Zineb ARAQI, Author at SimTrade blog

How to stay up to date with financial news

December 12, 2025 by Zineb ARAQI

In this article, Zineb ARAQI (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA), 2021-2025) shares advice about how to keep up with financial news for all aspiring finance professionals.

Why It Is Important to Stay Up to Date with Financial News

Financial news is the lens through which we understand how the world’s economies, companies, and markets evolve. Every major financial decision from central bank rate changes to corporate mergers or geopolitical shocks has immediate and long-term effects on asset prices and business trends. Staying informed allows you to interpret these signals early, understand their implications, and make better strategic decisions.

For aspiring finance professionals, this habit is essential. Recruiters expect candidates to follow markets closely and to demonstrate an ability to connect recent news to broader macroeconomic themes. Whether you are preparing for interviews in investment banking, private equity, asset management, consulting, or fintech, the ability to discuss current events intelligently can significantly strengthen your profile. Beyond interviews, developing strong market awareness helps you stand out in internships and early career roles, where teams rely on juniors who can quickly contextualize news and anticipate its impact on clients, sectors, or investment strategies.

How to Stay Up to Date with Financial News

A practical guide to staying informed in fast-moving markets

Why Staying Informed Matters

Financial markets evolve at incredible speed. A policy announcement, an earnings release, or a geopolitical event can move markets within minutes, shaping investment decisions, risk perception, and overall confidence. Staying updated is essential for investors, analysts, entrepreneurs, and business leaders, and it is especially critical for students who aspire to build a career in finance.

For future financiers, staying informed is non-negotiable. Whether you aim to work in investment banking, private equity, asset management, consulting, or sustainable finance, you will be expected to understand market trends, macroeconomic developments, and sector dynamics. Interviewers routinely test candidates on their financial awareness, and teams rely on juniors who can connect the dots between daily news and strategic decisions. Developing this habit early provides a strong competitive advantage and prepares you for the fast-paced environment of modern finance.

Use Traditional Media

Newspapers

Established financial newspapers remain among the most reliable sources for in-depth reporting, analysis, and opinion pieces.

Financial Times – excellent global coverage and ESG/sustainable finance insights.
The Wall Street Journal – strong focus on U.S. markets and corporate news.
Les Échos – the go-to source for French and European economic updates.

Digital Tools & Apps

Digital platforms offer free and accessible ways to follow markets on the go.

Google Finance – clean dashboards for watchlists and news.
Yahoo Finance – good for company pages and basic charts.
Investing.com – economic calendars, real-time quotes, and commodity data.
MarketWatch – accessible journalism and market commentary.

Subscribe to Quality Newsletters

Newsletters provide concise daily updates that fit easily into your morning routine.

Bloomberg – “Five Things to Start Your Day” – short, sharp, and market-focused.
FT Moral Money – For sustainable finance and ESG trends.
Morning Brew (Markets) – fun and accessible, it is a great source for beginners.
The Economist Weekly – broader macro and geopolitical analysis.

Listen to Podcasts & Watch Videos

Audio and video formats are perfect for learning while commuting, cooking, or working out.

Bloomberg Surveillance – expert interviews and macroeconomic analysis.
FT News Briefing – a concise summary of global business news.
Planet Money (NPR) – accessible, entertaining explanations of complex topics.
CNBC Squawk – real-time market commentary.

Follow Trusted Sources on Social Media

Social media delivers information in real time, but the key is following verified and credible accounts.

Twitter/X: Bloomberg Markets, Reuters Business, Holger Zschaepitz, Morgan Stanley Research.
LinkedIn: Economists, asset managers, and thought leaders.
YouTube: Bloomberg, WSJ, CFA Institute, finance educators.

The Jamie Dimon Way: How a Top CEO Stays Informed

One of the most respected figures in global finance, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase has built a disciplined routine around staying informed. His approach is simple but extremely rigorous: every morning, he wakes up before 5 a.m. and reads multiple newspapers in a precise order to get a balanced, global perspective.

