Market Maker

What has Subway, your mobile phone, and the largest retailer in China have to do with investment banking? Find out in the latest episode of 'The Deal Room' where Director of Corporate Finance Stephen Barnett and Co-founder Piers Curran look to use the latest headlines as case studies to explain various concepts in banking. So whether it's understanding the logic of conglomerates and verticalisatio...

This week I'm flying solo with a quick 10 minute wrap-up of the major events in global markets this week. Find out why global stocks are headed for their best week in more than two months and get up to speed on the latest policy announcements from the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and the Bank of Japan. There are also two key events I'm watching out for next week but you'll have to li...

Welcome back to The Deal Room where I get the latest thoughts from our Director of Corporate Finance Stephen Barnett as he connects the dots from classroom theory to real-life examples in the news this week. In this episode, we cover: - Big Pharma dealmaking recovers with $85bn M&A splurge. What makes this sector unique and how are different deal teams structured in an investment bank? - Stick...

Welcome back to The Trading Floor and this week I'm joined by Stephen to talk about some of the main headlines in global markets. In this episode, we focus on two topics: 1) The PGA Tour has agreed to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf. We will discuss the background, the merger, and perhaps a villain or two! 2) Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz delivered a "Saudi lollipop" this week. Wha...

Join our Director of Corporate Finance Stephen Barnett as he attempts to explain the world of corporate finance and deal-making through the lens of the hit TV show Succession. Acquisitions, takeovers, and succession planning. All of these are prominent areas of activity for an investment banker and in this episode we apply these concepts to the world of Waystar Royco and Gojo technologies. So sit...

On The Trading Floor this week, Piers and I discuss three hot topics: 1) Now a US debt ceiling deal has been struck what next for financial markets? 2) Stocks are still going up, mainly led by big tech but market commentators keep talking about a narrow market, so what exactly does that mean? 3) Apple's next big product The Reality Pro headset, is expected to be announced at Apple's developer conf...

Welcome back to the latest episode of 'The Deal Room' where I'm joined by our Director of Corporate Finance Stephen Barnett. This week, we use Manchester United as a case study to better understand the roles of the banker, the strategist, and the private equity investor. We also explore the rationale behind why so many prized companies are leaving London for New York and why J.P. Morgan was more t...

Welcome back to the Friday podcast where I'm joined by AmplifyME co-founder Piers Curran to talk all things global markets. Three hot topics up for discussion this week: 1) Nvidia's earnings, which resulted in their shares skyrocketing 25% to become the fourth largest company in the Nasdaq 100. We look at whether the company is worth the hype. 2) We scratch beneath the surface of the current stock...

Welcome to a brand new series coming at you every Wednesday where I'm joined by Stephen Barnett our Director of Corporate Finance at AmplifyME. The objective of 'The Deal Room' is to complement our end-of-week chat about global markets with a more M&A and Private Equity deal-focused discussion. To kick things off this week, we talk about why Private Equity groups are increasingly selling share...

Talk about the US debt ceiling is starting to heat up. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged Congress on Thursday to raise its debt ceiling, warning that a US default would produce an “economic and financial catastrophe” that would trigger a global economic downturn and risk undermining the country’s ability to provide global leadership. So what is the debt ceiling? could we default? and might...

In this episode, Piers and I take stock of the US banking crisis after regulators seized and sold First Republic Bank to J.P. Morgan marking the second-largest bank failure in US history. We recap what caused this situation, will there be more casualties and are the Fed to blame? Next up is the latest earnings from tech giant Apple and we explain why CEO Tim Cook is getting excited about India! Fr...

The third and final career insight with John Normand - 'How to stand out as an Analyst or Associate'. Saving the best until last, this episode is a must-listen for any student considering working in financial markets. In this conversation, we cover: Attributes of good analysts and associates Entering finance from a non-traditional background The value of newer credentials (Quant skills) Remember,...

