Finance & Money Edge

ECONOMY Japan falls from 3rd largest economy Japan has officially slipped into a recession and also lost its spot as the world’s third largest economy, falling behind Germany. ECONOMY UK enters recession Speaking of recessions, the UK has also fallen into a recession in the latter half of 2023. FINANCE Quantum computing in finance While […]

RISK Deepfake defrauds $25M You have to feel a bit sorry for this Hong Kong-based finance professional who fell victim to this detailed deepfake fraud. It cost the company $25M… FUNDING OpenAI CEO Not just Good at AI OpenAI’s “Celebrity CEO”, Sam Altman, is not just good at AI, but fund raising. He’s been doing

AI AI in Finance & Banking Coming in Hot We made an announcement in our sister email newsletter, The AI Edge, that we’ll be merging any AI-related content in finance & banking with the Finance & Money Edge newsletter. And here’s the first share for this week: IBM is building out an AI governance tool

ECONOMY US Extends Lead Over China in Battle of the Biggest Economy Like an ode to one of my childhood cartoon series, Battle of the Planets, the US had a good 2023 and extended their lead over China in their battle for who’s economy is bigger. BANKING JP Morgan Shuffles Leadership Many of Jamie Dimon’s

ECONOMY Germany’s Economy Showing Cracks Since the end of World War II, Germany has been an economic powerhouse for Europe, but cracks are showing in how competitive Germany really is in today’s economy. Last year, Germany’s economy contracted by 0.3% and is seeing competition to its auto manufacturing dominance and hasn’t kept up with technology

BANKING Big Banks Report Lacklustre Earnings It’s bank earnings reporting season and some of the big guns in banking reported less than stellar results (not unexpected). Citigroup posted huge losses. While Bank of America and Wells Fargo are looking at hits to profits as well as going forward. JP Morgan was the only (so far)

AI JP Morgan Introduces Own AI Model JP Morgan introduced its own AI LLM model which will help in analyzing documents. The purpose is specific to this function to keep it lightweight. CRYPTO Indian Banks Pays Employee Benefits via Digital Currency In December, Indian banks paid out some employee benefits via a digital rupee as

MARKETS Central Banks Hold Rates, But Disagree On Where Things Are Going The Bank of England (BOE), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve held interest rates in the past week. While the Fed indicated they see possible rate cuts coming in 2024, both the BOE and ECB feel rates will continue

CRYPTO Jamie Dimon is Not a Fan of Bitcoin Outspoken JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, made his disdain for cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin known at a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing. [via Grit Capital] INVESTMENT M\ubadala Focuses on Asian Investments One of the Middle-East’s largest investment firms, M\ubadala Investment announced the wealth fund will set its

FINTECH Is the World Ready for Digital Currencies? South Korea is testing a digital currency next year, joining other countries such as Hong Kong, Japan, China and India, that either announced or will be testing out their own digital currencies. The Bank of Canada is also looking into the possibility of what a digital currency

CRYPTO CEO of Binance Steps Down and Pleads Guilty Another blow for the Crypto-bro’s, CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ) was forced to resign and plead guilty to charges in the US for breaking anti-money laundering laws. The lesson from SBF and CZ? Don’t be known by just your initials…oh, and I guess don’t

ECONOMY UK Inflation Slows Down UK’s inflation rate slowed down to its lowest in two years, triggering expectations of possible interest rate cuts in the near future. IPO Starlink Mulls IPO Starlink, the satellite internet service from SpaceX, is mulling an IPO in 2024 as its satellite internet business grows. BANKING RBC Ranks 3rd Overall

BANKRUPTCY WeBankrupt… In one of the biggest falls from grace, co-working space (aka “tech” company), WeWork is set to file for bankruptcy. WeWork is a prime example of so many people drinking their own Koolaid… FRAUD SBF Found Guilty In the not surprised-at-all news of the week, Sam Bankman-Fried, was found guilty on all charges.

