Download PDF USA In a holiday-shortened week, the U.S. market exhibited strength as both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones reached record-high closing levels. With the S&P 500 closing at 5254 points, adding 0.4% and the Dow Jones closing at 39807 points, up 0.1%. This comes, after a better than Read more…
Download PDF Introduction “When I see a bubble forming, I rush in to buy, adding fuel to the fire.” This is a famous quote by George Soros. It probably inspired Jarrow and Kwok to write their paper, Inferring Financial Bubbles from Option Data where they attempt to take advantage of Read more…
Download PDF Current State of the Industry In 2023, the fashion industry faced persistent and deepening challenges. At a regional level, the US and Europe witnessed slow growth, while China’s strong performance at the start of the year faded in the second half. Weaker demand affected both the luxury and Read more…
Download PDF USA This has been a pretty volatile week for the US market. As in the past, this rally was majorly led by the tech sector. On Monday the S&P 500 reached a new all-time high of 5147 points but still closed the session in red with Apple losing Read more…
Download PDF Introduction to Closed-End Funds A closed-end fund (CEF) is a vehicle that collects funds via issuance of shares once and, thereafter, keeps its number of shares fixed. Therefore, after the initial fundraising, no additional capital flows into the fund, unless the CEF’s management specifically decides to raise new Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The German economy has navigated through a challenging landscape marked by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, energy crises, and ongoing global economic uncertainties. Germany, historically recognized for its export-led growth, faced a contraction in GDP of 0.3% in 2023, with economic activities dampened by a loss Read more…
Download PDF Introduction On March 3rd, Arkhouse management and Brigade Capital management announced a bid for Macy’s Inc. [NYSE: M] in a take-private deal totalling $6.6bn or $24 per share, coming at a 33% premium to the company share close on March 1st, and increasing their December 1st offer of Read more…
Download PDF Geopolitical Context The currently ongoing Red Sea Crisis, initiated as a reaction by the Houthi movement to the Israel-Palestine war, has greatly exacerbated Egypt’s ongoing political and economic turmoil. Most commercial shipping firms have announced their withdrawal from the Suez Canal. As recently as this week, the Houthis Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Following poor harvests in Africa due to bad weather throughout the year, hedge funds have been pouring money into the long trade since last year betting on a continued shortage of supply. Across the two cocoa futures contracts, London and New York, speculators have a total of Read more…
Download PDF Overview Among companies in the credit card industry, three names always stand out – Visa [NYSE: V], Mastercard [NYSE: MA] and American Express [NYSE: AXP]. However, that may soon change if the deal between Capital One and Discover Financial Services goes through. It was announced on 20th February Read more…
Download PDF Introduction to SPAC deals A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a company without any commercial operation that is formed to raise capital through an initial public offering to then merge with or acquire an existing private company. Generally, a SPAC is formed by an experienced management team Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Convertible bonds are a unique way of raising capital which allows investors to convert the security into a predefined number of shares of common stock given by the conversion ratio. Convertible bonds have a long history, dating back to the 19th century when American railway firms were Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Weather conditions play a fundamental role in the dynamics of the world economy, with estimates revealing that nearly 30% of economic activities and an overwhelming 70% of businesses encounter susceptibility to weather-related fluctuations. This substantial impact underlines the critical necessity to hedge the risk associated with weather. Read more…
Download PDF USA This week started quietly for the US markets, with all major equity indices falling slightly while investors were cautiously looking ahead to Thursday’s PCE print, which came out at 2.4%, the smallest annual increase in nearly three years. On Friday, the ISM data revealed a contraction in Read more…
Download PDF A Match made in Heaven In this article, we aim to integrate the momentum and carry factors to devise a strategy that enhances risk-adjusted returns. The underlying concept is straightforward. We seek to avoid positions with negative carry. Even with a momentum signal prompting us to go long Read more…