
The 2025 Net Interest year‑in‑review recaps 46 posts and 15 interviews, highlighting AI’s expanding role in capital markets, the surge in private equity and credit, and the growing influence of retail investors who now account for about 21% of US equity trading. Key takeaways include the unexpected rise in hyperscaler capex to over $400 billion, concerns about valuation bubbles—especially in private markets and AI‑heavy firms like OpenAI—and the evolving payments landscape driven by AI agents and fintech IPOs such as Klarna. The author, Marc Rubinstein, leverages his three‑decade finance background to analyze trends from the “new money market” of stablecoins to the strategic moves of industry leaders like Bill Ackman and KKR, offering a blend of data‑driven insight and personal perspective.

The episode reflects on the rise, fall, and resurgence of specialist financial-sector investing, recounting the host’s hedge fund closure after a decade of long/short bets across global banks and fintechs. It highlights how recent market conditions have revived outsized returns...