When Leo Caprivi Replaced Otto von Bismarck: Bellicose Transitions, Pivots, and the Markets
The world got almost everything wrong about Xi Jinping prior to 2012 and even a few years after Xi took over China’s leadership. By 2017, it was clear that the Chinese dream of subjugating the rest of the world to its illiberal image would turn ugly in its domestic...
Weekly Market Update
Global Market News Global equities down on the week Global equities lost ground this week. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones dropped 1.69% and 2.15%, respectively, while the Nasdaq closed the week down 1.61%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury increased slightly to...
The Day After & the Era of Transformation
Here is our take on the articles summarized below: As we move into the final third of 2021, the continual advance of change has only accelerated. While the “meme stock” craze has died down from its January highs, the aftershocks of the decisions made by Robinhood and...
Crossroads: At the Intersection of Geopolitical and Geoeconomics
Here is a summary of the most important events that unfolded last month, and which may affect economic, financial, and geopolitical issues in the months ahead: North America The US completed its military withdrawal from Afghanistan, formally ending the 20-year war...
Weekly Market Update
Global Market News Global equities make gainsGlobal equities advanced this week, marking the seventh consecutive month of gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.58% on the week while the Dow Jones dropped slightly by 0.24%. The Nasdaq posted a 1.55% gain on the week and the...
Geopolitical Challenges and Statecraft
As Germany gears up for federal elections this month, we take a look at the top candidates seeking to fill Chancellor Angela Merkel’s shoes. Her successor will not only take on the challenge of ushering Germany through a pandemic in a period of geopolitical volatility...
Digital Currencies, T.S. Eliot, and the Land of Endless Money: Part II
In our August 10th commentary we touched on the parallels between T.S. Eliot’s poem Waste Land and the rehypothecation of assets/bonds (a dangerous endeavor that could undermine financial stability). Furthermore, the subliminal statecraft messages derived from T.S....
Weekly Market Update
Global Market News Global equities make gains Global equities made gains this week. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones both gained 1.52% and 0.96% respectively, while the Nasdaq soared, closing 2.82% up. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury jumped up four basis points to...
The Day After & the Era of Transformation
Here is our take on the articles summarized below: As the stability of the global economic system is increasingly shaken, more and more potential outcomes are becoming “known unknowns” - fields where an excess of uncertainty challenges our heuristics to interpret...
Removing Friction
“You need a different checklist and different mental models for different companies. I can never make it easy by saying, “Here are three things.” You have to derive it yourself to ingrain it in your head for the rest of your life.” “Take a simple idea and take it...
