Bloomberg News
US Bonds Rise as a Cloudy Economic Path Backs Bets on Fed Cuts

US Treasuries consolidated gains in a choppy trading session with markets remaining confident that policymakers at the Federal Reserve are still on a path toward lower interest rates.
Austerity? US Economic Policy Is All About Growth

Despite the talk of austerity — and amid the possibility of a global trade war, the reality of a stock-market correction and fears of a US recession — there is still a chance that President Donald Trump’s agenda could increase economic growth. As usual, it will depend on the execution.
Don’t Look to the Fed for the Answer to Stagflation

The Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged was right — but easy to misinterpret.
What Spooked the S&P 500? It Wasn’t the Trade War

The US stock market is on edge. The S&P 500’s recent 10% correction has investors worried, though a highly uncertain policy environment and an unusually top-heavy market obscure just what is spooking stocks.
Citi’s Private Equity ‘Club’ Underwhelmed Billionaire Members

Citigroup Inc. had what looked like the perfect way to grab a slice of the money flowing from wealthy individuals to private equity firms: playing matchmaker between its rich clients and an up-and-coming firm.
Nvidia Plans Massive Outlay on US-Made Electronics, FT Says

Nvidia Corp. aims to spend several hundred billion dollars to procure US-made chips and electronics over the next four years, the Financial Times reported.
EQT Returns $5.4 Billion to Investors After Education Bet Soars

EQT AB will return $5.4 billion to investors this week after completing the sale of a stake in Nord Anglia Education Ltd., marking one of the most profitable recent private equity exits in Asia, people familiar with the matter said.
Elon Musk’s X Raises Almost $1 Billion in New Equity Funding

Elon Musk’s social network X has raised close to $1 billion in new equity from investors, according to people with knowledge of the matter — a deal that gives the company a valuation in line with when Musk took it private in 2022.
The Student Lending Mess Needs to Be Fixed

After years of poor decision-making, the federal government’s $1.64 trillion student loan program is in critical condition. Congress needs to stanch the bleeding — and give serious thought to overhauling this flawed system for the longer term.
The Federal Reserve Is Driving Blind

On the predictable side, the Fed kept policy rates in a range of 4.25%-4.5%, and the rate-setting committee pledged to slow the pace at which it’s allowing securities to roll off its balance sheet.
Musk’s xAI Startup Joins Microsoft-BlackRock $30 Billion AI Fund

Microsoft Corp., the biggest backer of Sam Altman’s OpenAI, and BlackRock Inc., which has an executive on the artificial intelligence startup’s board, are joining forces with one of its chief rivals.
Private Equity Firms Are Getting Rid of Their Equity

Private equity firms are called that because they own stakes in the companies they buy. Today, this assumption is looking ever more outdated.
Cathie Wood Sells Meta Shares for First Time in Nearly a Year

Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management LLC is cutting its stake in Meta Platforms Inc. for the first time in around a year, the latest sign of a downturn in fortunes for big US tech stocks.
Investors Look for Fed’s Take on Growth After US Bond Rally

Bond investors will look for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to hit just the right notes in his Wednesday remarks to keep up the momentum behind a rally in the $29 trillion Treasury market.
Europe’s VAT Hurts the US? Retaliate With a VAT

The Trump administration isn’t satisfied with the mayhem it has already inflicted on global trade and investment.
Investment Bankers Finally Start to Take Trump Literally

Banks needed the right version of Donald Trump to justify their high-flying stock prices. They got the wrong one. The US president’s chaotic and aggressive performance during his first few weeks in the White House has shocked companies, put investment plans and deals on hold and threatens to drag the economy into recession.
Google Agrees to Buy Cloud Security Firm Wiz for $32 Billion

Google parent Alphabet Inc. agreed to acquire cybersecurity firm Wiz Inc. for $32 billion in cash, reaching a deal less than a year after initial negotiations fell apart because the cloud-computing startup wanted to stay independent.
Fed Day Takes on New Meaning in Stock Market Transfixed by Trump

For years, Federal Reserve meetings have been the main event on Wall Street as the central bank fought to contain runaway inflation.
Wall Street Firms Plunge Into Europe’s Booming Active ETF Market

US investment firms are rushing to grab a greater chunk of Europe’s market for active exchange-traded funds, an industry projected to grow to $1 trillion in assets over the coming years.
New US Home Construction Rebounds After Storm-Ridden Month

US housing starts rose in February by more than forecast after a weather-related plunge, led by a pickup in single-family home construction underpinned by builder incentives.
Direct Job Switches Near Four-Year Low in Sign of Weak US Market

The share of US workers making a direct transition from one employer to another has slid near a four-year low, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, pointing to a weakening labor market.
Disappointing Retail Sales Add to Concerns About US Outlook

