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The lessors took a hit of almost $10 billion when Russia barred airlines from returning planes hit by Western sanctions to their owners in the West. This has turned the spotlight on other risky markets, most prominently China and Taiwan, where some fear future conflict could cause a similar seizure on a much larger scale. When discussing the Russia losses, most executives speaking at the conference, also touched on China risks. Several executives said the loss of aircraft to Russia would simply feed into risk management models and encourage lessors to be careful about spreading their exposure rather than withdrawing from markets altogether. "Lessors aren't going to be able to abandon higher risk areas because that is what they do," he added.

☆ Premarket stocks: The world has a major debt problem. Is a reset coming?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That number is about 349% of global gross domestic product, and the equivalent of $37,500 of debt for every single person in the world. “Rising interest rates and slowing economies are making the debt burden heavier,” they write. What it means: Higher interest rates are already hurting governments and corporations with low-credit ratings. Rising interest rates also impact stock prices — the Federal Reserve’s hikes in 2022 contributed to a nearly 20% decline in the S&P 500. What comes next: There is no easy way out of a global debt crisis, write Chan and Dimitrijevic.

☆ Americans are spending an extra $371 a month because of inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —From rent and groceries to utilities, families are paying a lot more every month as they try to keep up with inflation. And while inflation has cooled in recent months, the typical household spent $371 more on good and services in December than a year ago, according to Moody’s Analytics. At the inflation peak last June, the typical family spent an additional $502 per month compared with the year before, according to Moody’s. Families are spending an estimated $82.60 more per month on shelter and $72.01 more on food, Moody’s said. Some of the pain from inflation is being mitigated by a significant shift in recent months: Wages are finally growing at a faster pace than inflation.

☆ Tough road ahead for U.S. fintech lenders as default risk rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Matt Tracy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

During the pandemic, many fintech startups emerged as lenders to borrowers with imperfect credit. Using artificial intelligence, their screening tools were more likely to recommend these loan requests than traditional lenders'. The lenders' ABS were among bonds that raised $36 billion in 2021 and 2022 by pooling consumer and marketplace loans, according to FinSight data. The losses on subprime loans that are assumed to be uncollectible debt or charge-offs rose on average by some 20% by the third quarter of 2022 from 2019 levels, said Moody's. But the lenders' securities have not lost investor appeal as yet, said Theresa O’Neill, ABS strategist at BofA Securities.

☆ Cargill CFO Resigns as Company Reshuffles Leadership
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Cargill Inc. said its chief financial officer, Jamie Miller, is stepping down for another opportunity as the agricultural giant reshuffles its executive leadership. Ms. Miller will leave Cargill on Jan. 13, the Minneapolis-based company said on Monday. Jamie Miller, chief financial officer of Cargill, is set to leave the company on Jan. 13. Photo: CargillCargill has begun an external and internal search for Ms. Miller’s successor, according to a spokeswoman. The spokeswoman said Ms. Miller is leaving Cargill for a job on the East Coast and to be closer to family.

It’s the start of a class known as high-intensity interval training, a combination of treadmill and weight-lifting, at the boutique fitness studio Barry’s. The brothers and Rondeau, who now serves as Planet Fitness’ chief executive, hit upon a concept. Planet Fitness’ tag, “judgement free zone” is true to form. Part of the appeal is its $10 a month basic membership fee – which hasn’t changed – that Planet Fitness primarily collects through electronic funds transfers. Still, with solid and regular profits and a reasonable amount of debt, Planet Fitness has staying power, even if shareholders lose their shirts while its valuation comes in line.

☆ How to be a better investor in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —If you’re planning to invest your hard-earned money in stocks, bonds and other assets this year, let humility be your guide. In response, stocks and bonds, which typically don’t move in the same direction, moved down in tandem in 2022, with both ending the year deep in the red. Ignore the noiseWhether 2023 is great or awful for stocks — or, more likely, both at different times — that shouldn’t sway your investing decisions. Given recession concerns, Wilson noted that value stocks, which represent companies with strong fundamentals but are considered underpriced, tend to perform better during economic downturns. For those with a long time horizon and a high tolerance for risk, Wilson suggests looking for buying opportunities among stocks that have been hammered.

☆ Weekly jobless claims fall to lowest level since September
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Minneapolis CNN —Around 204,000 people applied for first-time unemployment benefits last week, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s down from the previous week’s total jobless claims and only slightly below the pre-pandemic weekly average of 218,000. But so far, the labor market appears impervious. “Without mass layoffs, it’s unlikely consumers will stop spending and the economy suffer a downturn.”Economists were expecting 225,000 initial claims, according to a consensus estimate from Refinitiv. Weekly jobless claims are volatile — especially around the holidays — and frequently subject to revision.

