2023 kicked off with a historic Speaker of the House election and a debt ceiling crisis in the US.

• Kevin McCarthy won the Speaker of the House election after 15 ballots over four days.
• The US hit its debt ceiling, leading to a standoff between Republicans demanding cuts and Democrats refusing to negotiate on those terms.
• The risk of the US defaulting on its debt was discussed, with theories on how the dollar might rally in such a scenario.

Early 2023 saw both record hedge fund profits and significant financial scandals.

• Citadel hedge fund made historic profits, while Hindenburg Research accused Gautam Adani of fraud.
• The accusations against Adani led to a massive devaluation of his companies and cancelled capital raises.
• Trafigura took a major financial hit due to a nickel trading fraud orchestrated by linked companies.

Chinese surveillance balloons and market reactions to AI and meme stocks drove the news.

• Chinese balloons spotted over North America led to postponed US diplomatic visits and military responses.
• The hype around AI led to significant market movements, with AI stocks performing well and companies mentioning AI seeing stock growth.

Bank runs and collapses, along with crypto-related legal action, highlighted financial instability.

• Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank failed due to runs on deposits, particularly impacting crypto firms.
• Credit Suisse's emergency merger with UBS marked another major bank crisis.
• The financial world also faced numerous cryptocurrency legal battles, including against Binance and Coinbase.

Cultural and regulatory events, including an AI-generated viral image and new chip export restrictions, shaped the mid-year.

• An AI-generated image of Pope Francis went viral, raising concerns about AI misinformation.
• New US regulations aimed to prevent the circumvention of semiconductor export restrictions to China and other countries.

The latter part of the year was marked by conflict, legal drama, and economic challenges.

• The Israel-Hamas war resulted in significant casualties and continued tension.
• The trial and conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried for FTX's collapse dominated financial news.
• Economic difficulties persisted, with China facing deflation and consumer default issues.

The year ends with high US interest rates, a potential easing of inflation, and predictions for the next year.

• The Federal Reserve maintained high interest rates, with potential cuts hinted for the following year.
• Inflation may be easing in the US, but the market's expectations for rate cuts might be premature.
• Predictions for 2024 include continued economic slowdown in China and more trade disputes.