Balancing Mission, Scale and Risk: Interview with Brian Jones, President, Merrick Bank
Merrick Bank, the CardWorks issuer focused on subprime and non-prime credit-card customers, now ranks among the top 20 U.S. card issuers with about 5 million accounts after acquiring Ally Bank’s card portfolio. Brian Jones, a 20-year veteran who shifted from general counsel to president nearly two years ago, says Merrick’s competitive edge comes from deep customer knowledge, disciplined risk modeling and experience across economic cycles. The firm emphasizes fairly priced, value-added products and sophisticated analytics to balance mission-driven lending with portfolio scale and credit risk. Jones also recounted how a planned 2020 sale of CardWorks to Ally unraveled during the pandemic, later creating the opportunity to purchase Ally’s card business.
The Last Hedge Left in This Market
Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, argues that long‑term U.S. Treasury bonds, now yielding close to 5%, could serve as the market’s last hedge. With equities, gold, copper and crypto all flashing risk signals, the 30‑year Treasury acts...
How Do Small Businesses Automate Invoicing and Get Paid Faster?
Automated invoicing uses software to send scheduled bills, track status in real time, and trigger follow-up reminders and in‑invoice payment options to reduce manual errors and late payments. Recurring invoices and AI-driven reminders (like Intuit Assist) keep invoices top of...
Agentic AI in Quant Risk Adoption, Open Source and What Comes Next
The LSEG Post‑Trade Solutions podcast explores how agentic AI is reshaping quantitative risk modelling and analytics, highlighting a surge in adoption over the past year as newer AI agents outperform earlier versions. Panelists note that AI now reliably generates synthetic market...
The Clock Is Ticking on Super Changes | the Advisory
From July 1 Australia’s “payday super” regime requires employers to remit superannuation within seven days of each payday, moving away from quarterly contributions and leveraging the existing MPP real-time payments platform. The reform broadens who is treated as an employee...
Early SpaceX Investor Chad Anderson Talks Upcoming IPO Following Report of Accelerated Timeline
Early investor Chad Anderson says SpaceX’s long‑awaited IPO is arriving sooner than analysts predicted, with the filing and roadshow slated for the next few weeks. The company plans a non‑traditional roadshow that will invite potential investors to tour its...
Irvine Valley College - Summer 2026 - Preview of Accounting Classes
Bennett Chaikovski, an accounting professor and department chair at Irvine Valley College, previewed the college’s Summer 2026 accounting offerings and student resources, including financial and managerial accounting, intermediate accounting, auditing, QuickBooks, payroll, taxation and ethics. He outlined registration steps amid...
Buffett AI: Building an AI Agent to Think Like Warren | Wharton Online Webinar
The Wharton Applied Value Investing webinar introduced "Buffett AI," an experiment to encode Warren Buffett’s investment logic into an autonomous AI agent. Presenter Brett Kin explained how the project fits within the program’s goal of teaching systematic stock‑selection techniques and...
Michael Burry's 1999 2.0 Warning: Stock Market About to Crash?
Michael Burry has warned that today’s stock market resembles the late-1990s dot-com bubble, with prices climbing faster than underlying economic strength. The video’s host echoes that concern, noting strong corporate earnings have propped up markets but warns a slowdown in...
Cattle and Grain Markets Hit Multi-Year Highs but Uncertainty Demands Hedging Strategy Now
Cattle and grain prices have climbed to multi-year highs—feeder and fat cattle near record levels and corn, soybeans and wheat trading at levels not seen in over two years—driven largely by geopolitical headline risk and domestic supply tightness. Analysts urge...
Why Advisors Are Pivoting to Managed Futures & Thematics
Advisors are increasingly pivoting to managed futures and thematic ETFs as traditional diversification has faltered this decade—bonds are down while equities remain elevated and inflation fears persist. Andrew Beer’s IMGP DBI managed futures ETF (DBMF) has seen assets surge from...
