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Most-active CBOT soybeans on Wednesday fell to their lowest level since early December, ending nearly 6% off this month’s high. Money managers’ biggest weekly dumping of CBOT soy futures and options was about 61,400 contracts in November 2019, requiring double the weekly record for funds to be flat by the next report. Net selling in corn recently blew out a weekly record at more than 147,000 contracts in the last week of February, well past the prior high near 104,000. Despite catastrophic crop problems in Argentina, Brazil’s enormous harvest and equally enormous export program have recently weighed on the soybean market. However, the potential size of the 2023 U.S. soybean crop remains up for debate with farmers’ planting plans not yet known.

☆ Premarket stocks: Five big takeaways from the Fed's extraordinary meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday as it attempts to fight stubbornly high inflation while addressing risks to financial stability. Powell said that the central bank anticipates growth will slow and inflation will decline gradually this year and next year. Before the banking crisis, the Fed was fairly certain that more rate hikes would be coming in the future. But markets tend to be fickle after Fed meetings and traders’ opinions of the meeting could change in early trading. Norway and Switzerland hiked rates earlier Thursday, and the Bank of England is expected to do so too at 8a ET.

The Fed's policy-setting committee raised interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point in a unanimous decision on Wednesday, lifting its benchmark overnight interest rate to the 4.75%-5.00% range. Fed officials still feel that "some additional policy firming" may be needed, and they penciled in one more quarter-of-a-percentage-point rate increase by the end of the year. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note , which is highly sensitive to Fed rate expectations, was down more than 21 basis points in the session. Financial markets went a step further, betting that the Fed won't raise rates any further from here and will be reducing them by this summer. "The Fed has been spooked by Silicon Valley Bank and other banking turmoil.

☆ Interest Rates Are Still Going Up—And That’s Good News for Savers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

But they’ve cheered savers by breaking a decadelong streak of near-zero returns on cash parked in savings accounts, CDs and the like. Where interest rates are headed nextThe opportunity might not last. The fed-funds rate, which banks use to set savings and CD rates, now appears more likely to fall than rise further. What it means for your moneySavings and CDsGiven the likelihood that we’re at peak interest rates, using CDs to lock in high yields may be a good idea. On the home buyer front, the median sale price of an existing home fell 12.3% between June and February as higher mortgage interest rates weakened demand.

☆ Markets saw a dovish Fed hike but Powell's warning on credit conditions spooked investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Are we going to celebrate the end of Fed rate hikes because things have started to hit the fan?" Strategists pointed to Powell's comment that financial conditions may have tightened more than it appears in traditional market measures, which would be stocks and bond spreads. "Number one, he remains unwavering on inflation, and he does acknowledge he sees a tightening of credit conditions. Briggs also called out Powell's comments about the impact from credit tightening , and the effect those actions can have. "That tightening via credit conditions can take the place of hikes (and vice versa if we don't get tighter credit conditions)," he said. "

☆ All’s fair in love and stablecoins
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - If a stablecoin isn’t first, it’s last, as Circle has learned this month. The company that issues USDC lost its peg to the dollar earlier this month because of worries about the $3.3 billion it held at Silicon Valley Bank. Though Circle recovered the funds from the bank, customers pulled $6 billion from it, according to Bloomberg. Circle Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire, in contrast, does regular rounds in Washington and has argued for regulation. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ US stocks slip ahead of Fed's decision on interest rates following bank crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US stocks slipped Wednesday before the Federal Reserve's March rate decision. The Fed's decision is the first since SVB's collapse set off distress in regional banks. The policy decision is due at 2:00 p.m. Eastern and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will speak at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. Cathie Wood says the Fed's rate hikes hit Ark's strategy like an 'earthquake' as the fund logs a $2 billion loss. Top economist David Rosenberg said the Fed should put bigger rate hikes back on the table after bouts of 'speculative lunacy'.

☆ TikTok CEO to tell lawmakers its parent company is ‘not an agent of China’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —TikTok CEO Shou Chew plans to tell US lawmakers that the app’s parent company, ByteDance, does not work for the Chinese government as he seeks to avert a US ban and reassure policymakers TikTok poses no national security threat. “Let me state this unequivocally,” Chew will say, according to a copy of his remarks released by a key House panel. New TikTok data created by US users is already being stored on cloud-based servers operated by the US tech giant Oracle, a change that took effect last month, according to the testimony. USDS already has nearly 1,500 full-time employees and the company plans to hire more. Chew plans to describe the incident as a “misguided attempt to trace the source of a leak of confidential TikTok information.” TikTok informed the Energy and Commerce Committee about the spying “within moments of informing our employees,” Chew will add.

