PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS
EXPLORING THE RATIONALE BEHIND GLASS-STEAGAL
Readers, who have basic knowledge of the U.S. financial system history, have certainly heard about the famous “Glass-Steagall” Act, which was one of the measures enacted in response to the financial collapse experienced during great Depression. Due to conflict of interest concerns and due to incompatibility of high risk inherent......
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE FIDUCIARY DUTIES: DECEPTIVE SIMPLICITY OF THE CONCEPT
Important disclaimer: the contents are for general informative purposes and do not constitute legal or other professional advice. Readers should seek legal or other professional advice in relation to any particular matters they may have. More than four centuries have passed since the first corporations ever were established and respectively......
CORPORATE CHRONICLE FROM DELAWARE
It is of no secret that Delaware is the go-to jurisdiction when it comes to registering business entities in the US. To understand the magnitude of Delaware’s popularity in this area consider two of the following facts: 1) the number of businesses registered in this state exceeds its overall population.......
APPLYING COACHING TOOLS TO PUBLIC POLICY OBJECTIVES
Industrial revolutions coupled with progression of capitalism and the competitive nature of human beings has led to a society that is more than ever obsessed with goal-setting, achievement and efficiency. No wonder a new profession known as coaching has emerged in the second half of the last century and has......
CSDR MANDATORY BUY-IN REGULATIONS: WHAT THE FALLINGS-OUT ARE ABOUT
Mandatory buy-ins are one of the most controversial rules in the EU Securities Market that are set to enter into force in the near future. Ever since their adoption, the regulators and the industry participants have been in strong disagreements about their effectiveness for ensuring the safety of securities settlement......
JUDGES, DISCRETION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Policymakers across the world have reached wide if not absolute consensus that courts are a key component to economic development. The OECD has long recognized the crucial role judicial systems play in determining economic performance by guaranteeing the security of property rights and the enforcement of contracts [1]. It occasionally......
COVID-19: Key measures taken by governments and central banks
Response to the coronavirus pandemic How Global Central Banks are Responding to COVID-19 When times get tough, central banks typically act as the first line of defense. However, modern economies are incredibly complex—and mishaps like the 2008 financial crisis have already pushed traditional policy tools to their limits. In response,......
Helicopter yes, or Helicopter no
Synopsis This is an unconventional monetary policy tool. It involves printing money and distributing it to the public. Imagine waking one morning to find extra cash in your account, a gift from your country’s central bank. But the concept of so-called helicopter money has been seriously debated by economists for......
U.K. Inflation Reaches 10-Month High, Complicating Bank of England’s Rate Path – WSJ
U.K. annual inflation in January reached its highest level since March last year, complicating the picture for the Bank of England after it said it would cut interest rates gradually amid a weak outlook for economic growth. Consumer prices were 3.0% higher in January than a year earlier, up from......
Fed Minutes Reveal Little Appetite for Near-Term Rate Cuts – WSJ
Fed officials were broadly comfortable with their decision to hold interest rates steady at their meeting last month and offered nothing to suggest any immediate change to their wait-and-see stance on interest-rate cuts. “A majority of participants observed that the current high degree of uncertainty made it appropriate for the......
Microsoft unveils chip it says could bring quantum computing within years – The Guardian
Quantum computers could be built within years rather than decades, according to Microsoft, which has unveiled a breakthrough that it said could pave the way for faster development. The tech firm has developed a chip which, it says, echoes the invention of the semiconductors that made today’s smartphones, computers and......
Behind DeepSeek lies a dazzling Chinese university – The Economist
Ahuge statue of Mao Zedong still stands near the entrance to Zhejiang University, surveying the transformation of the eastern city of Hangzhou, 175km south-west of Shanghai. Such statues look anachronistic wherever they linger across China, but especially so here, and especially after the events of the past few months....
Google builds AI ‘co-scientist’ tool to speed up research – The Financial Times
Google has built an artificial intelligence laboratory assistant to help scientists accelerate biomedical research, as companies race to create specialised applications from the cutting-edge technology. The US tech group’s so-called co-scientist tool helps researchers identify gaps in their knowledge and propose new ideas that could speed up scientific discovery....
U.K. Wages Gather Pace, Complicating Bank of England’s Task Ahead – WSJ
Wages grew at a faster rate in the U.K. at the end of last year, posing a potential headache for the Bank of England after it cut interest rates again and warned of anemic economic growth this year. Workers’ pay excluding bonuses rose by an average of 5.9% in the......
RBA Joins Wave of Global Central Bank Easing With First Rate Cut Since 2020 – WSJ
The Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates for the first time since 2020 on Tuesday, joining its international counterparts in the global easing cycle and opening the door for the immediate calling of a federal election, which must be held by mid-May....