The Dangers of Leverage in a Slumping Farm Economy
Market technician Trent Klarenbach told Jesse that inflation-adjusted farmland values in Iowa have been falling for two years and Saskatchewan is showing similar technical signs with about a two-year lag, suggesting a potential multi-year pullback reminiscent of the 1980s farm...
Why Is the Stockmarket Ignoring Reality? | The Economist
Global equity markets have rallied strongly in recent weeks, with investor optimism reaching levels last seen during the late-1990s dotcom boom, despite an ongoing Iran-related energy shock that has tightened supplies and disrupted supply chains. Corporate earnings have been robust...
30 Yr Bond Rate Just Hit 2007 Levels
U.S. Treasury yields surged last week, with the 30-year bond climbing to 5.189% — the highest since July 2007 — while the 10-year rose to about 4.6% and the 2-year to roughly 4.1%. The jump reflects investors dumping bonds amid...
Scam Sites
Scammers are building fake websites that impersonate legitimate financial advisors by using real registered representatives’ names and linking to their FINRA BrokerCheck profiles, while substituting fake photos and promoting fraudulent crypto and stock schemes. These sites have already stolen millions...
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All-in-One Model for Underwriting - Guide to Getting Started [New]
The video introduces the All‑in‑One underwriting model (version 0.9) — a long‑evolved, modular Excel/acrobat workbook with decades of iterative updates and extensive tutorial support. It explains the model’s structure, including color conventions (blue = required inputs, orange = estimated values...
Behind the Numbers: Are You Taking Fraud Seriously Enough?
UK fraud is surging in both volume and scale, prompting a government three-year plan that shifts more responsibility onto businesses — including new criminal liability for failing to prevent it. Experts say prosecutions have historically been too few, making fraud...
Treasury for SMEs: From One-Way Road Forecasting to Scenario-Based
At NextGen Nordics 2026, Finextra TV host Debi‑Bell Hosking interviewed Andre Zimmerman, head of pre‑sales at Coconet, about modern treasury management for small and medium‑sized enterprises. The conversation centered on moving SME cash‑flow forecasting from static spreadsheet models to dynamic,...
New Found Gold (TSXV:NFG) - $220m Financing Pushes High-Grade Queensway Toward 2027 Production
New Found Gold (TSXV:NFG) announced a $185 million financing package to advance its flagship Queensway Gold project in Newfoundland and Labrador, complementing the ramp‑up of the Hammerdown mine. The capital structure includes a $105 million debt facility split into a $70 million first...
Stocks vs Bonds: Which Wins at 4.5% Yields? 🥊🆚🏛️ #Treasury #Yields
A market commentator highlights the recent rise in the 10-year Treasury yield to about 4.5% and examines its historical inverse relationship with the S&P 500, noting periods when higher yields drew capital away from stocks. Using price charts, the speaker...
Craig Boardman: How Is Private Credit Rewriting the Rules of Loan Servicing Infrastructure?
Craig Boardman, a director at Finastra, explains how private‑credit firms have reshaped loan‑servicing infrastructure since the 2008 crisis. He outlines his role helping clients eliminate operational headaches, mitigate risk, and deliver precise investor reporting, while positioning Finastra’s Loan IQ as...
Short Seller Alleges ‘Aggressive’ Accounting Techniques by Ottobock
Grizzly Research has launched a scathing report on German prosthetics maker Ottobock, alleging that CEO Hans York Nater has used aggressive accounting tricks and a massive PIK loan to mask cash outflows and inflate earnings. The short‑seller points to the capitalization of research‑and‑development...
The Hidden Flaw in Wall Street’s Trillion-Dollar Math | SIH
The video features physicist‑turned‑philosopher James Owen Weatherall discussing his book “The Physics of Wall Street,” exposing how century‑old mathematics underpins today’s quantitative trading and why that legacy matters for anyone with a 401(k). Weatherall traces the lineage from Louis Bachelier’s 1900...
CFA Institute Research Challenge Finals: Princess Sumaya University for Technology
The Princess Sumaya University team presented a hold recommendation for Neutra, Jordan’s only local infant‑formula manufacturer. They set a target price of 1.07 Jordanian dinars, implying a modest 3.4% upside from the 1.03 JD close on May 4, and highlighted the...
