Insights
Markets, in context.
Explainers, and a market-history archive of the events that moved investors since 2015, each with sources.
Market-history pieces are retrospectives, dated by the event. They are general information, not advice, and not a record of any RockLake position at the time.
2026
Investor education
How to read a performance projection
What a modelled return figure is — and isn't — telling you.
Eligibility
What self-certifying as HNW or Sophisticated actually means
Why access to this platform is gated, and what that protects.
Alternatives
Private markets, public scrutiny
Due diligence standards are converging across asset classes.
New issues
How we think about new-issue allocations
Why lock-ups and concentration matter more than the headline.
Fixed income
Duration: the number that decides how much rates hurt
A short guide to why some bonds fall further than others.
Portfolio construction
Diversification only works if the pieces behave differently
Why owning many things is not the same as being diversified.
Liquidity
Liquidity: the cost you only notice when you need cash
How lock-ups, notice periods and thin markets change what an investment is worth to you.
Inflation
Real returns: what your money buys, not what it says
Why a return only means something after inflation, and what that changes.
Currencies
Currency risk: the second return inside every foreign investment
How exchange rates add to, or subtract from, what you earn abroad.
Credit
What a credit rating tells you, and what it does not
A short guide to ratings for bonds, loans and governments.
Alternatives
Why private assets look calmer than they are
Valuations that are updated rarely can hide the volatility underneath.
Risk
Concentration: when a few names carry the index
What the DeepSeek shock showed about owning the market.
Risk
Drawdowns: why losses are harder to recover than they look
The arithmetic of falling and recovering, and what it means for risk.
Central banks
How interest-rate cycles move different assets
Why a change in central bank policy rarely affects every holding the same way.
Real estate
Why property funds limit withdrawals
Buildings take months to sell. A fund that promises regular access has to plan for the days when many want out.
Private credit
Private credit: what can go wrong
Higher yields come with risks of default, of documentation and of access to your money.
New issues
How an IPO is priced, and why day one is not the whole story
The offer price, the first-day close and the price a year later are three different numbers.
New issues
Owning a company before it lists
Shares in a private company can be valuable, and are harder to value and to sell.
Commodities
Why commodity prices spike
Supply is slow to respond, so shocks to supply or fear can move prices sharply, then reverse.
Infrastructure
What infrastructure investing means
Power, transport and networks earn income that is often regulated or contracted, and they depend on policy and resilience.
Bonds
What happens when a government cannot pay
A sovereign default is resolved by negotiation, not by a court, and it can take years.
Investor education
Event risk: what a market-history archive can and cannot teach
Events differ every time, but the ways portfolios are hurt are fewer and repeat.
Investor education
How to use our market-history archive
Browse by year, by series or by the asset class an event affected, and follow each source to the original.
Central banks16 September 2026
The Fed turns: from a cutting debate to a rate rise
In 2026 the Federal Reserve moved from dissents in favour of cuts to a unanimous quarter-point increase.
Bonds31 August 2026
Long yields climb to 2007 highs as gold rallies
A hawkish Fed chair, rising yields in the US, Europe and Japan, and a surge in gold marked August 2026.
Currencies31 July 2026
The US and Japan step in to support the yen
After the yen fell to its weakest since 1986, both governments bought yen in a joint intervention.
Commodities8 July 2026
Oil jumps as US–Iran hostilities resume
Attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and US strikes ended a slide that had taken oil back to pre-war levels.
New issues12 June 2026
SpaceX lists in the largest IPO ever
A $75 billion offering, with individual investors queuing for shares, put a private company's growth into public hands in a single day.
Commodities30 April 2026
Oil reaches $126, its highest since 2022
Brent touched $126.41 on 30 April, more than double where it began the year.
Private credit2 April 2026
Blue Owl caps withdrawals from two private credit funds
Investors asked for about $5.4 billion back in a quarter; the manager paid out a fixed share of each request.
Commodities23 March 2026
The Iran war sends Brent above $113
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, oil had risen about 50% since the war began.