☆ Yellen and Powell sent mixed messages today, spooked the markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | 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 EmailYellen and Powell sent mixed messages today, spooked the marketsCNBC's Kayla Tausche, Empire Research's Herb Greenberg and Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman joins Brian Sullivan and 'Last Call' to discuss Yellen's comments today on Capitol Hill and the impact they had on markets at the end of the day.

☆ Goldman Sachs just raised their recession probability due to stress in the banking system. These 20 stocks are least sensitive to an economic downturn, the bank says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank have all battled woes in the last week. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York both closed in recent days as a result of a run on deposits. Silicon Valley Bank had taken significant losses on bond investments, causing depositors to worry that their money would not be safe. This fear spread to customers of Signature Bank, which then sold assets at a loss to meet liquidity demands. First Republic Bank also appeared to have insufficient liquidity to weather a bank run, fueling concerns that it would be closed down.

☆ European stocks slide as Credit Suisse buyout fails to soothe investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) fell 0.8% by 0807 GMT, after having recorded its biggest weekly decline of the year on Friday. Shares of Credit Suisse slumped 62.3% after rival UBS Group AG said it will pay 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) for the 167-year-old bank and assume up to $5.4 billion in losses, in a package orchestrated by Swiss regulators on Sunday. Investors were also spooked by news that Credit Suisse additional tier-1 bonds - or AT1 bonds - with a notional value of $17 billion will be valued at zero, angering some of the holders of the debt who thought they would be better protected than shareholders. The wider European banking index (.SX7P) slid 3.2% to hit its lowest level in three months. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How bad is the banking crisis?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Spriha Srivastava | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Fed along with five other central banks announced coordinated action to reassure global banks. To make sense of those acronyms, GFC refers to the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009, EZ crisis is the Eurozone crisis of 2009 onwards, temper tantrum likely refers to the taper tantrum of 2013, and the Covid 3/20 shock is when global markets went haywire in the early stages of the pandemic. So, you might be wondering: Just how bad is the banking crisis? "It means the banking crisis we've seen over the past few weeks has started a new chapter rather than reaching its ending." After the 2008 financial crisis, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) made it necessary for all European banks to issue CoCo bonds.

☆ Investors in venture funds reveal how they felt VCs handled the Silicon Valley Bank fallout: one was privately frustrated, while another was impressed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

After last week's bank run on SVB, many limited partners for VC funds had lots of questions. One LP was unhappy with how VCs in the funds they back handled the SVB crisis. Some LPs are wary of the tech industry's heavy reliance on the bank. But after last week's bank run on Silicon Valley Bank, caused in large part by warnings from several prominent VCs to their portfolio companies to get their money out of the bank, LPs have mixed feelings about how it all went down. "There were a lot of fintech companies in particular, and banking companies that banded together to come up with solutions overnight."

☆ Credit Suisse faces fateful weekend. Will UBS step up with a rescue bid?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Mark Thompson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The fate of Credit Suisse could be decided in the next 36 hours after a torrid week for Switzerland’s second biggest bank. But by Friday, analysts were speculating that a full-blown rescue would be needed, and reports began to swirl of a possible takeover by its biggest Swiss rival, UBS (UBS). The FT said the boards of UBS and Credit Suisse were expected to meet separately over the weekend. Credit Suisse and UBS both declined to comment to Reuters. “BlackRock is not participating in any plans to acquire all or any part of Credit Suisse, and has no interest in doing so,” a BlackRock spokesperson told CNN.

☆ Investors pile into cash but "no equity capitulation" - BofA
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Lucy Raitano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoCash funds saw a “huge” inflow of $112.7 billion in the latest week, BofA said, citing EPFR data. Inflows into cash for the first quarter of 2023 are on course to be the highest since the second quarter of 2020, BofA said. Meanwhile, equity funds saw a “tiny” weekly outflow of $26 million, and investors pulled $2.3 billion from bonds and put $600 million into gold. The turmoil in markets has spooked investors, but BofA said equity flows had been unchanged week-on-week and there was “no equity capitulation”. There was a “flight to quality” in fixed income according to BofA, with $9.8 billion poured into Treasuries - the largest weekly inflow since May 2022.

☆ Oil steadies as investors take stock of banking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Florence Tan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, March 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Friday after a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Russia calmed markets, but crude benchmarks were still headed for a second weekly fall after a banking crisis sparked a sell-off in global financial markets this week. Brent crude futures edged up 2 cents to $74.72 a barrel by 0133 GMT, having snapped three days of losses to settle 1.4% higher on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $68.33 a barrel, down 2 cents after closing 1.1% higher in the previous session. Contagion risks among banks are still keeping investors on edge, curbing their appetite for assets such as commodities as they fear a further rout could trigger a global recession and cut oil demand. "The sudden failure of SVB and Signature Bank forced a rethink about the health of the broader economy and spooked markets," JPMorgan analysts said in a note.

