Something for your weekend.
(Bloomberg) — Happy Saturday from New York, where the birds are starting to chirp and spring is in air. Renewal, though, is not the sentiment in finance. If you’re still dazed and confused from the barrage of bad banking news, here’s a breakdown of what just happened and where we might be headed.
The bank turmoil has mostly scuttled hopes in markets that a US recession can be avoided. But a close read of the cross-asset landscape still finds investors unconvinced the stress will cause a genuine financial crisis.
For Credit Suisse, pummeled by a crisis of confidence, its rival UBS Group is exploring an acquisition of all or parts of the bank at the urging of Swiss regulators, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The goal is to announce a deal by Sunday evening at the latest, according to a person familiar. A government-brokered deal would help address the rout in Credit Suisse, in which panicked investors dumped its shares and bonds following the collapse of three smaller US lenders.
First Republic Bank staved off becoming the fourth US bank to collapse in a matter of days after a group of bigger financial firms took on a $30 billion rescue, but the San Francisco-based company will still need to move quickly to find a way to remain independent or strike a deal for a takeover.
And, of course, there’s still the ongoing fallout in the world of digital assets, though Bitcoin evangelists are enjoying a moment in the post-collapse of Silicon Valley Bank—stressing that bank runs are a “perfect” reason for crypto. On Tuesday the US Supreme Court will get its first taste of crypto, with plenty more coming. It is “just the tip of the tip of the iceberg,” says American University’s Gerard Comizio.
Meantime, Wall Street’s hot takes, instant analysis, rumors and bad tips are all flowing freely on social media, blasted out with a few taps on a smartphone.
If you asked Torsten Slok, the chief economist of Apollo Global Management, a week ago how the economy was going to fare this year, he would have told you he was expecting a no-landing scenario in which the Federal Reserve would tame inflation without triggering a downturn. But all has changed, starting with the fall of SVB. He joined the What Goes Up podcast to discuss his shifting views.
The American construction industry descended on Las Vegas this week for its first major meet-up since the start of the pandemic, and the atmosphere was one of celebration. But digging deeper, fears are mounting that 2023 could end differently than it started.
Former President Donald Trump said he expects to be arrested on Tuesday in a probe by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, citing unspecified leaks in the investigation, and called for protests to “take our nation back.” New York and federal law enforcement officials are preparing to discuss security concerns around any arrest.
The world is still reeling from the pandemic and its fallout, and that includes higher learning institutions. There’s now a $100 billion race on among English-speaking universities from the US to Australia to recapture overseas students now that travel restrictions have ended.
Layoffs in the tech and financial sectors have gotten plenty of attention, with downsizing hitting units from sales to engineering. Job cuts among human-resource professionals are also on the rise, leaving some HR workers with the unenviable task of letting go of their peers, or in cases where the entire division is eliminated, even themselves.
Many have tried (and failed) to understand the motivations and inclinations of Russian President Vladimir Putin. One Russian sociologist who predicted Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has a theory on what makes Putin tick: resentment. And that “has frightening implications,” writes Andreas Kluth for Bloomberg Opinion.
If you need a break from the banking back-and-forth, tennis lovers can revel in the action culminating in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open this weekend. Coined “Tennis Paradise,” the tournament, owned by Larry Ellison, is better known as Indian Wells, after the Southern California town that hosts it.
Or if you want to get away from it all, and can swing it, British hedge fund billionaire Michael Platt’s superyacht is for sale. With an asking price of $149.3 million, it’s one of the most expensive on the market right now.
Stay tuned, and have a lovely weekend.
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