Disappointing retail sales last month added to concerns of a pullback in consumer spending in the US, while a pair of business surveys suggested growing caution.
Richard Perry Returns to Hedge Funds After a Nine-Year Hiatus

Richard Perry ran a hedge fund for almost three decades before closing it in 2016. Now he has decided it’s time for a comeback.
Darker Than a Dark Pool? Welcome to Wall Street’s ‘Private Rooms’

A decade after being engulfed by a controversy that culminated in multiple enforcement actions and a regulator clampdown, these off-exchange trading platforms are touting a way to buy and sell stocks that’s even more opaque.
Gen Z’s Job Recession Needs Urgent Attention

Gen Z is right to have negative feelings about the economy. Not only were its oldest members entering the workforce as the pandemic struck, but those in their early to mid-20s are also now bearing the brunt of a labor market that’s largely been frozen in place for the past two years.
We Still Need to Find Out Why Stocks Gains Come at Night

The tendency of stocks to produce all their gains at night, when markets are closed, and systematically lose money during the daylight hours, has baffled researchers for four decades and potentially put retail investors at a disadvantage.
US Stocks Face Uneven Recovery From Tariff-Triggered Correction

It took just 16 trading sessions for US stocks to tumble into a correction, leaving a frazzled Wall Street asking just how long the “adjustment period” White House officials have warned about will last.
Wall Street Goes All In on Great Crypto Comeback Fueled by Trump

It was only three years ago that a dispute between an infamous crypto billionaire and a titan of the financial establishment became the center of attention at an annual event known as the Davos of the derivatives market.
An ‘Insurance Renaissance’ Is Fueling Private Credit Surge, Says AllianceBernstein

An “insurance renaissance” is quietly reshaping a traditionally sleepy industry as a surge in annuities sales fuels demand for investment products with shorter duration and less liquidity, according to AllianceBernstein, an $806 billion asset manager owned by insurer Equitable.
How to Revive America's 'Golden Middle’

The share of US workers represented by a union ended 2024 at 9.9%. Strip out public sector workers and the rate was 5.9%.
Latest Inflation Readings Put the Federal Reserve in a Bind

Markets will be laser focused on Federal Reserve policy and economic projections next week, looking for signs about where interest rates are heading.
US Mortgage Rates Drop for a Sixth Week to Lowest Since December

The average US 30-year mortgage rate declined for a sixth straight week to the lowest level since early December, sparking a pickup in purchase and refinancing activity.
US Stocks Rebound After Volatile Session on Softer CPI Data

US stocks gained after a volatile session as dip buyers emerged after a cooler-than-forecast February inflation report.
‘Buy The Dip’ Calls Fade as Trump Selloffs Rattle Wall Street

In a few short weeks, President Donald Trump has started silencing the buy-the-dip stock traders who set the tone on Wall Street for the better part of two decades.
Stagflation Trade Emerges as Rare Winner in US Stock Market Rout

There have been few winning strategies to seek refuge in as the stock rout sparked by President Donald Trump’s start-stop tariff war drags on for a third week.
Lip-Bu Tan’s ‘New Intel’ Is the Last Throw of the Dice

After a search for a new chief executive officer that lasted more than three months, Intel Corp. has decided Lip-Bu Tan is the best choice to salvage the company’s future. He’ll take up the most difficult job in the chip business, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday evening.
US Inflation Eases, Offering Some Relief Ahead of Tariffs

US consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in four months in February, offering some reprieve ahead of tariffs that are expected to drive costs higher.
Trump Metal Tariffs Spark Retaliation Moves, Calls for Talks

President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports came into force Wednesday, triggering concern across export-reliant Asia and immediate reprisals from the European Union and Canada as the global trade war enters a rocky phase.
US Bonds Rebuff Cooler Inflation as Stock Rally Saps Demand

Treasuries fell despite evidence of cooler-than-expected US inflation as the data ignited a rebound in stock prices that eroded demand for bonds.
There’s No Recession Alarm in the Collective Wisdom of Markets

President Donald Trump is attempting the most sweeping transformation of government and policy in decades. The White House is moving furiously to slash spending, expand tariffs, repeal regulations and rewrite tax rules.
As Europe Rearms, Bond Funds Are Ripping Up the Rule Book

Europe’s plan to rearm in the face of Russian aggression and US detachment has already delivered a bonanza to equity investors. Credit funds are scrambling to get a share of the windfall, too.
Shareholder Capitalism Is Back

The virtue economy, the only bubble I have ever called, has now completely burst.
US Bonds Rose as Recession Angst Fuels Haven Demand

US Treasuries surged and investors boosted their bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts Monday as fear of a economic slowdown took hold across US markets.
Apple Readies Dramatic Software Overhaul for iPhone, iPad and Mac

