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April 2021 - A look back at the wildest quarter for dealing in memory.

Here are a few of the things that have happened as the first quarter of 2021 came to a close.

• The S and P hit a new record on Thursday, passing 4,000 points for the time, propelled by technology shares.
• Dealmaking had its strongest - ever start to the year, with deals worth $ 1.3tn agreed, more than any first quarter since the record began in 1980.
• Banks had their most lucrative quarter in at least 20 years, bringing in more than $ 37bn in total fees.
• Private equity groups raised more than $ 20bn in the US leveraged loan market in a fresh quarterly high, loading companies they own fresh debt to award themselves a bumper payday.
• Space raised more in under three months than they'd raised in an already heady 12 months in 2020.
• Ventures capitalists invested at a faster pace in more than a decade.
• The GameStop saga detached share prices from corporate realities, while the arches selling frenzy exposed how it's possible for a little-known family office t make incredible use of leverage, and Greensill capital administrator has failed to verify invoices underpinning loans to Sanjeev Gupta.