☆ Analysis: Chaos in Congress sends an ominous signal to Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Many on Wall Street cheered last fall when the midterm elections ushered in a return of divided government in Washington. But the historic dysfunction playing out in Congress this week is a reminder that you should be careful what you wish for. Buckle up for debt ceiling brinksmanshipBut lawmakers did not agree to tackle the debt ceiling, the borrowing limit that must be raised to avoid a calamitous US debt default. In the past, brinksmanship over the debt ceiling eventually gave way to a compromise, though often not until significant pressure was applied by business leaders, financial markets — or both. Andrew Frankel, co-president of Stuart Frankel, dismissed the House speaker race as a “big, fat nothing-burger” for the market and said it was “just noise.”“It’s all about the Fed,” Frankel said.

☆ Get ready for a ‘slowcession’ in 2023, Moody’s says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

But Moody’s Analytics says the more likely scenario is a “slowcession,” where growth grinds to a near halt but a full economic downturn is narrowly avoided. “Under almost any scenario, the economy is set to have a difficult 2023,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi wrote in a report on Tuesday. Why Moody’s is predicting no recessionIn addition to cooling inflation, Moody’s expressed optimism about the ability of consumers to weather the storm in 2023. “Shoppers are the firewall between an economy in recession and an economy that skirts a downturn,” Zandi wrote. “It is important not to be Pollyannish, but it also important not to convince ourselves that a recession is inevitable,” Zandi wrote.

☆ Recession or soft landing? Five reasons to be cautiously optimistic about 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Last year was dominated by scary headlines about crushing inflation, super-sized interest rate hikes and mounting recession fears. That’s still low historically and almost exactly where jobless claims were a year ago, long before recession fears emerged. “This is one reason to the be optimistic the economy could skirt a recession,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN on Thursday. It’s also the lowest annual inflation rate in nearly a year. The Fed won’t hike to the moonThe Fed’s war on inflation is the reason the risk of a recession is significant.

☆ U.S. Accounting Rule Maker Looks to Advance Projects on Tax, Crypto and Expenses in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The U.S. accounting rule maker in 2022 launched new projects following an agenda consultation with investors and other stakeholders in 2021, its first in five years. The board has at least three core projects—two on disclosure of expenses and one on disclosing income taxes—in 2023, according to Mr. Jones. PREVIEWThe FASB will likely finalize a rule in 2023 requiring public companies to start breaking out big-ticket expenses incurred by their business divisions, Mr. Jones said. Another major project Mr. Jones said might be finalized in 2023 would require companies to provide more tax details. “They have an important role in our economy.”The slowing economy will also be on the FASB’s radar, Mr. Jones said.

☆ Why recession fears are back: Americans are losing faith
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Christine Romans | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The famous British economist John Maynard Keynes coined the phrase “animal spirits” to describe what drives investors, consumers and business leaders. “At the end of the day, a recession is a loss of faith,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. Yellen explained this week that recession risks permanently exist. “There are always risks of a recession,” Yellen told CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview that aired on Sunday. Hopefully we don’t lose faith and run for the bunker and go into recession.”— CNN’s Elizabeth Yang contributed to this report.

☆ Dow and S&P 500 updates: Stock market news
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The good vibes on Wall Street are fading fast: US stocks tumbled yet again Friday as investors come to grips with a souring economy. S&P 500 futures fell 1.4%, and Nasdaq Composite futures were 1.1% lower. CNN Business’ Fear and Greed Index, a measure of market sentiment, dipped perilously close to “Fear” Friday. Stocks had been riding high this month on weaker-than-expected inflation and a number of stronger-than-expected reports on the broad economy and the job market. The S&P 500 lost 2.5% and the Nasdaq tumbled 3.2%, their worst days in a month.

☆ Blockchain Fails to Gain Traction in the Enterprise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. Some companies say they haven’t found a compelling enough reason to use it. Many didn’t have digital record-keeping systems and had to make large upfront investments before they could start using blockchain, Walmart said. Walmart is using blockchain to track leafy greens and green bell peppers. Earlier this year, the state of Jharkhand in eastern India began using blockchain to track seed distributions to farmers.

☆ Inflation cooling is good economic news. It might not feel like it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Stocks, which had risen on the “inflation is cooling” news Tuesday, were down Wednesday on the “Fed is not convinced” development. GOP leader Kevin McCarthy is trying to find the votes to become speaker, and adding a spending fight to his plate would get messy quickly. But the spending fight loomsNone of the disagreements over spending are going away. Inflation moved the electionThe difference between 7.1% month-over-month inflation and 7.7% inflation in October may not feel like much on the micro level to Americans who are paying 49% more for eggs this year than they were last year. “In the coming decade, they’re going to be fighting hard to get inflation down.”In the meantime, cooling inflation might be praised by policymakers, but it could rub everyone else the wrong way, especially if an economic slowdown starts to feel like a recession.

