Oil is surging toward $100. Inflation fears are back. The Middle East remains highly unstable. Yet Wall Street trading desks are making record billions and major banks are raising their S&P 500 targets above 8,000.

In this episode of the Market Maker Podcast, Anthony Cheung and Piers Curran break down how geopolitical volatility is creating huge profits for banks like J.P. Morgan and Bank of America through market making, flow trading and hedging strategies.

They also explore whether the AI rally is becoming another dot-com bubble, why semiconductor stocks continue to explode higher and why firms like NVIDIA, Micron and Anthropic are now at the centre of global markets.

The conversation covers oil markets, inflation, Fed policy, AI infrastructure spending, hedge fund trading mechanics, risk management and the future of the AI supercycle, explained in a way that is accessible for students, investors and anyone interested in financial markets.

The episode also finishes with practical recommendations for free macro and finance resources to help students improve commercial awareness and stay ahead of market trends.

(00:00) Oil, Iran & Market Chaos

(05:40) Inflation, Rates & The Fed

(08:07) Why Wall Street Is Printing Money

(13:00) Flow Trading Explained

(18:50) How Banks Hedge Risk

(23:15) Jane Street & Quant Trading

(31:13) Why Stocks Keep Rising

(32:20) AI Bubble or Supercycle?

(37:56) The Most Important AI Company

(40:10) SpaceX’s $28 Trillion Bet

(44:19) Goldman’s 8,000 S&P Call

(47:10) Best Free Macro Resources

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