This edition presents a comprehensive summary of significant developments throughout May in a new, concise format. It explores evolving trends in global economies, including those of the United States, the Eurozone, the United Kingdom, and several Asia Pacific nations. Key topics include central bank policies, macroeconomic data, and the performance of risk assets. After a challenging April, equities rebounded in May across all developed market indices, despite mixed economic signals. In the U.S., equity market breadth remains a concern, with large tech stocks driving much of the positive performance. The policy divergence between Europe and the United States is now almost certain, though the exact actions of banks remain unpredictable. Geopolitical and international trade tensions persisted, highlighted by new US and EU tariffs targeting Chinese electric vehicles. Finally, the outlook for mergers and acquisitions in 2024 appears promising, following robust activity in the first five months of this year.

This edition covers key events driving central bank policy divergences and examines evolving European and US relations with China. Following a relatively stable first quarter, April brought challenges for markets, marked by widespread losses across asset classes and a resurgence of inflation concerns. Despite these hurdles, M&A activity remained robust, particularly in the US, with significant deals in technology, healthcare, and oil and gas sectors.

As Q1 of 2024 draws to a close, we are glad to bring you our latest edition of the Corporate Gazette. This edition covers the recent strong economic data, and stronger inflation, out of the US and its impact on shifting back rate cuts in 2024, as well as the performance of equities and impact of several large tech stocks news and performance. In Europe, although equity markets are performing particularly well, the divergence between its economy and the US and China has become ever stronger and the surprise rate cut by the Swiss has fueled anticipations for an earlier rate cut by the ECB. The United Kingdom shared the strong performance of equities and stronger than expected inflation prints and unemployment figures. Lastly, we cover several large deals which have helped confidence for a potential M&A pickup such as Home Depot’s move to expand its market presence, Swisscom’s acquisition to strengthen its foothold in Italy, and other PE and VC deals.

This edition delves into recent drivers of interest rate decisions and their effects in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. We also explore China’s rate cuts amid its battle with deflation, highlighting the role of base effects in recent positive inflation data. Additionally, we examine major companies’ earnings reports and market trends in equities and fixed income, noting how interest rate uncertainty influences investor risk levels and asset allocation. Finally, we touch on recent shifts in industry sectors, global M&A activity, and offer insights into significant deals and developments, including OpenAI’s notable fundraising efforts and its potential challenges post the Microsoft and Mistral AI partnership.

This edition reviews recent central bank interest rate decisions and global economic condition developments. It analyzes the divergences within major Asian economies and their causes. The report evaluates global equity and fixed income market performances post-late 2023 rallies, and concludes with an overview of recent M&A activities, private equity trends, and key transactions, including Synopsys' acquisition of Ansys, strategic shifts in firms like Hertz, and the introduction of cryptocurrency Bitcoin ETFs.

This edition begins with general overview of 2023, covering the topics which have driven much of the year’s debates and provided foundations for recent 2024 outlooks. The report then delves into specific monthly analyses for key regions like the US, EU, and China, discussing central bank pressures regarding interest rates and the ongoing battle with inflation. It also covers significant movements in financial markets, analysing the validity of claims regarding the “Santa Rally” and performance of fixed income securities. Lastly, it presents a comprehensive coverage of the investment banking and private equity sectors, including industry and geographic specific overviews and highlights of the month's top deals.

This edition features an in-depth analysis of macroeconomic trends and the recent divergence between the American and European economies. It addresses the recent impacts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on financial markets, as well as providing a general overview of market developments. Furthermore, this report includes insights into investment banking, highlighting recent global movements and specific industry details. Finally, it breaks-down the rationale and structure behind Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, explains recent developments surrounding OpenAi and WeWork, and covers trends in the Private Equity sector.

This report analyses key developments in the world economy, giving insights into much of the heterogenous dynamics that are currently dictating worldwide policies. It outlines these changes in key global players, discusses the economic impacts of the Middle East conflict featured in the month's headlines, and examines major events in equity, currency, and commodity markets. It concludes by providing overviews of investment banking activities, including global and regional trends and detailed analysis of two key deals in the energy and natural resources sector.

This report delves into the macroeconomic landscapes of pivotal global players: the United States, the United Kingdom, the Eurozone, and selected countries within the Asia-Pacific region. From the subdued movements in the U.S. labor market to the UK's surprising GDP revision, from the Eurozone's dance with inflation to Asia's evolving financial narrative — each region offering a unique story. Then turning an analytical eye towards Washington, uncovering the roots of political turmoil and its potential ripple effects on the economy. The report then sheds light on the mysterious 'September Effect' in equities, the robust of nature of the US dollar, and the interplay of commodities. Furthermore, the world of investment banking and M&A is not left untouched, with a spotlight on the deal between Cisco and Splunk. Lastly, the report covers the fixed income market, the narrative brings forth the unpredictable dance of yields and the ever-present influence of central banks.

This April financial markets in the United States and Europe remained steady, while Chinese stocks slacked amid ongoing conflicts with Taiwan. This reports details how economic stagnation and deflationary pressures created Japan’s “Lost Decade” , and how this connects to the economic situation in the United States today. After delving into industry trends, we analyze the UFC’s historical acquisition of WWE, Brookfield Infrastructure’s purchase of Triton International, and Merck’s recent acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences. We further highlight the adverse developments in venture capital and close with latest trends in private equity. 

In March, turmoil in the banking sector dominated financial news headlines and induced looming fears of another major recession in many of us. This report explores this crisis and possible consequences for the global macroeconomic environment and financial markets. After diving into M&A developments and industry trends, the investment banking section features Credit Suisse's backstory and acquisition by UBS. Last, before exploring the latest trends in private equity, we highlight Pfizer's $43 billion acquisition of Seagen and L'Oréal's purchase of Aesop.

We explore the macroeconomic situation in the United Kingdom in a detailed case study and delve into the development of energy and commodity markets one year after the Russian invasion. The reports further analyzes Abiomded’s acquisiton by J&J, Matador’s acquisition of Advance Energy, and the merger between Redx Pharma and Jounce Therapeutics.

We illustrate a benchmarking analysis between current and historical bear markets and develop insights from future monetary policy expectations based fixed-income and derivative markets. Next, our investment banking section underlines this year’s M&A market evolution, IPO market development. Last, we analyze the acquisitions of Zendesk by Hellman-Friedman & Permira, and STORE Capital by GIC and Oak Street.

This report showcases the development and fundamental shift of global energy markets in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The investment banking section deals with Adobe’s acquisition of Figma and Investindustrials acquisition of Etaly.

We take a close look at the current roaring inflation, its birth factors, and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions and outlook. The investment banking section further dives into Elon Musk’s bid to take Twitter private, the complex financing structure behind the deal. Last, the report examines Prologis’ acquisition of Duke Realty.