The Investor's Diary

In this episode, we look beyond the football and dive into the major stories shaping Argentina, France, England and Spain. For Argentina, we unpack Javier Milei’s economic experiment. For France, we look at Marine Le Pen’s dramatic political comeback. In the UK, we dive into the hottest summer ever and Starmer's resignation, and lastly in Spain, we look into their traditional bull festival and pot...

Australia tried to ban under-16s from social media. Now the rest of the world is watching. We break down what the ban actually does, whether it’s working, how kids and parents are responding, and why countries like the UK are exploring similar rules. Is this a real solution to online harm, or just digital whack-a-mole?

In this solo episode, I start with a silly question: if every country is in debt, why don’t we just cancel it? The answer explains a lot about how the global financial system actually works. Government debt is not just money owed by the state, it is also an asset held by pension funds, banks, insurers, central banks, foreign governments and ordinary investors. I break down what government debt rea...

The World Cup just got a halftime show. Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Coldplay’s Chris Martin curating the whole thing — like it’s the Super Bowl now. And honestly? That’s kind of the perfect entry point into this episode. We commercialize everything we love — Christmas, Eid, now apparently the one sport that was never supposed to need a marketing department — and it’s worth asking what we lose every tim...

In this episode, we break down SpaceX’s blockbuster Nasdaq debut, its record breaking $75 billion raise, and how the company quickly surged past a $2 trillion valuation. We look at what SpaceX actually is today, launch business, Starlink, defence contractor, AI infrastructure play, and Mars optionality, and whether public markets are valuing a real business or a future that does not fully exist ye...

In this episode, we try to run fictional countries with only $100 each, and things get surprisingly revealing. We split our budgets across healthcare, education, defence, housing, infrastructure, climate, industry, culture, democracy and foreign policy, then argue over what kind of country we’ve created. Somehow we end up debating whether growth matters more than welfare, whether vibes deserve ser...

The AI boom is no longer just about Nvidia and Silicon Valley. In this episode, we dive into how Korea and Taiwan have become the backbone of the AI economy, from TSMC and Samsung to SK Hynix and high bandwidth memory. We explore the stock market boom, worker bonuses, fund-flow risks, and whether the Asian AI trade is becoming dangerously crowded.

In this episode, we break down the context going into the meeting, why Trump needed visible wins, and why Xi may have had the stronger strategic hand. We unpack the key issues: rare earths, tariffs, Taiwan, Iran, Boeing, fentanyl cooperation, and the broader shift from free trade to weaponised interdependence.

A hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship has made global headlines, but what actually is hantavirus, and should people be worried? In this episode, we break down how the virus spreads, why the Andes strain is unusual, and why health authorities are taking strong precautions despite saying the broader public risk remains low. We also ask the bigger question: after COVID, is the wo...

From whether baby boomers shaped a system that favours asset owners, to the idea that most startups don’t actually need to exist — we break down the incentives, data, and real-world dynamics behind some uncomfortable truths. We also debate whether Universal Basic Income is inevitable in an AI-driven world, and challenge the idea that recessions might not exist in the way we once thought. This epis...

The UAE has left OPEC, the Iran war is disrupting oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and Saudi Arabia is under pressure to keep the cartel together. In this episode, we explain what OPEC and OPEC+ actually are, why members cheat on production quotas, and why the UAE’s exit matters more than past departures. We also break down the market impact: crisis-level oil prices, winners and losers, and...

Crypto got everything it asked for: institutional adoption, ETFs, regulation, and mainstream legitimacy. So why does it feel… boring? We debate whether institutions capped crypto’s upside, why retail hasn’t come back, how crypto lost its cultural edge, and whether the industry is quietly becoming financial plumbing rather than a speculative frontier. This episode explores whether crypto’s success...

From trading and gambling to shopping and fitness, everything in the modern economy is starting to feel like a game. In this episode, we break down how companies are using gamification to shape behaviour, increase engagement, and drive revenue, often without users realising. We explore real-world examples like Temu, trading apps, and fitness platforms, and debate whether this shift is making us be...

After 50+ years, humans are back around the Moon, but this isn’t Apollo 2.0. In this episode, we break down Artemis II, NASA’s $90B+ lunar program, and the shift toward private space companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. We also dive into Boeing’s Starliner failure (and how SpaceX had to step in), and why China’s 2030 Moon ambitions are reigniting a global space race. This isn’t just about explor...

Protein cereal, protein chips, protein ice cream — what’s actually going on? We unpack the sudden explosion of high protein products, the psychology behind why consumers are buying them, and whether this is a genuine health shift or one of the smartest marketing trends in recent years.

Private credit has grown into a $2 trillion market as non-bank lenders step in where traditional banks pulled back. But recent headlines including fund withdrawal limits, valuation questions, and high-profile lending problems - have sparked debate about the stability of the industry. In this episode we break down what private credit actually is, why it grew so quickly, and whether the recent stres...

Subscriptions are everywhere — from streaming and software to gyms and even car features. In this episode we break down why companies are shifting to recurring revenue models, how it impacts consumers, and whether the subscription economy is creating real value or quietly increasing the cost of everything over time.

What does it actually look like to build a startup today? In this episode we speak with a founder building a new product and discuss the realities of launching a company in the age of AI. We also dive into prediction markets, the AI race between US-China, and how this could reshape the global economy moving forward. 

The latest escalation involving Iran, Israel and the United States is more than just a geopolitical story — it’s an energy story. In this episode we break down Iran’s history, the roots of today’s tensions, and why the Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20% of global oil supply. We explore the ripple effects across global energy markets, India’s pivot toward Russian oil, China’s strategic position,...

The US-Iran conflict has triggered widespread airspace restrictions across one of the most critical regions in global aviation, forcing airlines to cancel flights, reroute aircraft, and absorb significant operational and financial costs. Because major hubs like Dubai and Doha serve as central connectors between Europe, Asia, and Africa, even short-term disruptions can ripple across the entire glob...

In this episode, we break down the numbers behind the narrative: SpaceX’s profitability, Tesla’s valuation premium, the mechanics of Musk’s trillion-dollar compensation package, the reported SpaceX IPO, merger speculation, and even the idea of launching data centers into space. Is Musk a generational builder reshaping industries — or a master of capital structure and valuation engineering? We unpa...

The news is built to show us what’s breaking — not what’s improving. In this episode, we step back from markets and crises to look at areas where real progress is happening. This isn’t an argument that the world is perfect. It’s a reminder that change is often slow, uneven, and easy to miss while it’s happening. Sometimes the most important trends don’t make headlines.

The yen carry trade is one of the most important — and least discussed — forces in global markets. In this episode, we break down how borrowing cheap Japanese yen has quietly fuelled global risk-taking for decades, why Japan became the world’s funding currency, and where that money actually flows. We then dive into what’s changed recently: political shifts under Japan’s new government, rising equi...

Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair. In this solo episode, we unpack why Fed independence matters, who was considered, how markets reacted, and what history tells us happens when politics takes control of money.

From Trump’s push to control Greenland to his proposal for a ‘Board of Peace’, global geopolitics has taken a dramatic turn. We unpack the history, the power plays, the market reactions, and what it all means for the future of world order.