Apple Inc. is preparing one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history, aiming to transform the interface of the iPhone, iPad and Mac for a new generation of users.
Hottest Trade in Bonds Gets Boost From German Spending Plan

One of the bond market’s favorite trades is getting fresh momentum in Europe, as the worst rout in German bonds in more than two decades propels selling of long-term debt.
Strategists See More S&P 500 Volatility as Tariff Fears Kick In

A chorus of Wall Street strategists is warning about rising volatility in the stock market, with Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson the latest to sound the alarm on slumping economic growth amid President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
‘Impossible Trinity’ Conundrum Has Caused a Cash Crunch in Asia

Some of Asia’s biggest central banks are getting a painful refresher in economic theory.
Emerging Markets Decline Amid China Deflation, US Growth Worries

Emerging-market stocks declined for a second day and currencies halted a four-day rally as concerns grew that China’s deflation is spreading to its consumer economy and Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten US growth.
These Unpopular Mortgages May Be the Key to Affordable Housing

A lack of affordability has hindered housing transactions the past two years, frustrating would-be buyers and, more recently, hammering the stocks of developers.
The Fed’s Fixation on a 2% Inflation Target Is Risky

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting next week, shifting the market’s focus to signals about what comes next.
Euro Set for Best Week Since 2009 as BofA Boosts Forecast

The euro is set for its best weekly performance in 16 years after Germany’s historic pledge to ramp up spending for defense and infrastructure.
Fed’s Bowman Says Economy’s Neutral Rate Higher Since Covid

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said the neutral level for the central bank’s policy rate had likely risen since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Macron’s Defense Dream Is Getting Caught in Musk's Web

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is getting cold feet over a proposed €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to Bloomberg News. As well she might.
India’s Top Banker Must Ease Credit, But Not Too Much

Sanjay Malhotra, the new Reserve Bank of India governor, is right to unwind some of his predecessor’s hawkish controls on a runaway consumer-credit boom. There was a time to throw sand in the wheels of commerce.
Tokyo Has a Revenue Hole. Plug It With Tourists

Two different stories have played out in Japan at very distinct paces over recent months.
Private Equity’s $24 Billion Walgreens Bid Is Wild

The deal just announced for Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is above all a massive transaction.
How To Hedge Against AI Stealing Your Job

Will artificial intelligence take my job? This question is really starting to preoccupy me and millions of other white-collar workers. There’s even a word for it — FOBO, or fear of becoming obsolete — and, regrettably, our apprehension isn’t entirely unfounded.
Nasdaq 100 Tumbles Into a Correction as Tech Selloff Intensifies

The Nasdaq 100 Index sank into a correction on Friday, as investors continue to sour on the megacap technology stocks that led the stock market rally over the past two years.
Broadcom Shares Jump as AI Growth Fuels Upbeat Forecast

Broadcom Inc. shares jumped after the chip supplier for Apple Inc. and other big tech companies gave an upbeat forecast, reassuring investors that spending on artificial intelligence computing remains healthy.
Bessent Warns of ‘Detox Period’ for Economy, Touts Trump ‘Call’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the US economy may see some disruption as the Trump administration shifts the basis for growth away from the government and toward the private sector.
Ray Dalio’s ‘All Weather’ Strategy Enters ETF Land During Turmoil

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio’s famous “All Weather” strategy has arrived in the exchange-traded fund market, just as the kind of macro-driven turmoil it seeks to guard against sweeps global assets.
Emerging-Market Assets Rally as Doubts Mount Over US Growth

Developing-nation assets jumped on bets higher tariffs will slow the US economy and divert investment flows into other markets.
Bernanke Says Recent Price Surge May Impact Inflation Control

The world’s recent experience of faster inflation may make it harder for central banks to control prices in future, former US Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke said.
NYSE President Martin Sees ‘More Normal’ IPO Market In 2025

The market for US initial public offerings should look a lot more like the years prior to the pandemic-fueled boom, according to the head of the New York Stock Exchange.
China’s Inflation Problem Isn’t Just Going Away

China has taken an important symbolic step toward addressing a persistent drag on its economy.
US Jobless Claims Drop, Allaying Concerns About Labor Market

Applications for US unemployment benefits fell last week and returned to muted levels seen at the start of the year, offering some relief after other reports pointed to worsening labor-market conditions.
Europe Is Having the Right Sort of Bond Rout

Euro-area bond yields inevitably leapt like a salmon as Germany unleashed a fiscal bazooka, but compared to previous fixed-income tantrums, it’s not the stuff of all-night summits.
US Recession Odds Are Becoming Unsettlingly High

The notion of a US recession seemed remote just a few months ago, a mere blip on the radar of economic possibilities. More recently, however, that picture has started to change.
Traders See Wild S&P 500 Swings After Trump Address to Congress