Dimon has shared in interviews that he starts with The Washington Post and The New York Times to understand national headlines and political dynamics. He then moves to The Wall Street Journal for corporate and market-focused coverage. Finally, he reads the Financial Times for a more international and less U.S.-centric viewpoint. On weekends, he adds The Economist, which he considers essential for deep macroeconomic and geopolitical insights.

Beyond what he reads, Dimon’s philosophy is equally revealing. He avoids distractions, rarely checks his phone during the day, and refuses to let notifications drive his attention. Instead, he prioritizes thoughtful reading, focused work, and long-term thinking.

For students and young professionals aiming for a career in finance, Dimon’s approach offers a clear lesson: serious finance careers require serious information habits. The ability to understand market movements, connect events across regions, and think strategically starts with a consistent, deliberate daily routine grounded in high-quality, diverse sources of information.

How I Stay Informed

As a finance student preparing for interviews, case studies, and technical assessments, staying informed quickly became a daily habit rather than an academic requirement. During my time at ESSEC, and later through interviews for finance roles, I realized that strong market awareness often makes the difference between a good candidate and an outstanding one.

To keep up, every morning, I scan the Financial Times to get a first sense of macroeconomic movements, overnight market performance, and key corporate stories. I then check Yahoo Finance to review charts, earnings updates, and sector-specific developments. Throughout the day, I rely on newsletters such as Bloomberg’s “Five Things to Start Your Day” and FT Moral Money for ESG trends, which are particularly relevant to my academic and professional interests.

My commute has also become part of my learning routine. When I take the tube, I often listen to The Clark Howard Podcast, a show focused on personal finance, smart money habits, and consumer insights. Although it is not a markets podcast, it helps me better understand everyday financial decisions, interest rates, and economic trends from a practical perspective. It is one of the easiest ways to stay informed without feeling like I’m “studying,” and it keeps me grounded in real-world financial thinking even during busy weeks.

Before interviews, I also prepare short summaries on major themes such as inflation trends, geopolitical risks, and standout M&A deals. This practice not only helped me perform well during recruiting processes, but also strengthened my analytical thinking and confidence when discussing financial topics with professionals.

Staying informed, for me is about building intuition. Over time, this routine has helped me better understand how markets react, how narratives evolve, and how events connect across regions. It is a habit that continues to shape my education and my career aspirations in finance.

Conclusion

Staying up to date with financial news does not require hours of daily reading. With the right combination of traditional media, digital tools, and consistent habits, you can easily stay informed and understand the major trends shaping markets. Start small, be consistent, and over time you will build strong financial awareness that gives you a real edge in both academic and professional settings.

Useful resources

About the author

This article was written in December 2025 by Zineb ARAQI (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA), 2021–2025).

▶ Read all articles by Zineb ARAQI.

My Apprenticeship Experience at Capgemini Invent

December 9, 2025 by Zineb ARAQI

In this article, Zineb ARAQI (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA), 2021-2025) shares her experience as an apprentice at Capgemini Invent within the Data & AI practice for Financial Services, where she contributed to major digital transformation programs across global banking institutions.

About the company

Capgemini Invent is the digital innovation, design and transformation brand of the Capgemini Group. Created in 2018, it combines strategy, technology, data, and creative design to help organizations reinvent their business models. Capgemini Invent operates in more than 30 countries and brings together over 10,000 consultants, data scientists, designers, and industry experts.

Capgemini Invent works at the intersection of strategy and execution, supporting clients through their end-to-end transformation journeys. Its expertise spans digital transformation, artificial intelligence, cloud modernization, sustainability strategy, customer experience, and data-driven operating models.

Within the wider Capgemini Group (over 340,000 employees worldwide), Invent plays a critical role in bridging management consulting with advanced technological execution. This unique positioning allows consultants to work on strategic topics while staying close to the technical realities of implementation, particularly in fast-evolving domains like AI, data governance, and digital banking.

