Igor Kuchma

Rome has fallen, centurion! – Under pressure from his party, the current occupant of the White House has abandoned the elections due to his deteriorating health. While this may seem like a victory for Trump, Biden was the more convenient opponent because of his weakness. Now, the former president may face a more significant challenge. […]

France qualified for the semi-finals of the EuroCup, but that was not what was being celebrated at the Elysée Palace this weekend. It was the result of the second round of the legislative elections. Against all odds, the right-wing coalition led by Marine Le Pen’s “Rassemblement Nationale” finished third with 143 seats, behind even the […]

Just a couple of weeks ago, geopolitics seemed to be the biggest risk: markets (S&P 500, XAUUSD, etc.) reacted sharply, albeit briefly, to any disturbance in the Red Sea, which lately has been living between Houthi attacks on ships and Hezbollah rocket fire on Israel. It was not just that rising tensions often claimed lives […]

Early last week, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) surpassed Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to become the world’s most valuable company. Some attribute it to big orders from Dell, Super Micro, and AI-focused startup Tesla. But in reality, the fact that Nvidia surpassed the $3 trillion mark and surpassed Apple by capitalization was not only due to backlog but also due […]

The Federal Reserve’s decision to leave its monetary policy unchanged at last week’s meeting was more than expected and was neither good nor bad news for markets. However, the adjustment of its forecast for interest rate cuts this year, down from three in March, should have caused some market concern. Still, this has not been […]

The week’s big news started again with geopolitics, but it wasn’t about a new flare-up in the Middle East this time. We seem to have gotten used to that by now. What unexpectedly shook the markets was Europe, or more precisely, the preliminary results of the European Parliament elections. Investors were spooked by the voters’ […]

While US markets are preoccupied with domestic political dynamics and speculating on the release of the non-farm payrolls report, European investors are turning their attention to the upcoming ECB meeting on June 6. The central bank is expected to announce its first interest rate cut shortly as inflation approaches the optimal level. Indeed, several governing […]

On May 29, the US Treasury will launch its first bond buyback program since 2002. With this move, there has been talk of a return of QE to the markets. But that’s not exactly the case. The central bank is not exactly printing money or monetizing debt. These buybacks are just a short-term injection of […]

For those who thought the days of the French Revolution were ancient, the recent protests and upheavals in New Caledonia prove otherwise. Just like two centuries ago, people are taking to the streets. But why is the world obsessed with this tiny French territory in the South Pacific? It’s not just because of what’s going […]

So far, the saying “Sell in May and go away” has not been true this year: the major US indices closed in positive territory for the third week in a row. The S&P 500 is within 1% of its all-time high now. There are three main reasons for this: 1. Strong quarterly results. About 90% of S&P […]