US stocks have been on a wild ride this week, and options traders expect more of that to come as traders assess the latest tariff developments and brace for Friday’s monthly jobs report.
US Firms Add 77,000 Jobs, Smallest Gain Since July, in ADP Data

Hiring at US companies slowed in February to the lowest pace since July, led by job cuts in the service sector and in regions of the US that were hit by severe weather.
Germany’s ‘Whatever It Takes’ Moment Powers European Markets

Germany’s extraordinary spending plans are shaking up the region’s markets, powering European equities past US peers this year and reviving the euro from the brink of parity with the dollar.
Trump to Decide on Canada, Mexico Relief Today, Lutnick Says

President Donald Trump is set to announce changes to the tariffs on Canada and Mexico he slapped on earlier this week, with potential relief for automobiles and other sectors, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday.
Microsoft’s Fading AI Mojo Keeps Shares in Lengthy Purgatory

Many major stocks connected to artificial intelligence have lost their luster of late, but perhaps none more so than Microsoft Corp.
Trump Trades Are Upended as Treasury Returns Beat US Stocks

US Treasuries are now outperforming stocks since Donald Trump was elected President, and some strategists say there’s room for those gains to run.
Traders See Three Fed Cuts in 2025 as Tariffs Add to Growth Risk

Traders added to bets on interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve amid concern about the impact of US trade tariffs on global economic growth.
DeepSeek’s ‘Theoretical’ Profit Margins Are Just That

The Chinese artificial intelligence startup that rocked global markets earlier this year with its low-cost and high-performance AI models has outlined a potential path to major profitability.
Hedge Fund-Beating Equities Will Mislead Investors

Alternative investments including hedge funds and real estate will disappear from the portfolios of pension funds and endowments over the next 10 to 20 years, well-known institutional investment consultant Richard Ennis concludes in a recent report.
Where the Stock Market Goes, the US Economy Will Follow

There’s an old Wall Street saying that “the stock market is not the economy.” That’s usually true. But, in this economic cycle, stock market gains have become an increasingly important driver of consumer spending, helping to fuel growth as other areas of the economy cool.
Xi Prepares to Unveil China Stimulus Plan as Trade War Heats Up

President Xi Jinping heads into China’s biggest political huddle of the year with his economy finally getting back some swagger. Donald Trump’s rising tariffs will test Beijing’s ability to sustain that momentum.
Boom in Loss-Limiting Funds With $51 Billion Sparks Backlash

They’re a tempting proposition for anyone getting worried about the bull market’s longevity: exchange-traded funds that keep you from losing money — should stocks suddenly go south.
Big Tech Pain Is Mounting as Risk-Wary Traders Dump Winners

For some time now, there have been plenty of reasons to worry about Big Tech stocks. Stretched valuations after a big run up, heavy spending on artificial intelligence and lofty expectations for future growth. For months, though, none of it seemed to matter.
TSMC Poised to Announce $100 Billion Investment in US Plants

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest $100 billion in chips plants in the US over the next four years, a move President Donald Trump is set to announce at the White House later Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Tencent Fires Up AI Race With Model It Says Outdoes DeepSeek

Tencent Holdings Ltd. became the latest tech company to unveil or enhance an AI model intended to eclipse DeepSeek, joining a spate of rollouts since the startup’s emergence energized the US-China technology race.
AI Drug Firm Recursion Wants to Be the Amazon Prime of Pharma

AI drug developer Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is considering an Amazon Prime-style subscription model for selling its pipeline of medicines.
Emerging Markets Rattled as Trump Dials Up Tariff Threats

Emerging markets were swept up in the global equities storm Friday, with Asian stocks taking the heaviest beating after President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats.
Bitcoin Down 25% From All-Time High as Crypto Rout Worsens

A week-long rout in Bitcoin deepened amid the recent broader retreat from risky assets in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and crypto sector turmoil, marking a dramatic reality check for one of the most popular Trump trades.
Ever-Bearish Grantham Insists AI Is a Bubble Waiting to Pop

Artificial intelligence is pushing humanity toward a more efficient future, but like any world-changing technology will eventually crash and hurt investors, according to longtime Wall Street doomsayer Jeremy Grantham.
BlackRock Adds Its Bitcoin ETF to Model Portfolio for First Time

The world’s biggest asset manager is finally allowing Bitcoin into its $150 billion model-portfolio universe.
Treasuries Cling to Best Rally Since July on Mild Inflation Data

Investors in US government bonds are wrapping up their biggest monthly gain since July as the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation rose at a tepid pace in January.
A $5 Million Gold Card for Immigrants Makes Economic Sense

President Donald Trump would like to offer migrants who want to work in the US a “gold card,” akin to a green card, with one significant difference: the price tag.
The Fed’s Hand Might Be Forced to Lower Rates

President Donald Trump may have found a way to force the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates after all.
Hey, Alexa, Do You Finally Have a Real Business Model?

