About Bill Blain

ill Blain is a published author on financial markets, contributor and editor of the Morning Porridge. He is a well-known market commentor, and a practicing investment banker in the alternative private debt and equity sector. His day job combines his role as Strategist for Shard Capital, the leading investment management firm, and heading the firm’s Alternatives Group – financing Private debt and equity deals, and direct lending transactions. His clients include sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, insurance and pension managers, credit funds and family offices.

The Bond Bear Market – Get Used to It!

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves is being blamed for the Gilt Bear market. Harsh and unfair – it’s a global thing. Investors fear sticky inflation as much as rising debt quantums, tax cuts and spending plans. A global bond bear market brings consequences – be aware of them.

The Bond Bear Market – Get Used to It!2025-01-09T08:23:21+00:00

Beware rising complacency in the face of shocks – and how markets are ignoring real liquidity.

Blain’s Morning Porridge 8th Jan 2025 – Beware rising complacency [...]

Beware rising complacency in the face of shocks – and how markets are ignoring real liquidity.2025-01-08T09:04:59+00:00

Happy New Year? Disruption and Disappointment Ahead

It’s clear 2025 will be a challenging year – there are plenty of issues to cause markets headaches, but opportunities in abundance. The primary problems may come from the ongoing politics of disruption and the likelihood electorates are going to remain profoundly disappointed.

Happy New Year? Disruption and Disappointment Ahead2025-01-06T07:00:34+00:00

Bitcoin – Real or a Bubble?

One man’s bubble is another’s irrefutable investment thesis. After a year when so many markets, and individual assets, have defied expectations and common sense, one stands out for its incredible and largely speculative upside – Bitcoin. No other “asset” so divides the market. Time for a deep dive into what it might and might not be.

Bitcoin – Real or a Bubble?2025-01-02T10:56:52+00:00

2024 – What have we learnt?

2024 was an “interesting” year – big questions about inflation, growth and geopolitics were all asked, but answers remain difficult. The politics of populism now dominates the agenda. Issues like climate change and ESG have been pushed aside. The lessons don’t change – trade what the market thinks, but invest in facts and likely outcomes.

2024 – What have we learnt?2024-12-20T09:05:31+00:00

Guest Post. Julian Wheeler: A Full Fat American Equity Breakfast

The US equity market now stands at over 70% of global market cap – is that sustainable? Many folk think not – concerned about overvaluations, speculation and geopolitics, but my great chum Julian Wheeler digs through the many reasons it became inevitable and will likely be sustained.

Guest Post. Julian Wheeler: A Full Fat American Equity Breakfast2024-12-19T08:11:20+00:00

Polarisation, WASPI women, Farage, Treasuries and What Argentina Can Teach the West?

A big question for 2025 is how resilient the US Treasury market will be to tax cuts, spending hikes and the deficit surpassing $40 bln in 2026! Trump is going to slash spending – taking tips from Argentina’s Javier Milei. Will it work – and is it suitable policy? Here in the UK, govt is taking tough decisions, but we are poised at the edge of the rabbit hole as polarisation looks set to dominate!

Polarisation, WASPI women, Farage, Treasuries and What Argentina Can Teach the West?2024-12-18T10:45:39+00:00

Guest Post: Elon Musk should be watching Wolf Hall!

This morning’s Guest Post is from Adrian Jones, who argues there are clues in the fate of Henry VIII’s fixer Thomas Cromwell as to Elon Musk’s possible future. Society swirls around themes and narratives, and being caught on the wrong side of them as they chop and change can be fatal! Let’s not lose our heads over complex issues like Climate Change and Vaccinations, but understand them and the power of consensus…  

Guest Post: Elon Musk should be watching Wolf Hall!2024-12-17T07:32:52+00:00

What have we learnt in 2024 and what have we got to look forward to in 2025?

Politics was an overarching theme in 2024 – and, regrettably, will remain so in 2025 as global investors figure out likely policy action by central banks and the growth outlook for 2025. “This time it’s different” (TTID) and FOMO remain the most malign forces acting on asset prices, but is a new full blown European Sov Debt Crisis also on the cards?

What have we learnt in 2024 and what have we got to look forward to in 2025?2024-12-16T10:33:43+00:00

Who Wants to Be a Trillionaire?

 Who would possibly want to be a billionaire? Hated by the mob, a victim of evil governments holding you back with tax threats while denying your basic human rights – like a platinum gold bank account! Give me poverty anytime…

Who Wants to Be a Trillionaire?2024-12-12T07:19:47+00:00
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