Jobs in jeopardy but tech returns to equity markets

Send us Fan MailIt was not that long ago that we ran a number of stories and podcast episodes about banks battling for staff so that they could get record volumes of deals through the capital markets. With inflation rampant, recession looming and interest rates on the rise, some markets have dried up as M&A grinds to a halt. Now bankers fear for their jobs, with one likening the situation to the dotcom bubble bursting two decades ago.Tech firms don’t have to go so far back in time to recall a torrid spell in financial markets. As the world emerged from the Covid pandemic, tech companies went from being the belles of the ball to being the empty beer bottles. As their valuations plummeted, they kept away from raising equity capital. But this week, Ocado, the online grocer, brought a deal to market. We discuss why it had to come in such a terrible market, whether other tech firms will do the same and what their options are.Finally, we discuss what went down at Euromoney’s Global Borrowers and Investors Forum this week, where the ECB’s plans to control government bond spreads was the subject of some very lively debate. We look into why some find the idea of yet more bond market intervention so objectionable.