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☆ JPMorgan may turn First Republic sites into 'special branches' for wealthy clients, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

JPMorgan Chase bought the San Francisco-based First Republic Bank on May 1 after it failed. The Wall Street Journal reported that it wants to retain a hands-on approach to wealth management. The First Republic deal reignited concerns about big banks becoming too powerful. JPMorgan Chase's takeover of the failed First Republic Bank could boost efforts to develop its wealth-management business, . "The failure of First Republic Bank shows how deregulation has made the too big to fail problem even worse," Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted the day the deal was announced.

☆ JPMorgan investors to scrutinize First Republic takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Analysts will seek more details about the deal and JPMorgan's plans to integrate First Republic's business into the largest U.S. bank. FIRST REPUBLICJPMorgan has agreed to undertake $173 billion of the failed bank's loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion of deposits after First Republic was shuttered down by authorities. Dimon had said that he expects blowback from the FRC deal earlier this month in an interview on Bloomberg TV. loadingAn acquisition of this scale will raise question on integration, execution risks, employee retention among others, analysts believe. JPMorgan has made 19 acquisitions since 2020 but the last major purchase of this scale by the lender was in 2008 of Bear Stearns.

☆ US banks rethink social media as a threat, not a marketing tool
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Greg Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, blamed social media as an "unprecedented" factor in the lender's demise. The former CEO of First Republic Bank, Michael Roffler, also blamed social media for its collapse two months later. Bank executives and directors have ordered their companies to add social media into risk-management programs, according to regional bank executives who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. "NIP IT IN THE BUD"Banks are also contacting customers who complain on social media to address their issues quickly. The Financial Stability Board, an international body, is also investigating the role of social media in recent market turmoil, a source said.

☆ The widow of Putin's political mentor and mother of his rumored goddaughter is increasingly voicing concerns about Russia's war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A prominent Russian senator with close ties to Putin is increasingly criticizing the war in Ukraine. Sen. Lyudmila Narusova, whose late husband was a mentor to Putin, has been a skeptic of the war since the start. "Nobody has explained how victory is supposed to look," Narusova told an interviewer with Forbes Russia in an April video, according to a translation in The Washington Post. "I think they themselves do not know what they are doing," Narusova told the independent Dozhd channel in February 2022, per The Times. His widow's public defiance is a sign of the worry growing among top Russian officials ahead of Ukraine's much-anticipated counteroffensive.

☆ Sen. Elizabeth Warren presses regulators for answers on First Republic takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., greets Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, during the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Dirksen Building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asking federal financial regulators for answers over what she called a "deeply troubling" deal that saw JPMorgan Chase take over First Republic Bank. "Our financial strength, capabilities and business model allowed us to develop a bid to execute the transaction in a way to minimize costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund." Instead, the insurance fund was allowed to take a multibillion-dollar loss after billions of dollars worth of the bank's uninsured deposits were rescued during the deal, Warren said. "The FDIC appeared to prioritize First Republic's uninsured deposits at the bank before the Insurance Fund," she said.

☆ Ex-First Republic CEO blames contagion for bank's collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 16 (Reuters) - The former chief executive of the First Republic Bank Michael Roffler blamed the bank's collapse on the contagion from the failures of other regional banks and said regulators did not express concerns regarding the bank's strategy, liquidity, or management performance. "We could not have anticipated that Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank would fail, or that the failure of those banks would trigger substantial deposit outflows at our bank," he said. First Republic's financial position and strategy were regularly reviewed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) and the FDIC, he said. California banking regulators shut down First Republic Bank on May 1 and sold its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), in a deal to resolve the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis and draw a line under lingering banking turmoil. Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Here's what analysts are saying after Western Alliance's latest update
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Analysts on Wall Street are optimistic on Western Alliance after the bank's latest deposit update. Shares of Western Alliance popped more than 9% in the premarket. The analyst has a $71 per share price target on Western Alliance, which represents about 125% upside from Tuesday's closing price of $31.59. WAL YTD mountain Western Alliance stock has broken out in recent days, gaining 15% in the last five trading sessions. His price target points to more than 100% upside over the next 12 months.

The S&P Regional Banking Index fell approximately 25% during the quarter as a run on deposits sank Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March, both of which were at the time the largest banking failures since the Great Financial Crisis. The S&P Regional Banking index is now down 36% for the year to date. Famed "Big Short" investor Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management, meanwhile, added a number of new positions in regional banks, including stakes in First Republic, PacWest (PACW.O) and Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL.N). Shares of regional banks have remained volatile in recent weeks, with some investors wary of more tumult to come in the sector. London-based Marshall Wace sold 51,300 shares of First Republic in the first quarter, closing its position in the bank.