☆ Premarket stocks: Investors are hoping for the economic tide to turn. The wait may soon be over
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

What’s happening: Price increases in the United States cooled more than economists expected last month, recording the lowest level of growth since last December. This is the second consecutive month of moderating price pressures and could mean the underlying trend of inflation is finally decelerating. That’s a welcome and hopeful sign for consumers, policymakers and investors, said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. The bill specifically names TikTok and its parent, ByteDance, as social media companies for the purposes of the legislation. In the past two weeks, at least seven states have introduced such measures, including Maryland, South Dakota and Utah.

☆ Inflation is falling. But the days when prices rose just 2% may never return
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Energy prices are pulling back because of fears of a global recession, and the price to ship a container across the ocean has plummeted. In the United States, consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 7.1% in November, the smallest increase since December 2021. Prices rose by 10.7% in the United Kingdom last month, down from 11.1% in October, according to data published Wednesday. But even if this bout of inflation has peaked, economists are warning the world may not return to simpler days when prices barely rose at all. At least for now, supply of critical minerals can’t keep up, which could force prices higher at times.

☆ Shoppers are dipping into savings and going into debt. That could cause a holiday hangover
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And that would be problematic for an economy that is driven by consumer spending. But the savings rate has come down since, in large part due to the high cost of living. The savings rate fell to just 2.3% in October, according to government statistics released last week. By contrast, the savings rate in 2019 averaged nearly 9%, according to Moody’s. Markowska expects consumer spending to remain solid until layoffs pickup steam, likely during the third quarter of next year.

☆ GE Healthcare Plans to Reduce Debt and Costs, Pursue Tuck-In Acquisitions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Nina Trentmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

As a stand-alone company, GE Healthcare will also look to improve its working capital and lower logistics costs, Mr. Zodl said. GE Healthcare will also take a look at its real estate holdings and target over 100 sites, executives said. Ratings firms S&P Global Ratings, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service have all given GE Healthcare an investment-grade rating. PREVIEWApart from reducing debt and costs, GE Healthcare will scout for potential tuck-in acquisition targets, Chief Executive Peter Arduini said. GE retains a 19.9% stake in GE Healthcare.

☆ Brazil, a Bastion of Hydropower, Is Gaining Traction in Wind and Solar
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Paulo Trevisani | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

The government, meanwhile, welcomes renewables projects as they can generate jobs and extra income for communities plagued by poverty. The wave of solar, wind and other clean-energy projects is expected to take market share from historically predominant hydroelectric generation. Wind and solar power are abundant in areas thousands of miles north of metropolitan centers where it is mostly needed, industry officials said. New solar and wind plants are generally welcomed by environmentalists and can often offer much-needed income to small farms. Of this total, 83% is expected to come from renewable sources, including hydro, solar, wind and others.

☆ Is the worst over for bitcoin and the rest of crypto?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This is not the first crypto winter, as long-term fans of bitcoin can attest. “It is very clear that we as an industry need to build better products,” said Hany Rashwan, CEO of 21.co, a crypto investment firm. That’s about triple where prices were during the depths of the crypto bear market in the early pandemic days of 2020. Others point out that the underlying blockchain technology behind bitcoin and crypto remains solid. Pride and Reynolds added that it’s erroneous to think that bitcoin can hold up well during stock market volatility.

☆ Why Mark Zandi says the US economy will narrowly avoid a recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

That’s why Moody’s Analytics chief economist is increasingly confident that the American economy will — narrowly — escape a recession. None of the financial market indicators suggest we have a recession dead ahead,” Zandi said. Zandi said he wouldn’t argue with those who forecast a recession, conceding it’s going to be a “close” call. S&P reiterated it expects the US economy to fall into recession next year, though it expects a “mild” recession in line with the 1969-1970 downturn. “I bet if we weren’t worried about a recession, the president wouldn’t have been so quick to go to Congress,” Zandi said.

HONG KONG, Nov 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - President Xi Jinping is wrapping up his massive property stress test, but it looks like few have passed. It was precisely what the now near-collapsed China Evergrande (3333.HK) had asked for back in 2020, before regulators dashed its hopes of listing in the Chinese mainland. Among them is Country Garden (2007.HK), whose U.S. dollar bond that matures in January has rebounded 43% to 96 cents on the dollar this month. In comparison, an Evergrande bond due in January still trades at 5.5 cents. These property bailouts are set to leave most in the sector out in the cold.

☆ Junk-Rated Companies Face Greater Downgrade Risks as Economy Slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Each of these companies was downgraded by at least one ratings firm in recent weeks. At the same time, the economy has been losing steam, resulting in lower earnings and darkening the outlook for companies, especially in consumer-facing sectors. Credit downgrades can drive up financing costs for companies and cause executives to take additional action such as reducing debt loads. There were 33 S&P downgrades in September, the most in a single month since June 2020. Businesses without immediate refinancing needs, however, tend to see less of a direct impact from credit downgrades.

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