The last time we heard from Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy, he was breaking it to investors that his company was forecasting $100 billion in capital expenditures this year — the largest outlay of the tech giants in the pursuit of artificial intelligence.
Small-Cap Stocks’ Gloom Deepens as Executive Sentiment Sours Too

Investor sentiment around small-cap companies is worse than it’s been in months. As it turns out, the mood isn’t much better inside their corporate boardrooms.
Nvidia and Salesforce Leave Bulls Wanting as AI Trade Stalls

Investors hoping that Nvidia Corp.’s earnings would rejuvenate the artificial intelligence trade didn’t exactly get the report they wanted.
Nvidia Sees Mixed Outlook After Two Years of Blowout Results

Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker at the center of an AI spending boom, delivered good-but-not-great quarterly numbers on Wednesday, drawing a muted response from investors accustomed to blowout results.
Big Money Flocks Back to a Levered Trade That Went Bust in 2008

A diversified investment strategy that seeks to juice returns through leverage is finding new love among big money managers — more than a decade after it blew up during the 2008 financial crisis.
BP Asks Shareholders to Pay for Its Mistakes

For the last five years, BP Plc has squandered its shareholders’ money. That’s why, forced by poor returns and the arrival of an activist investor, it finally “reset” its strategy on Wednesday.
Is Warren Buffett's True Successor Bill Ackman?

Warren Buffett's latest shareholder letter contains the usual folksy mix of wisdom and humor.
GM Boosts Investor Payout With New Buybacks, Dividend Hike

General Motors Co. plans to step up its program of buybacks by repurchasing $6 billion in shares and raising its dividend, rewarding investors by pushing more cash off its balance sheet.
Lilly to Spend $27 Billion to Bolster US Drug Manufacturing

Eli Lilly & Co. will spend at least $27 billion to build four US manufacturing plants, the latest company to brace for the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Nvidia’s Shaken Aura of Invincibility Is Set for Earnings Test

Nvidia Corp.’s earnings are set to dictate whether artificial intelligence can regain its status as the key driver behind Wall Street gains — or trigger more weakness after the Magnificent Seven group of technology stocks fell into correction territory.
US 10-Year Yield Hits 2025 Low as Traders Boost Rate-Cut Bets

Treasuries rallied, led by 10-year yields dropping 10 basis points as traders boosted bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, with US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans weighing on risk appetite.
BP Has a Final Chance to Return to Big Payouts

For the last five years, BP Plc has put ideology ahead of profitability. This week, its board of directors has a final chance to change direction. If it doesn’t, an investor revolt will follow, and many executives could be out of a job by summer.
The Fed Must See What’s Wrong To Do Its Job Right

The US Federal Reserve has begun a process with vast implications for the global economy: rethinking the framework by which it sets the interest rates that influence prices and lending in the US and just about everywhere else.
A Chinese Alternative to the Magnificent Seven Has Arrived

A strong conviction trade is being shaken. As international stocks are outperforming this year, global investors are asking if their faith in US exceptionalism has gone too far.
Alibaba Plans to Spend $53 Billion on AI in a Major Pivot

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. pledged to invest more than 380 billion yuan ($53 billion) on AI infrastructure such as data centers over the next three years, a major commitment that underscores the e-commerce pioneer’s ambitions of becoming a leader in artificial intelligence.
Trump Targets China With Biggest Salvo So Far in Second Term

The Trump administration took aim at China with a series of moves involving investment, trade and other issues that raises the risk ties may soon worsen between the US and its top economic rival.
JPMorgan Earmarks $50 Billion More for Its Direct-Lending Push

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is dramatically ramping up its direct-lending effort, setting aside an additional $50 billion to capture a bigger chunk of the fast-growing market.
Buffett Offers a Recipe for What Makes America Great

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. released its latest shareholder letter Saturday, and the content is — by and large — the usual timeless Warren Buffett fare.
Computing Power Is Going the Way of Oil in Markets

There are several answers, but an important financial one is that recent fundamental market changes have been much more disruptive for egg buyers than computer-processing users.
Google Wins Salesforce Cloud Deal in Bid to Counter Microsoft

Salesforce Inc. has signed a multibillion-dollar cloud deal with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, part of a larger effort to combine forces and attract corporate customers currently using Microsoft Corp.’s productivity and artificial intelligence products.
Apple Will Add 20,000 US Jobs Amid Threat from Trump Tariffs

Apple Inc., as it seeks relief from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods imported from China, said that it will hire 20,000 new workers and produce AI servers in the US.
Trump Says Cook Shifting Apple Manufacturing From Mexico to US

President Donald Trump told a gathering of governors that Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook promised him that the company’s manufacturing would shift from Mexico to the US during a meeting at the White House this week.
India’s EV Race With China Depends on Trains