INVESTMENTS Fidelity Looks to Break Into ETF Market The ETF market is dominated by Vanguard, but they’ll soon have a new competitor. Fidelity is looking to convert some of their most popular mutual funds into ETF products. AI 78% of C-Suite Says They’re Using AI In a surprising stat of the week, 78% of C-suite

IPO SHEIN Working Towards IPO The fast-fashion retailer has its eyes set on an IPO on Wall Street, but still has a lot to do before it can launch an IPO. BANKING Big Wall Street Banks Facing More Job Cuts As the world is dealing with so much uncertainty right now and such a high-interest

BANKING Bank Earnings Exceed Expectations Fears of poor bank performance has been silenced after JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all reporting better than expected earnings. ECONOMY Africa’s $1T Trade Deal With a new free-trade deal confirmed within the African continent, the deal could mean $1T in export value for the African continent. BANKING Goldman

M&A Exxon Looks to Acquire Pioneer Natural Resources Exxon Mobil is reportedly in talks to purchase Pioneer Natural Resources. If the deal goes through, it would be the largest M&A deal of the year so far and will be the largest deal for Exxon since 1999 when it took over Mobil Corp. EXPATS China Becoming

M&A Singapore’s GIC Looking to Grab Stake in Vietnamese Grocer Singapore’s GIC (Government Investment Corp), the country’s sovereign fund, is looking to buy a 20% stake in Vietnamese grocer, Bach Hoa Xanh. The grocer is Vietnam’s third-largest grocery retailer. BANKING HSBC to Acquire Citigroup’s China’s Consumer Wealth Business HSBC continues to fortify it’s business in

MARKETS Treasury Yields Hit a High Since 2007 As the U.S. Fed held to current rates, but may continue to raise rates later this year, Treasury yields have hit a high not seen since 2007. EDUCATION US Colleges at Risk of Closing or Merging As tensions between the West and nations such as China and

IPO ARM IPO Smashes The awaited IPO of the chip designer, seems to be an initial success, surging around 31% from its IPO price. On the surface it looks like it’s surge is due to the rising tide of AI, but the truth is ARM relies more on smartphone products vs AI, so the initial

CRYPTO FTX Exec Pleads Guilty In the continuing saga of FTX, former FTX executive Ryan Salame, pleaded guilty to two criminal counts: Federal campaign finance and money-transmitting crimes. In doing so, he will forfeit $1.5 billion as part of his guilty plea. COMMODITIES Kenya to Buy Corn at Market Prices Diverting from its normal corn-buying

ECONOMY China’s Industries Showing Signs of Decline It’s not a good sign for the world when one of the biggest economies of the world shows multiple signs of decline, such as real estate, manufacturing and consumer spending. BANKING UBS Posts Historic Q2 Profits Thanks to taking over beleagured Credit Suisse, UBS posted a historic Q2

BANKRUPTCY WeWork Rebrands to WeBroke The embattled co-working space company, once the leader of the pack, has fallen far from grace and is potentially in a precarious status, close to filing for bankruptcy. ECONOMY BRICS Making New Friends The emerging market coalition known as BRICS, is expanding its membership to six new countries: Argentina, Egypt,

BANKRUPTCY China Evergrande Group Files for Bankruptcy in US One of China’s largest real estate developers, China Evergrande Group has filed for bankruptcy in the US (New York) as Chinese property sector struggles. COMPLIANCE Goldman Sachs Looks at Hiring Spree After rounds of layoffs, Goldman Sachs is now looking at a hiring spree in a

COMPLIANCE Former Libyan Leader Gadhafi’s Wealth Still Floating Around Canadian Banks Canadian banks have a reputation for being stable and conservative in their management, but the other reputation they have which isn’t as great is they’re known for being the WEAKEST financial institutions when it comes to money laundering. Case in point, former Libyan leader

