The factor that’s enabled the extraordinary success and longevity of the AI bubble has been the willingness of the markets to finance it. What happens if the liquidity machine driving AI were to suddenly stop? As the limits of bond markets, private credit, and using insurance companies to park risk, become increasingly apparent – what would a liquidity event do to current markets? Ouch!

In the past 15 years the US economy has left Europe in the rear-view mirror. While America booms, Europe appears to be flatlining. The question is why? Americans say it’s entirely Europe’s fault: bad policies, failing politics, and lack of unity. However, the consequences of the (as yet unresolved) European Sovereign debt crisis triggered by the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 was the speedbump.

The City of London as the financial centre of global markets has been in terminal decline since 2008. Over-regulation and bureaucracy has doomed it. To restore the UK’s excellence and swashbuckling success in financial markets, we need to embrace risk – not regulate it out the equation.  

Barclays has been fined £40mm for being “Reckless” in its dodgy 2008 capital funding programme. The judgement hides a multitude of sins and failures, especially in terms of probity and governance. It’s another chapter and illustration of how greed and avarice sank the once world-class UK financial industry over the last 40 years.   

Oh, to be a fly on the wall while they wrote the speeches for last night’s Mansion House dinner. The Bank’s Bailey railed against Brexit, while Chancellor Reeves plans to deregulate financial services and refocus UK investment through new Megafunds. What could possibly go wrong?

The market keeps on rolling upwards, despite it being a month till what might be a make or break moment. Isn’t anyone else worried? Are we doomed to constantly repeat the mistakes of the past? Or should markets just shrug and get on with making money?

The market is distracted by the up, down, shake it all about noise in Tech. Watch banks! The US Fed passed all 31 major US Banks in its annual bank stress test. I can’t think of anything that could scare me more…