Breaking down XOF/USD oscillations in a climate of critical adversities and acute conflict
By Malaika Cornelio & Nathan Nowbuth The national and international agenda has been severely cramped for policymakers and heads of state as of late; this arguably commences from the world’s gradual descent towards what can be termed as one of this century’s most disruptive global public health crises. Nevertheless, despite the raucous nature of the…
Does long term and short term technical analysis change perception on a trading position (USD/CNY)?
By Nathan Nowbuth When trading any asset, it is imperative to take a holistic approach and consider both fundamentals and technicals. However, in this article, I will demonstrate the time horizon of technical analysis can alter one’s trading stance. Taking a longer timeframe (i.e. a year) can illustrate historical highs or lows and show the…
Green Bubble & The Commodity Supercycle
(Haris Mohammad and Tian Adam) In recent years, the consensus view on Wall Street has become that the fossil fuel demand is in terminal decline. Notable events, such as Saudi Arabia’s endeavours to reduce its stake in the oil company Saudi Aramco, have all contributed towards the belief that the world will have to increase…
Bitcoin Breaks the $50,000 Mark? But is it still worth buying?
By Nathan Nowbuth Introduction of Cryptos and Bitcoin The rises and falls of the digital currency, bitcoin, have been well documented ever since it started in 2009. It is owned and controlled by its users using a ‘peer-to-peer’ system and it differs from traditional currencies because it is decentralised and does not have a robust…
Impacts of US Sanctions on Myanmar for the Commodities Market
(Aidan Miao and Satvik Deolal) As the world closely observes the military coup in Myanmar, investors are right to worry about their assets in the region as situations are still very uncertain at the moment. After the military overthrew the government and detained the elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, it triggered international condemnation and…
Qorvo vs Skyworks Solutions- Devil’s Advocate
By Ujan Shrestha, Shalin Kothari and Xilong Huang Company Profiles: Skyworks Solutions Inc. designs, develops, manufactures and markets semiconductors products, including intellectual property. The company’s analogue semiconductors are connecting people, places and others in a wide range of markets from automotive, broadband, infrastructure, military, medical, smartphone and many more. They seem to benefit significantly from the 5G upgrade…
First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR.OQ) Devil’s Advocate Summary
By Ratul Banerjee and Ananya Kumar Overview First Solar, Inc. is a provider of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions. The Company designs, manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin-film semiconductor technology. The Company also develops, designs, constructs and sells PV solar power systems that primarily use the modules it manufactures. It operates through…
Qorvo vs Skyworks Solutions
By Emrah Taylan and Koushik Karthikeyan Company Overviews Qorvo Inc. is a US semiconductor company that designs, manufacturers and supplies radio frequency solutions, which is the band of frequencies roughly between 20kHz and 30GHz. It is known for selling its products to smartphone players such as Apple, as well as to the infrastructure and defence space. As the…
First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR.OQ) Summary
By Khalid Nazir and Matthew Landon Overview First Solar, Inc. is a provider of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions. The Company designs, manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin-film semiconductor technology. The Company also develops, designs, constructs and sells PV solar power systems that primarily use the modules it manufactures. It operates through…
Forecast & Analysis on Water Futures
(Haris Mohammad and Tian Oscar Adam) Water is one of the key ingredients for life. In the United States, people use approximately 400 billion gallons of water every day. Amid the ongoing worries about the water scarcity in the future, water recently joined gold, oil and other commodities traded on Wall Street. Farmers, hedge funds…
Rhodium – Commodity Analysis and Forecast
(Aidan Miao and Satvik Deolal) The commodities market is usually headlined by big players such as Gold and Silver. A metal that has recently been in the talks amongst traders is Rhodium. Rhodium is one of the rarest metals on the earth. It is so rare that it does not trade on the world commodities…
Commodities Endgame? BNP Paribas’ retreat
(Thomas Mak) Even before the emergence of COVID-19, commodities markets around the world were already facing ample challenges. With the US-China Trade War substantially weakening the demand for base metal commodities, coupled with the US dollar strengthening back in 2018 after Trump imposed generous tax cuts, global markets witnessed extreme price volatility that unsettled commodity producers and traders. BNP Paribas’…
Cryptocurrencies Part 1: The rise and fall of Ether
(Nathan Nowbuth and Josh Gill) Casting our minds back to the tail end of 2017 and for the majority of 2018, digital currency, more commonly referred to as cryptocurrency, was the hot topic on every trader’s mind. There are numerous cryptocurrencies which can be purchased such as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ripple. However, in this article, we will focus on Ether,…
Exploring the impact of the US presidential election on the Mexican Peso (MXN/USD)
Background: Figure 1: MXN/USD last 6 months The Mexican Peso is the world’s eighth most liquid currency globally and offers a high level of liquid access to the emerging Latin American region hence, is an important currency for investors. The MXN/USD is the most traded pairing, given the dollar is the most demanded currency. Many…
Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) Summary
By Khalid Nazir and Koushik Karthikeyan Overview Peloton Interactive, Inc. is a provider of an interactive fitness platform. The Company provides connected, technology-enabled fitness and the streaming of instructor-led boutique classes to its members. The Company operates and manages its business in three reportable segments: connected fitness product segment, subscription segment, and other segments. Its…
Rolls Royce Report
