HK Highlights 1 - Digital Magazine Version - Flipbook - Page 11
CITY REDUNDANCIES
TECH SURGE
Linked to the above institutional
failures, 2023 was almost a record year
for banking redundancies, with 60,000
jobs lost from the sector making it the
worst such year since the global 昀椀nancial
crisis in 2008.
Much of the US’s unexpected economic
growth and stock market resilience was
linked to the major technology 昀椀rms in
the US and their intense activities in the
昀椀eld of arti昀椀cial intelligence (AI).
A large number of redundancies were
reported across the Big Four accounting
and consulting 昀椀rms, following sizeable
cuts in the technology sector in 2022.
This has not made for a healthy hiring
environment in 昀椀nancial services or
consulting, although some of these
cuts followed aggressive hiring activities
in 2020 and 2021.
AI seemingly holds enormous potential
in all walks of life, a view collectively
held by technology executives and
nvestors to the point of mania. Nvidia,
the leading microchip designer for AI
applications, saw its share price increase
by nearly 250 percent over the year,
prompting fears of a new tech bubble,
alongside excessive concentration in the
S&P500’s Magni昀椀cent Seven of Alphabet,
Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia
and Tesla. Investment risk experts will
be advising their portfolio management
colleagues accordingly, although these
names are sure to remain appealing in
today’s tech-dominated marketplace.
Early signs in 2024 are better and
the hope is that the new year will see
the start of a recovery as economies
adjust to higher interest rates and
animal spirits return.
HK HIGHLIGHTS
PAGE 11