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☆ A Strong U.S. Dollar Weighs on the World
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Joe Rennison | Karl Russell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Every major currency in the world has fallen against the U.S. dollar this year, an unusually broad shift with the potential for serious consequences across the global economy. Two-thirds of the roughly 150 currencies tracked by Bloomberg have weakened against the dollar, whose recent strength stems from a shift in expectations about when and by how much the Federal Reserve may cut its benchmark interest rate, which sits around a 20-year high. High Fed rates, a response to stubborn inflation, mean that American assets offer better returns than much of the world, and investors need dollars to buy them. In recent months, money has flowed into the United States with a force that’s being felt by policymakers, politicians and people from Brussels to Beijing, Toronto to Tokyo. The dollar index, a common way to gauge the general strength of the U.S. currency against a basket of its major trading partners, is hovering at levels last seen in the early 2000s (when U.S. interest rates were also similarly high).

Organizations: U.S, Bloomberg, Federal Locations: United States, Brussels, Beijing, Toronto, Tokyo

As sales of Teslas drop and demand for electric vehicles cools — even as more models enter the market — an increasing number of automakers are competing for a slice of a shrinking pie. Nearly 269,000 electric vehicles were sold in the United States in the first three months of this year, according to Kelley Blue Book. And amid the quarter-to-quarter slowdown in the industry, Tesla’s market share has fallen from 62 percent at the start of 2023 to 51 percent now. Elon Musk told employees on Monday that Tesla would cut 10 percent of its work force. Investors, in turn, have been spooked: Tesla’s stock price has dropped over 30 percent this year, erasing billions of dollars in market capitalization.

Persons: Kelley, Elon Musk, Tesla Locations: United States

☆ These Seven Tech Stocks Are Driving the Market
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Karl Russell | Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

These Seven Tech Stocks Are Driving the MarketThe S&P 500 is at a new high, and investors have just a handful of stocks to thank for it. Market value of S&P 500 companies These seven companies account for 29% of the S&P 500’s market value Alphabet $1.8 tril. Amgen Linde Qualcomm Intel Pfizer These seven companies account for 29% of the S&P 500’s market value Market value of S&P 500 companies Thermo Fisher Scientific McDonald's Cisco Sys. Berkshire Hathaway UnitedHealth Costco These seven companies account for 29% of the S&P 500’s market value Market value of S&P 500 companies Thermo Fisher Scientific Abbott Labs. Indeed, based on price alone, the seven big tech stocks were not the best performing in the S&P 500.

Persons: Jan, it’s, Berkshire Hathaway Tesla, Health Eli Lilly, Johnson Procter, Netflix Walt Disney, Amgen Linde, Wells, Merck Mastercard Eli Lilly Johnson, Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway, Wells Fargo Walt Disney Pfizer Amgen, Phillips Goldman, Mastercard Eli Lilly Abbvie Johnson, Chase Organizations: Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, Berkshire, JPMorgan Chase United, Health, Broadcom Johnson, Gamble Exxon Mobil Home Depot Mastercard Costco Walmart Oracle Merck Accenture, Mobile Wells Fargo PepsiCo Comcast, Intuit, Fisher, Netflix Walt, Netflix Walt Disney Cisco Sys, Verizon Abbott Labs, Amgen, Amgen Linde Qualcomm Intel Pfizer, Cisco Sys, Abbott Labs, Accenture Netflix Linde Intel PepsiCo Oracle Walmart, Wells Fargo Walt Disney Qualcomm, Mobile Comcast Intuit, Verizon, Pfizer, Merck Mastercard, Johnson Nvidia, Visa Exxon Mobil Apple, Broadcom, JPMorgan, JPMorgan Chase Procter, Gamble, Costco, Fisher Scientific Abbott Labs, Cisco Systems Accenture PepsiCo, Netflix Linde Intel Oracle Walmart, Wells Fargo Walt Disney Pfizer, Mobile, Comcast Intuit Verizon Qualcomm Amazon, Merck Uber Tech, P Global American, Phillips Goldman Sachs IBM UPS Honeywell Boeing, Mastercard, Adobe Exxon Mobil Apple, Broadcom Chevron Home, Micro Devices, Chase Procter, Berkshire Hathaway UnitedHealth Bank of America Costco, Royal, General, Amazon, Big Tech, IBM, Exxon, General Electric, & & + + + Locations: Berkshire, Royal Caribbean

Already, it was the biggest weekend haul in North America since 2019, and the fourth-largest ever, before adjusting for inflation. The weekend was also noteworthy for its variety, with “Barbie” collecting $162 million, “Oppenheimer” $82.4 million and the rest of the features, including “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” and “Sound of Freedom,” adding nearly $70 million. Typically, the biggest weekends for domestic ticket sales have been dominated by a single blockbuster. During the highest grossing weekend, in April 2019, “Avengers: Endgame” accounted for nearly 90 percent of the box office. “Barbie,” by comparison, accounted for just over half of the box office over the weekend.

