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AI is keeping stock markets lit but could there be a new technological game-changer in the offing? HSBC deployed quantum computing to aid its bond trading and the results are eye-catching. The pilot scheme – run with technology firm IBM - delivered a 34% improvement in predicting how likely a bond will trade at a given price. That's a significant edge.
Quantum computing promises to deliver machines that are thousands of times more powerful than traditional computers. It could mean big leap forwards in things like financial modelling, drug development and AI. But predictions on when we will actually see it in the real-world vary from several years to much further out. Nvidia's Jensen Huang has predicted practical uses for quantum computers are about 20 years away. HSBC's trial suggests it could be much closer than that.
Could quantum computing solve France's problem with fraudulent sick leave? Experts say it has been rising alongside a 60% increase in sick leave since 2012 that now costs over 10 billion euros a year - money the country can ill afford as it grapples with a chronic budget crisis. Reuters spoke with five private eyes, who all said their fraudulent sick leave business was booming - so much so that some agencies have ditched traditional gigs like extra-marital affairs to focus solely on employees suspected of skipping work. Read the story here.
Europe is dealing with its latest drone incursion – this time in Denmark. It is part of what some European officials see as a pattern of Russian disruption that has exposed the vulnerability of the region's airspace. Ryanair, Europe's biggest airline, isn't concerned about a hit to profitability from the disruption. But CEO Michael O'Leary has warned about a years-long impact on European travel.
Airport closures are the type of disruption that keep supply chain managers awake at night. I dive into the topic of supply chains and supply shortages on this week's episode of Reuters Econ World podcast. You'd be forgiven for thinking it's a dry subject. I feared the same! But I promise you, it's fascinating. This episode has it all – geopolitical tension, conflict and grey rhinos. Listen here.
The recent surge in U.S. stocks has big investors reversing course. Global fund managers had offloaded U.S. stocks at a record pace after President Donald Trump unveiled steep tariffs on April 2. But Wall Street is now back, and so are investors. They are expected to favor U.S. assets in the coming quarter as traders price in 110 basis points of Federal Reserve rate cuts by end-2026 and AI juggernauts boost analysts' stock market targets and U.S. economic growth.
Big money managers have big data sets to work off, but retail investors are increasingly relying on chatbots to pick stocks. The robo-advisory market - which includes all companies providing automated, algorithm-driven financial advice such as fintech, banks and wealth managers - is forecast to grow to nearly $471 billion in revenues in 2029 from $61.75 billion last year, marking a roughly 600% increase, according to data analysis firm Research and Markets.
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