Logo of Capgemini.
Logo Capgemini
Source: Capgemini Invent

About the department: Data & AI for Financial Services

I completed my apprenticeship within the Data & AI Financial Services practice, the division supporting major French and international banks in their data strategy and AI-driven transformation. This department works closely with Chief Data Officers (CDOs), Chief Analytics Officers, and executive committees to design, deploy, and govern enterprise-wide data architectures and AI solutions.

During my apprenticeship, I worked on strategic missions covering Europe, Middle East, and Africa, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Our team addressed high-impact topics such as data governance, regulatory compliance and Environmental, Social, and Governance reporting, customer intelligence, risk modelling, AI use-case acceleration, cloud migration, and the operationalization of large-scale data platforms. The practice serves flagship clients across retail banking, corporate & investment banking, insurance, and payments.

My apprenticeship experience at Capgemini Invent

My Missions

Throughout my apprenticeship, I contributed to large digital transformation programs for top French banks. My work spanned across all regions, EMEA, the Americas, and Asia reflecting the global scale of modern banking operations and the cross-regional governance challenges faced by CDOs.

My missions included:

Supporting Chief Data Officers in defining and implementing enterprise-wide data governance frameworks (metadata, lineage, quality, operating models).
Designing AI use-case portfolios, including prioritization matrices, feasibility assessments, and Return on Investment evaluations for retail and corporate banking.
Analyzing cross-regional data issues across APAC, the Americas, and EMEA to harmonize data standards and reporting structures.
Contributing to ESG & sustainable finance reporting, helping banks adapt to emerging CSRD (the EU’s new mandatory sustainability reporting directive), TNFD (the global framework for nature-related risk disclosures) and ESRS (the detailed European sustainability reporting standards) requirements using improved data pipelines.
Supporting cloud transformation initiatives by assessing data migration readiness and defining new operating models for data platforms.
Supporting cloud transformation initiatives by assessing data migration readiness and defining new operating models for data platforms.
Building dashboards and analytics tools using SQL, PowerBI, and Python to transform raw data into clear insights that support risk, compliance, and business teams in their decision-making.

These projects exposed me to the complexity of financial data ecosystems, the challenges of legacy infrastructures, and the role of AI in reshaping operational models at scale.

Required skills and knowledge

Working at the intersection of consulting, data governance, and financial services required a combination of analytical, technical, and communication skills. On the technical side, I relied on knowledge of banking business lines (retail, Corporate & Investment Banking, payments), data modelling fundamentals, SQL, cloud concepts, and AI/ML logic. Understanding regulatory frameworks and risk data aggregation standards was essential, especially when advising CDOs on compliance or data lineage workflows.

Soft skills were equally important: client communication, structured problem-solving, stakeholder management, and the ability to translate complex data topics into actionable recommendations. Working across multiple regions strengthened my adaptability and cross-cultural communication, as I collaborated with teams in Europe, the U.S., and Asia.

What I learned

This apprenticeship taught me how central data has become to the competitiveness and resilience of financial institutions. I learned how banks leverage data to enhance customer experience, reduce risk, improve compliance, and accelerate digital transformation. I also gained firsthand exposure to how global banks structure their operating models, from governance to platforms to analytics, and how AI can be responsibly integrated into decision-making processes.

Most importantly, working with CDO organizations helped me understand the strategic importance of data leadership and the challenges of transforming legacy institutions into data-driven organizations. This experience reinforced my interest in financial technology, analytics, and sustainable finance.

Business concepts related to my internship

I present below three financial, economic, and management concepts related to my apprenticeship. These concepts illustrate how data strategy, regulatory expectations, and AI-driven transformation shape the operating models of large financial institutions and how my work experience aligned with these challenges.

