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☆ World stocks gyrate as bank contagion fears bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Koh Gui Qing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The growing sense of unease about the global banking system is heightening volatility in stock markets around the world," said Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, a financial advisor. The failure of U.S. regional banks Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) this month triggered fears of a banking contagion and prompted U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday to pledge action to safeguard bank deposits. JP Morgan Chase (JPM.N) dropped 1.52%, the S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) was down 0.33%, while the KBW regional bank index (.KRX) climbed 2.92%. "I don't expect this volatility (in bank stocks) to subside anytime soon," said Peter Doherty, head of investment research at private bank Arbuthnot Latham in London. Doherty said issues of "contagion risk within the U.S. banking sector" were undoubtedly weighing on appetite for bank stocks elsewhere.

☆ China's military says US warship illegally entered waters in South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, March 23 (Reuters) - China's military said on Thursday it monitored and drove away a U.S. destroyer that had illegally entered waters around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. In a statement, the military said without the approval of the government, the guided-missile destroyer Milius illegally intruded into China's territorial waters, undermining peace and stability in the busy waterway. "The theater forces will maintain a high state of alert at all times and take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security and peace and stability in the South China Sea," said Tian Junli, a spokesman for China's Southern Theatre Command. Tension between the United States and China has been growing in the area. The United States has been shoring up alliances in the Asia-Pacific seeking to counter China's assertiveness in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, as Beijing seeks to advance its territorial claims.

☆ Yellen says US banks shoring up liquidity to guard against runs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that banks across the United States are worried about contagion and have been shoring up liquidity to protect themselves from runs prompted by the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Yellen told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing that over the past two weeks, many mid-sized banks expressed "great concern" to the Treasury about their uninsured deposits. "Many of these banks felt very skittish about their potential to suffer runs as well," Yellen said. "We can see that banks across the country are shoring up their liquidity, they are very worried about contagion from the troubles of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. And the steps we took were designed to improve the confidence of all depositors that they're safe in banks."

[1/2] A screen displays the logo and trading information for GameStop on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidMarch 21 (Reuters) - GameStop Corp (GME.N) on Tuesday posted a surprise profit for the fourth quarter, its first since early 2021, as lower costs and job cuts padded the videogame retailer's bottom line, sending its shares nearly 50% higher in extended trading. The retailer posted an adjusted profit of 16 cents per share, compared with Wall Street expectations for a loss of 13 cents. The so-called "meme stock", which is the top trending ticker on retail trader forum Stocktwits, has declined 4% this year. Net profit for the quarter ended Jan. 29 was $48.2 million, compared with a loss of $147.50 million a year earlier.

Over the weekend, UBS (UBS.N) agreed to buy rival Credit Suisse for $3.23 billion, in a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities to avoid more market-shaking turmoil in global banking. U.S.-listed shares of Credit Suisse were down 58.4% in premarket trading and set to open at a fresh record low, while those of UBS were down 3.6%, as focus shifted to the hit to some Credit Suisse bondholders from the acquisition. "Investors are still worried about the banking industry, even though UBS has agreed to take over Credit Suisse. Regional bank First Republic Bank (FRC.N) was down 19.1% after paring some declines, while peer Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL.N) edged 0.7% lower. The S&P Banking index (.SPXBK) and the KBW Regional Banking index (.KRX) on Friday logged their largest two-week drop since March 2020.

☆ What happens during a ‘credit crunch’ — and how you can prepare for one
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

But what is a credit crunch and how might you prepare? Loans would be tougher to getDuring a credit crunch, banks significantly tighten their lending standards. Banks may prioritize a healthier balance sheetA credit crunch seems likely given banking woes that have unfurled over the past two weeks. A severe credit crunch isn't a foregone conclusion, though. How to prepare for a credit crunchThere are some steps consumers can take now to prepare for a possible credit crunch.

