PiQ Morning Blast

Morning Blast - 10th December: Fed Day - Markets Brace as a 25bp Cut Looms — Volatility Ahead

Hosts Ryan and Michael preview the day’s markets and major events, with the Federal Reserve meeting the clear focus and a widely expected 25 basis point rate cut.
The episode covers market technicals, commodities rallying (notably silver and copper), and key macro drivers including labour data and trade headlines.
They also discuss geopolitical and tech developments — from NVIDIA’s H200 chip export debate and proposed location-verification software to Trump’s tariff talk — plus major corporate moves and central bank updates like the Bank of Canada decision.

Morning Blast - 9th December: Christmas-Thin Markets & Powell Countdown - Traders Brace for FOMC Jolt

Hosts Michael and Ryan riff through yesterday's thin, holiday-season markets — bond sell-offs, mixed commodities, and rising dollar — while previewing the big event: the upcoming FOMC meeting and Chair Powell's press conference.
They also discuss US-China tech trade (NVIDIA chips), AI policy moves, geopolitical tensions in Asia, and corporate M&A noise, delivering a lively, candid roundup to prepare traders for the next 24 hours.

Morning Blast - 8th December: FOMC Showdown - Dissent, Buybacks and the Santa Rally

Ryan and Michael run through the weekend and Friday market moves, from Clive Lambert’s futures update and commodity all-time highs to surging buybacks, SpaceX IPO chatter and Netflix’s big acquisition.
They cover surprising Canadian jobs data, central bank jawboning and key corporate headlines.
Looking ahead they preview a busy week focused on the FOMC decision and dot plot, several central bank announcements, treasury auctions and notable earnings, while touching on trade and geopolitical developments affecting markets.

Morning Blast - 5th December: Hangovers & Markets: The Friday Morning Blast

Hosts Ryan and Michael kick off a casual, candid Friday morning episode with hangover humour and rapid-fire market talk. They recap a quiet market session, recent economic data and lively headlines from politics and tech.Key topics include surprisingly low US jobless claims, expectations of a BOJ rate hike, proposed US limits on NVIDIA chip sales to China, Meta’s metaverse cuts, Google’s Gemini rollout, SoftBank’s AI plans, and notable moves in commodities like copper. The episode closes with a look ahead to upcoming GDP and US PCE data and more banter about beers and weekend plans.

Morning Blast - 4th December: Sterling Surges, Tunbridge Wells Runs Dry

Hosts Ryan and Michael deliver a lively morning briefing covering market moves, key economic data and headline news.
They discuss sterling's rally driven by dollar weakness and technical flows, mixed US macro prints (ADP and ISM), and market action across equities, commodities and bonds.
Other highlights include the Tunbridge Wells water crisis and on-air rant, Nvidia's talks on export controls and China, the Fed and Treasury developments, possible BOJ rate moves, tech sector shifts, and the FTSE 100 reshuffle — all wrapped in the podcast's trademark banter and frank commentary.

Morning Blast - 3rd December: Trump’s Fed Pick, China Soy Surprises & Bitcoin Rebound

Hosts Ryan and Michael deliver a candid, fast-paced Morning Blast covering market moves, political headlines and corporate news.
The episode blends humour with sharp analysis as they review equity and commodity action, central bank chatter and key economic data.
Highlights include discussion of President Trump’s comments on the next Fed chair, China’s soybean buying, Bitcoin and precious metals activity, Airbus delivery cuts, AI chip updates from Amazon, and upcoming economic releases — all wrapped in the show’s informal, outspoken style.

Morning Blast - 2nd December: Markets Pause, Commodities Surge & Fed Watch

Hosts Ryan and Michael deliver a candid live recap of yesterday’s market action, key futures levels, and what to watch in today’s trading — from S&P pauses to commodity breakouts.They discuss UK political fallout including the OBR chief’s resignation and potential US–UK pharma trade impacts, plus global headlines on rare earths, energy and macro data like the ISM PMI.The episode rounds out with corporate and AI news: Nvidia’s deals, OpenAI’s internal 'code red' response to Google’s Gemini, and other overnight stories investors should note.

Morning Blast - 1st December: UK Budget Drama and Market Reactions

Hosts Ryan and Michael deliver a candid morning roundup covering last week’s market moves and the weekend’s headlines. They discuss the CME outage and thin trading, the UK budget controversy around Rachel Reeves and the OBR, and key price action in S&P, DAX, Bitcoin, gold and silver.The episode also covers global developments — BOJ rate hints, Micron’s investment in Japan, US consumer spending, and upcoming economic events like PMIs, ISM, and Eurozone CPI — with blunt commentary and market implications for the week ahead.

Morning Blast - 28th November: CME Outage Halts Trading - The Data-Centre Glitch That Stole Markets

Hosts Ryan and Michael review a chaotic Friday session where a CyrusOne data‑centre cooling issue halted CME futures and affected FX platforms, leaving liquidity thin during the Thanksgiving weekend.They critique the UK budget as uninspiring — spending pushed forward while tax rises are back‑loaded and politically uncertain — and highlight fall‑out risks for the housing market.Other key takeaways include concerns over heavy borrowing tied to OpenAI data‑centres, OPEC holding output steady, ECB commentary on near‑term policy, and a slow global news flow amplifying market gaps.

Morning Blast - 26th November: Budget Day Breakdown - The Smorgasbord of Tax Hikes

Hosts Ryan and Michael recap recent market moves and deliver a focused analysis of the UK Budget, outlining a "smorgasbord" of tax increases (income tax threshold freezes, salary-sacrifice changes, council tax revaluation and a mansion tax, EV pay‑per‑mile, tourist and gambling levies) alongside selected spending measures.They explain the likely fiscal shortfall, OBR downgrades, borrowing plans and risks to credibility, flag how markets may react, and run through key US economic and tech headlines — all with lively banter, rants and humour.