Data Governance and Regulatory Compliance (BCBS 239, CSRD, ESRS)

During my missions, the concept of data governance was central. Financial institutions operate under strict regulatory expectations such as BCBS 239 (risk data aggregation), CSRD (corporate sustainability reporting), and ESRS (European sustainability standards). These frameworks require banks to demonstrate full control of their data including lineage, quality, documentation, accessibility in order to produce reliable regulatory reports. My role consisted in helping banking groups structure governance models, build data quality controls, and harmonize data definitions across regions. This concept is at the heart of banking transformation, as regulatory pressure and data modernization are now inseparable.

AI Use-Case Prioritization and ROI Evaluation

A second concept I applied throughout my apprenticeship is the prioritization of AI use-cases based on business value, feasibility, and risk. Banks often have dozens of potential AI initiatives, but only a fraction deliver measurable Return on Investment (ROI). My work involved constructing prioritization matrices, evaluating data readiness, estimating financial impact, and supporting executive committees in building realistic AI roadmaps. This required balancing quantitative evaluation (cost savings, efficiency gains) with qualitative factors (regulatory risk, bias mitigation, ethical constraints). This concept is fundamental to ensuring that AI programs are scalable, responsible, and aligned with strategic objectives.

Operating Model Transformation for Data Platforms and Cloud Migration

The third concept closely linked to my missions is the transformation of operating models for data platforms migrating to the cloud. Banks are progressively replacing legacy infrastructure with modern cloud-based architectures to improve scalability, reduce costs, and accelerate analytics capabilities. My work consisted in assessing migration readiness, defining roles and responsibilities, and designing new governance processes adapted to cloud environments. This concept is essential because technology alone cannot transform an organization, it must be accompanied by clear processes, change management, and redesigned workflows.

About the author

This article was written in December 2025 by Zineb ARAQI (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA), 2021–2025).

▶ Read all articles by Zineb ARAQI.

My internship Experience at Bloomberg

December 8, 2025November 28, 2025 by Zineb ARAQI

In this article, Zineb ARAQI (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA), 2021-2025) shares her professional experience as a Summer Intern at Bloomberg LP within the Sales & Analytics department

About the company

Bloomberg L.P. is a leading global provider of financial data, analytics, media and software services. The firm was co-founded on October 1, 1981 by Michael Bloomberg along with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan and Charles Zegar. Headquartered in the Bloomberg Tower at 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, the company has expanded massively since its founding, as of 2025, it operates globally with over 26,000 employees across roughly 159 offices in more than 69 countries.

One unique aspect of Bloomberg L.P. is that it is a privately held company. It has never gone through an IPO and remains majority-owned by Michael Bloomberg. Being non-public allows Bloomberg to focus on long-term strategic goals rather than quarterly earnings pressure, reinvesting heavily in data innovation, infrastructure, and client service.

Bloomberg’s flagship product is the Bloomberg Terminal, a real-time financial data and analytics platform that remains central to the workflows of banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and other institutional investors worldwide. The Terminal enables users to access live market data, historical price series, fixed-income yield curves, equity and credit analytics, news feeds, messaging.

Fun fact: The Bloomberg terminal pioneered real-time communication in financial markets with the launch of IB Chats.

Over time, Bloomberg has diversified beyond terminals. The group now encompasses a broad media and information-services ecosystem: a global news agency, television and radio networks, newsletters, and research & analytics services for legal, tax, government, and energy sectors.

Financially, Bloomberg remains a powerhouse in its industry. The company’s main competitors in the financial information & analytics industry include Refinitiv, FactSet Research Systems, Dow Jones & Company, and other specialized vendors such as Capital IQ. However, the terminal has been deeply embedded in financial institutions for decades. It’s breadth of data, analytics, and real-time functionality make it the most comprehensive and indispensable platform in the industry

Thanks to its combination of real-time data services, analytics platforms, global media reach, and multi-asset coverage, Bloomberg L.P. occupies a central place in financial markets infrastructure powering investment decisions, regulatory research, corporate finance, media coverage and more.

