What's going on?

Data out this week showed that global dealmaking has fallen off a cliff.

What does this mean?

The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market began the summer on a record high, with eight back-to-back, breezy quarters of over $1 trillion in deals. But things have taken a turn since � and with only $640 billion in deals agreed since July began, we�re on track for M&A�s worst quarter since the pandemic brought dealmaking to a halt in 2020. �Disappointed but not surprised� � your parents� catchphrase when you were a teen � probably captures the world�s reaction to the news pretty accurately. After all, fears of a recession mean companies are feeling weak-kneed about making big purchases, and dented share prices mean they�d have to sacrifice more of their stock than usual as payment. On top of that, loans are increasingly hard to come by � and expensive even when they can be found.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: Expect deals to fail.
Even private equity firms � which buy up companies in the hope of improving and reselling them later on � have gone off the boil. Spurned by picky banks who are reluctant to fund their ventures, they�ve been turning to private lenders to plug the gap. Now, though, it�s clear that private lenders only have so much cash to give, and the spectacle of huge deals being delayed � or simply falling through � is becoming commonplace.

For markets: Asia�s holding firm.
The initial public offering market is in a similar sorry state at the minute but one way or another, Asia seems to be bucking the trend. This year, money raised through stock listings in Asia makes up a record 68% of the global total, versus a meager 14% in the US � traditionally the world�s busiest listings market. That said, some of Asia�s most impressive sums were raised by Chinese companies that got booted out of the US, like China Mobile and CNOOC.