The road to faster adoption of electric vehicles in India will pass through the railways — not the romantic train travel that stirred the imagination of writers for over a century and continues to inspire Bollywood, but efficient high-speed journeys.
Coinbase Says SEC Is Close to Dismissing Enforcement Case

Coinbase Global Inc. said the Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to drop its lawsuit that accused the largest US cryptocurrency trading platform of running an illegal exchange.
Robinhood’s Crypto-Powered Rally Takes a Breather as Analysts Say Gains Priced In

Robinhood Markets Inc. shares are heading for their worst week since August as they pull back from the crypto-fueled surge that followed the election of President Donald Trump.
Banks Pull Debt Deals as Investors Push Back on Aggressive Terms

Banks have pulled a handful of US leveraged loans from the market this month, as investors are pushing back on aggressive pricing and credits with less favorable ratings, even though demand is outweighing the overall supply of deals.
TikTok Owner ByteDance Is Tech Darling Again With $400 Billion-Plus Valuation

At least three of Bytedance Ltd.’s major investors have marked up the TikTok-owner’s valuation to more than $400 billion, a sharp rebound for a Chinese social video leader that has been threatened with a US shutdown.
Wall Street Pushes Back on Tough Margin Rule for Zero-Day Options

Wall Street brokers and dealers are pushing back on a new margin rule that the world’s largest derivatives-clearing house has proposed to address the risk from the boom in zero-day options even after some revisions.
US Existing-Home Sales Drop Back Again With Mortgage Rates at 7%

Sales of existing US homes fell last month for the first time since September, as the combination of high mortgage rates and prices sets a grim backdrop heading into the crucial spring selling season.
Alibaba’s Jumbo Convertible Bond Tops Peers With 38% Gain in ‘25

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is turning out to be a great investment this year: Not only its shares have jumped more than 60%, its convertible bonds are also up big time.
Booming European Stock Market Leaves Strategists in the Dust

The European stock market’s rally to record highs has caught many strategists by surprise, leaving them racing to catch up and cautious on further gains.
Wall Street Is Selling ETFs That Mimic the Private Equity Boom

Wall Street is still awaiting regulatory approval for the first full-blown private-asset ETFs, but for now opportunistic issuers are continuing to churn out products that claim to replicate the booming asset class — and stretching the definition of “liquid private equity.”
Record US LNG Exports May Give Relief to Buyers in Europe, Asia

US liquefied natural gas exports have extended a record-breaking run as new projects increased production, a trend that could help to ease high prices in Europe and Asia.
Meta Platforms’ Record Winning Streak Puts Stock Split in View

Meta Platforms Inc.’s recent record-breaking, 20-day rally propelled the share price to a level where investors may start calling on the company to split its stock for the first time since going public in 2013.
Bessent Says US ‘Long Way’ From Boosting Longer-Term Debt Sales

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that any move to boost the share of longer-term Treasuries in government debt issuance is some ways off, given current hurdles that include elevated inflation and the Federal Reserve’s quantitative tightening program.
Walmart Profit Forecast Falls Short on Slowing Growth

Walmart Inc. forecast lower-than-expected profit for the full year, suggesting that the uncertain economic environment is hitting even the world’s largest retailer.
Stagflation Is Poised for a Comeback

Might this be the year that stagflation returns to the US? It has been half a century: The last time the US economy had both excessively high inflation and unduly high unemployment was in the mid-1970s, with inflation rates reaching 12.2% in 1974 and unemployment at 8.5% in 1975.
What Happens When Private Credit Loans Get in Trouble

Alacrity Solutions found itself in a tough spot. The Indiana-based company helps property and auto insurers manage customer claims by taking calls, sending adjusters into the field and reviewing files.
F1’s Growing US Success Draws Peer-Beating Morgan Stanley Fund

Formula One’s rising popularity in the US has drawn an investment from a top-performing Morgan Stanley fund.
Analysts See ‘Peace Trade’ Crimping Natural Gas Stocks’ Rally

Stocks of North American natural gas exporters are trimming a three-year rally as the White House seeks a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine. Analysts say those companies could suffer even more if sanctions on Russian gas are lifted, adding new competition in their key markets.
Vanguard Overtakes State Street as World’s Biggest ETF

Vanguard has unseated State Street for the title of the world’s biggest exchange-traded fund, ushering in a new world order for the $11 trillion industry.
Tariff Tension Fails to Sway Equity Bulls Expecting Record Run

As tariff tensions and stubbornly high inflation whipsaw US stocks, bullish Wall Street forecasters are urging investors to stay the course.
Musk Debuts Grok-3 AI Chatbot to Rival OpenAI, DeepSeek

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI debuted its updated Grok-3 model, showcasing a version of the chatbot technology to challenge OpenAI days after the billionaire’s unsolicited cash bid to buy the company was rejected.
Higher Rents Are Coming If Interest Rates Don’t Budge

