(13 May 2024 – Australia) Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayake is encouraged by a concerted increase in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity as global markets’ confidence returns and more clarity is gained towards interest rate settings.
Wikramanayake spoke in a positive way about the outlook on the economy at the bank’s Australian investment conference in Sydney, especially on the ramifications for global asset markets and investments.
She told attendees that the initial period where market participants had exercised caution was starting to end, the worst of the inflation shock was over and there have been strong displays of resilience.
The Federal Reserve in the United States left interest rates unchanged at their most recent meeting, and the Reserve Bank of Australia left rates flat last week at a 12-year high.
“While we don’t know the pace at which central banks are going to start cutting rates, the fact is that we are getting more confidence and certainty on where rates are going,” she said. “That’s giving the market more confidence. All the US banks have reported their pipelines picking up. We’re certainly seeing that as well.”