As we are entering the summer slow down we thought it would be apt to round off our first season of podcast episodes with a discussion of what has been thematic in financial markets since January. Unlike our usual podcast episodes, this one features the co-founders of The Armchair Trader in discussion about topics we feel have dominated the financial news in the first half of the year.
Top of the list is the GameStop phenomenon, which really took hold early in Q1. At the time much of the world did seem to be in lockdown, and it was in the last 12 months that we have seen more and more people opening trading accounts for the first time. We discuss on the podcast whether this is just a passing trend, or something more profound.
Another major theme for lockdown has been a bull market for Bitcoin, as well as huge interest in fringe cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin. At The Armchair Trader we have been increasing our coverage of crypto this year in response to rising demand. We talk about the BTC rally and also what had led to it running out of steam yet again. We also discuss the FCA ban on cryptocurrency derivatives, and the role of ETFs and listed companies in delivering cryptocurrency exposure to investors.
Copper has been an area of interest for us this year, both the rising copper price, which seems to be setting new records, and the fortunes of copper explorers. We discuss the factors underpinning the demand in copper this time around and the likely future for junior miners in the copper space.
The pandemic has been a major influencer for share prices and commodities and it has been very hard to divorce most markets news coverage from the ups and downs of the pandemic battle. We talk about the role the pandemic has played in a number of sectors, including the massive jumps in the stock of biotech companies, and the interest investors have shown in the travel sector and even airlines as some lockdowns have been suspended. We take time to discuss the boom in the price of shares of some biotech companies and how these have fluctuated with lockdowns and virus surges.
While this marks the end of the current season of the podcast, we will be returning in the autumn with more guests, more CEO perspectives and more in-depth discussions with investment industry influencers. Subscribe to the podcast on most mainstream podcast channels to get regular updates.