Commodities6 January 2026
Copper passes $13,000 a tonne for the first time
After its best year since 2009, copper set a record in London on mine disruptions, tariff fears and expected demand from data centres.
2025
Central banks10 December 2025
The Fed cuts for a third time, with three dissents
By December 2025 the policy rate was down to 3.50–3.75%, and the Committee was split three ways.
Digital assets10 October 2025
The biggest liquidation day in crypto history
A tariff announcement set off forced selling of leveraged positions worth about $19 billion in a single day.
Commodities9 October 2025
Silver reaches $50 for the first time in 45 years
A rush into hard assets, tight London stocks and years of supply deficit pushed silver to levels last seen in 1980.
Commodities8 October 2025
Gold's run through $3,000 and beyond
Central-bank buying, geopolitical risk and rate-cut expectations pushed gold to records.
Private credit28 September 2025
Tricolor and First Brands: two failures that unsettled private credit
A subprime auto lender and an auto-parts supplier collapsed within weeks, raising questions about hidden debt and double-pledged collateral.
New issues31 July 2025
Figma more than triples on its first day
A heavily oversubscribed software IPO showed how much demand there was for growth shares in 2025, and how quickly early gains can fade.
Alternatives15 June 2025
Harvard and Yale sell private equity stakes
Two of the best-known endowments sold stakes in their private equity funds, putting a spotlight on the secondary market.
Commodities13 June 2025
Israel strikes Iran and oil jumps
Crude rose sharply and shares fell as markets weighed the risk to Gulf supply.
Sovereign credit16 May 2025
Moody's strips the US of its last top credit rating
The third of the big three agencies moved the US from Aaa to Aa1.
Infrastructure28 April 2025
Spain and Portugal lose power in a continental blackout
A grid failure at 12:33 left the whole Iberian Peninsula without electricity and exposed the stresses of a fast-changing power system.
Infrastructure10 April 2025
The IEA sizes the power demand from artificial intelligence
The International Energy Agency projected that electricity use by data centres would more than double by 2030.
Trade9 April 2025
The 90-day tariff pause and the biggest one-day rally since 2008
A week after Liberation Day, a pause on most reciprocal tariffs sent US shares sharply higher.
Trade2 April 2025
Liberation Day: a tariff shock reprices global markets
Sweeping US tariff announcements triggered one of the sharpest sell-offs since 2020.
New issues28 March 2025
CoreWeave prices below its range and closes flat
The biggest US tech listing since 2021 was a muted debut, a sign that appetite for AI shares had limits.
Fiscal policy18 March 2025
Germany loosens its debt brake
A historic fiscal package for defence and infrastructure marked a turn in Europe's biggest economy.
Technology27 January 2025
The DeepSeek shock
A low-cost Chinese AI model prompted a record one-day loss in Nvidia's market value.
2024
Central banks18 December 2024
The Fed cuts again, and markets fall
A third cut to 4.25–4.50% came with a more cautious outlook for 2025.
Commodities17 December 2024
Cocoa tops $12,000 a tonne
Poor harvests in West Africa sent cocoa to a record, and the price later fell back steeply.
Markets6 November 2024
Markets react to Donald Trump's election win
US stocks and the dollar rose and bitcoin surged as investors priced in tax cuts, tariffs and deregulation.
Central banks18 September 2024
The Fed begins cutting with a half-point move
The first reduction since 2020 took the target range to 4.75–5.00%.
Markets5 August 2024
The yen carry-trade unwind
A Bank of Japan rate rise and weak US data triggered Japan's worst day since 1987.
Technology18 June 2024
Nvidia becomes the world's most valuable listed company
The AI chip-maker overtook Microsoft, with a market value above $3 trillion.
Central banks6 June 2024
The ECB makes its first rate cut since 2019
Europe moved ahead of the Fed, trimming its deposit rate from a record 4% to 3.75%.
Emerging markets4 June 2024
India's markets tumble on a narrower election win
Stocks that had hit record highs on exit-poll hopes fell almost 6% in a day when the ruling alliance's majority was smaller than expected.