☆ 4 steps the Fed needs to take to calm markets after the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and what investors should remember amid the chaos, according to JPMorgan's chief strategist
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Fed needs to stop raising interest rates now, says David Kelly of JPMorgan Asset Management. Step one: don't hike interest rates any more. "You just pause on interest rates and you say that we're making good progress on inflation," he said. "What you need to do in the long run is have a very steady level of interest rates," he said. He explained that interest rates do a bad job controlling demand and end up creating bubbles and economic problems.

☆ What caused the global banking crisis this week and will it lead to a recession?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Mark Thompson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Silicon Valley Bank’s customers were frantically pulling their money from the California-based lender before US regulators intervened to take control. Thursday, March 16 — First Republic Bank was teetering on the brink as customers withdrew their deposits. In guaranteeing all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Republic Bank, the US Federal Reserve is on the hook for $140 billion. Then there’s the $54 billion the Swiss National Bank offered Credit Suisse in the form of an emergency loan. The $318 billion the Fed has loaned in total to the financial system is about half what was extended during the global financial crisis.

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Credit Suisse, Amazon, Block, First Republic, FedEx & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Thursday's biggest calls on Wall Street: JPMorgan reiterates Amazon as overweight JPMorgan said growth deceleration concerns are overdone. Stifel upgrades FedEx to buy from hold Stifel said FedEx shares are compelling at current levels. JPMorgan reiterates Credit Suisse as overweight JPMorgan said it's standing by shares of the banking giant. JPMorgan upgrades Motorola Solutions to overweight from neutral JPMorgan called the telecom equipment company "high quality." Bank of America upgrades Takeda Pharmaceuticals to buy from neutral Bank of America said called Takeda a "stable value stock."

[1/3] Admiral John C. Aquilino, Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command speaks at the IISS Special Lecture in Singapore March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Caroline ChiaSINGAPORE, March 16 (Reuters) - The current friction in the Indo Pacific is alarming and "trending in the wrong direction", but the U.S. presence was not an effort to contain or invite conflict with China, a senior U.S. admiral said on Thursday. Admiral John Aquilino, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said an "AUKUS" partnership between Australia, Britain and the United States to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines was to boost its defence capability. Aquilino said the United States, with its exercises and patrols in the region, was not seeking conflict or to contain China, and would not support Taiwan's independence. "There's a place for China in this world to adhere and follow the rules like all the rest of us do," he said.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. banking system remains sound and Americans can feel confident that their deposits are safe, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday, but she denied that emergency actions after two large bank failures mean that a blanket government guarantee now existed for all deposits. "I can reassure the members of the committee that our banking system is sound, and that Americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them," Yellen said. More than $9.2 trillion of U.S. bank deposits were uninsured at the end of last year, accounting for more than 40% of all deposits, according to U.S. central bank data. Those uninsured deposits are not distributed evenly across the country, FDIC data shows. She also noted the high level of uninsured deposits at Silicon Valley as an aggravating factor.

☆ ABB invests in US robot factory as reshoring trend hots up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ZURICH, March 15 (Reuters) - ABB (ABBN.S) is expanding its main US robot factory as its customers there in the automotive, packaging and machinery industries confront a tight labour market as they bring production back home. The United States is the third largest in the global robotics market, which is worth around $50 billion per year according to estimates by ABB and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Rapid growth is expected as US companies bring production closer to home to avoid logistic log jams which have gummed up supply chains since the global pandemic. A survey by ABB last year showed 70% of North American businesses suffered supply chain disruptions in the last year. "The potential for growth in the industrial robots market is huge," Atiya said.

☆ Uneasy calm descends after SVB-triggered turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The European Central Bank is still leaning towards a half-percentage-point rate hike on Thursday, despite turmoil in the banking sector, given high inflation, a source close to its Governing Council told Reuters. European stocks slipped 0.9% (.STOXX) in early trade but held above three-month lows reached on Monday as panic gripped world markets following SVB's collapse last week. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.9%, having slid 1.7% on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei index was flat (.N225) while an index of Japanese banks, which has slid 8% this week, jumped over 3% (.IBNKS.T). There had been worries that stronger-than-expected data might lead the Fed to go for jumbo-sized hikes to battle inflation.

