Igor Kuchma

Sticks and stones may break my bones but there will always be something to upset the markets. First the coronavirus pandemic, then inflation, and now corporate results. Even though Friday’s reports came in better than many had feared, analysts still expect a 4.8% decline in S&P 500 earnings. The paradox is that stronger numbers will […]

“From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow”, also the saying may not be exactly about financial markets, but there is no better way to describe the short but intense last week. To begin with, for the first time in U.S. history, an ex-U.S. president was indicted on criminal charges. Precisely, for falsifying business […]

Speaking at the forum in Boao, the Asian equivalent of the World Economic Forum in Davos, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva called on countries with strong economies to help their “troubled” colleagues. Become Robin Hoods, so to speak. The only problem is the timing: the U.S. still hasn’t solved the structural problems in the banking sector […]

The global financial system turned out to be not so stable after all, with hedge fund managers anticipating a recession in the United States, and yet the indices are still green. To be more precise, S&P 500 grew in a week by 1.4%, NASDAQ by 1.7%, Dow Jones Industrial Average by 1.2%, whereas DXY lost […]

From “geopolitical shocks” to tensions in the global banking system: Goldman Sachs analysts fear a setback in the economy in the face of recent events. Against this backdrop, they have downgraded GDP forecasts for the eurozone to 0.7% for 2023 and for the US to 1.2% for the quarter. Judging by the US Dollar Index, […]

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank caused if not panic, then some concern about the implications among investors. The result was a substantial decrease in the major US stock indices, with the S&P 500 falling 4.8%, NASDAQ Composite losing over 5%, and Russell 2000 losing 8.0%. With the risk of a domino […]

Big market price swings, uncertainty in the economy, and geopolitical tensions… nothing stopped Berkshire Hathaway from outperforming the S&P 500 index in 2022. What is the secret of Buffett’s fund, or is it simply the result of share buybacks? In reality, apart from buybacks, the company’s shares were helped by strong financial results and new […]

It was a busy week for the markets, especially in terms of geopolitics. First, Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, while threatening to resume nuclear tests if the United States does so first. Second, the president of the world’s leading economy, […]

The global economic recovery from the pandemic and the rise in geopolitical tensions have eventually sparked a perfect storm for energy markets. For households, this meant a surge in costs and expenses. For oil producers, on the other hand, it became a lifetime opportunity. The five largest oil groups – TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and […]

Sorry, Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, also known as the Terminator, we are finally heading for an automation apocalypse. In this sense, the fast development of artificial intelligence could lead to dramatic changes in both technology and society. As for the latter, the list of occupations where algorithms could replace humans includes: data analysts, graphic designers, […]