☆ 41% of adults are preparing for a recession. It's time to stress-test your income, advisors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Yet many Americans — 41% — have taken steps to prepare for a possible economic downturn, according to a survey by Morning Consult. Still, there are a few steps advisors say you should take now to make sure you are prepared to weather a downturn. Barry Glassman president of Glassman Wealth Services"Stress-test your income against your ongoing obligations," Glassman said. The upside for conservative investors is they are now able to get higher interest rates on their cash. Reduce your debtsHigher interest rates mean consumer debts are climbing higher.

☆ Some Equifax settlement checks bounced due to 'clerical error' at failed Signature Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Some consumers who tried to deposit an Equifax settlement check in recent days got a surprise: It bounced. The checks, a result of a legal settlement over the credit-reporting firm's 2017 data breach, were written against an account at Signature Bank. However, the checks that were returned unpaid are not related to the bank's failure, said Jennifer Keough, CEO of JND Legal Administration, which is handling the Equifax settlement. "What happened here, due to a Signature Bank clerical error, certain checks that should have cleared were rejected by other banks," Keough said. Roughly 18 million consumers were part of the class action lawsuit that led to the settlement, she said.

☆ 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.

☆ Bank troubles roil markets and make Fed's decision next week more fraught
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Even with Friday's sell-off, the S & P 500 and Nasdaq scored gains for the week. The S & P 500 rose 1.4%, compared to a tiny loss of 0.2% in the Dow . "If the U.S. economy is going into a recession, they're going to be buying less cloud service. On Friday, durable goods for February is reported, and there are releases of flash S & P Global PMI data for services and manufacturing. Durable goods 9:30 a.m. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard 9:45 a.m. S & P Global Manufacturing PMI 9:45 a.m. S & P Global Services PMI

☆ Enel self-help plan has one known unknown
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, March 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Enel (ENEI.MI) Chief Executive Francesco Starace’s slim-down plan is not getting enough attention. That prompted the group to start aggressively selling assets in places like Chile, Argentina and Romania to cut debt by 21 billion euros. As of Thursday, it had clinched sales equivalent to around 8 billion euros, while net debt had fallen to 60 billion euros. Since taking the helm in 2014, the 67-year-old Italian executive has set the state-controlled power company on a clear green energy trajectory, with one of the biggest green generation pipelines. If Enel replaces its green champion with someone less competent, investors may stay jittery.

☆ Why bank runs like the SVB collapse happen: 'It's like a mass delusion that becomes a reality'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of multinational financial firm Credit Suisse soared in early trading Thursday after the bank announced it would borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion) from the Swiss National Bank. Late last week week, SVB's clients — many of them tech startups — pulled their money from the bank en masse, forcing regulators to step in and seize deposits in what became the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Others say the bank failed to manage risk properly. Anonymous employees at the bank say the firm would have been fine had it not spooked depositors by publicly revealing its struggles. It comes down to our herd mentality, our tribal brain," says Brad Klontz, a certified financial planner and financial psychology professor at Creighton University.

☆ Why Won’t the West Let Ukraine Win Against Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( John Bolton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

New intelligence suggesting that a “pro-Ukraine group” sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines in September triggered surprising political blowback in Europe. But even if Ukraine masterminded the raid, why would successfully disrupting Nord Stream imperil foreign assistance? Such a potentially harmful reaction exposes a larger problem, which has repeatedly manifested itself since Russia’s unprovoked aggression. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been spooked by Moscow’s threats to “escalate” the conflict if Ukraine isn’t kept on a tight leash. Although President Biden failed, indeed barely tried, to deter Russia’s war, Vladimir Putin has masterfully deterred NATO from responding robustly enough to end the conflict promptly and victoriously.

☆ What credit ratings have to do with the fallout at Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic — and why they matter so much to banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

As panic shoots across the banking sector, US banks' credit ratings have come under the spotlight, and investors are zooming in on how these institutions are graded. Moody's, S&P Global, and Fitch are three big credit ratings agencies that control about 95% of the credit ratings in the financial markets. In fact, during the global financial crisis, credit ratings agencies had been blasted for giving better ratings to risky mortgage-backed securities and collateralized loans. Fears of the crisis spreading have also hit the credit ratings of First Republic Bank. First Republic Bank is now considering various options —including a sale – Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Signs of calm and stability in banking stocks, which have tanked in the past week following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), soon paved way for renewed selling as Credit Suisse shares fell to record lows. Reuters GraphicsThe STOXX 600 (.STOXX) index fell 1.67%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) fell 51.58 points, or 2.91%Investors rushed back into safe haven investments. "The Credit Suisse share price is falling and government bonds are rallying on the back of that. Markets are "spooked" by Credit Suisse headlines, said Richard McGuire, head of rates strategy at Rabobank in London. "For today Credit Suisse is the dish of the day but we don't think this will be a longer lasting trend," he said.

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