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☆ Some of Wall Street's top commentators fear a recession is at hand as rates set to go higher for longer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, Jerome Powell reiterated his warning that the Fed's more than ready to keep jacking up rates if necessary. Inflation hasn't gone away as easily as policymakers want, and Powell thinks that may just warrant a steeper policy path. That's not the most reassuring assessment of the situation as some of the biggest commentators in markets are saying a recession is right around the corner. The exec also broke down how to use the strategy in today's stock market to make extremely cheap bets that garner "through the roof" returns. Fannie Mae's Home Purchasing Sentiment Index dropped this week while mortgage rates moved higher.

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - Bitcoin steadied on Thursday near its lowest since mid-February, after U.S. crypto-focused bank Silvergate said it would voluntarily liquidate, the latest in a series of high-profile crypto collapses triggered by the collapse of the FTX exchange. Silvergate Capital Corp (SI.N) said on Wednesday it planned to close and voluntarily liquidate, after warning last week that it was evaluating its ability to operate as a going concern. Bitcoin was last down 0.4% at $21,624 , having fallen 2.2% on Wednesday to a 3-1/2 week low of $21,590. Multiple partners of the bank, including major crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O), severed ties with Silvergate last week. Others, including Binance, said they did not have any asset losses at Silvergate.

☆ Higher expenses weigh down U.S. bank profits in 2022 - FDIC
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Pete Schroeder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - U.S. banks reported a 5.8% decline in profits in 2022 as firms spent more on noninterest items and provision expenses against future losses, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reported Tuesday. Bank profits dropped 4.6% in the last quarter of 2022, but overall profits remain above average profits seen by the sector before the pandemic, the bank regulator said. "Key banking industry metrics remain favorable at this time," said FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg in a statement. The FDIC said the higher spending on noninterest items and provision expenses, particularly at larger firms, were behind the slowdown in industry profits. But the sector overall appeared strong, as the FDIC's "problem bank list" fell to 39 firms, the lowest level the agency had ever recorded.

☆ Europe’s now dealing with an oversupply of natural gas after hoarding it for months before winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The benchmark price for natural gas futures has cratered about 28% this year, and it's trading roughly 85% cheaper than record highs reached in August. At that time, natural gas was costing buyers about 10 times more than usual ahead of the winter months. As a key energy supplier to Europe, many feared that Russia would cut off natural gas flows in retaliation to Western sanctions. Europe enjoyed its third hottest January ever last month, meaning people used less heating and thus less natural gas. A former Gazprom official told Reuters this week that all the years of work to build up Russia's natural gas exports have become moot.

☆ Oil dips, but hovers near 2023 highs on China demand optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices dipped in early Asian trade on Monday, but held close to the highest levels since the start of the year on optimism that China's reopening will lift fuel demand at the world's top crude importer. Both contracts rose more than 8% last week, the biggest weekly gain since October, after China's crude imports rose 4% year-on-year in December while Lunar New Year travel brightens the outlook for transportation fuels. Traffic levels in China are continuing to rebound from record low levels following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in stronger demand for crude and oil products, ANZ analysts said in a note. "While there is still plenty of optimism around Chinese demand, in the near term the oil market remains relatively well supplied," ING analysts said in a note. Investors will also be watching for a key Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting this week to determine if it would defend its super-sized stimulus policy.

☆ Inside the lives of some of the most powerful people on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

We're highlighting profiles we've done of some of the most powerful people on Wall Street. They are, as you will see, largely white males — a telling reminder of who still wields the power throughout most of Wall Street. Gregg Lemkau was considered a future CEO candidate at Goldman Sachs before he shocked Wall Street by leaving for Michael Dell's investment firm in 2020. Soft-spoken types can sometimes get bulldozed on Wall Street, where so-called alphas often reign supreme. Inside his strategy for turning Goldman into the Amazon of Wall Street.

☆ U.S. lawmakers press federal banking regulators on the industry’s exposure to crypto after Alameda stake in bank comes to light
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Top Senate Democrats pressed key banking regulators on possible ties between the industry and digital currency exchanges following the bankruptcy of major cryptocurrency firm, FTX. "Banks' relationships with crypto firms raise questions about the safety and soundness of our banking system and highlight potential loopholes that crypto firms may try to exploit to gain further access." Silvergate Capital Corp., Provident Bancorp Inc., Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Signature Bank, Customers Bancorp Inc. are among several noted banks experiencing heightened volatility after the FTX failure. "Banks' relationships with crypto firms raise questions about the safety and soundness of our banking system and highlight potential loopholes that crypto firms may try to exploit to gain further access to banks," the senators wrote. To better understand the banking industry's exposure to crypto, the senators asked for responses to a roster of questions, including all business relationships between FTX, Alameda and Moonstone, by Dec. 21.