☆ ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry bought shares in a slew of regional banks last quarter amid banking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Michael Burry, known for calling the subprime mortgage crisis, bought shares in a number of regional banks last quarter, betting the industry could weather the crisis, according to a new regulatory filing. The famed investor said in mid-March, after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank , that he expected the banking crisis to be over soon without severe damage. However, on May 1, First Republic was seized by regulators to become the biggest bank collapse since the 2008 financial crisis. Burry bought $2 million worth of First Republic Bank shares last quarter, the filing, which reflects Scion's holdings as of March 31, showed. Burry was depicted in Michael Lewis' book "The Big Short" and the subsequent Oscar-winning movie of the same name.

☆ Financial fraudsters are targeting postal workers to steal their mailbox keys, so USPS is trying something new
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

USPS and the Postal Inspection Service announced it is cracking down on robberies and mail theft. Incident rates of attacks against mail workers and theft from blue collection boxes are on the rise. But less talked about is another issue: Thieves targeting postal workers themselves. Robbers specializing in financial fraud schemes are increasingly stealing mail straight from the hands of mail workers, or stealing their keys to mailboxes. So the United States Postal Service is implementing new policies and security efforts to curb the worsening problem.

Leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, NVIDIA Corp (NVDA.O), OpenAI, and Stability AI, will participate in a public evaluation of their AI systems. Shortly after Biden announced his reelection bid, the Republican National Committee produced a video featuring a dystopian future during a second Biden term, which was built entirely with AI imagery. Such political ads are expected to become more common as AI technology proliferates. In February, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate bias in their AI use. The Biden administration has also released an AI Bill of Rights and a risk management framework.

☆ A cruise ship passenger found a hidden camera that had filmed over 150 people changing or using the bathroom. A man was arrested after the FBI said video showed him setting it up.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A passenger on a Royal Caribbean cruise spotted a hidden camera in a public bathroom. The FBI said the video showed adults and minors as young as 4 years old changing. A man was arrested Wednesday after officials say he set up a hidden camera in a public cruise ship bathroom and recorded more than 150 people, including minors, before another passenger spotted it, court records showed. The camera was placed in a public bathroom on the top deck of the Harmony of the Seas. In 2018, a couple from Florida said they found a hidden camera pointing at the bed of their cabin on a Carnival cruise ship.

☆ Buffalo Starbucks workers helped spark the chain's labor union movement. Now, one of the stores has filed to decertify its union.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Workers at a Buffalo Starbucks store have filed a petition to decertify their union. The store, located in downtown Buffalo, New York, would remove Workers United as its representative in negotiations with Starbucks, Bloomberg Law reported. It was among the first Starbucks stores in the country where employees voted to have union representation. A spokesperson for Workers United told TV station WGRZ that Starbucks had launched an "illegal union-busting campaign" at the store. According to Workers United, about 300 Starbucks stores around the US have voted to unionize.

☆ Americans' confidence in Powell hits a low mark for a Fed chief, poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a news conference after the release of U.S. Fed policy decision on interest rates, in Washington, U.S, May 3, 2023. Just 36% of respondents to a Gallup poll taken last month said they had either a "great deal" or "fair amount" of confidence in Powell. That downswing has played out alongside a surge in inflation that Powell and other economic leaders were slow to recognize and take action against. Powell, though, was not alone in seeing the U.S. public lose faith in his capabilities. The poll also found declining confidence in congressional leaders from both parties.

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Investors liked April's jobs growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Broader markets were boosted by April's jobs report, which showed a higher-than-expected increase in jobs growth and an unemployment rate of 3.4% — a record low since 1969. Recall January's jobs report: There were 517,000 new jobs in December, almost three times the forecast. A strong jobs market increases the probability that the U.S. economy can tame inflation without contracting too severely. Subscribe here to get this report sent directly to your inbox each morning before markets open.

☆ Analysis: In Turkey, an election reckoning for the rise and fall of Erdogan's economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Jonathan Spicer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

The May 14 vote, which lands during the Turkish Republic's centenary year, is Erdogan's biggest test yet. At the same time, a global reversal in market liquidity left Turkey and other emerging markets starved for funding. But the economic crisis was damaging. This trend accelerated in 2013, wiping out big gains made in 2006-2010 during Erdogan's first decade in charge. "If Erdogan wins the election and continues his economic policy it will come to a complete crash at one point.