Hedge funds target quick profit from obscure corporate bond clause – The Financial Times
Hedge funds are trying to exploit a unique clause in the bond documentation of some of Europe’s safest companies, forcing borrowers to buy back debt at above-market prices following asset sales or corporate break-ups. Companies including Guy Hands’ property firm Annington, Just Eat Takeaway and Dutch state-owned electricity grid operator......
UK firms mull biggest layoffs in a decade as business confidence slumps – The Guardian
UK employers are preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidence as firms brace for tax increases from April that Rachel Reeves announced in her autumn budget. In a fresh blow for the chancellor, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which represents human......
Meta keeps trying to invent the future. It hasn’t worked yet – CNN
Facebook kickstarted the modern social media age in the early 2000s. But its parent company Meta’s ambitions to expand over the last decade haven’t had nearly the same success. It’s still apparently trying again anyway, with the latest big thing: humanoid robots....
Poorest UK households pay rising share of income on council tax, study finds – The Guardian
Britain’s poorest households are paying an increasing share of their income on council tax, according to new analysis that likened it to the poll tax that contributed to the downfall of Margaret Thatcher. The poorest fifth of households paid 4.8% of their income on council tax in England, Wales and......
Faceless influencers are becoming famous online – The Economist
The most successful influencers put their lives in the limelight—and their faces all over your social-media feed. They are relentless at self-promotion. But a new kind of creator is upending the internet’s traditional model of success. Meet faceless influencers, who are attracting millions of followers and are quietly conquering social......
U.K. House Prices Rose Slightly in February Ahead of Tax Increase – WSJ
The average cost of property coming to the U.K. market increased slightly in February as new sellers adjusted their price expectations due to high competition and upcoming tax increases, according to data from Rightmove....
Gen Z has turned against taking middle management roles – The Financial Times
Climbing the corporate ladder has traditionally meant managing junior teams and leading smaller divisions before hitting the big time. But middle management is losing its appeal, especially with the youngest cohort of employees, who see it as a thankless slog. ...
The real reason behind the DeepSeek hype, according to AI experts – CNN
DeepSeek turned the tech world on its head last month – and for good reason, according to artificial intelligence experts, who say we’re likely only seeing the beginning of the Chinese tech startup’s influence on the AI field....
Resurging UK Inflation Will Keep BOE Cautious on Cutting Rates – Bloomberg
UK inflation probably hit its highest level in 10 months in January, continuing a resurgence in price pressures that has made the Bank of England wary over rushing into interest-rate cuts. Data on Wednesday are expected to show consumer prices rising 2.8% compared to a year earlier, driven by a......
Eurozone Economy Grew a Little at End of 2024, Fresh Estimates Show – WSJ
The eurozone economy grew a little in the final months of last year, a rosier reading than the stagnation previously estimated.Gross domestic product increased 0.1% between September and December from the previous quarter, EU statistics agency Eurostat said Friday in new estimates for the currency area. Eurostat had previously said......
How AI will divide the best from the rest – The Economist
At a summit in Paris on February 10th and 11th, tech bosses vied to issue the most grandiose claim about artificial intelligence. “AI will be the most profound shift of our lifetimes,” is how Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s boss, put it. Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, said that it would......
The exasperating state of modern marketing – The Financial Times
When I first read the other week that Starbucks was encouraging its staff to write notes on customers’ coffee cups such as “you’re amazing” and “seize the day”, I thought it was a joke. But no. The company turns out to have an entirely serious plan to foster “moments of......
Week Ahead for FX, Bonds: Fed Minutes, PMI Data in Focus; RBA Likely to Cut Rates – WSJ
Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s January meeting will be closely watched for any comments on the likely impact of President Trump’s plans for widespread trade tariffs. Purchasing managers’ data from the U.S., eurozone and the U.K. could give further evidence of a wide differential between a strong U.S. economy......
Who will now stabilise the world economy?
“The 1929 depression was so wide, so deep and so long because the international economic system was rendered unstable by British inability and United States unwillingness to assume responsibility for stabilising it.”...
PODCAST: How Owning a Home Can Help You Save on Taxes
Buying a home is a major investment for many Americans but there are ways to make it less taxing. Wall Street Journal reporter Ashlea Ebeling joins host Ariana Aspuru to discuss what homeowners should know to maximize their tax return....
The Global South Needs to Own Its AI Revolution
On the current trajectory, the Global North will continue to dominate AI and develop new forms of economic and cultural dependency. But with investment in distributed computing and grassroots innovation, low- and middle-income countries can establish a fairer technological order that creates value for their communities....
A four-day week? Soon, thanks to AI, we may not work at all
he world of work is in a state of flux. JP Morgan is ordering its staff back into the office five days a week, resulting in a hunt for extra space to accommodate the 14,000 desks needed at its London Canary Wharf headquarters. Amazon has taken the same line. Meta,......