Coming into 2025, hopes for an increase in housing construction were pinned on lower borrowing costs. But with longer-term interest rates remaining stubbornly elevated and the Federal Reserve showing no urgency to ease policy, higher rents and home prices will be needed to drive an increase in production.
Four Reasons to Buy China Tech, and One Fatal Snag

The Hang Seng Tech Index has soared 23% this year, far outpacing the Nasdaq 100’s 5.3% gain. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s shares are back to their 2022 levels, while EV makers BYD Co. and Xiaomi Corp. hit new record highs.
US Retail Sales Drop by Most in Two Years Amid Fires, Storms

US retail sales slumped in January by the most in nearly two years, indicating an abrupt pullback by consumers after a spending spree in the closing months of 2024.
Alibaba Won’t Solve All of Apple’s China Problems

Apple Inc.’s China business kicked off the Year of the Snake inauspiciously.
Meta Plans Major Investment Into AI-Powered Humanoid Robots

Meta Platforms Inc., after pushing into augmented reality and artificial intelligence, has identified its next big bet: AI-powered humanoid robots.
Hedge Fund Startup That Replaced Analysts With AI Beats the Market

A hedge fund startup that uses artificial intelligence to do work typically handled by analysts has outperformed the global stock market in its first six months while slashing research costs.
Treasuries Rally as Weak Retail Sales Reignite Rate-Cut Bets

Treasury yields dropped to weekly lows Friday after weak January retail sales data prompted traders to restore bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by September.
Don’t Let Your Love Story End With Financial Infidelity

As we enter Valentine’s Day weekend, financial infidelity isn’t exactly a topic that exudes romance. But lovebirds who don’t make the discussion a foundational piece of their relationship risk adding avoidable strain on their union.
Trump Has Us Talking About Trade Again. That’s a Win

For four years, Indians sensed that the US was terrified of the word “trade.” Joint statements after summits buried trade such issues somewhere near the end; officials avoided the question at press conferences, preferring to focus instead on relatively esoteric concerns such as cooperation in space.
Trump Moves to Impose Reciprocal Tariffs as Soon as April

President Donald Trump ordered his administration to consider imposing reciprocal tariffs on numerous trading partners, raising the prospect of a wider campaign against a global system he complains is tilted against the US.
Powell Says New Inflation Data Show Fed Has More Work to Do

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the latest consumer price data show that while the central bank has made substantial progress toward taming inflation, there is still more work to do.
Musk Says xAI’s ‘Scary Smart’ Next Model Chatbot Coming in Weeks

Elon Musk praised his upcoming Grok 3 chatbot as an AI model outperforming everything else that’s been released thus far, and said the world would get to see it in a matter of weeks.
Apple’s Stock-Market Performance Is Increasingly Made in China

Investors in America’s biggest company are increasingly focused on China, where Apple Inc. is striving to win over a crucial customer base while also facing tariff-related risks.
DoubleLine Asks Whether Microsoft Debt Is Safer Than Treasuries

Microsoft Corp. is bigger than most countries’ whole stock markets and its bond rating would be the envy of many nations.
Jeremy Grantham’s GMO Debuts China-Dodging ETF as Trade Tensions Fester

Jeremy Grantham’s Boston-based investment firm is tapping into popular demand on Wall Street for emerging-market strategies that avoid China altogether, as investors prep for fresh disruptions across global supply chains on the back of Donald Trump’s combative trade posture.
US Wholesale Inflation Tops Estimates on Food, Energy Prices

US wholesale prices rose in January by more than forecast on higher food and energy costs, highlighting only limited progress on inflation ahead of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
Trump Calls for Lower Interest Rates as Powell Heads to Hill

President Donald Trump called for lower interest rates, seeking to raise pressure on the Federal Reserve as he moves to implement a second-term economic agenda high on tariffs and expanding tax breaks.
El-Erian Sees Fed Holding Rates for Longer Than Markets Expect

The Federal Reserve is set to refrain from cutting interest rates for “quite a while,” following a hotter-than-expected inflation report, according to Mohamed El-Erian.
Buyout Titans Face Early Trump Tests, From Tariffs to Taxes

Private equity firms are facing early tests to the theory that Donald Trump’s return to the White House is a net win for America’s dealmakers.
Nvidia Shares No Longer Bulletproof as DeepSeek Fears Linger

Nvidia Corp. investors have typically rushed to buy the stock on any dips. But the mood since the DeepSeek-driven rout has been different, signaling that fears of a slowdown in AI spending aren’t going away.
DeepSeek Is India’s Final Call to Board the AI Flight

The AI flight is taking off, and DeepSeek is the final call for India to show up at the boarding gate. Since its private sector is too risk averse to back research projects with uncertain payoffs, the state will have to step up.
David Tepper’s ‘Everything’ China Trade Has a New Plot