Commodities20 May 2024
Copper passes $11,000 a tonne
A first record above $11,000 on fears of a coming shortage as electrification and data centres drew on supply.
Central banks19 March 2024
Japan ends negative interest rates
The Bank of Japan raised rates for the first time in 17 years after the Nikkei topped its 1989 peak.
Real estate31 January 2024
New York Community Bancorp falls 37% on property losses
A regional lender with large commercial property exposure posted a loss and cut its dividend.
Credit29 January 2024
A Hong Kong court orders Evergrande to be wound up
Two and a half years after its first missed payment, the world's most indebted developer was ordered to liquidate.
Digital assets10 January 2024
Spot bitcoin ETFs are approved in the US
After a decade of attempts, regulated exchange-traded products gave investors direct exposure.
2023
Commodities29 December 2023
Lithium prices fall by more than four-fifths
A battery-metal boom ended in a glut as supply grew faster than electric-vehicle demand.
Infrastructure18 December 2023
Red Sea attacks send shipping the long way round
Attacks on merchant ships halved traffic through the Suez Canal and added days to journeys between Asia and Europe.
Geopolitics9 October 2023
Oil and gold rise after the Hamas attack on Israel
Oil jumped more than 4% on the first trading day, and gold reached $2,000 by the end of the month.
New issues14 September 2023
Arm's IPO reopens the market for large listings
The chip designer raised $4.87 billion, the biggest offering of 2023, and rose 25% on its first day.
Real estate17 August 2023
US mortgage rates reach a twenty-year high
The 30-year fixed rate averaged 7.09%, the highest in over two decades, squeezing housing activity.
Credit7 August 2023
Country Garden misses dollar bond payments
China's property trouble spread beyond Evergrande to a developer that had been seen as one of the stronger ones.
Sovereign credit1 August 2023
Fitch downgrades the US; Treasury yields reach 5%
A ratings cut and heavy issuance pushed the 10-year yield to its highest since 2007.
Central banks26 July 2023
The Fed's last rate rise takes rates to a 22-year high
A quarter-point increase brought the target range to 5.25–5.50%.
Equities25 May 2023
Nvidia and the AI rally lift the Nasdaq
A blow-out forecast made artificial intelligence the market's dominant theme.
Banking19 March 2023
Credit Suisse is sold to UBS
A weekend rescue wrote down CHF 16 billion of AT1 bonds and shocked bondholders.
Banking10 March 2023
Silicon Valley Bank fails
A $42 billion single-day deposit run brought down the 16th-largest US bank.
Real estate13 February 2023
Brookfield defaults on two Los Angeles office towers
About $784 million of loans on downtown offices went unpaid as rates rose and tenants stayed away.
2022
Portfolios30 December 2022
2022: when stocks and bonds fell together
The classic 60/40 portfolio had one of its worst years in decades.
Real estate1 December 2022
A $69 billion property fund reaches its withdrawal limit
Blackstone's flagship real estate fund for individual investors paid out only part of what investors asked for.
Digital assets11 November 2022
Terra and FTX: crypto's year of collapses
The failure of an algorithmic stablecoin, then a top exchange, wiped out hundreds of billions.
Energy26 September 2022
Nord Stream pipelines are damaged
Leaks on the Russian gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea ended any hope of restoring supplies to Europe that winter.
Bonds23 September 2022
The UK mini-budget and the gilt crisis
Unfunded tax cuts sent gilt yields soaring and forced the Bank of England to intervene.
Commodities26 August 2022
European gas prices reach a record
The Dutch benchmark rose above €300 per megawatt-hour as Europe scrambled to fill storage before winter.
Policy16 August 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act is signed
A decade of US tax credits and grants for clean energy, vehicles and manufacturing changed the investment case for power and infrastructure.
Central banks21 July 2022
The ECB raises rates by half a point and ends negative rates
Its first rise in eleven years was twice the size it had signalled.
Inflation13 July 2022
US inflation reaches 9.1%, a 40-year high
Consumer prices rose 9.1% in the year to June 2022, the fastest since 1981.