FAT Brands, Immigration, Limited-Time Offers
Fat Brands reached a broad-based creditor deal that clears a path for its sale out of bankruptcy, with lenders putting $8 million into a liquidation trust to pursue claims against former managers and the company being split and sold in...
Lion Finance Group Joins the FTSE100
Lion Finance Group’s recent admission to the FTSE 100 marks a milestone for the Georgian‑Armenian banking‑fintech hybrid, signaling heightened global investor interest in the South Caucasus region. The company’s CEO, Archel Gachel, highlighted the honor of the listing and its potential...
Palantir Scores 6/10: Is Its Premium Valuation Justified?
The Motley Fool’s Scoreboard episode gave Palantir (PLTR) an overall 6.0 out of 10, with analysts Rick Munarriz and Tim Beyers rating its business strength at eight and five, respectively, and its management and financial safety scores at six and...
Q&A with Water Intelligence
Water Intelligence reported a solid Q1, with revenue climbing 9% to $23.2 million and a new CFO, Mike Molton, joining the leadership team. The call highlighted the company’s dual‑track growth engine: expanding business‑to‑business channels—especially insurance and property‑management partners—and a 38%...
Japanese and US Bond Rates Are Flashing Red
The video highlights a simultaneous surge in sovereign yields: the U.S. 10‑year Treasury climbed to its highest level in a year, while Japan’s 30‑year government bond posted a historic peak. Both moves reflect tightening financing conditions for the world’s two...
NextEra to Buy Dominion for $67 Billion to Create U.S Power Giant | Bloomberg Intelligence
The Bloomberg Intelligence podcast reported NextEra Energy’s agreement to purchase Dominion Energy in an all‑stock transaction valued at roughly $67 billion, the largest power‑sector merger in U.S. history. The combined entity would become the nation’s biggest utility by customer base and...
Behind the Ticker: NASA, SpaceX, & Tema ETFs
On Behind the Ticker, Yuri — an early-team portfolio manager at TEMA ETFs — outlines his path from running UK income strategies at Majetti to earning a bioscience master’s and joining TEMA’s push into actively managed, thematic ETFs. TEMA has...
Multi-State Tax Traps: When Your Business Owes More Than You Think
State tax nexus — a business’s legal connection to a state — can be triggered as soon as you hire a remote employee or begin selling into another state, creating obligations to register, collect and remit payroll and sales taxes....
StepStone Group Market Open | LSEG Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI)
StepStone said it expects significant growth in the evergreen market driven by the large, fast-growing and underallocated private-wealth segment. The firm positions itself to meet demand by offering education and training alongside a comprehensive private-markets platform spanning private equity, venture,...
The One About the Savings and Investments Union Featuring Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta
Former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta, author of a landmark report, argues that Europe’s fragmented financial markets—27 national systems sharing one currency—leave roughly €10 trillion of household savings stuck in low-yield deposits instead of financing European tech, defense, green transition...
The Best Small Business Tax Hack 🏦
With high earnings from a big year, exit or real estate sale, or a spouse’s employer benefits already maxed via Roth and HSA contributions, small-business owners can further reduce taxable income by making pre-tax retirement contributions. Options include contributing more...
S1E269: The Great Yield Shift: Why Banks Are Gaining Altitude as Reits Seek Grounding
The episode examines the widening performance gap between Singapore’s bank and REIT sectors as global interest rates stay elevated. Higher‑for‑longer rates are reshaping earnings dynamics: banks see net‑interest‑margin (NIM) expansion and robust loan‑growth, while REITs grapple with tighter yield spreads,...
He Worked Directly for the Elite And It’s Worse Than You Think
John Perkins, a former self-described "economic hit man," says he spent decades working for private consulting firms paid by the U.S. government to persuade developing countries to take massive loans for infrastructure that primarily benefited multinational contractors and local elites....