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Investors like jobs growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Google plans to upgrade search with AI chat, video clips- WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 6 (Reuters) - Google is planning to make its search engine more "visual, snackable, personal, and human," with a focus on serving young people globally, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing documents. The move comes as artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as ChatGPT are rapidly gaining in popularity, highlighting a technology that could upend the way businesses and society operate. At its annual I/O developer conference in the coming week, Google is expected to debut new features that allow users to carry out conversations with an AI program, a project code-named "Magi," WSJ added, citing people familiar with the matter. Google, part of Alphabet Inc., did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FDIC mulls loss-sharing with nonbanks to boost bids on failed lenders, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) is mulling whether to offer loss-sharing agreements to private equity firms and other nonbanks that buy parts of failed lenders, after it was left holding a large portfolio of Signature Bank loans following its collapse, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Since the FDIC does not regulate nonbanks, the firms cannot bid for an entire lender but such a move could entice them to buy loans and assets at a discount from collapsed institutions and help the FDIC get higher bids, the report said. The FDIC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Earlier this week, JPMorgan (JPM.N) entered into a loss-sharing agreement with the FDIC when it agreed to assume all of First Republic's deposits but share losses on certain portfolios including residential and commercial loans. Reporting by Juby Babu in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Banking 'cancer' may be spreading as otherwise healthy firms seem vulnerable and credit gets pulled from the economy, Mohamed El-Erian says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Banking sector "cancer" is starting to spread, Mohamed El-Erian said. Other regional lenders have shown signs of weakness after First Republic Bank failed this week. Widespread contagion would turn the banking situation into a true crisis, El-Erian warned. "The cancer within them is starting to spread, and we've got to keep an eye on that," he added. Credit conditions are also beginning to tighten, and the risks of further contraction go up as banking contagion spreads.

☆ Short sellers pocketed nearly $400 million in a single day from the regional bank stock sell-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Short sellers made $378.9 million in just one day betting against embattled regional banks, data show. Such traders have been selling borrowed bank stocks before buying them back at lower levels once their price falls. Traders profited as fresh turmoil embroiled regional banks this week following First Republic's failure and its takeover by JPMorgan. According to ORTEX, short sellers have made $816 million from the three bank stocks since the start of the year. Last month, ORTEX reported that short bets against Canada's Toronto-Dominion had swollen to $6.1 billion, having become the world's most shorted bank in early April.

☆ Apple and fintechs like Robinhood chase yield-hungry depositors as Fed rate hikes continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Last month, the iPhone maker launched its Apple Card savings account with a generous 4.15% APY in partnership with Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs . "It's really a trade-off for consumers, between safety or the appearance of safety, and yield," Laplanche told CNBC. Still, the emerging group of high-yield savings products are much more mainstream than what the crypto platforms were promoting. SoFi launched its high-yield savings account in February of last year. In its annual SEC filing, the company said that offering checking and high-yield savings accounts provided "more daily interactions with our members."

☆ Richardson storms to 100m win in Diamond League, Kerley wins 200m
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Like I said it before, I had to be kicked out from another 100 metres race, so I had to do my best no matter what. I am really happy with my race, third place is a good start and the time is decent," she said. "I feel really good, today was challenging for all athletes but I'm still satisfied with my result," Chopra said. The Czech Republic's Jakub Vadlejch, who won silver in Tokyo, finished second again -- four centimetres shy of Chopra's mark. "It was an exciting race but a little bit windy, so I decided to not push too much and just focus on winning the race," Kipyegon said.

☆ White House to meet Microsoft, Google CEOs on AI dangers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationWASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The White House will host CEOs of top artificial intelligence companies, including Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O), on Thursday to discuss risks and safeguards as the technology catches the attention of governments and lawmakers globally. Leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Stability AI, will participate in a public evaluation of their AI systems at the AI Village at DEFCON 31 - one of the largest hacker conventions in the world - and run on a platform created by Scale AI and Microsoft. Such political ads are expected to become more common as AI technology proliferates. In February, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate bias in their use of AI. The Biden administration has also released an AI Bill of Rights and a risk management framework.

☆ Western Alliance says no unusual deposit outflows after First Republic sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A screen displays the logo and trading info for Western Alliance Bancorporation on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 14, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidMay 3 (Reuters) - Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL.N) said on Wednesday it had not experienced unusual deposit outflows following the sale of collapsed lender First Republic Bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), as the U.S. regional bank sought to reassure investors. Phoenix-based Western Alliance said its total deposits were $48.8 billion as of Tuesday, up from $48.2 billion as of Monday. The statement from Western Alliance came after reports that PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) was exploring strategic options including a sale or capital raising. The news sent shares of several regional lenders tumbling in after-market trading, led by a 52% plunge at PacWest and 23% decline at Western Alliance.

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