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March 8 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. Given all that, it is maybe surprising that Wall Street's three main indexes 'only' fell between 1% and 1.5%. The RBA raised rates by 25 bps as expected on Tuesday to 3.60%, the highest in more than a decade. But its dovish outlook caught markets flat-footed, and the Australian dollar plunged 2%. Trade activity fell in February, reflecting weak global and domestic demand, but trade with Russia boomed.

While ostensibly focused on monetary policy, the questions tend to range across issues, and the sessions this week - the first since Republicans took control of the House after midterm elections - may be particularly wide in scope. Powell's last monetary policy report to Congress was in June, early in what became the most aggressive cycle of Fed rate increases since the 1980s. Fed rate hikes "are designed to harm the labor market. Despite some high-profile layoff announcements, weekly new jobless claims have remained below 200,000 for seven consecutive weeks, comparable to pre-pandemic levels. That ongoing strength has posed perhaps the key question for Powell to answer: Whether the impact of monetary policy is just delayed and on the way, or whether the current economy needs even tighter monetary policy, with all the risks that entails.

☆ Stock futures are flat Tuesday night following a selloff fueled by Powell’s comments: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The action comes after a selloff spurred by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments indicating interest rates may need to go higher for longer. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ticked higher by 2 points, or 0.01%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped by 0.04% and 0.05%, respectively. The shakeup in markets came after Fed Chair Powell spoke before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. January's job openings and labor turnover data is due, as is the ADP jobs report for February.

☆ Top 10 things the Club is watching in the stock market Tuesday: Fed's Powell, Meta, obesity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Meta Platforms ' (META) "year of efficiency" set to continue: Bloomberg is reporting job cuts in the thousands could happen as soon as this week. WW International (WW) is higher after announcing deal to acquire the anti-obesity-focused telehealth provider Sequence. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long META, LIN, CSCO, AMZN, LLY. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

☆ Premarket stocks: What to watch as Fed Chair Powell testifies before Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is on the hot seat this week as he testifies before Congress. Powell will have some good news to report — when he last testified before Congress in June, the inflation rate was at 40-year-highs, nearing 9%. Investors will also be on edge — hawkish language or even an aggressive tone from Powell could lead to market volatility. Some Fed officials agree. Economists, business leaders, investors and even Fed officials aren’t really sure about what’s happening.

☆ Watch Fed Chair Jerome Powell speak live on Capitol Hill about interest rates and the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will address the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Tuesday morning. Powell's remarks come with the central bank weighing the future of monetary policy and its impact on the inflation fight. Officials have raised their benchmark interest rate eight times over the past year, taking the fed funds rate to a target range of 4.50%-4.75%. Markets were looking to Powell for clarity on how much further the Fed is likely to push rates. Powell will follow up his remarks Tuesday with an appearance Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee.

☆ Fed's Powell heads to Capitol Hill this week, and he's going to have his hands full
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It was made worse by the Fed not recognizing it in 2021," said Komal Sri-Kumar, president of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies. "If you're going to have a no-landing scenario, then you're going to accept 5% inflation, and that's politically unacceptable. He has to work on bringing inflation down, and because the economy is so strong it's going to get delayed. 'Ongoing increases' aheadFor his part, Powell will have to find a landing spot between the competing views on policy. However, Guha said that Powell is unlikely to tee up the half-point, or 50 basis point, rate hike later this month that some investors fear.

Like Willis, private economists and analysts at payroll firms and staffing companies also see a labor market that is stressed but adjusting. A recent Goldman Sachs study concluded wage growth should continue slowing even with the current low unemployment rate of 3.4%. But even that came with slowing wage growth, and the gain was amplified by seasonal adjustments used to factor out expected swings in hiring during holidays and summer. Nela Richardson, chief economist at payroll processor ADP, said even as economy-wide hiring remains strong, the tech layoffs may be helping mute overall wage growth. "If that is a trend...we would expect there would be less drive for wage growth," she said.

☆ Stocks week ahead: It's hell week on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The unflinching resilience of the US labor market is one of — if not the — greatest source of tension in today’s economy. That means the Fed’s already painful rate hikes are likely to continue until the job market simmers. In just one year, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates from nearly zero to a range of 4.5% to 4.75% to cool the economy. The labor market is stronger than ever: The US added a shocking 517,000 jobs in January and knocked unemployment down to its lowest level since 1969. If the labor market remains strong, more Fed-induced pain lies ahead.

