Felix Nikolas Prehn's Podcast

Felix Nikolas Prehn

Felix Nikolas Prehn is an economist and former investment banker. Felix — alongside his golden retriever Winston — interprets the economy and markets.

  1. 2d ago

    AI Lending Risk: How Banks Earn Fees And Transfer Exposure

    AI lending has become a case study in how Wall Street's fee machine operates. In this episode, Felix Nikolas Prehn, a former investment banker, traces the mechanics of a five billion dollar loan arranged by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan for AI chip company Volta Infrastructure. The banks collected fees but declined to hold most of the loan, placing 3.7 billion dollars on a best efforts basis for sale to pension funds and insurers. The loan carries an 11 per cent interest rate, well above the junk bond average of 8 per cent. Meanwhile Oracle's data centre debt is trading below face value, with bankruptcy insurance costs at levels not seen since 2009. Prehn notes that Goldman's own trading desk advised institutional clients to derisk from AI exposure in the same week its research analysts issued buy recommendations, illustrating how different parts of one institution serve different purposes within the transaction machine. In this episode: 00:00 Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan refused to hold their own AI chip loan 03:03 How the bank fee machine works in plain terms 05:06 Risk transfer from banks to pension funds and insurers 09:40 Bank price targets on Meta, Micron and Nvidia 11:12 Price targets feed the transaction and fee cycle 12:44 Goldman traders tell institutional clients to derisk from AI 13:48 Volta Infrastructure loan structure and best efforts clause 15:48 Eleven per cent interest rate signals elevated risk Sources mentioned: Goldman Sachs, https://www.goldmansachs.com JP Morgan, https://www.jpmorgan.com Morgan Stanley, https://www.morganstanley.com BNP Paribas, https://www.bnpparibas.com Truist, https://www.truist.com Cantor Fitzgerald, https://www.cantor.com Oracle, https://www.oracle.com Volta Infrastructure Bitdeer, https://www.bitdeer.com Anthropic, https://www.anthropic.com Felix Nikolas Prehn is an economist and former investment banker. He co-founded TradeVision.io and founded Winston Daily and The Prehn Institute. The Prehn Institute gives no financial advice, and neither does this podcast. Newsletter: Winston Daily, https://winstondaily.com Research: https://prehninstitute.com Author site: https://felixprehn.com Support the show 👉 Claim 99% Off the Financial Freedom Program. Use coupon 99PC at checkout https://felixfriends.org/stocks

    AI Lending Risk: How Banks Earn Fees And Transfer Exposure
  2. 4d ago

    Silver To S&P 500 Ratio: Why It Signals A Historic Low

    Silver priced against the S&P 500 is sitting near its lowest reading in half a century, a level that has preceded every major multi-year silver rally of the past fifty years. In this episode Felix Nikolas Prehn traces two rule changes driving the shift. First, Basel 3 net stable funding requirements now force banks to hold 85 per cent cash backing against unallocated paper silver, pushing them towards physical metal and raising costs on what was once a profit centre. Second, China replaced its 25 year old silver export regime at the start of this year with tight licensing, restricting outflows from refiners that handle an estimated 60 to 70 per cent of global refined silver exports. Meanwhile COMEX registered inventories have fallen from 114 million ounces to roughly 76 million, the world has run a silver supply deficit for six consecutive years, and the solar industry alone consumes about 20 per cent of annual mine output. Felix outlines a three signal framework and stresses that silver remains highly volatile. In this episode: 00:00 Silver to S&P 500 ratio near a 50 year low 03:00 How the ratio chart has preceded past silver rallies 07:00 Basel 3 and the 85 per cent unallocated silver funding rule 10:52 China tightens silver export licensing after 25 years 14:11 Chinese silver imports surge and solar demand at 20 per cent of supply 16:36 COMEX vault drawdowns and paper leverage at 7.6 to 1 19:00 Three signal framework for silver and stocks 22:47 Volatility warning and risk management guidance Sources mentioned: Bank for International Settlements (Basel 3), https://www.bis.org Silver Institute (World Silver Survey), https://www.silverinstitute.org COMEX (CME Group), https://www.cmegroup.com Bloomberg, https://www.bloomberg.com Brinks, https://www.brinks.com Felix Nikolas Prehn is an economist and former investment banker. He co-founded TradeVision.io and founded Winston Daily and The Prehn Institute. The Prehn Institute gives no financial advice, and neither does this podcast. Newsletter: Winston Daily, https://winstondaily.com Research: https://prehninstitute.com Author site: https://felixprehn.com Support the show 👉 Claim 99% Off the Financial Freedom Program. Use coupon 99PC at checkout https://felixfriends.org/stocks