Bending the Arc of AI Development Toward Shared Progress
As a revolutionary technology, AI must be mastered and directed toward shared progress, by reconciling innovation with the imperatives of sovereignty and social and environmental responsibility. Since global alignment is key, this month’s AI Action Summit in Paris comes at just the right time....
Rising Rates May Trigger Financial Instability, Complicating Fight Against Inflation
Before the pandemic, investors worried about how persistently low inflation and interest rates would crimp bank profits. Paradoxically, they also worried about bank profitability when post-COVID reopening sent inflation and central bank interest rates soaring. The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and other US lenders in early 2023 appeared to......
PODCAST: At the Money: Valuation Is an Exercise in Faith
Do you understand the difference between price and value? How much faith do you have that any stock or market will eventually return to its intrinsic value? In this episode of At the Money, Barry Ritholtz speaks with Professor Aswath Damodaran of NYU Stern School of Business...
Future-proof your automation: incorporating AI and intelligent automation without disconnects
By integrating fragmented systems, enabling intelligent workflows and providing scalability, process orchestration can help organisations unlock the true potential of automation. Automation certainly isn’t new, but it has become savagely complex in recent years. To complete all the individual tasks within a business process, there are often dozens of so-called......
PODCAST: Masters in Business: Sahil Bloom
Barry speaks with Sahil Bloom, Founder and Managing Partner of SRB Ventures, a Venture Capital focused on accelerating compelling startups. He also owns and operates SRB Holdings. Prior to SRB, Sahil spent roughly 7 years in high finance, serving as Vice President of a private equity fund with $3.5 billion......
Developing Countries Need a New Approach to Long-Term Financing
Faced with prohibitive borrowing costs, many developing countries are unable to make the investments needed to reduce poverty and adapt to a rapidly warming planet. China’s ability to combine long-term investments and flexible short-term financing provides a useful model for mitigating the current debt crisis....
Building resilient and inclusive learning systems for a global workforce
Mandatory training is more than just a checkbox – it’s one of the most consistent ways organisations connect with their employees, build skills, and align on priorities. A recent survey commissioned by Moodle and conducted by Censuswide found that in the United States alone, 80 per cent of employees participate......
No One Knows How to Price AI Tools
More than two years after the public debut of ChatGPT, software companies still haven’t found a compelling way of charging for AI tools, chief information officers say. Now they’re trying new strategies. In the last couple years, vendors have typically charged a monthly fee per user for AI features, assistants......
Will Crypto Save the Dollar?
Trump’s tariff threats and aggressive trade tactics are bound to accelerate efforts to challenge the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. But his push for privately issued stablecoins might be his best chance to maintain the dollar’s dominance without having to embrace multilateralism....
AI Has Shown Me My Future. Here’s What I’ve Learned
It turns out I’m going to write a book! It will require years of agony, but I’ll do it. Also, I will retire at 65. Who would have thought this workaholic could hang up her notebook so soon? And I will have six grandchildren. Sadly, I will live in the......
PODCAST: Some Americans Are Vowing to Buy Less or Even Nothing This Year
Exhausted by higher prices, mounting debt, and the recent holiday season, some people are pledging to buy nothing – or as little new stuff as possible. Wall Street Journal reporter Ann-Marie Alcántara joins host Ariana Aspuru to discuss how the “no buy 2025” social media trend can help rein in......
Is DeepSeek Really a Threat?
If vindicated, DeepSeek’s technology could be to large language models what Nikola Tesla’s breakthroughs with alternating current were to electrification. While it cannot overcome the unavoidable limitations of backward-looking statistical models, it could make their price performance good enough for wider use....
Davos: risk, nature and financial fragmentation
Beyond the big names and the VIP stages, I’d argue that the most interesting conversations at the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Davos happen in small meetings and serendipitous encounters....
PODCAST: Bloomberg Masters in Business: Mike Freno
Barry speaks with Mike Freno, Barings LLC Chairman and CEO. In his nearly 20 years with the firm, Mike has held various positions including Managing Director, Head of Global High Yield, and Head of Global Markets. He also spent 5 years as the company’s President, overseeing a majority of Barings’......
Three Reasons Why AI’s Momentum Could Stall in 2025
While artificial intelligence has the potential to drive global growth and boost productivity, the industry is grappling with mounting challenges like soaring development costs and energy requirements. Meanwhile, investors are questioning whether AI investments can deliver meaningful returns....
We will have to learn to live with machines that can think
Two topics dominated the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos last week: Donald Trump and artificial intelligence. Of the two, the latter was the more interesting and almost certainly the more significant....
AT1: Investors’ Risky Bets that Keep the Banks Running (by Hayk Khekoyan)
When you hear the word CoCo you probably think of a leather bag with the famous Chanel logo on it, or the 2017 critically acclaimed and commercially successful animated movie of the same name. What you probably do not think about is a complex financial instrument, created with the purpose......
