Amid growing global uncertainty, from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East to the upcoming U.S. elections, Season 5 of ICYT delivers exclusive insights designed to keep traders ahead of the curve. Through expert commentary and in-depth analysis, the series will examine how these critical issues are set to influence the markets in the upcoming quarter, providing traders with actionable insights to make smarter, more impactful trades. 

Returning as host is Pamela Ambler, Head of Investor Intelligence & Strategy for Asia Pacific at JLL. She will lead engaging discussions with an industry-leading roster of guests, including Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, and Steven Okun, a veteran of U.S. presidential campaigns and former General Counsel in the Clinton administration. Together, they will explore critical issues influencing today’s financial markets and global political landscape. 

Building on the success of previous seasons, ICYT continues to be a trusted resource for traders looking to deepen their understanding of market dynamics. Dr. Pippa Malmgren, Former Adviser to President George W. Bush, praised the vodcast’s in-depth approach, noting;

“In an era of 5-second news bites, it’s impressive that the award-winning IC Your Trade delves into geopolitics with such detail.”

This thoughtful analysis, combined with past recognitions like the Signal Award for “Branded Business Show and Advertising” and Honouree status at the Webby Awards, reinforces its standing as an essential tool for traders.

New episodes of Season 5 will be released biweekly, and audiences can tune in via IC Markets Global’s YouTube Channel, as well as major streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Amazon, and Spotify. 

Stay informed with IC Your Trade and gain the critical insights you need to navigate the rapidly changing financial landscape this quarter.

The post IC Markets Global Announces the Launch of Season 5 of ICYT, Produced by Bloomberg Media Studios first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

On this episode of IC Your Trade 4, host Pamela Ambler speaks to Nick Wilson from Oxford Economics about whether China’s real estate crisis could crash the global economy?

The post Could China’s real estate crisis crash the global economy? first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

On this episode of IC Your Trade 4 host Pamela Ambler speaks to Bruce Lee, Founder of Keebeck Wealth Management and adviser to the Koch brothers, about whether inter-generational wealth is achievable, or whether the next generation will squander their inheritance?

The post Greatest Wealth Transfer in History first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

With Eric Pascal | Global Head of Digital Assets for Standard Chartered
Some of the biggest problems still dogging the global payments industry are visibility, access and control.

On this episode of IC Your Trade 4, host Pamela Ambler speaks to Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Digital Currencies Eric Pascal about whether crypto has a role in the future of digital payments?

The post Will crypto solve the payment problem? first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

With Rolf Bulk | Equities Analyst for Newstreet Research
The merging of artificial intelligence and semiconductor technology is reshaping global industries. Rolf Bulk, an Equities Analyst at Newstreet Research, joins us to explore which companies are poised to dominate in this data-centric landscape. Discover the key players set to thrive in the competition for AI chip supremacy.

The post AI Growth and Semiconductors: What’s next? first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

With Dr Pippa Malmgren | Former Presidential Adviser
As nations and billionaires compete for dominance in space, the implications for investors are vast. Dr. Pippa Malmgren, former adviser to President George W. Bush, sheds light on the immense financial opportunities emerging beyond Earth. From lunar missions to asteroid mining, we analyze the economic consequences of the new space race.

The post Space – The Final Frontier for Investors first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard classmate Magnus Grimeland is behind Antler – which is one of the world’s most active early-stage investment firms.

Antler has coined the term “day zero investing,” which refers to the process of backing companies from the moment of inception.

Grimeland’s proximity to the Facebook juggernaut taught him the power of startup investing – provided you have a methodology for identifying potential from the outset.

Peter Thiel famously invested $500,000 for just over 10% of Facebook, which at IPO would have been worth $500 million.

Grimeland’s commitment to startup investing is not only about making money, it’s also deeply philosophical.

We fundamentally believe that the world will only move forward if great people choose to innovate. If the smartest people in the world choose to solve some of the world’s biggest problems, then the world becomes a better place for everyone.

The rule of thumb for startup investing is to dedicate between 5 -10% of an investment portfolio to risk assets, like startups.

His advice for picking the most promising startups is to look at the founder.

Take Elon Musk, probably one of the most successful founders today; back in the early days of SpaceX, and in the early days of Tesla, you probably didn’t back the idea, but you backed the individual based on the track record that person has

Successful exits for startups like Airbnb, Uber, and Facebook fueled interest in startup investing, sending a flood of capital into startup ventures in 2020 and 2021.

The rush of angel and seed funding in the United States drove up valuations and sparked a euphoria, which preceded the 2022 tech crash.

However, in the wake of the 2022 so-called “tech wreck,” the ability for companies to attract seed and angel investment has significantly declined.

Venture capital has dried up and companies that did manage to raise seed capital are finding it difficult to raise their Series A.

According to Grimeland, this situation will be temporary.

While the data also shows that there are fewer deals, the size of the seed investment is getting bigger.

There is a caveat, in that this potentially indicates venture capitalists are becoming more discerning.

There is still capital on the table, but only the quality projects are managing to attract funding.

Startups are also quickly learning that they need to be more fiscally responsible with any money raised during the seed round.

The average time from seed to Series A has almost doubled over the last decade, from 17 months to 30 months.

Antler has offices in more than 20 countries around the world, with the belief that the next wave of unicorn startups won’t necessarily originate from the United States.

Historically, the world’s very best companies typically have a tendency to be started in a downturn and not at the very top, or on the way to the top, because they’re going to exit seven, eight, nine, ten years into the future.

The post The startup factory first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

The price of bitcoin has been steadily rising in 2023 – rebounding from the 2022 crash that saw the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies cut by two-thirds.