    Silver To S&P 500 Ratio: Why It Signals A Historic Low
  3. 4d ago

    Petrodollar System: Saudi Arabia, Gold And The Dollar

    The petrodollar system built in 1974 tied Saudi oil sales to the dollar and recycled the proceeds into American assets. Felix Nikolas Prehn explains how the recent missile strike on Riyadh's main airport has accelerated a quiet shift in Saudi Arabia's security and financial alignments. With defence pacts now signed with Turkey and Pakistan, and calls going to Paris and Islamabad rather than Washington, the episode examines whether the other side of the original bargain still holds. It covers Saudi Arabia's sale of roughly 11 billion dollars in US treasuries in a single month, the fixed riyal peg maintained since 1986, the mBridge payment system that bypasses the dollar, and central banks continuing to buy gold through its worst quarter since 2013. Prehn argues the key signal to watch is Saudi Arabia's official gold reserves, a number that has barely moved for years but may soon start climbing. In this episode: 00:00 Missile strike on Riyadh airport and US response 00:57 Origins of the 1974 petrodollar arrangement 04:07 The Saudi riyal peg and foreign reserves 06:30 Saudi treasury sales and shifting alliances 07:48 Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea and shipping costs 09:07 mBridge and alternatives to dollar settlement 10:18 Central banks buying gold into a downturn 10:59 Portfolio checks for oil shock exposure Sources mentioned: The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), https://www.sama.gov.sa mBridge (BIS project), https://www.bis.org Felix Nikolas Prehn is an economist and former investment banker. He co-founded TradeVision.io and founded Winston Daily and The Prehn Institute. The Prehn Institute gives no financial advice, and neither does this podcast. Newsletter: Winston Daily, https://winstondaily.com Research: https://prehninstitute.com Author site: https://felixprehn.com Support the show 👉 Claim 99% Off the Financial Freedom Program. Use coupon 99PC at checkout https://felixfriends.org/stocks

    Petrodollar System: Saudi Arabia, Gold And The Dollar
  4. 6d ago

    Japan Bond Crisis And The Dollar: Why Gold Is Not Ready

    Japan's 30-year government bond yield hit a record 4.18 per cent, a event Felix Nikolas Prehn argues is a dress rehearsal for what awaits the United States and other heavily indebted economies. The episode traces the so-called widow maker trade, which bet against Japanese bonds for three decades and has now finally paid off, wiping more than 200 billion dollars from Japanese equities in a single session. Prehn draws parallels between today's AI-driven speculation and the NASDAQ bubble of 2000, noting that global yields have reached levels not seen since 2007 or earlier. He examines how the dollar has lost roughly 88 per cent of its purchasing power since 1971 and warns that the paper gold market carries far more claims than physical metal in vaults. Many gold funds, he notes, hold no actual bars, leaving holders with promises rather than protection. In this episode: 00:00 Japan's 30-year bond yield hits an all-time high of 4.18 per cent 01:00 The widow maker trade finally pays off after three decades 05:02 How the Bank of Japan suppressed rates by buying its own debt 06:02 The yen weakens as the price of sustained money printing 07:02 AI capital spending collides with rising global interest rates 08:04 Parallels between today's valuations and the NASDAQ 2000 crash 10:05 US 30-year yields touch 5.3 per cent amid a global bond sell-off 12:09 The dollar has lost 88 per cent of purchasing power since 1971 Sources mentioned: Financial Times (global bond sell-off reporting), https://www.ft.com Warren Buffett (referenced via associate remarks on internet bubble) Kevin Warsh (Federal Reserve) Felix Nikolas Prehn is an economist and former investment banker. He co-founded TradeVision.io and founded Winston Daily and The Prehn Institute. The Prehn Institute gives no financial advice, and neither does this podcast. Newsletter: Winston Daily, https://winstondaily.com Research: https://prehninstitute.com Author site: https://felixprehn.com Support the show 👉 Claim 99% Off the Financial Freedom Program. Use coupon 99PC at checkout https://felixfriends.org/stocks

    Japan Bond Crisis And The Dollar: Why Gold Is Not Ready

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Felix Nikolas Prehn is an economist and former investment banker. Felix — alongside his golden retriever Winston — interprets the economy and markets.

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