Earnings from the tech giants Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon were a positive surprise for Wall Street investors. So what were the numbers that mattered? We talk about how AI, cloud computing, and advertising are key areas that connect these titans of industry, but in the end, who will come out on top? Free daily newsletter https://bit.ly/3Oeu4Wk Free Finance Accelerator simulation https://b...

This is the second installment with former J.P. Morgan Managing Director John Normand, who gives a detailed and honest account of what to consider and how to think about your future career in finance. Here's what you can expect from episode two of this three-part series: - Good job at a bad company, or bad job at a good company? - Why John stayed at JPM for 25 years - The conflict between being a...

In this episode, Piers and I look at four stories in focus this week, from Tesla earnings and insane price target, to how AI is being used in trading and why Goldman Sachs is having a rough time at the moment. Free daily newsletter https://bit.ly/3Oeu4Wk Free Finance Accelerator simulation https://bit.ly/3GoyV5r Connect with Anthony https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonycheung10/ Connect with Piers h...

This is a must-listen for any student interested in working in finance as John Normand, a former 25-year veteran in Global Markets at J.P. Morgan, gives a detailed and honest account of what to consider and how to think about your future. In this first of three episodes, John explains how he came to work in finance before we then tackle two important questions: What's the perception vs the reality...

Early this week, Twitter merged with X Corp. as Elon Musk advances his idea of an 'everything app'. We discuss Musk's obsession with 'X' and where it all began and explore some of the potential barriers to achieving his vision. We then examine the first of the major US banks to report Q1 earnings. It comes as shares in J.P Morgan rose sharply after the firm boosted its outlook for lending profits...

The Nasdaq 100 Index surged into a new bull market Wednesday for the first time in nearly three years. Technology stocks have outperformed this year as investors speculate that weakening economic data and the risk of a recession, heightened by recent bank stresses, may prompt the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates sooner than expected. So the big question is can it last? We also discus...

In this episode, Piers and I take a look at the Deutsche Bank whose shares have fallen as much as 15% at the time of recording on Friday, dragging the entire European banking sector with it. In fact, the German bank has now lost more than a fifth of its value so far this month! So what's happened? Will they follow a similar fate to Credit Suisse? Or are they too big to fail? Free daily newsletter...

In this interview, I'm joined by Bethany Anstey, who is an EMEA Early Careers Recruiter at Bloomberg. In this conversation, Beth shares some invaluable tips for students applying for roles in finance as well as an insight into the culture at Bloomberg, one of the world's premier distributors of financial news and data. - Introduction - Common mistakes from applicants - What makes a candidate stand...

In this episode, we focus on the Swiss firm Credit Suisse after their shares fell over 30% on Wednesday this week.  In fact, the headline of the Daily Telegraph, a major news publication in the UK read, "Swiss bank crash stokes fears of a new global crisis as UK officials scramble to help prop up the bank as the meltdown overshadowed the budget" Sensational? Or is this really the start of som...

In this episode, we take a look at what exactly happened to SVB and why the collapse in their share price on Thursday rippled through the banking sector resulting in the largest four US banks losing some $47bn of market value in just one day. Was the move justified? Could one of the larger banks also fall victim to the same issue? We explain some key areas to watch in the coming days. We also revi...

In this episode, Piers and I unpack the headline 'Fears for the future of the London Stock Exchange' as SoftBank and the world’s largest building materials group CRH, shunned the City in favour of New York. We look at where London sits in the context of the global exchanges, what makes New York more attractive and what can the UK government do to stop what has been a gradual decline of the UK's in...

In this episode, Piers joins me from NYC as we discuss why Morgan Stanley thinks the largest bank in the US could more than double its size in the coming years. We explain how the structure at JPM differs from pure investment banks like Goldman Sachs and the implication this has on their share price and investability.  On the macro side, stocks have continued to grind lower as recent strong d...

Seven key Adani companies have lost at least a combined $110 billion in value after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation by the conglomerate. The Adani Group has rejected the criticism and denied any wrongdoing. In this episode, we explore who is Gautam Adani and Hindenburg Research, how activist short selling works and what h...