Bonds Making US Pensions Unreliable - Canada Operates Differently & This Is Why
Many U.S. state and municipal pension plans are severely underfunded—examples cited include a state fund at 40–50% funded, New Jersey around 50%, and the Chicago police pension near 20–30%—as target returns have not materialized. Funds are heavily allocated to bonds...
A Basel III Deep Dive | What to Know About How It Will Transform Banking Globally
The video provides a deep dive into Basel III, the post‑crisis international framework that reshapes banks’ capital buffers. It traces the evolution from Basel I through the flawed Basel II models to the comprehensive Basel III package, whose final risk‑weight calibrations were agreed in...
Why Consumption Pricing Makes Forecasting Harder with Devavrat Shah
The Revenue Builders podcast revisits a conversation with MIT professor Devavrat Shah, who examines how consumption‑based pricing—exemplified by token‑based API calls—reshapes revenue forecasting. Shah notes that while total consumption volume is readily modeled, predicting where that usage will occur—by region, sales...
Why Founders Are Saying No to Buyouts: Hidden River’s Game-Changing Capital Strategy
The podcast spotlights Hidden River Strategic Capital’s novel approach to financing founder‑led businesses that reject full buyouts. Graham Bachman explains that the firm’s "structured capital" blends debt‑like features with non‑control equity, creating a middle ground between traditional private‑equity buyouts and...
10% of SG’s Noodle Market Share: How Leong Guan Brings in the Dough
Leong Guan, a Singapore‑based food manufacturer, has carved out roughly 10 percent of the local noodle market by specializing in fresh, never‑dried noodles. The company recently completed its initial public offering, positioning the listing as the opening chapter of a growth‑oriented...
The First Domino in the US Debt Crisis
The video explains that the United Arab Emirates approached the U.S. Treasury for an emergency dollar swap, warning that without assistance it could be forced to dump its Treasury holdings and trigger a bond‑market crash. It highlights that foreign central...
Albanese Government’s Budget Is ‘Running Ahead’ of Previous Spending Estimates
The Albanese government’s latest federal budget runs ahead of its original spending forecasts, adding roughly $18 billion of extra outlays over the next four years. HSBC economist Paul Bloxham warned that this additional demand could nudge inflation higher, putting the Reserve...
CFOs Have to Stay in the Spreadsheets
The video features a senior finance leader stressing that modern CFOs must remain hands‑on with spreadsheets, using them to bridge the gap between high‑level strategy and operational detail. He describes a culture where leaders can zoom from a 3,000‑foot overview...
How Can Businesses Get Real-Time Financial Insights and Visibility?
The video explains how businesses can obtain real‑time financial insights and visibility, arguing that reliance on month‑end spreadsheets creates risk by showing stale numbers. It highlights that modern accounting platforms sync directly with banks, payment processors and invoicing tools, delivering live...
Update and Audit a Finance Model in Excel with ChatGPT
The video demonstrates how ChatGPT for Excel can be used to update and audit financial models directly inside the spreadsheet environment, targeting the common problem of hidden errors that can skew forecasts and board presentations. Using built‑in skills such as “finance...
TAX BOMBSHELL: Newsom ATTACKS California Businesses with COSTLY New Proposal
Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a proposal to impose a 7.5% sales tax on digital software downloads and SaaS subscriptions as part of California’s 2026 budget plan. The measure would extend the state’s existing sales‑tax framework to online software, hitting major vendors...
Holy Sh*t...Did The Bond Market Just Break!?
The video focuses on a dramatic 13‑basis‑point surge in the 10‑year Treasury yield, prompting the host to ask whether the U.S. bond market is finally “breaking” after years of fiscal warnings. He contrasts two prevailing theories: one that attributes rising...
2026 CFA Institute Research Challenge Finals: University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo team presented a sell recommendation on Lightspeed Commerce, arguing that the company faces structural headwinds in a mature, hyper‑competitive POS market. Their analysis highlighted three core deficiencies: a history of value‑destructive acquisitions, an undersized and inefficient...