The graveyard of once legendary business franchises has just added one more new member to its ignominious fraternity. The hastily arranged acquisition of Credit Suisse by its chief Swiss rival UBS in March 2023, ended the 166-year run of the global symbol of Swiss banking largesse. Credit Suisse was once the 15th largest bank in the world with offices in 50 countries and assets of over $1 trillion USD.
While the U.S. continued its decade-long run, surging ahead another +31% in 2019 to lead all major developed markets (except Switzerland, +32.5%), three emerging markets did even better last year. Taiwan gained +36% as investors reevaluated the “moat” of its market champion, …
During the second half of 2019, the late cycle bull market for financial risk assets sprinted to the finish line despite lackluster global growth. Global markets ended the year on a bullish note, with the U.S. S&P 500 climbing to another record close.
In the third quarter, both of the leading anglo-liberal democracies lurched towards the political abyss and even potential constitutional crises, while global growth continued to decelerate on the back of trade policy …