Ezra Zask Research Advisors

10/12/2022

Fintech Overload

The proliferation of products creates confusion rather than clarity

10/10/2022

Is the Fed too eager to raise rates? Mr. Sandhi points out, the Fed is in an unenviable position in its choice of decisions. If it allows the economy to surge ahead, inflation may become institutionalized, while slamming on the breaks can tip the world's economy into a recession of unknowable depth and duration. This decision has many unknowns, including the relative importance of various factors in maintaining inflation at high levels and the unknown impact of a labor market undergoing structural changes....

 Is the Fed too eager to raise rates? Mr. Sandhi points out, the Fed is in an unenviable position in its choice of decisions. If it allows the economy to surge ahead, inflation may become inst…

10/10/2022

The Fed's Political Decision-Making
https://lnkd.in/e5Vz4fS5
As Mr. Sandhi points out, the Fed is in an unenviable position in its choice of decisions. If it allows the economy to surge ahead, inflation may become institutionalized, while slamming on the breaks can tip the world's economy into a recession of unknowable depth and duration. There are many unknowns in this decision, including the relative importance of various factors in maintaining inflation at high levels, and the unknown impact of a labor market that is undergoing structural changes. This all brings into question the inevitability of a wage-price cycle in the absence of drastic Fed decisions to rachet up interest rates without certainty of the effectiveness of this policy. And yet, despite the uncertainties, the Fed is hell-bent on pursuing an all-or-nothing policy. Mr. Sandhi convincingly argues that public opinion may be a decisive factor. That in the public's perception, economic pain is preferrable to high inflation. It remains to be seen, however, if opinion remains the same if the coming recession turns out to be deep and prolonged and only has a moderate impact on inflation.

They are about to address a cost of living shock by willingly inflicting a hit to growth

08/13/2022

https://on.ft.com/3QA2Zxr

Crypto has gone through a number of transfigurations in the past decade from a medium of exchange, to a disrupter of traditional payment systems, to a hedge against inflation and instability. None of these have outlasted the hype. Its latest incarnation is as an asset class and trading vehicle, initially for wealthy and institutional investors as illustrated by the offerings from Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and, most telling, BlackRock's inclusion of Bitcoins on its vaunted Alladin system. Given crypto's notorious volatility, regulatory uncertainty, susceptibility to fraud, and changing hype, this relatively new embrace of cryptos should be adopted cautiously or avoided until it proves itself as a reliable asset class. # , , , , , , , , , , ,

08/13/2022

Crypto has gone through a number of transfigurations in the past decade from a medium of exchange, to a disrupter of traditional payment systems, to a hedge against inflation and instability. None of these have outlasted the hype. Its latest incarnation is as an asset class and trading vehicle, initially for wealthy and institutional investors as illustrated by the offerings from Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and, most telling, BlackRock's inclusion of Bitcoins on its vaunted Alladin system....

Crypto has gone through a number of transfigurations in the past decade from a medium of exchange, to a disrupter of traditional payment systems, to a hedge against inflation and instability. None …

07/20/2022

Correcting a Defective Valuation

Poor Investor Decisions: Another way to view this decline in valuation is as a correction of the overvaluation that led to the overinflated valuation in the first place, a common occurrence with in…

07/19/2022

https://on.ft.com/3RHadAr
Correcting Poor Investor Decisions: Another way to view this decline in valuation is as a correction of the overvaluation that led to the overinflated valuation in the first place, a common occurrence with internet-based technology. The fact that we have seen this before in the dot.com bubble does not speak well of the decision-making process of venture capital firms and other investors.

Digital companies that boomed during lockdowns hit by fears they cannot withstand a recession

07/18/2022

FinTech valuations are prone to nosedives, a result of overvaluation of profits...

FinTech valuations are prone to nosedives, a result of overvaluation of profits

07/15/2022

Fintech is changing the financial services industry. Investments, wealth management, and cryptocurrencies are prime examples. We provide consulting, research, and writing services for this arene.

40 years of experience in financial services as manager, writer, researcher, business development including investments, risk management, C-suite officer, founder, business development, cryptocurrency, project manager, product manager, and marketing. Expertise in hedge funds, money management, marke...

07/15/2022

era of the Great Exasperation arrives for investorsThis article lays out the changes in the investment climate brought out by recent changes in economics, economic policy, and the difficulty of finding investment strategies that work in the new environment. Many of the trends he identifies are sure to be with us for the medium term. One result is to undermine the tools that investment managers have used for decades and that generated acceptable risk/reward returns....

​ era of the Great Exasperation arrives for investorsThis article lays out the changes in the investment climate brought out by recent changes in economics, economic policy, and the difficulty of f…

07/10/2022

It appears to be just a matter of time before at least a minimal regulation of cryptocurrencies is inevitable, with Europe leading the way. However, this comes at a time when the debate between advocates and opponents of cryptocurrencies has become fiercer with advocates arguing that crypto will replace fiat currencies and become widely used in transactions while opponents claim that cryptos are a financial bubble (or worst, a Ponzi scheme) that is bound to implode leaving the majority of investors holding the losses. It is difficult to see what set of regulations can address this wide divergence of opinions. # fintech

Verena Ross says investors cannot expect bailout because risks were so widely flagged

07/08/2022

Krugman argues that inflation fears have been overblown and that there is evidence that inflation is subsiding. His argument is that the Fed is overreacting by signalling that it intends to continue to aggressively raise interest rates raising the prospect of an unnecessary recession. However, this mornings U.S. jobs report shows gain of 372,000 in non-farm payrolls, exceeding economists’ estimates for a 275,000 increase....

Krugman argues that inflation fears have been overblown and that there is evidence that inflation is subsiding. His argument is that the Fed is overreacting by signalling that it intends to continu…