CapitalEyes capital markets news headlines
Do you know? Private creditPrivate credit is often promoted as safer because lenders claim to secure stronger covenants, but covenant‑lite terms now dominate even private deals. Many loans no longer include traditional maintenance covenants that once signalled early financial deterioration. Without these triggers, lenders may only notice borrower weakness when distress is already advanced. As…
Do you know? Private creditPrivate credit is often labelled “non‑bank lending,” but in reality it mirrors elements of the shadow‑banking system. Many funds use fund‑level leverage and depend on investor capital that can be withdrawn sooner than the loans they extend. This creates a maturity mismatch similar to pre‑2008 structures. The main vulnerability is not…
Do you know? Global supply of memory chipsGlobal memory supply concentrates in South Korea (with Samsung and SK Hynix supplying 60% of DRAM and 50% of NAND) and in Taiwan and the US (supplying 30%). New fabs are delayed to 2028-2030 due to high costs (over USD20) and the current AI focus. The shortage is…
Do you know? Global supply of memory chipsThe AI boom overwhelms shared supply chains, comprising silicon wafers, chemicals and advanced nodes, causing HBM prioritisation to inflate all memory prices. DDR5 spot prices are already up 4 times while non-volatile flash memory (NAND and SSD) doubled since 2025, as manufacturers chase high-end contracts over consumer volume….
Do you know? Global supply of memory chipsSouth Korean giants like SK Hynix and Samsung prioritise HBM3E and HBM4 production, allocating more than 70% of advanced fabs to it for premium AI margins. They get margins of USD50 or more per gigabyte from HBM compared to just USD5 per gigabyte for DDR. This slashes DDR5…
Do you know? Global supply of memory chipsAI workloads demand HBM’s massive parallel bandwidth and low latency for feeding graphics processing unit (GPU) clusters during training and inference. For example, Nvidia H100s require it to handle trillion-parameter models. Unlike HBM, DDR and GDDR’s sequential bottlenecks choke data flow. The AI boom has spiked HBM demand…
Do you know? Memory chip supply crunchHigh bandwidth memory (HBM) differs from double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) and graphics double data rate SDRAM (GDDR) through its 3D-stacked DRAM dies connected via through-silicon vias (TSVs), creating ultra-wide buses (1024-2048 bits) for 5-10x higher bandwidth versus DDR5’s narrow 64-bit channels or GDDR6X’s 384-bit…
Do you know? Goldman’s AI reportWorkers displaced by automation are not always located near the industries or regions where new AI-related jobs are created. The report notes that retraining alone does not guarantee re-employment if geographic mobility, industry access, or local economic conditions limit opportunities. As a result, some displaced workers face prolonged unemployment or…
Do you know? Goldman’s AI reportThe report highlights that entry-level and junior roles often involve routine, structured tasks that are highly susceptible to automation. Because these jobs traditionally serve as training grounds for future professionals, their decline risks weakening the pipeline of skilled workers. If fewer early-career positions exist, younger workers may struggle to gain…
Do you know? Goldman’s AI reportHistorical data analysed in the report indicates that workers displaced by automation tend to suffer persistent wage penalties, even years after re-employment. Over long periods, their wage growth lags behind peers who were not displaced, reflecting lost experience in higher-productivity roles and reduced bargaining power when re-entering the workforce. This…