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☆ First Republic Bank, which was downgraded to junk by S&P and Fitch, is looking at a possible sale: Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ratings agencies S&P Global and Fitch cut First Republic's credit rating to junk status. The bank is now considering various options, including a sale and boosting liquidity Bloomberg reported. The bank is expected to attract interest from larger lenders if it goes on sale, per Bloomberg. Ratings agencies S&P Global and Fitch had cut First Republic's credit rating to junk status earlier on Wednesday due to concerns that depositors could pull funds from the lender. First Republic Bank did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ What credit ratings have to do with the fallout at Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic — and why they matter so much to banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

As panic shoots across the banking sector, US banks' credit ratings have come under the spotlight, and investors are zooming in on how these institutions are graded. Moody's, S&P Global, and Fitch are three big credit ratings agencies that control about 95% of the credit ratings in the financial markets. In fact, during the global financial crisis, credit ratings agencies had been blasted for giving better ratings to risky mortgage-backed securities and collateralized loans. Fears of the crisis spreading have also hit the credit ratings of First Republic Bank. First Republic Bank is now considering various options —including a sale – Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

☆ First Republic Bank downgraded to junk by S&P and Fitch on risk of clients pulling deposits in the wake of SVB failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

First Republic Bank's credit ratings were cut to junk status at S&P Global and Fitch on Wednesday. Fitch said First Republic's deposits hold risks in concentrating on wealthy, coastal clients. The downgrades arrived during a frenzied time of trading in shares of First Republic Bank and other regional banks after last week's seizure of Silicon Valley Bank by regulators. S&P said all of its ratings on First Republic are on "negative" credit watch, signaling further downgrades are possible. Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings downgraded its long-term issuer default rating on First Republic to BB from A- and placed it and other ratings on negative watch.

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with KeyCorp CEO Chris Gorman
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with KeyCorp CEO Chris GormanKeyCorp CEO Chris Gorman joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss what his company is doing in light of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. He says that over the weekend, the bank actually had its biggest deposit growth year to date.

☆ Over the weekend our retail business had its biggest deposit growth year to date, says KeyBank CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailOver the weekend our retail business had its biggest deposit growth year to date, says KeyBank CEOKeyCorp CEO Chris Gorman joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss what his company is doing in light of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. He says that over the weekend, the bank actually had its biggest deposit growth year to date.

☆ 'No relation to SVB': India's SVC Bank acts to calm depositors amid brand name confusion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( M. Sriram | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, March 13 (Reuters) - A little-known Indian bank moved to assure depositors their money is safe after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in California caused confusion and concern due to a similarity in names. Over the weekend, India's SVC Co-operative Bank (SVC Bank), issued a statement and sent text messages in English and local Marathi language to its customers in Mumbai saying it has no relation to the U.S. lender. We are SVC Bank ... one of the leading & strongest cooperative banks in India with a legacy of 116 years." There were no scenes of panic at two SVC branches in Mumbai suburbs that Reuters visited on Monday, with account holders carrying on usual banking activities. "SVC Co-operative Bank Ltd. has no relation with Silicon Valley Bank in California," it stated.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has said the central bank may be at the end of its rate-rising cycle, there's a wide 'hawk-dove' divide within the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Canada on Wednesday became the first major central bank to pause its tightening campaign. "I don't think other major central banks are going to be able to match what the Fed is going to do. "The dollar can stay elevated as long as the Fed remains the most aggressive central bank in the world." Of course, central bank cycles don't always converge. Related columns:- Hedge funds record wager on higher 2-year U.S. bond yield- Rates market overshoot - or no man's land?

☆ POLL Global stocks to correct in short term as inflation weighs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Hari Kishan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary poll datahttp://tmsnrt.rs/2nHJiJ9BENGALURU, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Global stock markets are expected to correct in the next three months as investors digest the fact that interest rates are likely to stay higher for longer, according to a Reuters poll of equity analysts. The poll showed a majority would fall short, or just about recoup their 2022 losses by the end of the year. Stocks have rallied about 20% in recent months and some strategists say that the market has gone too far. "Valuations are stretched across equity markets after the rally year-to-date. A stronger 70% majority of analysts, 57 of 82, expected value stocks to outperform growth stocks this year.

☆ Morgan Stanley's Wilson warns stock market will retest October lows, could fall more than 20%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The equity strategist strategist said on CNBC's "Squawk Box " that the Fed will continue to hike rates through the spring and put the stock market's recent rally at risk. The strategist warned that the stock market could possibly fall more than 20% and see the the S & P 500 trade in a range of 3,000 to 3,300, and was in for "at least a retest of the October lows." The S & P 500 closed at 3,583 on Oct. 14, or 12.2% below its Friday close. He compared the stock market to mountain climbers who had gone too high on Mount Everest and entered the "death zone," with valuations hard to justify based on the outlook for earnings. Despite his cautious outlook, Wilson said that the stock market is not in for a multi-year rough patch.

