The outlook for Wall Street, financial services, and related sectors in 2024 is expected to see improvements in deal-making, IPOs, and corporate and investor activity, despite a challenging global economy and geopolitical landscape. The stock market is anticipated to experience further upside, and hiring is expected to pick up as transaction volume increases. The industry will need to adapt to new competitive dynamics, including the growth of private capital, which will challenge incumbent institutions’ business models. Economy and Inflation: Analysts predict that the economy and inflation will slow in 2024, with the Federal Reserve potentially moving to cut rates. Deal-Making and IPOs: Despite a challenging global economy and geopolitical landscape, the outlook for deal-making, IPOs, and corporate and investor activity is expected to improve in 2024. IPO activity, which started to pick up in recent months, should accelerate in the back half of 2024, especially in the environment for capital raising, which is expected to be very robust. Stock Market: Falling inflation, falling interest rates, a strong job market, and rising corporate earnings are tailwinds that will drive further upside in the stock market in 2024. Market veteran Ed Yardeni expects the S&P 500 to surge 17% in 2024 as the economy remains resilient and inflation moderates. Hiring Outlook: The hiring market is expected to play out heading into 2024, with a shift in sentiment that the market may be at or close to the bottom. Firms are anticipated to start hiring more as transaction volume picks up throughout 2024. Banking and Capital Markets: The banking and capital markets industry will need to adapt to new competitive dynamics in 2024, with forces like the growth of private capital challenging incumbent institutions’ business models, along with the ascendancy of AI. —Jack Kelly, TC $500k++ #finance