Currencies13 July 2022
The euro falls to parity with the dollar
For the first time in twenty years one euro bought one dollar or less.
Central banks15 June 2022
The Fed's 75 basis-point hike
The largest single rate rise since 1994 in a year that took rates from near zero to 4.5%.
Sovereign credit18 May 2022
Sri Lanka defaults on its foreign debt
The country's first sovereign default followed a collapse in reserves, fuel shortages and months of unrest.
Central banks16 March 2022
The Fed starts its fastest tightening in decades
A quarter-point rise to 0.25–0.50% began a campaign that took rates above 4% within the year.
Commodities8 March 2022
Nickel doubles in a day and the LME suspends trading
A short squeeze in a metal used in stainless steel and batteries pushed prices above $100,000 a tonne.
Commodities24 February 2022
Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggers a commodity shock
Energy, metals and grain prices surged as sanctions and supply disruption took hold.
2021
Central banks16 December 2021
The Bank of England raises rates first
A surprise rise to 0.25% made it the first major central bank to tighten after the pandemic.
Inflation15 December 2021
Inflation stops being "transitory"
Consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in about four decades and the Fed changed course.
Policy15 November 2021
The US passes a $1.2 trillion infrastructure law
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act committed about $550 billion of new federal spending to roads, rail, broadband, water and power.
New issues10 November 2021
Rivian lists at a value above Ford and GM
An electric-vehicle maker with almost no revenue was valued at $86 billion after its first day.
Central banks3 November 2021
The Fed begins to taper its bond purchases
The Fed began reducing its monthly asset purchases while holding rates at zero.
Credit20 September 2021
Evergrande and China's property reckoning
The world's most indebted developer missed payments and set off a sector-wide crisis.
Emerging markets26 July 2021
China's regulatory crackdown hits tech and education shares
Rules on data, tutoring and overseas listings erased tens of billions in value in a matter of weeks.
New issues14 April 2021
Coinbase lists directly on Nasdaq
A direct listing with no new shares sold, opening far above its $250 reference price.
Alternatives26 March 2021
Archegos: the hidden leverage that cost banks billions
A family office using swaps built huge positions in a handful of shares; when they fell, the banks that financed it lost heavily.
Infrastructure23 March 2021
A container ship blocks the Suez Canal for six days
About 12% of world trade passes through the canal, and more than 350 vessels were left waiting.
Equities15 March 2021
The SPAC boom
Record numbers of blank-cheque companies listed, then largely disappointed.
Private credit8 March 2021
Greensill Capital collapses
A supply-chain finance firm that had sought a $7 billion valuation filed for insolvency after Credit Suisse froze about $10 billion of funds.
Infrastructure15 February 2021
Winter Storm Uri: the Texas power grid fails
More than 4.5 million people lost power as generators and gas supplies froze.
Equities28 January 2021
GameStop and the retail short squeeze
Coordinated retail buying sent a struggling retailer up more than twentyfold and caught hedge funds short.
2020
Markets9 November 2020
Vaccine news sparks a great rotation
Positive trial results sent cyclical and value stocks surging and pandemic winners lower.
New issues3 November 2020
Ant Group's record IPO is suspended days before listing
Regulators halted a dual listing that was set to raise almost $34.5 billion, the largest ever at the time.
New issues16 September 2020
Snowflake doubles in the biggest software IPO ever
The cloud data company raised about $3.4 billion and more than doubled on its first day.
Commodities4 August 2020
Gold rises above $2,000 an ounce for the first time
Falling real yields, a weaker dollar and pandemic stimulus drove a record.
Sovereign credit22 May 2020
Argentina defaults again, then restructures $65 billion
A ninth default was followed by a deal with bondholders in August.
Commodities20 April 2020
Oil prices go negative
US crude futures settled below zero for the first time as storage ran out.
Policy27 March 2020
The $2.2 trillion CARES Act is signed
The largest US fiscal rescue in history helped stop the fall in markets.
Equities23 March 2020
The fastest bear market in history
The S&P 500 fell about a third in five weeks as the pandemic shut down economies.