By Shalin Kothari and Matthew Landon Background: Rolls-Royce is a multinational engineering company based in London. They design, manufacture and service integrated power systems, and are the world’s second largest manufacturer of aircraft engines, as well as the world’s 16th largest defence contractor by revenue. The company does not make money from engine sales due to…
Coffee Analysis & Forecast
(Haris Mohammad and Ujan Shrestha) With 2.5 billion cups of coffee consumed every day and coffee sales exceeding $70 billion each year, it is one of the most dependable and widely traded commodities in the world. Such high levels of demand bring high levels of volatility and production, with coffee being the second most traded…
Turning Crisis Into Opportunities: Shipping Companies’ Struggles and Recoveries
(Thomas Mak) The maritime shipping industry has been labelled as the ‘lifeblood of the global economy’. According to the International Chamber of Shipping, more than 50,000 merchant ships travel the seas carrying approximately $4 trillion of commodities like grains, iron ore, and crude oil every year. In light of its significance, the performance of the shipping…
Q4 2020 Gold Commodity Outlook
(Aidan Miao and Satvik Deolal) Gold is one of the most popular and valuable precious metals of all time. Its shine and value are some of the reasons why gold is used everywhere. Whether it be used jewellery, electronics, or even buildings, gold is popular for its look, regard to be expensive, and other qualities…
Blast in Beirut brings the Lebanese Economy to the brink of collapse (USD/LBP Analysis)
Introduction The world was in shock on Tuesday 4th August when a cataclysmic explosion ripped through the heart of Lebanon, Beirut, where it is estimated that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate ignited. The deafening explosion has claimed the lives of at least 137 people with over 5,000 wounded and 300,000 being left homeless. The magnitude and intensity…
Trouble in Paradise: Chronicling the USD/JPY’s Shaky Safe-haven Status
(By Malaika Cornelio & Nathan Nowbuth) Background The Yen’s safe-haven status has been contested from the very start of 2019, attributing to its liquidity-and-algorithm-driven ‘flash crash’ just after New Year’s Day. This sudden 3% spike in the yen forewarned the all-year-round inclement market climate that traders prepared to steel themselves against. Next on the gloomy…
Oil – Commodity Analysis and Forecast
(Haris Mohammad and Ujan Shrestha) Being the lifeblood of industrialised nations, oil has become the world’s most important source of energy since the 1950’s. Its products underpin modern society. Notably used for supplying energy to factories, heating homes and providing everyday essentials including plastics, detergents and even medicines. However, the recent shift towards renewable energy…
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Summary – 22nd August 2020
(Khalid Nazir and Ananya Kumar) Background Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington. Amazon focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Amazon is known for its disruption of well-established industries through technological innovation and mass scale. It is the world’s largest online marketplace, AI assistant provider, live-streaming…
The impact of the 2020 US election on Chinese multinational companies
(Michael Li and Shalin Kothari) Background: Recent tensions stemming from the US towards large Chinese Internet corporations have been evident in the media. The president’s recent order banning TikTok, owned by Beijing’s ByteDance, from the United States has been heavily scrutinised due to its unprecedented nature and wider implications for over 80 million active users in America.…
Silver – Commodity Analysis and Forecast
(Thomas Mak and Farzan Faizeen) 2020 facilitated a revival for precious metals like gold and silver. With silver hitting a six-year high of $26 an ounce in Q3 2020, it reflects the general market concern of Federal Reserve’s stimulus package could increase the rate of inflation, for which precious metals are often regarded as popular inflation…
Copper – Commodity Analysis and Forecast
(Thomas Mak and Farzan Faizeen) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply-demand dynamic of the copper market has been subjected to significant changes. China, the largest copper importer, had to scale down its industrial production due to lockdown measures. Due to social distancing measures and reduced aggregate demand in the economy, many workers have been…
AT&T Inc. NYSE:T Summary
(Michael Li, Shalin Kothari) Background: AT&T is a US conglomerate based in Dallas, Texas. The company holds large market shares in the US telecoms, TV, mobile, telephone and media service markets. Like many companies, the concerns that have arisen from Covid-19 have introduced an uncertainty among investors, resulting in a downturn in performance across all divisions. Investors have one eye on…
Brexit Spectre Continually Haunts EURGBP Dynamics
( Written by Malaika Cornelio and Swastik Gupta ) Background The EUR/GBP pair has faced a fatiguing pair of volatility and uncertainty in lieu of the global economy’s financial crisis-ridden recent past – including today’s coronavirus-fuelled slump – but it is clear that the Brexit vote has accentuated this volatility/uncertainty duo. “Sterling volatility… is at emerging market levels and has decoupled from other advanced economy pairs for obvious reasons,” ex-BoE governor Mark…
Natural gas – Commodity Analysis and Forecast
(Thomas Mak, Farzan Faizeen) Impact of COVID 19 on Natural Gas Natural gas has become increasingly important as nations shift towards eco-friendly alternatives due to it releasing low levels of emissions. When processed and converted into cleaner fuels, it can be used for heating and generating electricity. The natural gas market has not been immune…
Two Global Superpowers on ‘Supersour’ terms. Why is USD/CNY currency pairing so unpredictable?
( Written by Nathan Nowbuth and Sulaiman Syed Naqvi ) For many years, America and China have been at the forefront of economic debate. The U.S. economy has been the global standard for decades whilst China has become the fastest developing economy in the world and in 2014, even surpassed America as the world’s largest economy. Staggeringly, these two global giants possess more than 32% of the worldwide GDP implying the two countries…
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