COMPLIANCE DOJ & FTC take a tough stance on anticompetitive mergers As Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision is going back and forth, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is outlining a tougher stance on potential mergers & acquisitions that could be deemed anticompetitive. PAYMENTS Federal Reserve launched an upgrade payment system

BANKING Blackstone joins the trillion dollar club Private equity firm, Blackstone, is the first private equity firm to reach $1 trillion of assets under management. Reaffirming the notion that Blackstone will own everything in the world. Everything. PAYMENTS Amazon to launch new biometric payment method Amazon’s “pay-by-pal” payment method, where you pay by holding your

FINTECH Monzo Merger? Monzo, the British digital bank, is contemplating a merger with Lunar, a Denmark digital bank. As Monzo eyes other mergers to expand across Europe. BANKING Canada’s Laurentian Bank, Looking for Suitor The 177 year old Canadian bank, Laurentian Bank, is looking for potential buyers. The ninth-largest lender in Canada, they’re finding it

ENERGY OPEC bro’s new applications are open OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) is open for new applications to join as new members. In order to be considered for membership, the candidates must be net exporters of oil and have goals “aligned” (hint, hint, wink, wink) with those of OPEC. [via Grit Capital] INVESTMENT

COMPLIANCE Wall Street Banks Pass Compliance Tests 23 of Wall Street’s biggest banks passed (without the help of ChatGPT too!) their annual stress tests showing how the big banks are currently strong. Probably giving more reasons for small regional banks to bite their nails. BANKRUPTCIES Corporate Bankruptcies Increase Even though thoughts on a global recession

COMPLIANCE Google’s Anti-Money Laundering AI Google is releasing an AI-tool to help financial institutions with anti-money laundering. It’s already being deployed at HSBC in London and Brazil’s Banco Bradesco. The AI should be a boost to fighting anti-money laundering considering the job the humans are doing… (…ducks for cover, just kidding…or am I?). AI Banks

ECONOMY European Rates Hit 20 Year High The European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates hitting the highest rates in the region in the last two decades. Hold on to your pants people, this is going to be a bumpy ride. AI AI in Wealth Management, Hold Your Horses As AI dominates the news headlines

ECONOMY US and UK Pledge to Continue Being Friends The US and the UK signed the “Atlantic Declaration”, pledging to partner up regarding AI, clean energy, crucial minerals and aid to Ukraine. [via Grit Capital] ECONOMY Eurozone in Recession for Q1 The Eurozone fell into recession for Q1 with a fuzzy future ahead, while Australia

FINTECH Digital Bank Monzo Turns Profit British digital bank, Monzo, announced they reached monthly profitability back in March of this year. With over 7m users in the UK, Monzo is the largest banking app in the UK. BANKING Goldman Considering Third Round of Cuts Goldman Sachs is contemplating a third round of layoffs with the

AI 6 Ways AI Will Help Your Receivables Risk There’s a lot of doom and gloom surrounding the latest headline darling, AI. While there’s cause for caution, the practical uses are looking to outweigh the possible doomsday cases. In terms of finance, here’s six ways AI will be able to help with debt collection and

MARKETS Recession? Pfftttttt Even with constant signs of looming recession, the S&P 500 closed at its highest in the year this past week. Investors don’t seem to be spooked by any looming signs of recession. BANKING Lazard CEO Steps Down Lazard CEO Ken Jacobs will be stepping down and will be replaced by his deputy,

IPO Saudi Aramco’s Slow Progress on IPO The energy behemoth that is Saudi Aramco, had planned to IPO its energy trading unit, however, things haven’t progressed as well as planned and currently hitting a snag. ETFs Cathie Wood-linked ETF Shut Down by Canadian Regulators Cathie Wood and her ETF’s were for a short time the

BANKING FDIC Refills Fund from Imposed Fees on Big Banks With the latest bank collapses (e.g. SVB, First Republic), the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp) plans to refill its Deposit Fund by imposing special fees on big banks. Fees will be charged based upon the size of their balance sheets and number of depositors. While

