufacturing branches.  In 2021 it generated more than USD 2.5 trillion of global annual revenues, employing more than 300 million people along its value chain, as illustrated in the graph below. Apparel enterprises have always been a reference point in the process of underlining the trends of the global markets due to their capacity to shape society and affect the buying habits of consumers.  In 2021 the industry reached a record in terms of economic profit with a value of USD 1.73 tr, which was reconfirmed in 2022, even if slightly minor, with an amount of USD 1.53 tr. The ability of this sector to outperform challenges is mostly traceable to the strong demand that characterizes most of the segments,…

Since the 2014 election of Narendra Damodardas Modi as the new Prime Minister, India witnessed a significant growth, and it doesn’t plan on stopping. Today worldly renowned as one amongst the fastest growing countries, India has been able to position herself in the top five biggest economies since 2019. As of last year alone, the Country’s GDP registered a faster-than-expected growth rate of 7.6%, following the 2021 rate of +9% and 2022’s +7,2%. Also in 2023, India’s Nifty 50 index hit a new high, up 16% this year surpassing even Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index. There are a variety of factors contributing to the success of the Country, like: demographic growth, higher salaries, export income, and an unemployment rate of under 10%. But It all started with Modi’s BRAP (Business…

Throughout the course of history, only a few men have been able to unsettle entire governments through their actions: George Soros stands as one of them. George Soros was born on August 12, 1930, in Budapest, to a family of Jewish origin. During the Nazi occupation of Hungary, Soros and his family managed to survive by changing their surname from Schwartz to Soros in 1936, due to increasing anti-Semitism. After the end of World War II, in 1947, Soros emigrated to the United Kingdom to avoid the new pro-Soviet regime established in Hungary. In the UK, Soros pursued his education at the LSE (London School of Economics) and earned a Master’s degree in Philosophy. He gained experience working in several commercial banks in London before launching his first hedge fund,…

As the global stage ushers in 2024, the economic landscape navigates through a nuanced tapestry of challenges, including inflationary pressures, geopolitical intricacies, and persistent market volatility. This article aims to not only dissect but delve deeper into the significant trends shaping the financial terrain, offering heightened insights to guide investors with prudence as their compass. Evolving Monetary Landscape and Inflation Dynamics The forthcoming year is poised to signal a pivotal departure from the restrictive monetary policies of major developed nations. Analysts anticipate a strategic shift toward interest rate adjustments, marking the inception of a potential "soft landing" after a prolonged period of rate hikes. The market sentiment reflects skepticism towards the "higher-for-longer" theory, with bets against central banks maintaining borrowing costs at restrictive levels. Both the US Federal Reserve and…