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☆ Explainer: Why is OPEC+ cutting oil output?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A global recession could lead to lower oil prices. Oil prices have also come under pressure from concerns about the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations and fears of a debt default in the world's biggest oil consumer. Surprise production cutsPUNISHING SPECULATORSThe cut will also punish oil short sellers or those who bet on oil price declines. The United States, which released most stocks, said it would buy back some oil in 2023, but later ruled it out. OPEC observers also say the group needs nominal oil prices to be higher because of money printing by the West in recent years has lowered the value of the U.S. dollar.

Persons: Brent, Alexander Novak, PVM Oil's Tamas Varga, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saxo Bank's Ole Hansen, Joe Biden's, Ahmad Ghaddar, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Barbara Lewis Organizations: OPEC, Saudi Energy, Standard Chartered, International Energy Agency, West, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Russia, Vienna, OPEC, Saudi Arabia, Russian, Brent, Washington, Ukraine, United States, U.S

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen previously warned lawmakers that a default in early June is "highly likely." Prices rose 1.2% month on month, above a forecast of 0.8%. "April 2022 saw energy prices increase by 47.5%. Thanks to the government's energy price guarantee, this energy surge has now dropped out of the year-on-year equation, leading the comparative inflation rate to naturally fall." The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday joined the Bank of England in saying that it no longer expects a U.K. recession this year.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, Jeremy Batstone, Carr Organizations: U.S, Treasury, Raymond James Investment Services, of England, Capital Economics, Monetary Fund, Tuesday, Bank of England Locations: European

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) is beefing up its commercial banking business that caters to tech startups and other early-stage companies, the company said on Monday. The largest U.S. lender plans to add staff after it hired more than a hundred bankers this year to serve companies in the so-called innovation economy in sectors such as technology, e-commerce and life sciences. Two other regional lenders were subsequently seized by banking regulators, including First Republic Bank, which JPMorgan bought earlier this month. JPMorgan's broader commercial bank has more than 18,000 clients, including mid-sized businesses and corporations, government entities and non-profits and more than 33,000 real estate investors or owners. It also aims to expand overseas to serve early-stage companies in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.

☆ Bankers are much more likely to engage in misconduct when they work from the office — not from home, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new study analyzed financial misconduct investigations into traders at a UK bank amid the pandemic. Remote employees were significantly less likely to generate a securities misconduct report. Possible explanations included the physical distance from employees already engaged in misconduct. A new study of a bank in the UK found that working from home significantly decreased the rate at which its bankers generated financial misconduct reports and investigations. "Our difference-in-differences analysis reveals that working from home lowers the likelihood of securities misconduct; ultimately those working from home exhibit fewer misconduct alerts," the paper's abstract reads.

May 19 (Reuters) - Auction house Sotheby's announced Friday seven non-fungible tokens from bankrupt cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital sold for about $2.5 million. The auction was part of liquidating Three Arrows, according to a February memo from Teneo, one of the court-appointed liquidators. Singapore-based Three Arrows was the first major crypto firm to go bankrupt in 2022, brought down by the collapse of cryptocurrencies Luna and TerraUSD. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a blockchain-based asset that represents ownership of a digital item, such as an image, video or piece of text. The market for NFTs exploded in 2021, and auction houses including Sotheby’s and Christie’s joined the craze.

☆ Brazil's Americanas to seek bidders for fruit and vegetable unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, May 18 (Reuters) - Brazil retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) said on Thursday it will next week start to seek potential bidders for the acquisition of its Hortifruti Natural da Terra (HNT) business unit. In a securities filing, Americanas said it has hired Citigroup Global Markets Brazil as the financial adviser for conducting the process to sell the unit, which markets fruits and vegetables. Americanas noted, however, it has started "evaluating strategic alternatives for the business, which may involve preliminary contacts with potential interested parties." Co and HNT," Americanas said in the filing. Reporting by Carolina Pulice and Peter Frontini; Editing by David Alire GarciaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

As doubts grow about the strength of its economic recovery, foreign money has left China's markets and the currency has fallen 4% against the dollar since late January. Analysts at Nomura and Societe Generale say the yuan could soon head for 7.3, which as last plumbed in November. Reflecting that, the trade-weighted CFETS basket against which the People's Bank of China (PBOC) manages the currency, has dropped to 99 from 100 in February. THE CHEAP CURRENCYBecky Liu, head of China macro strategy at Standard Chartered Bank, expects the yuan will continue to depreciate. "The interest rate gap remains wide, so many hedge funds continue to use yuan as a funding currency," Liu said.

☆ Bankman-Fried faces long odds of tossing charges despite Supreme Court decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But legal experts said Bankman-Fried's odds of getting the charges dismissed remain slim. Days later, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated that theory known as "right to control" when it overturned the conviction of a Buffalo construction executive accused of bid-rigging. The Court said the theory is "inconsistent with the structure and history of the federal fraud statutes." Officials say Bankman-Fried portrayed FTX as a safe, responsible platform in the volatile sector, even as he was diverting customer funds. Even if the bank fraud count is dismissed, Bankman-Fried would still face 12 other counts at his Oct. 2 trial.

Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business RewardsWhat is the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business welcome bonus? How to earn rewards from Capital One Spark Miles SelectThe Spark Miles Select Business Card has a very straightforward earning structure. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightCapital One Spark Miles Select for Business Annual Fee and Other CostsThe Spark Miles Select Business Card doesn't charge an annual fee, so it's free to keep and use year after year. What's the difference between the Capital One Spark Miles and Spark Miles Select? Methodology: How we reviewed the Capital One Spark Miles Select for BusinessWe evaluated the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business in relation to Capital One's other small-business cards, as well as competing no-annual-fee business cards from other banks.

Two crypto platforms, Voyager and Bittrex, have recently declared bankruptcy, and investors no longer have access to their crypto. To keep your crypto safe with other platforms, consider "cold storage," which refers to keeping your crypto offline. The Voyager and Bittrex bankruptcies are part of a prolonged "crypto winter" along with other crypto company bankruptcies of the past year, including FTX, Celsius, and more. Globally, countries are evaluating Central Bank Digital Currencies, the development of which you can track via the Atlantic Council's website. Regardless of the crypto winter and continuing cascade of crypto platform bankruptcies, digital currencies aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley Bank's former CEO Greg Becker told senators at a hearing that he was unaware the bank was in trouble when he sold stock in the months leading up to the regional U.S. lender's collapse. Becker, who sold SVB shares through the first quarter - the largest sale of which occurred on Feb 27, less than two weeks before the bank collapsed on March 10, triggering a rout in banking shares globally. Responding to questions from senators, Becker painted a picture of an unprecedented, unpredictable crisis at the bank. He said the bank took risk management seriously and had liquidity of around $80 billion at the end of last year. [1/2] Greg Becker, former president and CEO of SVB, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 3, 2022.

"I believe it was a series of unprecedented events that all came together in the fastest bank run in history," Becker told the Senate Banking Committee. "I was the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, I take responsibility for what ultimately happened," Becker said. Executives from Signature Bank also testified alongside Becker on Tuesday, pushing back on assertions from lawmakers that the bank had weak corporate governance. "I don't believe that there was mismanagement at the bank," said Eric Howell, the former president of Signature Bank. The bank tried to cover the loss by raising capital, but in announcing the transaction helped fuel a bank run.

FreeKick is a credit-builder product that can help parents build credit for their children ages 14-25. Depending on the size of the deposit, a FreeKick account will cost $0 - $99 annually. Traditionally, the easiest way for parents to help their children build credit is by adding them as an authorized user on a credit card. Austin Capital Bank, a savings bank out of Austin, Texas, is launching FreeKick Credit Builder, a new credit-building product that allows parents to help their children build credit without risking their own credit. No credit check Check mark icon A check mark.

May 15 (Reuters) - Greg Becker, the former chief executive officer of Silicon Valley Bank, is set to appear before the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, two months after the collapse of his bank sparked panic among bank customers and investors, forcing the government to backstop deposits. California banking regulators moved quickly to shut down Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 after depositors withdrew $42 billion in 24 hours. Becker will testify before the Senate Banking Committee alongside Scott Shay and Eric Howell, the former chair and president, respectively, of Signature Bank. When his manager left to work for Silicon Valley Bank, Becker followed, he said on a 2021 Bloomberg podcast. Before becoming president and CEO of SVB Financial Group, Becker co-founded SVB Capital, the company's investment arm.

☆ Bank of America loves these 10 unloved global stocks with major upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bank of America strategists have named the ten European stocks they believe are currently undervalued and could provide significant investment returns. These picks, which the investment bank refers to as the "Beat Factor Top 10," are primarily made up of industrial and financial companies. Bank of America analysts expect shares of Airbus to rise by 64% to 200 euros per share ($217) over the next 12 months. The "Beat Factor" is a measure Bank of America analysts use to identify the most divergent stock ideas on the FTSE Eurofirst 300. Despite the share price gains, Bank of America strategists remain bullish on the stock coming out of the earnings season.

Knowing the credit score you'll need to be considered for popular rewards credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred can help you decide which to apply for. Here are the five credit score categories, according to FICO:Poor: 300-579Fair: 580-669Good: 670-739Very good: 740-799Excellent: 800-850If you have a limited credit history, you might need to start smaller with a secured credit card or a starter credit card aimed at those new to credit. Read our Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card review for a closer look at what this premium credit card offers. Capital One says you'll need excellent credit to be approved for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. What to know about credit card approvalIt's possible to be approved for some of the best cards in the credit card world with a credit score in the high 600s.