Beyond its core business, Bloomberg is also recognized for its major contribution to global philanthropy through Bloomberg Philanthropies. Founded by Michael Bloomberg, the foundation donates billions of dollars to public health, climate action, education, the arts, and government innovation. It is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world. In 2024, Bloomberg Philantropies invested $3.7 billion around the world. Over his lifetime, Mike has so far given $21.1 billion to philanthropy.

Logo of Bloomberg.

Source: the company.

I completed a 10-week internship in Bloomberg’s Sales & Analytics department, at the very heart of global capital markets. Sales & Analytics departments, are often called the bread and butter of the company

This division sits at the heart of Bloomberg’s business model, as it supports clients using the Bloomberg Terminal and ensures they can fully leverage its data, analytics, and market intelligence. During my internship, I rotated between the Sales and Analytics teams, which allowed me to understand both the technical problem-solving side and the commercial relationship-building side of the job. We also followed intensive finance and product courses, giving all interns, regardless of previous background, a strong foundation. One of the aspects I loved most was the diversity of profiles in the cohort: many interns came from humanities or non-quantitative degrees and had never touched a terminal before, yet the team valued curiosity, communication, and adaptability just as much as financial knowledge. This made the experience dynamic, collaborative, and intellectually stimulating.

My internship experience as a summer intern at Bloomberg HQ, London

My Missions

From day one, I was immersed in a fast-paced, data-driven environment where real-time information, market microstructure, and client strategy intersect. The internship, ranked among Glassdoor’s Best Internships for 2025, gave me direct exposure to the workflows of traders, portfolio managers, and investment strategists across multiple asset classes.

Throughout the summer, I supported clients across Fixed Income, Equities, and FX, analysing their use cases to optimise workflows on the Bloomberg Terminal. I handled incoming requests, troubleshot data discrepancies, mapped liquidity fragmentation across venues, and helped clients interpret complex analytics such as yield curve construction, fair-value curves, relative-value screens, and multi-factor equity models. Working in real time with market participants strengthened my ability to think fast, communicate clearly, and translate technical concepts into actionable insights for users.

I also worked on several technical initiatives. I placed second in the BQuant project by engineering a Python model to forecast dividend behaviour using historical regimes, percentile-based distributions, volatility clustering patterns, and price-dividend spread diagnostics. With my team, I also developed a UN SDGs portfolio alignment tool, building a scoring engine that maps holdings to SDG targets using company-level disclosures, sector baselines, and ESG controversy filters helping portfolio managers assess the sustainability profile of their books.

On the product side, I pitched a feature enhancement for the Terminal: an audio-pronunciation function for client names to support global coverage teams and reduce communication friction. The proposal was selected for implementation after technical feasibility review. I additionally explored workflow gaps between Sales and Enterprise Solutions, analysing how data pipelines, entitlement systems, and API usage influence client onboarding and retention.

Beyond the technical work, the internship offered unforgettable moments: meeting Mike Bloomberg, attending senior leadership sessions on data, AI, and market evolution, and joining client visits to observe how relationships are built at scale in a highly competitive industry. This experience placed me at the intersection of analytics, markets, and client strategy, sharpening both my technical capabilities and my commercial intuition.

Required skills and knowledge

My role required a combination of hard and soft skills. On the technical side, a strong understanding of capital markets was essential particularly yield curve mechanics, equity valuation logic, and the functioning of foreign exchange markets. I relied heavily on analytical skills to diagnose client issues, read market diagnostics, and navigate complex datasets across functions like YAS (bond pricing), EQS (equity screening), and FXFM (FX forwards). In parallel, I needed strong communication skills to articulate solutions clearly, ask precise diagnostic questions, and adapt technical explanations to traders, PMs, or analysts under time pressure. The role also required resilience, curiosity, and the ability to build trust quickly with clients. This combination of market knowledge, fast problem-solving, and client-centric communication was central to succeeding in Sales & Analytics.

What I learned

The internship taught me the importance of deep technical knowledge when speaking to clients, especially traders who rely on speed and accuracy. I learned how the Bloomberg Terminal integrates data, analytics, and market infrastructure into a seamless workflow, and how small optimizations can materially improve a client’s decision-making process. I also discovered the strategic role of Sales & Analytics in connecting client needs with product development, which reinforced my interest in financial technology and market analytics.

