Download PDF Introduction 2022 has been a difficult year for investment banks. Despite the relative strength of their trading divisions, a collapse in M&A value has been weighing down on revenues. Something that has been leading to outright losses, however, is Leveraged Finance. This lesser-known part of the financing groups Read more…
Download PDF Introduction On the 25th of September Italian citizens are going to vote for their representatives in the parliament. Based on the current macroeconomic and political scenario, we analyze the effects that the elections’ results might have on the markets and propose a trade idea based on the BTP-Bund Read more…
Download PDF A persisting trend DISCLAIMER: The EURUSD pair is an exception to general FX notation. We comply with the quoting convention adopted in the industry: when the Dollar strengthens against the Euro, EURUSD moves lower, and vice versa. For charting purposes, however, we use the USDEUR time series. The Read more…
Download PDF Sentiment in global financial markets was once again largely affected by rising inflation fears. USA The week started with a continuation of the relief rally in risky assets, as sellers momentarily reduced their pressure. The scenario was quickly reversed as soon as traders’ expectations for Tuesday’s inflation reading Read more…
Download PDF USA Major market indexes registered significant losses for the fourth consecutive week, highlighting April 2022 as the worst month for the markets since March 2020. The S&P 500 is still in correction territory, losing 8.8% in the last month, and being down approximately 14% from its January all-time Read more…
Download PDF Introduction In view of the coming season of earnings releases we analyze the famed British carmaker Aston Martin, and we propose: 1) a long investment on its equity based on a successful execution of its multi-year turnaround plan, and 2) a trade idea on the implied vol of Read more…
Download PDF Conventional economic theory suggests that Central Banks (CBs) should only intervene to influence short-term interest rates and allow the market to set long-term rates. However, in modern economic history, this belief has been put into question: most notably, the US and the Euro Area have reacted to the Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Facing rising scrutiny from American activist investors, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Britain’s second-largest pharmaceutical company, is undertaking a major strategic shift. By spinning off its consumer healthcare division, and recently acquiring Sierra Oncology for $1.9bn, which is about to introduce a new blood cancer treatment to the market, GSK Read more…
Download PDF The Macro Environment M&A activity in Australia has been on a tear recently. From every angle, deal activity in 2021 was unprecedented. A$308bn of deals were closed in 2021, compared with the 10-year average of A$100bn. A large amount of ‘mega deals’ pushed the average takeover size to Read more…
Download PDF Introduction On April 14th, it was announced that Italy’s known Benetton family and US investment fund Blackstone made a buyout offer for Atlantia, valuing the company at €54.3bn. What could be the second biggest deal of the year globally, only behind Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft ($69bn), would Read more…
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Download PDF Introduction Statistical arbitrage is a class of trading strategies that profit from exploiting what are believed to be market inefficiencies. These inefficiencies are determined through statistical and econometric techniques. Note that the arbitrage part should by no means suggest a riskless strategy, rather a strategy in which risk Read more…
Download PDF USA Following signs of a more hawkish central bank policy, bond markets in the US sold off substantially over the course of the week. On Tuesday, Charles Evans, the Chicago Fed’s president defined a year-end range for the policy rate between 2.25 and 2.5 per cent as realistic, Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The US airline industry, following two years of devastation and billions of dollars of losses due to the pandemic, appears to be springing back to life. Passenger numbers are returning to pre-pandemic levels and firms are starting to become profitable once again. More interestingly, airlines appear to Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Bolt Financial Inc., a leading payments-focused technology company, announced the acquisition of the crypto-services startup Wyre in a cash and stock deal. Announced on April 7th, 2022, the deal is expected to close later in 2022. It is valued at around $1.5 billion, and, according to research Read more…