☆ Your brokerage is paying more for your idle cash. These firms are boosting rates, BofA says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Select brokerage firms are boosting the rates they pay on idle cash just sitting in retail investors' accounts. Vanguard recently boosted its cash sweep rate to 3.5% from 3.25%, Bank of America found, while Fidelity Investments is now offering a 2.6% rate on cash . LPL raised its cash sweep rate as much as 60 basis points for its wealthiest clients, BofA found. Subscribers to Robinhood Gold , a service that gives clients access to market research, offers a 4.65% interest rate on cash. Clients who don't participate in Robinhood Gold are eligible for a 1.5% rate on their idle cash.

☆ Fed will 'definitely' pause hikes, but the cycle is not yet done, Standard Chartered CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Winters, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered, said the U.S. Federal Reserve looks set to pause its interest rate cycle in June get a better read on the latest inflation data. Bill Winters told CNBC that the central bank's decision last week to raise interest rates by 25 basis points signaled its plans to hold steady at its next meeting in June. watch nowTo avoid that, policymakers want to see that job and wage growth is cooling before ending the hiking cycle entirely, Winters said. "The fact is, job growth is still pretty strong, wage growth is still pretty strong. "So, if we can get the regular wage growth cycle back under control, then I think the Fed can stop here.

☆ Standard Chartered CEO says big U.S. recession unlikely
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Yousef Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The Standard Chartered bank logo is seen at their headquarters in London, Britain, July 26, 2022. REUTERS/Peter NichollsDUBAI, May 8 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered (STAN.L) Chief Executive Bill Winters said on Monday he sees a big recession in the United States as unlikely, although a period of negative growth was possible. "I think it's less the question of a massive decline in the U.S. - I think that's very, very unlikely," Winters said at conference in Dubai, adding the economy was "extremely strong". I think unlikely. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE's biggest lender, earlier this year had considered a bid to take over Standard Chartered, but later said it was no longer doing so.

☆ Exclusive: HSBC reaches deal to buy out China fund partner -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, May 8 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) has agreed to buy out its China fund management joint venture partner, two people familiar with the matter said, as the Asia-focused bank pushes ahead with expansion in the world's second-largest economy. HSBC, which currently owns a 49% stake in HSBC Jintrust Fund Management, has signed an agreement with Shanxi Trust under which the Chinese state-owned company will sell its 51% holding in the joint venture to the bank, said the sources. Representatives for Shanghai-headquartered HSBC Jintrust and Shanxi Trust did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HSBC's move to boost its stake in the fund venture is the lender's latest to expand its presence in China. The London-headquartered bank converted its China insurance joint venture to a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2021, and boosted ownership of its China securities joint venture to 90% last year.

☆ Jobs Report to Show How Labor Market Weathered Bank Failures, High Interest Rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Sarah Chaney Cambon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the central bank would raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage point. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesFriday’s jobs report will show how the labor market fared in April, as the economy faced banking turmoil, rising interest rates and still-high inflation. Other signs show the red-hot labor market is modestly cooling this spring. That in part reflects a return to a more normal job market after a rapid rebound from pandemic layoffs three years ago. But some employers are now also slowing hiring out of caution about the economic outlook.

☆ The US has over 4,000 banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

To protect their communities, many states passed legislation requiring banks to operate out of only one building—thus creating community banks. To make matters worse, the failure of one bank often sparked contagion to other community banks. Community banks were better able to compete with larger banks because they were perceived as safe. They know the community: Smaller banks tend to know the communities they serve very well . But as more community banks face trouble, it’s likely we’ll see intense scrutiny of these smaller institutions, more regulation aimed at them, and potentially a massive outflow of deposits into larger banks.

☆ The top commentators in markets say the bank crisis isn't anywhere close to over.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today we're looking at what some of Wall Street's top investors and commentators say has to happen to curb the banking tumult. The shuttered bank had disclosed in its first-quarter earnings report that customers pulled over $100 billion of deposits in three-months. But even if the regulator did insure more money, former FDIC chair Jelena McWilliams said Thursday a move like that would only cost banks' customers more. A stock market portfolio created by ChatGPT is outperforming the top UK investment funds. Stock market investors should keep an eye out for five key indicators with volatility set to ramp up through the end of the year.

The latest case in point: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) chose JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) as the winning bidder in an auction to buy collapsed lender First Republic Bank on Monday. FDIC officials, however, say would-be buyers risk losing out if they allow the value of an acquisition target to deteriorate over time while waiting for an FDIC receivership. SWEETENERSU.S. bank mergers were already sluggish as interest rates rose and recession loomed, analysts at Raymond James wrote in an Apr. The first quarter was the quietest opening to a year for bank deals in a generation, they said. Market volatility stops bank buyers from pulling together enough money to cover writedowns on struggling assets, which would be triggered by a traditional acquisition, said David Sandler, co-head of financial services investment banking at Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR.N).

[1/2] Block Inc logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, April 10, 2023. Shares of Block, formerly called Square, rose more than 4% in extended trading on Thursday. Prior to market close, its stock was down more than 10% from the beginning of this year. Block has denied the allegations and has said it would explore legal action against the short seller. Short sellers like Hindenburg typically sell borrowed securities and aim to buy these back at a lower price.

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