"In response...the FOMC continued to rapidly increase interest rates and reduce its securities holdings," the report said, and also "anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate." The document noted that U.S. financial conditions have tightened since the Fed's last report to Congress in June, and hinted that the impact of monetary policy was intensifying in some corners of the economy. Business loans by banks grew through 2022 "but decelerated in the fourth quarter," the report said. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will discuss the report and Fed policy in back-to-back congressional hearings next week, appearing at 10 a.m. EST Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee and Wednesday at 10 a.m. before the House Financial Services Committee. It will be Powell's first testimony since the Republican party took control of the House after the November midterm elections.

☆ The Fed and a big jobs report could drive the market in the week ahead, as investors watch rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The seesaw-like tension between interest rates and stock prices should remain in play in the week ahead, as investors focus on comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the February employment report. There are few earnings in the week ahead, so economic data will likely be a main driver for stocks, along with the comments from Powell. The futures market is pricing in a high chance for a quarter point, or 25 basis point hike in March. Week ahead calendar Monday Earnings: WW International, ThredUp, Trip.com, Lordstown Motor, Ciena, Grindr 10:00 a.m. Initial claims 10:00 a.m. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr Friday Earnings: Embraer 8:30 a.m. Employment report 2:00 p.m. Federal budget

☆ Watch live: U.S. House China panel holds first hearing after lawmakers push seven bills targeting Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Gallagher and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., ranking member of the select committee, called the balloon a "violation of American sovereignty" in a joint statement. The administration's move prompted the advancement of several bills designed to bolster U.S. national security against China. Seven out of 10 bills passed by the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday addressed China or its neighbor, Taiwan. The Select Committee will not allow the CCP to lull us into complacency or maneuver us into submission." Matthew Pottinger, former U.S. Deputy national security adviser; former U.S. National Security Adviser H.R.

☆ Elizabeth Warren urges the Supreme Court to strike down Trump-appointed judges' decision to imperil funding for a student-loan industry and consumer-rights watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court will take on a lower court's decision that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's federal funding is unconstitutional. Senator Elizabeth Warren advocated for the Supreme Court to strike down that decision. "If the Supreme Court follows more than a century of law and historical precedent, it will strike down the Fifth Circuit's decision before it throws our financial markets and economy into chaos." McHenry, who now runs the House Financial Services Committee, has hinted at seeking stronger oversight for CFPB for months now. And that's on top of a longer context of Republicans challenging the CFPB's funding and decision making.

☆ Republicans seek records on SEC's climate proposal as part of push against ESG investing plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Gensler recently announced that the agency is considering adjustments to the proposal, first introduced in March 2022, after pushback from investors. Gensler told CNBC's "Squawk Box" earlier this month that the proposal simply required a clear climate transition plan from public companies. Earlier this month, McHenry formed a Republican working group on environmental, social and governance, or ESG, plans in part to target the rule disclosure. ESG platforms broadly apply to taking into account the environmental and social implications of a company's decisions, and not just its financial performance, as part of investing decisions. Many House Republicans have criticized ESG plans — but some of them have received campaign contributions from the very financial firms they are targeting.

☆ GOP lawmakers vilify ESG moves at BlackRock, Vanguard but take their money nonetheless
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

But Republicans have vilified BlackRock, Vanguard Group and State Street for leading the push on Wall Street to promote clean energy and what GOP lawmakers often title "left-wing social priorities." Still, many Republican lawmakers received money from the very firms their party is criticizing. It was the third election cycle in a row that both lawmakers took donations from the firm's PAC. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., received $10,000 from BlackRock and a combined $6,500 from Vanguard and State Street in the 2022 cycle. Huizenga's spokesman Brian Patrick said the donations won't affect the lawmaker's position on ESG issues.

Since the start of the pandemic, Americans have been able to access free weekly credit reports. "Even when consumers are successful in having their complaint addressed, complaints call into question the underlying data contained in consumers' credit reports," the report read. Navigating the credit reporting system in the United States requires skill and often a good deal of patience. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, who chaired the panel at the time, said during the hearing that a public credit reporting agency "would be a major upgrade over today's broken, biased credit reporting system." Consumer advocates stress that not only should credit reports be easily accessible but that Americans should be able to scrutinize the information contained in credit reports.

☆ Top House Republicans scrutinize SEC investigation of failed crypto exchange FTX
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican of North Carolina and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C.Top House Republicans on Friday sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission as Congress scrutinizes the agency's actions against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Bankman-Fried was scheduled to testify before the committee on Dec. 13, a day after he was arrested by Bahamian officials. FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried stepped down as its CEO in November. The committee's request comes a week after McHenry announced the panel will examine certain so-called overreaches by financial oversight agencies. The Financial Services Committee requested communications between the SEC's enforcement division, specifically its director, Gurbir Grewal; communications among Gensler's direct staff and records and communications between SEC and the Justice Department over the last few months by 5 p.m. on Feb. 23.