Persons: “ Barbie, “ Oppenheimer, ”, ’, “ Barbie ” Organizations: Hollywood, “ Locations: North America

☆ It’s a World of Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Karl Russell | Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

From Melbourne to Manchester to Miami, people are struggling under the weight of hefty price increases for the things they buy each day. The worst spike in inflation that many advanced economies have seen in decades underscores the global forces driving prices higher, namely the disruptions set in motion by the coronavirus pandemic. The stakes are high for policymakers around the world, who are facing similar problems. To try to get inflation under control, central bankers have rapidly lifted interest rates, trying to slow their economies in hopes of cooling prices.

Locations: Melbourne, Manchester, Miami

☆ The Greatest Wealth Transfer in History Is Here, With Familiar (Rich) Winners
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Talmon Joseph Smith | Karl Russell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Pearl has two young adult sons with trust funds in the “seven figures.” He is also the chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, a nonprofit group of well-heeled Americans pushing for the wealthy to pay much more in taxes. “I have right now in my stock portfolio, some stock that my wife’s father, who died a long time ago, bought in the 1970s — that investment has gone from a few thousand dollars to many hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Mr. Pearl noted. “You just loan yourself money,” he explained, and in many if not most cases, the portfolio’s rate of return exceeds the rate of interest on the loan. Mr. Pearl doesn’t think the U.S. government “needs more money from rich people” to fund itself. Rather, his support for reforming the tax system arises from his belief that the rich have begun to monopolize resources and opportunity in a way that jeopardizes social stability and economic growth.

First Republic Bank was forced to seek a lifeline this week, receiving tens of billions of dollars from other banks. These are known as unrealized losses — they turn into real losses only if the banks have to sell the assets. +2 % 0 –4 First Republic Pacific Western Signature −8 Plotted quarterly ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 –4 Silicon Valley Western Alliance Zions −8 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 First Republic Pacific Western Signature –4 −8 Plotted quarterly ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 Silicon Valley Western Alliance Zions –4 −8 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 First Republic Pacific Western Signature –4 −8 Plotted quarterly ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 +2 % 0 Silicon Valley Western Alliance Zions –4 −8 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Note: Includes both “held-to-maturity” and “available-for-sale” securities, meaning both long- and short-term investments. Banks’ cash and noncash assets Plotted quarterly $200 billion Pacific Western Signature 150 100 First Republic 50 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 $200 billion Western Alliance Zions 150 100 50 Silicon Valley 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 Banks’ cash and noncash assets $200 billion Pacific Western Signature 150 100 50 First Republic 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 $200 billion Western Alliance Zions 150 100 50 Silicon Valley 0 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination CouncilMidsize banks like SVB do not have the same regulatory oversight as the nation’s biggest banks, who, among other provisions, are subject to tougher requirements to have a certain amount of reserves in moments of crisis. Last weekend, the Fed announced a program that offers loans of up to one year to banks using the banks’ government bonds and certain other assets as collateral.

☆ 3 Failed Banks This Year Were Bigger Than 25 That Crumbled in 2008
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Karl Russell | Christine Zhang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The three banks that failed this year were worth more in inflation-adjusted assets than the 25 that collapsed in 2008. Before Silicon Valley Bank, the last bank to fail was in late 2020, as the coronavirus was ravaging the country. First Republic Bank ranks 14th, Silicon Valley Bank ranks 16th and Signature Bank ranks 29th. Silicon Valley Bank’s chief executive, Greg Becker, was a strong supporter of the move. In a review of the Fed’s oversight of Silicon Valley Bank released on Friday, Michael S. Barr, the central bank’s vice chair for supervision, said the Fed would “re-evaluate” its rules for banks that were similar in size to Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ The Second-Biggest Bank Failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Karl Russell | Christine Zhang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

A bar chart of U.S. bank failures since 2001, showing that Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse was the second-biggest in U.S. history in terms of assets. Before Silicon Valley Bank, the last firm to fail was in late 2020, as the coronavirus was ravaging the country. It’s unclear whether the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will spread to the broader industry. Silicon Valley Bank 209 17. Silicon Valley Bank 209 Fifth Third Bank 17.

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