☆ Analysis: U.S. bank loan plan provides Fed rate hike path amid SVB fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Banks can use eligible government securities on their books like Treasuries and agency mortgage backed-debt to guarantee the loans. By comparison, a one-year loan from a Federal Home Loan Bank, a government state enterprise that provides low-cost lending to regional banks, is around 5.4%, according to market participants. In essence, the bank lending program will allow the Fed to keep raising rates." U.S. banks had raised their holdings of government securities during periods of ultra-low interest rates to defend falling interest net margins. Major banks led by Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Barclays Bank (BARC.L) have called for a pause from the Fed next week.

☆ SVB Doesn’t Deserve a Taxpayer Bailout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Vivek Ramaswamy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Sunday evening that Silicon Valley Bank’s uninsured depositors would gain access to their deposits on Monday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insures only deposits up to $250,000. The bailout creates incentives for risky behavior, teaching large depositors that they can throw money at risky banks without diversifying or conducting diligence. SVB long lobbied for looser risk limits by arguing that its failure wouldn’t create systemic risk and thus didn’t merit special intervention by the U.S. government. Another option would have been to increase the FDIC coverage limit to a level that would avert a run, shoring up public confidence in other U.S. banks without showing favoritism toward SVB.

☆ The US, its allies, and North Korea are one wrong move away from disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Chad Kunkle | Defense Priorities | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

North Korea continues to test missiles while the US and South Korea hold high-profile exercises. This prospect should prod US policy makers to consider why they are choosing to push forward with the current approach to North Korea. US Air Force F-16s and B-1B bombers with South Korean F-35As during an exercise over the Korean Peninsula in November. Kim, his daughter, and other North Korean officials watch sports in Pyongyang in a photo released on February 17. There are already actions being taken by the Biden administration that show how maintaining a massive force in South Korea is not a top priority for the US, such as the recent decision to transfer artillery ammunition from South Korea to resupply Ukrainian stockpiles.

☆ Li Qiang becomes China's premier, tasked with reviving economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Li Qiang, likely to become the next premier, is pictured here speaking at a major annual financial conference in Shanghai in 2020. Li Qiang, the former Communist Party chief of Shanghai, took office on Saturday as China's premier, the country's No.2 post, putting the close ally of President Xi Jinping in charge of reviving an economy battered by three years of COVID-19 curbs. Li Qiang is the first premier since the founding of the People's Republic never to have served previously in the central government, meaning he may face a steep learning curve in the initial months on the job, analysts said. Still, Li's close ties with Xi - Li was Xi's chief of staff between 2004 and 2007, when the latter was provincial party secretary of Zhejiang province - will empower him to get things done, leadership-watchers said. "My reading of the situation is that Li Qiang will have a lot more leeway and authority within the system," said Trey McArver, co-founder of consultancy Trivium China.

☆ U.S. Corporate Boards Boosted Sustainability Experience in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Companies are shoring up sustainability experience in the boardroom as they face mandatory climate-disclosure regulations. Among Fortune 500 companies, 25% of board appointees in 2022 had previous experience on sustainability committees, up from 14% in 2021, according to executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. “Boards feel like they don’t always have the right skills, knowledge, language about what’s going on,” she said. In the longer term, the work of these sustainability committees should be more integrated into the company’s overall strategy, Ms. Breeden said. The agenda of sustainability committees varies among companies and industries, Ms. Breeden said.

☆ Live updates: East Palestine, Ohio train derailment Senate hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Chris Isidore | Aditi Sangal | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In the lead-up to a Senate committee hearing on the toxic train derailment that spilled chemicals in the Ohio town of East Palestine last month, a bipartisan group of senators is introducing a new bill aimed at shoring up rail safety. The Railway Safety Act of 2023 will be introduced by Republican Sens. Vance of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Democratic Sens. It has a provision requiring “well-trained, two-person crews aboard every train.” And it boosts the maximum fines for rail carriers for wrongdoing. Data compiled by the nonprofit OpenSecrets show that Norfolk Southern, the company involved in the Ohio derailment, spent $1.8 million on federal lobbying last year.