☆ SEC weighs making 'adjustments' to controversial climate risk disclosure rule, Chairman Gensler says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, at the SEC headquarters in Washington, on July 22, 2021. The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering easing a controversial climate risk disclosure rule it issued last year after receiving pushback from companies and investors. "Investors are making investments based on these disclosures," Gensler said. "The SEC's climate disclosure rule is a prime example of this overreach that would have a wide-ranging impact on hard-working Americans across all walks of life," McHenry said in a Feb. 3 statement. Gensler said the proposed disclosures asked for a straightforward climate transition plan from companies.

☆ SEC to increase scrutiny of Crypto trading firms and ESG funds in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Securities and Exchange Commission will increase its scrutiny of crypto trading firms and investment advisers as well as Environmental, Social and Governance — or ESG — funds, among other issues on its list of top oversight priorities this year. This year, the SEC's examinations division will focus its attention on broker-dealers and registered investment advisers that use emerging financial technologies, including crypto. Registered investment advisers to private funds: To assess compliance and other risks as well as if advisers are adhering to their duties as fiduciaries. Retail investors and working families: Ensuring these groups receive advice in their best interests from broker-dealers and registered investment advisers. "In executing against the 2023 priorities, the Division will help ensure compliance with the federal securities laws and rules."

WASHINGTON—House Republicans held a pair of hearings Tuesday to weigh how best to counter Beijing’s economic and military power, including the Pentagon’s response to the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon shot down Saturday by the Air Force. China represents “the single greatest threat to America’s global standing,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.) the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, at the start of a hearing about China’s economic threats.

☆ Chinese spy balloon fallout roils Washington and Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — In the wake of a U.S. missile attack Saturday that destroyed a Chinese surveillance ballon, political and diplomatic fallout ramped up Monday in both Beijing and Washington. The decision to shoot down the balloon over the Carolina coast was "unacceptable and irresponsible," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said at a press conference in Beijing Monday. The Chinese government insists the balloon that moved across the United States for the past week was "a civilian airship used for meteorological and other research purposes," and not a spy balloon. On Tuesday at 10 a.m., the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on "Combatting the Economic Threat from China." The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing Thursday morning entitled "Evaluating U.S.-China Policy In The Era of Strategic Competition."

☆ House Republicans move to regulate crypto industry with a new subcommittee
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The unregulated nature of the crypto industry emerged as a pressing concern late last year after the collapse in November of crypto exchange FTX. Hill has been an enthusiastic supporter of the crypto industry. Emmer described actions taken by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler as "haphazard and unfocused." Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have already begun to prepare their own efforts to oversee the crypto industry and dictate enforcement actions. The commission charged crypto lender Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini with the unregistered sale and offering of securities on Thursday, the same day that Hill announced the subcommittee.

☆ FTX has recovered $5 billion worth of ‘liquid’ assets, lawyers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Rohan Goswami | Rohan Goswami Is A News Associate At Cnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

FTX has recovered over $5 billion worth of liquid assets, including cash and digital assets, attorneys in Delaware bankruptcy court said during an FTX bankruptcy hearing Wednesday. The news comes after federal prosecutors announced plans to seize at least $500 million worth of FTX-connected assets as part of their ongoing prosecution of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried. FTX’s new CEO, John J. Ray, previously attested that at least $8 billion of customer assets were unaccounted for in the “worst” case of corporate control he’d ever seen. FTX CEO John Ray testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Dec. 13, 2022. Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP fileThe $5 billion figure doesn’t include any illiquid cryptocurrency assets, FTX attorney Adam Landis told the court.

☆ Banks take No. 1 spot, tech loses a market crown: The 2023 Just 100 rankings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

1 on the 2023 Just 100 list, and it's not alone among peers. On last year's list, the top four spots all went to tech companies. "Banks have been steadily improving their game and that's the standout," he said of this year's Just 100 list. 71, making the cut for the Just 100 list. This year's top 10 still included five tech companies: NVIDIA , Microsoft , Hewlett Packard Enterprise , Apple , and Intel .

☆ Top House Republican on making sense of ESG
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | 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 EmailTop House Republican on making sense of ESGNorth Carolina congressman Patrick McHenry is the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, and his ESG philosophy will be key in a fight with the SEC over climate change in the next Congress.

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