The proposed principles detailed expectations for banks with more than $100 billion in assets to incorporate financial risks related to climate into their strategic planning. Those financial impacts "pose an emerging risk to the safety and soundness of financial institutions and the financial stability of the United States," the Fed said. The Fed's plan would require banks to consider climate-related financial risks in their audits and other risk management and add climate-related scenario analysis to traditional stress testing. Fed Governor Christopher Waller dissented against Friday's proposal, raising the question of whether it poses a serious risk to large banks' soundness or U.S. financial stability. "The Federal Reserve conducts regular stress tests on large banks that impose extremely severe macroeconomic shocks and they show that the banks are resilient."

☆ Major analysts are talking about Robinhood's third-quarter results. Here’s what they said
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Wall Street analysts are impressed with Robinhood after it posted strong results for the latest quarter that showed a boost from interest rates and lower expenses. In August, the fintech company announced a 23% reduction in its headcount as it reported weaker-than-expected results for the second quarter . Deutsche Bank – Hold, price target $11 "Quite positively, the company achieved adjusted EBITDA profitability a quarter ahead of its target... Piper Sandler – Neutral, price target $11.50 "Our price target multiple increase is driven by our increased confidence in HOOD's leaner expense model & given it achieved adjusted EBITDA profitability a quarter earlier than expected. Barclays – Underweight, price target $11 "Q3 revenues beat, driven by higher net interest income, and costs came in well below expectations, driving adj.

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☆ ING Groep launches $1.5 bln buyback after Q3 pre-tax profit slumps
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Nov 3 (Reuters) - ING Groep NV (INGA.AS), the largest Dutch bank, reported on Thursday a quarterly pre-tax profit of 1.38 billion euros ($1.36 billion), below expectations due to one-off charges, and also rolled out a fresh share buyback worth 1.5 billion euros. Analysts had forecast a pre-tax profit at 1.50 billion euros, according to Refinitiv data, compared with 1.92 billion euros posted last year. Chief Executive Officer Steven van Rijswijk said the company had seen a "solid performance, especially in light of the challenging economic and geopolitical environment". Additions to loan loss provisions increased to 403 million euros in the reported period from 39 million euros a year ago, but in line with the "through the cycle average", ING said. Without the one-off charges, margins would have improved to 1.42%, Van Rijswijk said.

☆ With the Dow outperforming, here's how investors can harness the stock index
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Of the three major stock market indices, investors currently favor the Dow Jones Industrial Average – particularly in the wake of last week's dismal quarterly reports by mega cap tech firms and the subsequent sell off. So, given this backdrop, how can investors harness an outperforming Dow when constructing their portfolio? The simplest approach would be to look at the companies that comprise the index and pick those with further room to run. Here's a rundown of how we measure our portfolio against the Dow across health-care, finance and semiconductor stocks. Photo taken on March 1, 2022 shows monitors displaying stock market information at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States.

☆ How Gregg Lemkau went from Goldman CEO contender to building a hybrid investment bank catering to billionaires
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Gregg Lemkau was in the running for CEO before he left Goldman Sachs in 2020. Now he runs Michael Dell's investment firm, which is merging with billionaire advisory BDT. When Gregg Lemkau left Goldman Sachs in late 2020 to run Michael Dell's investment firm, many within and outside the bank were surprised. Cardinale, who had left Goldman a decade ago to start his own investment firm, knew it had to be a massive opportunity to pull away Lemkau. Oldest sibling Kristin runs JPMorgan's US wealth management business and Lemkau's younger brother Chip is a managing director at Goldman Sachs in private wealth management.

Many rules require banks to bulk up on treasuries. Two other bankers said the executives expressed concerns over longer-term "systemic risks" due to the level of their bond holdings. Parliament, dominated by the AKP and nationalist allies, is debating next year's budget including record spending of 258.4 billion lira on social aid. VULNERABLE TO REVERSALThe series of rules increased the central bank's authority over the government debt, credit and loan markets, bankers say. Akbank's (AKBNK.IS) Q3 net profit was 17.07 billion lira versus 3.21 billion lira year ago.

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