☆ National Australia Bank cash profit jumps on loan growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Sameer Manekar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Q1 cash profit up 19%, beats estimatesLoan growth, high interest rates boost profitNet interest margin rises 12 bpsFeb 16 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank (NAB.AX) said on Thursday its first-quarter cash profit jumped 19%, helped by a rise in lending deposits for the country's second-largest bank. "The higher interest rate environment, resulting from central bank actions to curb inflation, has benefited our revenue this period," Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan said. However, speaking of higher interest rates, McEwan said it was "also causing economic growth and house prices to soften, and loan repayments to increase". The country's second-largest lender posted cash earnings of A$2.15 billion ($1.48 billion) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with A$1.80 billion a year ago. Analysts had expected cash earnings of $2.01 billion, according to Visible Alpha consensus.

☆ In 2022 inflation data trumped Fed comments for moving markets, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In terms of market moves, “the sheer volatility around each CPI release is remarkable” and reflects the magnitude of inflation surprises last year and how those unexpected readings changed the outlook for Fed policy, they wrote. Last year was the year the Fed got caught flatfooted by the highest levels of inflation seen in 40 years. Rates will almost certainly go up further this year even as inflation pressures are showing some initial signs of cooling. Among policymakers, the report found that remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Vice-Chair Lael Brainard and New York Fed leader John Williams had notable market impacts. The report did not rank the market impact of the 11 remaining regional Fed leaders, who speak with much greater frequency than Board members and even the New York Fed leader.

☆ New Year, new rally: Why bitcoin is up 26% this month after a tumultuous 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"The most important macro data investors are focussing on is the weak services PMI and the trending down of employment and wage data. 'Whales' buying BTCLarger purchasers of digital coins known as "whales" may be leading the latest rally in bitcoin, according to Kaiko. Several bitcoin miners have been flushed out by the drop in prices. Bitcoin miners, who use power-intensive machines to verify transactions and mint new tokens, have been squeezed by the slump in prices and rising energy costs. That's historically a good sign for bitcoin, according to Ayyar.

☆ TSX hits 4-week high as investors eye 'beaten-down' sectors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) ended up 42.56 points, or 0.2%, at 19,857.07, its highest closing level since Dec. 14. "Market moves on a day-to-day basis are very much being dictated by the inflation picture and central bank actions. That has not changed (from 2022)," said Elvis Picardo, portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth. It was up nearly 1% on Monday, while energy gained 0.6% as oil settled 1.2% higher at $74.63 a barrel. Oil rose after China reopened its borders, boosting the outlook for fuel demand.

☆ 'Bond King' Jeffrey Gundlach says the inflation threat is fading fast – and the Fed should end its interest-rate hikes now
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Billionaire investor Jeffrey Gundlach thinks the threat of inflation is quickly receding. He urged the Fed to stop hiking rates after Wednesday's move as there's been progress on inflation. The Fed isn't being transparent about its inflation target, Gundlach added, which he believes is "more like 3% now". With the economy weakening, I think the inflation rate is going to fall faster than most economists do," he added. "I secretly believe the Fed's inflation target is more like 3% now.

☆ Stolen checks, fraudulent activity: three major trade association PACs fell victim to theft in what's become a political epidemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

An Insider review of FEC filings shows that the National Association of Manufacturers' PAC reported eight instances of stolen and fraudulent checks and bank transfers, amounting to more than $10,000 in losses. Federal Election CommissionAnother trade association, the National Association of Home Builders, reported three instances of "fraudulent debit" during the 2021-2022 election cycle, amounting to more than $20,000 in lost funds. A filing with the FEC from the PAC of the National Association of Home Builders that details money lost from fraudulent disbursements. Federal Election CommissionThe National Association of Home Builders represents more than 140,000 members who construct close to 80% of all the new homes built in the US, per the association's website. The National Association of Home Builders did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ At November Fed meeting, officials flagged market resilience amid volatile conditions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Those concerns were aired in meeting minutes for the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee’s Nov. 1-2 policy meeting, released Wednesday. Thus far, the Treasury market, which serves as the backbone of the world’s credit system, has held together, although there has been ample concern about low liquidity that’s made trading difficult. Fed officials have thus far described the market as resilient. Fed staff briefing officials concurred,The minutes flagged recent events in Britain as a point of concern. The Fed's top financial stability official, Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr, last week told Congress he was worried about "blowback" to the wider financial system from crypto-related failures.

☆ Raymond James: Aggressive Fed poses risk to credit and liquidity
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRaymond James: Aggressive Fed poses risk to credit and liquiditySunaina Sinha Haldea, global head of private capital advisory at Raymond James, discusses the impact of central bank action on equities and the bond market.