Central banks15 March 2020
The Fed goes back to zero
An emergency weekend meeting cut rates to near zero and restarted quantitative easing.
Central banks3 March 2020
The Fed's half-point cut before its scheduled meeting
The Fed cut by half a point on 3 March 2020, weeks before it was due to meet.
2019
New issues11 December 2019
Saudi Aramco raises $25.6 billion in the world's biggest IPO
The oil giant's Riyadh listing priced at 32 riyals and briefly made it the most valuable company in the world.
Real estate4 December 2019
A £2.5 billion UK property fund suspends dealing
M&G stopped investors from withdrawing, citing unusually high and sustained outflows.
New issues30 September 2019
WeWork's IPO collapses
A planned flotation valued at up to $47 billion was pulled after investors balked.
Bonds30 August 2019
The world's negative-yielding debt pile
More than $15 trillion of bonds traded at yields below zero.
Bonds14 August 2019
The yield curve inverts
The 2-year yield rose above the 10-year for the first time since 2007.
Central banks31 July 2019
The Fed pivots: the first cut since 2008
After hiking through 2018, the Fed cut three times in 2019 as growth slowed.
Alternatives3 June 2019
The Woodford Equity Income Fund suspends dealing
A fund that held hard-to-sell holdings could not meet withdrawals, and the Financial Conduct Authority investigated.
New issues10 May 2019
Uber lists below its offer price
The ride-hailing company priced at $45, opened at $42 and ended its first day lower.
2018
Equities24 December 2018
The December 2018 sell-off
US stocks fell almost 20% from their September peak as the Fed kept raising rates.
Central banks19 December 2018
The Fed raises rates for the fourth time in 2018
A rise to 2.25–2.50% came in the middle of a market sell-off.
Emerging markets10 August 2018
The Turkish lira crisis
A currency collapse exposed the risks of foreign-currency debt.
Trade6 July 2018
The US–China tariff war begins
Tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports took effect, and China retaliated in kind.
Volatility5 February 2018
Volmageddon
The VIX more than doubled in a day, destroying products that bet on calm markets.
2017
Policy22 December 2017
US tax reform cuts the corporate rate to 21%
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed on 22 December 2017.
Digital assets17 December 2017
Bitcoin approaches $20,000
A tenfold-plus rise in a year drew in mainstream attention, then was followed by an 80% fall.
Alternatives15 November 2017
A Leonardo sells for $450 million
The Salvator Mundi became the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
Volatility3 November 2017
The year volatility vanished
The VIX closed below 10 repeatedly and the S&P 500 rose every month.
Central banks20 September 2017
Central banks begin to unwind QE
The Fed announced balance-sheet reduction and the ECB began to halve its purchases.
2016
Markets14 December 2016
The reflation trade
Bond yields jumped, banks and cyclicals rallied and the Fed raised rates for the second time.
Commodities30 November 2016
OPEC agrees its first output cut since 2008
A deal in Vienna helped lift oil out of its two-year slump.
Currencies23 June 2016
Brexit: the UK votes to leave the EU
A 52–48 result surprised markets and sent sterling to a 30-year low.
Commodities11 February 2016
Oil falls below $30 and markets wobble
A glut of supply took crude to its lowest since 2003 and dragged equities and credit lower.
2015
Central banks16 December 2015
The Fed's first rate rise since 2006
After seven years at zero, US rates rose to 0.25–0.50%.
Markets24 August 2015
China's yuan devaluation and 'Black Monday'
A surprise currency move and a collapsing Chinese equity bubble unsettled global markets.
Sovereign credit5 July 2015
Greece votes 'no'
Voters rejected creditors' terms; banks were shut and capital controls imposed.
Equities12 June 2015
China's stock market peaks, then loses a third of its value
A margin-fuelled boom ended in a summer of heavy falls and government intervention.
Central banks22 January 2015
The ECB launches quantitative easing
Combined purchases of €60 billion a month, including government bonds, began in March 2015.
Currencies15 January 2015
The Swiss franc shock
The SNB scrapped its euro cap without warning and the franc surged as much as 29%.