Download PDF USA United States’ major indexes evidence was mixed, but most of them ended lower in the holiday-shortened trading week (markets were closed on Monday in observance of Presidents’ Day). This was mainly due to an increase in treasury yields that climbed to the highest levels seen in a Read more…
Download PDF At the beginning of 2020, BSIC members took a first glance at NIRP in the article “Negative interest rate policy – friend or foe?”. The piece discusses the impact of negative rates in the Euro area and the possible unintended consequences. This year we try to go through Read more…
Download PDF Introduction In his famous speech on July 26, 2012 at UKTI’s Global Investment Conference, Mario Draghi emphasized on the ‘irreversibility’ of the euro and ECB’s preparedness to do ‘whatever it takes’ to preserve it. The macroeconomic European atmosphere at the time was defined by uncertainty and financial troubles, Read more…
Download PDF Introduction One of the most enticing readings in finance starts with To the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. However, the investment reasoning of Warren Buffett is not only relevant in its current edition but also in the previous ones in which he has formed a long-lasting investment principle Read more…
Download PDF USA US stock indexes closed at all-time highs also this week, showing modest weekly gains. This was mainly due to expectations for a fresh round of stimulus spending, strong corporate earnings, and progress in the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. The S&P 500 rose 1.2% for the week, closing Read more…
Download PDF Introduction From reputable Wall Street bankers and hedge fund managers to the average Joe, everyone heard of GameStop over the last weeks. How did this unprecedented phenomenon start? What cause stands at its root? How will this story affect trading and modify its rules? This article explores all Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Once again, we are approaching the end of the year, but this time, perhaps more than ever, the takeaways to bring home look exceptionally valuable: living in a world full of uncertainty due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic represents indeed an increasingly demanding challenge for market Read more…
Download PDF US US stocks went further into top territory this week. S&P was up 14.50% YTD at 3,699.12 points; DJIA up 5.89% YTD at 30,218.2 points, recording the best monthly performance since 1987. Similarly, small-cap Russel 2000, up 13.36% YTD at 1,891.35 points, showed its best gain since inception, Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The modern economy is increasingly driven by intangible assets, such as intellectual property, brands, and networks. However, common measures of value have failed to adapt to this transformation. The path forward involves both accounting reform and improved methods to directly value intangible assets. Value strategies have worked Read more…
Download PDF Introduction This article focuses on one of the oldest and most complex trading assets available – Commodities. From its natural explorations to its transformations and massive chains of transportation and storage transactions, Commodities are at the core of economies around the world and a major driver of globalization. Read more…
Download PDF The Lira, inflation and COVID-19: an overview of the Turkish economy Political context Turkey’s political scene was recently in the news with the departure of Finance Minister Mr. Albayrak, a powerful politician and the Turkish President’s son-in-law. The departure of Mr. Albayrak was seen as favourably by investors, Read more…
Download PDF US The US stock market edged higher after the announcement of another Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough led by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, yielding higher levels of efficacy than what regulators seek. This development reflected on the markets by a 0.6% rise in S&P 500, outrunning the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The COVID-19 crisis has proven to be especially challenging for the real estate sector. Retail, office spaces, and any other type of real estate that functioned on the premise of people getting together in one space has been squeezed tight by the grips of government regulations as Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) have had an interesting trajectory to say the least, starting out as a niche derivative, they rose to prominence after the Russian financial crisis of 1998, ballooning into a market worth an enormous $62.2 trillion in 2007. In 2008, this market promptly collapsed, Read more…
Download PDF United States It looks as if the market read a recent Goldman Sachs report, which beckoned at the possibility of starting to “shift from the hope-driven economy to the growth-driven economy”. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 220 points (0.8%) to 29,263, the S&P 500 Index was down Read more…