“It’s a wild world”… Oil prices surged amid Middle East conflict and disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, with US benchmark WTI rising about 54% over the past week, its largest weekly gain since 2020 during the extreme volatility at the start of the COVID-19 oil market shock.
“He who hesitates is lost”… Morgan Stanley filed with the OCC to establish a wholly owned digital-asset national trust bank for custody, trading execution, transfers, and fiduciary staking services, significantly expanding its regulated crypto markets infrastructure.
The bet on the tail wagging the dog… Immediately before the Iran attack occurred users on Polymarket wagered roughly $529 million that the US would strike Iran, prompting accusations that they may have acted on nonpublic information.
“I’ve been everywhere, man, I’ve been everywhere”… International stocks have outperformed U.S. stocks by 67% on a relative basis over the past 14 months (generating 30% returns compared with 18%), the largest performance gap since 1994, as investors rotate toward cheaper global equities after years of US market dominance.
Who would have thunk it… The developing consensus is that blockchain is NOT the future of real-world financial infrastructure. Platforms being built by institutions like Coinbase and Goldman Sachs rely on permissioned ledgers that are cryptographically secured but controlled by the financial institutions, lacking true blockchain decentralization.
“You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”… Blackstone’s retail-focused credit funds faced rising redemption requests as higher interest rates and commercial real estate concerns pushed investors toward more liquid alternatives, forcing certain semi-liquid vehicles to limit or prorate withdrawals under preset liquidity caps.
“Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming”… Private-equity funds raised $408 billion last year, the lowest level since 2016, as investor liquidity constraints slowed commitments and broader private-capital fundraising declined YOY amid weak exits and a growing backlog of unsold portfolio companies.
“China’s challenge is not just economic growth but managing the consequences of that growth”… China set its 2026 growth target at 4.75%, its slowest official target since 1991, as weak domestic demand remains constrained, consumption is only 40% of GDP (far below most major economies), and manufacturing momentum is slowing.
“Sick as a dog”!!! BrewDog’s “Equity for Punks” equity crowdfunding campaign attracted over 200,000 retail investors who invested $95 million, but after years of losses and mounting debt the company entered administration and sold to Tilray Brands for $42 million, leaving most crowdfunding investors with nothing.
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