Financial concepts related to my internship

I present below three financial concepts related to my internship. These concepts reflect the analytical tools and market mechanisms I interacted with daily, and demonstrate how my work required understanding both financial theory and real-world applications.

Yield Curves and Term Structure of Interest Rates

A major part of supporting Fixed Income clients involved helping them analyse the term structure of interest rates. I frequently used the Bloomberg function YCRV, which constructs and visualizes sovereign yield curves using benchmark bonds or swaps. Understanding the shape of the curve upward sloping, flat, or inverted allowed clients to assess market expectations for inflation, monetary policy, and recession risk. My role was to explain how yield curves are calibrated, why certain instruments are used as pillars, and how shifts in the curve affect duration, convexity, and bond valuation. This concept was central to my interactions with rates traders and portfolio managers.

Relative Value Analysis in Equities

Equity clients often asked about screening methods to identify mispriced securities. I worked extensively with EQRV (Equity Relative Value), which compares companies across valuation metrics such as EV/EBITDA, P/E ratios, or free-cash-flow yield. Mastering this concept was essential to explain how traders and analysts use relative value strategies to detect pricing discrepancies within a sector or region. My work involved guiding clients through constructing peer sets, interpreting valuation z-scores, and integrating forward earnings revisions into their screens, illustrating how quantitative equity analysis informs investment decisions.

FX Forward Pricing and Interest Rate Parity

In FX, one of the most frequent topics was the pricing of forward contracts. Using functions like FXFW and FXFM, I helped clients compute forward points, measure carry, and understand deviations from covered interest rate parity. The concept links interest rate differentials to expected currency movements and determines the fair value of forward exchange rates. My role required explaining how forward curves are built, how central bank rate expectations feed into pricing, and why liquidity varies across tenors. This concept was crucial when assisting FX traders and corporate clients in hedging currency exposures.

Useful resources

Bloomberg

Bloomberg Rates & Bonds

Bloomberg Currency Implied Yield Indices Methodology (PDF)

Bloomberg Global roles

Bloomberg Bloomberg Philanthropies

Corporate Finance Institute Bloomberg functions & shortcuts list

Financial data

LSEG (Refinitv)

Factset

Dow Jones & company

Internships

Glassdoor A Guide to the Best Internships

About the author

The article was written in November 2025 by Zineb ARAQI (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA), 2021-2025).

▶ Read all articles by Zineb ARAQI.

Why It Is Important to Stay Up to Date with Financial News

How to Stay Up to Date with Financial News

Why Staying Informed Matters

Use Traditional Media

Newspapers

Digital Tools & Apps

Subscribe to Quality Newsletters

Listen to Podcasts & Watch Videos

Follow Trusted Sources on Social Media

The Jamie Dimon Way: How a Top CEO Stays Informed

How I Stay Informed

Conclusion

Useful resources

Newspapers

Digital Platforms & Apps

Newsletters

Podcasts & Video Channels

Social Media

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

About the author

About the company

About the department: Data & AI for Financial Services

My apprenticeship experience at Capgemini Invent

My Missions

Required skills and knowledge

What I learned

Business concepts related to my internship

Data Governance and Regulatory Compliance (BCBS 239, CSRD, ESRS)

AI Use-Case Prioritization and ROI Evaluation

Operating Model Transformation for Data Platforms and Cloud Migration

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

About the author

About the company

My internship experience as a summer intern at Bloomberg HQ, London

My Missions

Required skills and knowledge

What I learned

Financial concepts related to my internship

Yield Curves and Term Structure of Interest Rates

Relative Value Analysis in Equities

FX Forward Pricing and Interest Rate Parity

Related posts on the SimTrade blog

Professional experiences

Financial techniques

Financial data

Useful resources

Bloomberg

Financial data

Internships

About the author