Top HSBC strategist has a warning for retail investors chasing the AI rally

Investors are flooding back into Treasurys for safety to hedge the risks of more AI fallout in stocks and credit markets.

Open this photo in gallery:About 20 per cent of On Money survey respondents say they compare themselves to others financially all the time.sasirin pamai/iStockPhoto / Getty ImagesIn my last newsletter, I asked readers if they compare how their own personal finances stack up against others. Hundreds of you weighed in – either through our survey or over e-mail – and the short of it is: You care, a lot. More than 70 per cent of On Money readers who responded to our newsletter poll said they compare how they stack up against others financially either all the time (about 20 per cent) or sometimes (52.5 per cent). Success in investment performance was more important to you than your total savings, salary, buying and paying off a home, quality and number of holidays, and nearly every other benchmark. What was perhaps at first surprising was that the vast majority of you (78 per cent) felt either happy or inspired when comparing yourself financially to others - both positive adjectives in my book. And yet, many left comments cautioning others against it. Which got me thinking: Is there a healthy way to compare how we stack up against others financially?

Bitcoin (BTC) stayed below $82,000 around Thursday’s Wall Street open as Iran war headlines returned to pressure risk assets. Key points:Bitcoin preserved 3% daily losses on Thursday as US stocks fell on geopolitical tensions. US President Donald Trump reiterated the chance of new military action against Iran, with no negotiations ongoing. BTC price analysis saw $84,400 as a short-term ceiling ahead of the Oct. 28 Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates. Stocks fall as Trump says US “not negotiating” with IranData from TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $81,256 on Bitstamp, down 2.9% on the day. BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewMixed reactions to Tesla earnings and capital expenditures combined with a risk-off mentality stoked by fresh comments from Trump that the US was “not negotiating” with the Iranian side. “We are going to have something one way or the other that will happen fairly soon. Most people seem to think it’s after the election and we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters, referring to the US midterm elections on Nov. 3. US stocks fell at the open, with the S&P 500 Index down 1.3% at the time of writing.

Open this photo in gallery:Industry Minister Mélanie Joly speaks during a news conference in Toronto last month. She is set to announce on Thursday how Ottawa will allot $1.75-billion to support the VC sector. Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian PressThe federal government is kicking off a long-awaited process Thursday to inject fresh money into Canada’s venture capital industry to fund fast-growing startups, part of a broader effort led by Prime Minister Mark Carney to bolster Canada’s economic independence and growth at a time of global uncertainty. But Ottawa’s plans fall well short of demands from the country’s angel investors to dramatically boost aid for the earliest backers of startups. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly will announce Thursday how the government will allot $1.75-billion committed in last November’s federal budget to venture capital (VC) firms that in turn back young companies.

The crypto tycoon speaks with The Economist from prison in California

SummaryIreland’s central bank fined Coinbase Ireland 3.25 million euros ($3.6 million) for alleged failures in safeguarding customer funds and overseeing outsourced services. The regulator said Coinbase Ireland relied excessively on its U. S.-based parent and lacked adequate systems and controls, while Coinbase disclosed that coding errors left a safeguarding account underfunded by an average of 0.54% in 2023 and the first half of 2024. Coinbase said no customers lost money or were unable to access their funds. The penalty follows a 21.4 million-euro Irish fine imposed on Coinbase Europe in 2025 for anti-money laundering failures. Coinbase Ireland was hit with a 3.25 million-euro ($3.6 million) fine from the country’s central bank over alleged breaches of its safeguarding and outsourcing obligations. The Irish division of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global COIN$170.10 failed to establish an adequate outsourcing governance framework, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) said on Thursday. Safeguarding and outsourcing requirements underpin the protection of customer funds.