Is Artificial Intelligence Going to Replace Us All? (by Hayk Khekoyan)
Nowadays it seems borderline impossible to spend even a few hours without coming across the subject of “Artificial Intelligence”. There is just way too much talk, hype, arguments, doomsday prophecies or bold optimistic statements on how this or that technological advancement or tool, or AI in general is going to......
Did the 2022 World Cup Really Cost More than All the Previous Ones Combined? (by Hayk Khekoyan)
As the World Cup final is played in Lusail, a city that did not even exist a few years ago, Qatar 2022 will go down in the history books for many reasons, not all of them exactly football‑related. Nothing in the world exists as a separate entity in a vacuum:......
The Growing Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Business (by Hayk Khekoyan)
These days it is borderline impossible to spend a day in the business world without hearing the phrase “emotional intelligence”, its abbreviation “EI” or the closely related term “EQ” (emotional quotient, similar to intelligence quotient colloquially known as IQ). While the concept of emotional intelligence is becoming increasingly prevalent throughout......
The Streaming Wars: Part 2 (by Hayk Khekoyan)
Last year I wrote about the so-called “Streaming Wars”. This term is used to describe the process of the rising number of streaming video on demand (VOD) services from all sorts of corporations trying to position themselves in an ever-growing and yet such a tight market. The world is a......
Working Less or Working Smarter and Better? (by Hayk Khekoyan)
Work less, earn more. That is the plan for most people. Barring the rare cases of people actually loving their work, for most of us a job is simply a means to survive. If you haven’t won the genetic lottery to be born into outrageous wealth, just staying alive requires......
To the Moon or to the Ground? The Jury is Still Out on Bitcoin (by Hayk Khekoyan)
Bitcoin is back. Back to inexplicably losing more than half of its value in six months, back to being one of the biggest controversies in the world, but definitely not back to its all-time highs of more than $60,000 achieved twice during 2021. “When you find yourself in a hole,......
How to Increase Savings in Armenia (by Alexandra Ouzounian from The Pingry School, New Jersey)
Financial literacy is broadly defined as an individual’s financial knowledge and ability to use financial tools to execute his or her financial goals. The people of Armenia demonstrate a level of financial literacy (Figure 1) and gross savings rate (Figure 2) that is lower than the average financial literacy of......
Personal data protection: EU perspective (by Diana Javadyan)
Nowadays, more than ever, data protection issues are actual and crucial in terms of both data protection standard setting and data protection standard implementation. Recent Fintech developments, e-communities, artificial intelligence application and other technological advancements throughout the world bring up the need of robust data protection framework and protected data......
The Streaming Wars that will Shape the Future of Entertainment (by Hayk Khekoyan)
When the CEOs of Netflix and Blockbuster met in the distant year 2000 to discuss a merger between the two, Netflix was a 3-year-old company valuing itself at a measly $50 mln compared to Blockbuster’s market capitalization of around $5 bln (Sloan, 2020). Perhaps, having taken note of the phrase......
Why You Should Consider Learning Cybersecurity (by Hayk Khekoyan)
3.12 million. This is the estimated number of cybersecurity specialists needed globally as cyberattacks around the world keep growing in both frequency and magnitude (Duffy, 2021). The last few months alone have seen some of the biggest security breaches in history, more on which later. The most important development in the......
Will Energy Ever Be the Same Again? (by Hayk Khekoyan)
As recently as the year 2013, the largest publicly traded corporation in the world was an oil company. Exxon Mobil had a market capitalization well north of $400 bln at the time, which was quite the feat considering there were no trillion-dollar companies in the world yet. Fast forward......
A Possible Future of Money (by Hayk Khekoyan)
If you have not spent the last few years in a cave or on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the words cryptocurrency or digital currency should sound familiar. I will not pretend to know or try to explain all the details of the technology behind Bitcoin,......
The Simple, Yet Quite Complex Global Issue (by Hayk Khekoyan)
For almost a week in the end of March one of the most important marine routes of the world was blocked by a giant vessel, approximately matching in size with New York’s famous Empire State Building. It took almost another week after the vessel was removed for the traffic jam......
The Consequences of the Mass Investment Platforms (by Hayk Khekoyan)
By January 11 not as many people had heard about the American company Gamestop as they have today. As of January 11 Gamestop cost around 1.5 billion USD and was a network of computer games and electronics’ stores situated in several states of the USA as well as in a......
Why We Need Governments (by Hayk Khekoyan)
The man regarded as the father of economics devoted a great deal of time and a big chunk of his work talking about how free markets produce the best outcomes for everyone involved. Adam Smith, in his book “The Wealth of Nations”, told us about the invisible hand that guides......