☆ Biden budget calls for 'protecting and strengthening' Social Security
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Days after introducing a new plan to shore up Medicare, President Joe Biden called for "protecting and strengthening" Social Security with the introduction of his fiscal 2024 budget on Thursday. With the budget, the president reaffirmed his intentions to reject any proposed cuts to Social Security or Medicare. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have also led a plan that would make income over $250,000 subject to Social Security taxes. At the same time, the budget also indicates that the administration "looks forward to working with Congress to responsibly strengthen Social Security by ensuring high-income individuals pay their fair share." Biden has proposed raising Medicare taxes to 5%, from 3.8%, for both earned and unearned income over $400,000.

☆ Biden budget would cut deficit by $3 trillion over next decade with 25% minimum tax on richest Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

President Joe Biden released his budget on Thursday, vowing to cut $3 trillion from the federal deficit over the next decade, in part, by levying a 25% minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans. "It does this in part by reforming our tax code to reward work, not wealth, including by ensuring that no billionaire pays a lower tax rate than a teacher or firefighter and by quadrupling the tax rate on corporate stock buybacks," Young said. In addition to social spending, the budget includes robust defense funding. House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington told CNN on Wednesday the GOP budget should be ready by the second week in May. Preempting Republican concerns, Rouse stressed the ways the Biden White House has repeatedly bucked economic expectations.

☆ Logistics Giant Kuehne + Nagel Seeks Expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Kuehne + Nagel CEO Stefan Paul. Photo: Kuehne + NagelAs a forwarder, Kuehne + Nagel helps companies move freight around the world by ocean, air and land and is a dominant player in the automotive, industrial, retail, aerospace, healthcare and high-tech industries. What do you see as potential growth areas for Kuehne + Nagel in the contract logistics space? Does that make it easier for a company like Kuehne + Nagel to jump in? How would that affect Kuehne + Nagel?

And it's little surprise the International Monetary Fund forecast Britain would be the only economy of the G7 to contract this year. But certainly the potential for improved trade relations with the UK's biggest trading partner is clear. Unicredit this month cited estimates that the UK economy would underperform by 5-7% over 10 years if it remains outside the EU single market and customs union. It may even have been a key spur to this week's breakthrough given the frayed geopolitical backdrop. President Joe Biden has long insisted there would be no progress on a U.S. deal with Britain until the Northern Irish conundrum was resolved.

☆ Belarus leader Lukashenko says he had long chat with Putin on war anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he held a long conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, the one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Lukashenko has denied the election was rigged and accused the West of funding protesters. He has supported Putin in his year-long war with Ukraine, including by letting him invade from Belarusian territory and by allowing Russia to train newly mobilised troops in Belarus. Russia and Belarus are allied in a "Union State" in which Moscow is by far the dominant partner, but Lukashenko dismissed media reports this week that Russia had drawn up a plan to absorb Belarus by 2030. Separately, the state news agency Belta said Lukashenko would start a three-day visit to China on Tuesday.

☆ Yellen says EV battery mineral trade pacts can likely bypass Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen said on Friday that she expects that future limited free trade agreements focused on battery minerals with the European Union and other trusted allies would not need approval from Congress. The law specified that the tax credits were only available to North American-assembled vehicles that meet certain local battery production and mineral extraction processing standards. Countries with U.S. free trade agreements can also access the credits, and this is a provision that the Biden administration hopes to exploit by negotiating limited trade deals focused on battery minerals. Over time, she said she hoped that trade agreements would allow more sold vehicles to qualify over time. The Treasury in March is due to put out guidance on the sourcing of battery minerals and Yellen said this will include guidance on free trade areas that can qualify.

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