00:00Paul, good to see you. So we were just hearing there about the tech story. Let's start on the tech
00:03story with you.
00:04What are you going to be watching for as we see this huge reporting season get underway for these big
00:09U.S. tech players?
00:11We were just hearing from Neil Campling, who was talking about how it's the link between top line growth and
00:15CapEx plans that's going to be really important.
00:19Yeah, good morning, Anna. That is definitely something that investors are going to be on the lookout for with five
00:24of the seven names from the magnificent seven reporting.
00:28Plenty of earnings coming out of Asia as well. It's our busiest week of the cycle coming up.
00:34So I think that that is one thing that we want to see. Are they starting to make money to
00:37realize some profits from the AI efforts that are being put in place?
00:42Watch out for any announcements on jobs as well. We've seen some job cuts coming through in some of the
00:46major tech companies recently.
00:48But three, and I think this is interesting and important as well, where are we on the funding?
00:52It seems that that narrative has gone a little bit quieter, actually, that now there's a little bit more enthusiasm
00:58in the credit sector for people lending for those data centers to be built together.
01:03And that was something that we were worried about at the back end of last year. Remember, some of those
01:07funding deals, even the larger ones, seem to be getting done and going through.
01:10We're still seeing those sort of internecine deals as well, those tie-ups that are building that sort of web
01:15ever closer together.
01:16But can the market take down all of the debt that's needed in order to build out their data centers?
01:21And also, what are they going to say about energy costs and how are they going to get around that?
01:24Because, you know, the war in Iran has certainly put a lens back on that problem as well.
01:32Paul, there's a lot of central banks reporting this week as well, delivering decisions.
01:37But those decisions are largely expected to be unchanged decisions.
01:41What am I going to learn? What do you think the market wants to learn from the central bankers this
01:46week?
01:47What narrative would it like to hear?
01:51Yeah, so I think that the bond market is worried, right?
01:54Worried about what the central banks are going to do.
01:55Kind of worried if they don't do anything and worried if they do too much as well.
01:59The central banks, you know, sort of had been moving maybe towards more loosening, at least for the Federal Reserve
02:04at the start of this year.
02:06Now we're worried about more tightening.
02:08But if the central banks do nothing, then that could let inflation out of the bag as well and hurt
02:12the back end of the yield curve.
02:13So traders will be focusing very much on how they're going to be projecting what's coming going forward.
02:18As you said, Guy, I don't think that anybody's expecting any of the central banks.
02:22And we do have all of the G7 central banks meeting this week.
02:25Don't think any of them are actually going to act this week.
02:28And that sort of sets off slightly different results, though.
02:32For the Fed, it's a little bit up in the air anyway because it's likely to be Jerome Powell's final
02:37meeting potentially.
02:38As chair, so we may have a new lineup come the next Fed meeting.
02:41So I will see what the individual voices have to say there.
02:44For Europe, it seems like Christine Lagarde is likely to telegraph a hike in the coming ECB meeting.
02:51So that may support the euro and weigh on European government bonds, which have been underperforming a little bit under
02:57a little bit of pressure already.
02:58I think Japan as well is really important.
03:01What are they going to say?
03:02How do they manage to support the yen and give the idea that they will react while at the same
03:07time,
03:07and the BHA always does this, bottling it a little bit, stepping on, sitting on their hands and not hiking
03:12when they have an opportunity to go ahead and do it now.
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