AI PwC Jumps into the AI Game We recently wrote about Bloomberg integrating AI into their service with BloombergGPT, now PwC announced it will invest $1bn in AI tools to assist their staff in audit, tax and consulting services. BANKING Barclays Q1 Profits Exceeds Expectations Barclays’ Q1 reported profits exceeded expectations, mostly buoyed by the

AI BloombergGPT You’d have to be living under a rock to not have heard all the talk about ChatGPT (OpenAI’s AI Large-Language Model). Now, Bloomberg has announced it has integrated AI tools with their service, aptly named: BloomberGPT. IPO Rakuten Bank Biggest IPO in Japan Since 2018 Bank stock took a beating lately, but Rakuten

BANKING Depositors Want More Following the collapses of SVB and Credit Suisse, the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, is asking to review how much protection depositors should have. Considering UK banks currently only protect up to £85,000 per account and EU banks protect £88,000 per account (less than US bank protection of £200,000). BANKING

CYBER RISKS What Executives Need to Know About Cyber Risks Data privacy and cyber risks are two issues increasing in importance for executives, watch this interview between Katie Couric and Google’s P of engineering for privacy, safety, and security, Royal Hansen, as they discuss the latest in how to protect your company, services and customer

M&A M&A Deals Hit 10 Year Low Q1 of 2023 hasn’t been kind to M&A deal flow. Deals reached a 10 year low. BANKING Banking Bonuses Biggest Drop Since 2008 Wall Street bankers’ bonuses dropped 26% in 2022, the biggest drop since 2008. In unrelated news, coffee shops see drop in demand for lattes and

BANKING How to Manage Your Bank Risks As the dust settles after the failures of SVB and Signature First Bank, businesses are seriously looking at how avoid getting caught in a similar mess in the future. Here’s 5 ways to manage your bank risks. COMMODITIES Banking Failures Could Cause a Commodities Supercycle Goldman Sachs estimate

BANKING Credit Suisse Dodges Bullet Not to be outdone by all the attention on Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse avoided a similar fate from a lifeline offered by Swiss National Bank after Credit Suisse’s biggest shareholder turned their back on any support. Update: UBS has now agreed to acquire Credit Suisse. M&A Ryan Reynolds Is

BIG4 PwC Gets Fined Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Big4 audit firm gets fined…PwC has been fined £5.6m by UK’s audit branch due to “serious failure” in its audit of engineering-firm, Babcock. Including creating false records…in the words of George Takei, “Oh Myyyyyyyyy”. BANKING Credit Suisse Gets Green Light for China Embattled Swiss-bank

BANKING Financial Institutions Are Embracing AI While JP Morgan made the news by banning the use of ChatGPT, it doesn’t mean banks are ignoring AI. In fact, more and more financial institutions are looking at how they can integrate AI within their organization and products & services. MARKETS London Losing Listings? One of the biggest

IPO’S SPACs Want You to Return Their Money… The hunger for SPACs has waned lately, and for some SPACs that paid back their shareholders, it seem the SPACs paid back TOO MUCH money to shareholders and now, they want it back. ACCOUNTING Have an Accountant You Can Spare? The last few decades has seen a

MARKETS US Bank CEO’s Not So Pessimistic on Economy Wealthy bank CEO’s are starting to feel less pessimistic about the economy, so everyone can just chill out (right?). So, we can all go back to buying our avocado and toast because…reasons? MARKETS Brexit cost how much??? The Bank of England announced that Brexit has cost

MARKETS NASDAQ has best start since 1991 Recession? What recession? The NASDAQ is off to its best start since 1991. MARKETS FTSE 100 Hits All-Time High Not to be outdone by the NASDAQ (see above), the FTSE 100 also hit an all-time high. TECH Google Lose $100B Upon Microsoft’s Announcement Microsoft has always been the