BlackRock is doggedly pursuing its Bitcoin ETF, and Hong Kong has opened the floodgates to retail crypto trading on the Chinese-owned island.

The momentum is prompting crypto bulls to declare the so-called “crypto winter” over.

Yat Siu, the Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands, which is based in Hong Kong, believes the regulatory change is going to be a gamechanger for the sector globally.

“I’m really bullish about Hong Kong. If you think about what just happened in the last six to nine months, Hong Kong has really progressed in terms of bringing people into the Web3 narrative.”

He also said there is no doubt that Hong Kong’s crypto ambitions are being supported by mainland China.

“They wouldn’t be doing it without the approval of China. It’s also notable that when Hong Kong came out and spoke about retail trading, they also started giving out licenses to some exchanges in Hong Kong. At the same time, China, as in Beijing, released its Web3 whitepaper.”

One of the underlying thematics that may underpin China’s decision, according to Yat Siu, is the concept of “de-dollarization,” which is rapidly gaining momentum.

De-dollarization refers to countries reducing their reliance on the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency, medium of exchange, or as a unit of account.

Oxford Economics economist Alex Holmes said the rise in the value of cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, in 2023 feeds into the de-dollarization narrative.

“You’ve got countries like Iran and Russia launching a gold stable token to conduct bilateral trading. And some people are touting crypto as one possible alternative to US dollar hegemony.”

Another major thematic driving renewed interest in cryptocurrencies is Web3, which is an extension of cryptocurrency, using blockchain technology in new ways to new ends.

Yat Sui has joined the Hong Kong Government’s Web3 Taskforce to accelerate Hong Kong’s Web3 agenda.

“Web3 provides new platforms and new ways in which you can build companies, social networks, games and platforms that aren’t dependent on US-based tech companies like Apple and Google.”

Web3 is gaining momentum, particularly in Asia, where Japan has created a national Web3 strategy to promote the transition to Web 3.0.

Japan has also put out a national White Paper about non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Yat Siu said the total volume of NFT trading was $24 billion in 2022, but unlike some other forms of content, 90% of the value went to the creators and the artists behind the projects.

Yat Siu started his career at gaming company Atari in Germany before starting the multi-billion dollar Animoca Brands, which has partnerships with the likes of Formula 1®, Marvel, WWE, Power Rangers, MotoGP and, more recently, Honda.

“We would be looking at bringing in something like close to 500 million users hopefully onto Web3 with these partnerships,” said Mr Siu.

At the core of this transition, is the shift from 2D gaming to Web3 gaming, which allows for ownership of items within the virtual environment.

“They are accustomed to virtual currency because they’re really spending, whether it’s on Roblox or Minecraft, or Fortnite and they spend it inside the game- so they’ve got that familiarity. From our perspective, it’s a sort of very natural onboarding and it’s something quite fluid.”

While there are almost ten thousand active cryptocurrencies in the world, the total market is still dominated by Bitcoin and Ethereum.

According to analysts from Bloomberg, the proposed BlackRock Bitcoin ETF could unlock $30 trillion of wealth.

The Blackrock ETF speculation has sparked a new wave of optimism in the crypto market, which is prompting many to ask “is the crypto winter over?”

The post Is the ‘Crypto Winter’ Over? first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.

JPMorgan is confident that over the next 6-9 months the US will be in recession.

Bob Michele is the company’s Head of Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities, and he says the signals are reminiscent of the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers.

We’re in that fifty to sixty percent range that the US will be in recession by year’s end and if we push that out into the first quarter, we are somewhere in the neighborhood of over eighty percent. Every indicator that we look at to predict a recession is registering bright red.

Mr Michele can see a scenario in which the US Federal Reserve will actually begin cutting rates before the United States enters a technical recession.

Bob Michele believes the current set of circumstances has parallels to 1981, in which rate hikes in the United States lagged behind rampant inflation.

In 1981, the US Federal Reserve hiked rates in May, but began cutting rates in June, and by July the country was declared to be in recession.

There is also the fear that the current period could be the “calm before the storm”.

In 2008, the S&P rallied before crashing 48% from the August peak to the trough.

We’re hoping it’s not a similar experience to 2008 where we’ll be down forty-plus percent, but you never know.

Driving some of the momentum on equities markets right now is the euphoria over artificial intelligence.

Companies with significant exposure to AI have been outperforming the market by a significant margin.

“Ultimately, AI will prove to be correct and become integrated into our lives but the markets are quite euphoric right now, and the range of AI-oriented companies we see today may not be the leaders, ten and twenty years from now,” said Mr Michele.

Another key risk to the US market is the commercial real estate sector.

Many of the regional banks have significant exposure to commercial real estate.

Many of my meetings are in the CBD of different cities, but the office buildings aren’t like fifty percent full, they are like five percent full. Vacancy rates are high and rising. I think there are going to be some significant write downs in commercial real estate.

JPMorgan is advising its clients that the sweet spot in the market right now is in fixed income, particularly at the 5-10 year part of the curve.

“What we are looking for is high quality duration, investment grade corporates, securities credit agency mortgages,” said Mr Michele.

And in terms of the US dollar, JPMorgan believes it will peak around the last interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.

The opportunity for investors comes from the Sterling in the United Kingdom and the Japanese Yen.

“Emerging market local debt looks attractive because those central banks started doing their job a year earlier than the developed market central banks, so there’s a lot out there outside of the dollar that will present opportunity by the end of July,” said Mr Michele.

The post Managing $700 billion first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.