This is not an obituary – but a story about markets. Hans-Jeorg Rudloff, who passed away earlier this week, was the dominant figure of the Eurobond market. His insights and vision were extraordinary – understanding how markets worked, how to dominate them, and setting the foundations for today’s $120 trillion global market!

What’s not to like about Panto? Saxo Bank’s excellent Outrageous Predictions for 2026 are out.. Lets dig into why Sir Keir Starmer might consider rejoining Europe to peeve Nigel Farage, how China will dominate trade through Tech and a gold-linked Yuan, and why SpaceX is unlikely to be the first $1 trillion IPO.

Markets drunk on expectations and hype will believe what they want to believe – but as bubbles pop and truths are exposed, then sentiment can shift suddenly. Yesterday’s market darlings become today’s scams. Who knew? Relax. The sun will come up tomorrow. Enjoy the show.

Markets are less fragile than we think. There are always people watching, waiting and ready to catch bargains. Some risks are in plain sight. But in Private Capital Markets they are hidden – which is why many market players believe the scale of losses might be hidden. Will Private Markets trigger the next crisis? I doubt it.

Headlines about a deepening stock sell off, the rising “fear” gauge, and unsustainable valuations, are dominating the news flow. Relax. End of the world market crashes happen all the time. Sit back and enjoy the show. Get your buying boots ready.

Bitcoin believers are perfectly entitled to believe what they want to believe. The rest of us: too clever to fall for the hype, or too stupid to understand – depending on your perspective, have grandstand seats for the BTC “how low will it go this time” championship.  

Is the AI bubble bursting? Who will be the survivors and losers? Or is it more fundamental – US AI firms talk of spending billions, but what is China is doing AI better and cheaper? If China wins the AI race, then it will confirm more than just the waning of the American century. It will fundamentally shift valuations.

Yet again I was wrong and overly bearish. Markets survived October with barely a shrug. Everything is apparently fine and dandy.. nothing to worry about? Complacency and belief abound. We have been here before…. And what does Rugby tell us about markets?

Chaos occurs when events break out their usual bounds, and it feels like markets are skirting on the edge! Relax. It’s normal in periods of acute change – as are happening now. The Game of Markets across long, medium and short-term horizons is constantly changing – I guess that’s what makes them interesting!

 There is no stopping a market believing what it wants to believe. Tariffs, Trade Wars, Credit Cockroaches, BTC delusions, this market has it all, yet everyone is still dancing. Best thing to do might be to “Catflap” – walking away without saying anything to anyone.