☆ Canadian dollar forecasts cut as BoC trails Fed on peak-rate bets - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The currency has weakened over 7% against the U.S. dollar since the start of 2022. It was then expected to rally to 1.31 in a year, versus 1.30 expected in last month's poll. "That implied spread between terminal rates in Canada and the United States will probably have to widen out further and that could take the U.S. dollar higher across the board including against the Canadian dollar." Investors are betting on a terminal rate, or peak level for interest rates, from the BoC in the coming months of 4.25%. "We see less interest in investing money back into the ground in the oil patch when oil prices are high and so there's less room (for the currency) to fall when oil prices are low."

☆ Chinese state banks sold dollars to support yuan late on Tuesday - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The selling of dollars by state banks in early U.S. trading hours lifted the yuan, said one of the sources, noting the action took place in both onshore and offshore markets. The other source also spotted such state bank dollar selling in the onshore market late in the Asian day. The offshore yuan has been hitting successive record lows in recent sessions, reflecting a strengthening dollar and worries over a slowing Chinese economy. The yuan buying by state banks helped it crawl from a record low of 7.3746 per dollar to 7.3034. The onshore yuan bounced from a low of 7.31 to retrace almost all intraday losses following the state bank actions.

☆ European shares edge higher as investors await new UK fiscal plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Amruta Khandekar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The region-wide STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) was up 0.3%, extending gains for a third straight session. European equities have suffered losses in the recent weeks as investors fret about the prospects of a recession from aggressive central bank actions to tame inflation. Most STOXX 600 sectors were trading up, with energy stocks (.SXEP) up 0.6% as oil prices rose driven by hopes of better demand from China. The bank has agreed to pay $495 million to settle a case brought against it in the United States. read moreNel (NEL.OL) rose 7.3% after the Norwegian hydrogen company received a NOK 600 million ($56.4 million) order from Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) for a U.S. hydrogen project.

☆ EXCLUSIVE China's state banks seen acquiring dollars in swaps market to stabilise yuan - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Six banking sources told Reuters the country's major state-owned banks were spotted swapping yuan for U.S. dollars in the forwards market and selling those dollars in the spot market, a playbook move used by China in 2018 and 2019 as well. One of the sources noted the size of the dollar selling operation was "rather huge". "The big banks want to acquire dollar positions from the swap market to stabilise the spot market," said another source. State banks usually trade on behalf of the central bank in China's FX market, but they can also trade for their own purposes or execute orders for their corporate clients. At the same time, the move helps state banks to procure dollars at a time when rising U.S. yields have made dollars scarce and expensive.

☆ Exclusive: China's state banks seen acquiring dollars in swaps market to stabilise yuan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

One of the sources noted the size of the dollar selling operation was "rather huge". "The big banks want to acquire dollar positions from the swap market to stabilise the spot market," said another source. State banks usually trade on behalf of the central bank in China's FX market, but they can also trade for their own purposes or execute orders for their corporate clients. A third source noted that the state banks' trades appeared to be managed so that the country's closely-watched $3 trillion foreign exchange reserves will not be tapped for intervention. At the same time, the move helps state banks to procure dollars at a time when rising U.S. yields have made dollars scarce and expensive.

☆ China Q3 growth seen bouncing 3.4%, but 2022 set for worst performance in decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Growth is expected to pick up to 3.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing the 2022 pace to 3.2%, far below the official target of around 5.5%. Investors will look for policy signals from a historic congress of the ruling Communist Party due to start on Sunday. The expected 2022 growth would be lower than 4.0% analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll in July and 5.0% in April's forecast. The government is due to release third-quarter GDP data, along with Sept. activity data, on October 18 at 0200 GMT. Economic growth is forecast to quicken to 5.0% in 2023.

☆ India festival spending booms despite inflation worries, global slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The sales would include nearly $15.2 billion offline sales, compared to about $8.5 billion in 2019, according to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). read moreBut economists said the sense in India was that inflation has peaked while economic activity was picking up. The bump in consumer demand is expected to support economic growth of around 6.5% in the fiscal year ending March 2023, the highest among the world's major economies. Credit demand increases Credit demand increasesThe retail boom is also a boon for the government - goods and services tax collections, a barometer of consumer demand, rose 26% year-on-year in September, data showed. "After two consecutive downbeat festive seasons, consumer sentiment and spending appear to have rebounded this year... which may boost economic growth in the current quarter, but may not sustain thereafter."

☆ Central banks need to tighten further, argues economist
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCentral banks need to tighten further, argues economistDaniel Lacalle, chief economist at Tressis Gestion, gives his take on central bank action and how governments must tackle the precarious times ahead.

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