Billionaire investor David Tepper has certainly made up his mind. He doubled down on his bet on Chinese stocks last quarter, adding positions in e-commerce platforms Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc., as well as index funds that track some of the country’s biggest companies.
Google, SoftBank Back Quantum Startup QuEra in $230 Million Deal

Startup investors including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and SoftBank Group Corp. are betting that quantum computing, often thought of as a fantastical science experiment, is getting closer to having sweeping real-world applications.
OpenAI’s Altman Says Musk ‘Probably Just Trying to Slow Us Down’

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman rebuffed Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion offer to take control of the artificial-intelligence startup for the second time in less than a day, accusing the world’s richest man of making the bid just to gain a competitive advantage.
Goldman Sachs’ Exclusive Investing Club Is a Powerful Draw

Bloomberg’s bonus calculator offers a revealing look at the divergent value of Wall Street employee payouts.
The Black Market for Oil Will Continue to Thrive

Oil smuggling isn’t easy, but it’s so enormously profitable that obstacles only slow it down. Sure, the authorities can make dealing illicit barrels a bit less financially rewarding; ultimately, however, the oil will flow.
Trump Sets 25% Steel, Aluminum Tariffs, Widening Trade Warbloo

President Donald Trump ordered a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, escalating his efforts to protect politically important US industries with levies hitting some of the country’s closest allies.
Inflation Is Proving Sticky as Fed Chair Powell Heads to the Hill

US inflation showed scant signs of downward momentum at the start of the year, while healthy job growth undergirded the economy, backing the Federal Reserve’s stance to hold the line on interest rates for now.
The Hot Money in Commodities Is Betting on the Tropics

Looking for an investment idea that’s paid off handsomely in commodities markets over the past six months? Try betting on the tropics.
The S&P 500 Is Too Big to Falter on Trump’s Tariffs

If you’re looking to a popular stock market tracker like the S&P 500 Index to gauge the effect of President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, don’t. It’s likely to be insulated from much of the fallout and therefore fail to reflect the true impact on US businesses.
Robinhood IRA Match Can’t Take the Place of a 401(k)

Everyone should have access to a quality retirement plan. That should not be a radical statement. People deserve to age with dignity and not worry about outliving their savings or paying for necessities like shelter and food.
DeepSeek Fails to Deter $325 Billion Gamble of the Century

At the start of this week, the question was whether the shock of China’s supercheap AI DeepSeek would compel Silicon Valley’s big artificial-intelligence companies to reduce their spending.
Private Equity and 401(k)s Aren’t a Great Match

Some of America’s leading financial firms are hoping to sell the White House on what sounds like a compelling idea: Open employer-sponsored retirement plans to the private investments they manage, so regular folks can reap returns currently reserved for the wealthy.
Investors See High-Grade Debt, MBS as Top Bets of 2025

The best performing US blue-chip bond funds of 2024 are sticking to their winning playbook: investing in debt from riskier blue-chip companies, as well as firms that can handle economic turbulence — and avoiding corporations sensitive to interest-rate risk.
US Job Growth Slowed in January After 2024 Downward Revision

US job growth moderated in January while annual revisions from the government also revealed less vigor in the labor market last year than previously thought.
Bessent Says Trump Wants Lower 10-Year Yields, Not Fed Cuts

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration’s focus with regard to bringing down borrowing costs is 10-year Treasury yields, rather than the Federal Reserve’s benchmark short-term interest rate.
Amazon Cloud Needs to Deliver After Microsoft, Alphabet Misses

Amazon.com Inc. shares have largely climbed on the back of two trends: strength in its cloud business and a focus on costs. Now both could be in question.
Principal, Pimco Bet on Debt From Riskier High-Grade Companies

The best performing US blue-chip bond funds of 2024 are sticking to their winning playbook: investing in debt from riskier blue-chip companies, as well as firms that can handle economic turbulence — and avoiding corporations sensitive to interest-rate risk.
The Job Market Is Weaker Than It Looks

The resilience of the labor market over the past year has, in large part, been about strength in sectors such as education, health care and government that are somewhat immune to economic cycles.
‘Debanking’ Dispute Highlights a Real Problem

Why would a bank suddenly shut down a customer’s adequately funded account? Some leading Republicans, echoing tech titans like Marc Andreessen, have warned of a conspiracy among regulators to “debank” conservatives and crypto enthusiasts.
Magnificent Seven’s Slowing Growth Threatens S&P 500 Rally

Last week, DeepSeek’s emergence as an AI threat wiped half a trillion dollars of value off Nvidia Corp. Last night, Alphabet Inc.’s disappointing earnings sparked questions about its capital expenditures and put its stock on pace for the worst drop in more than a year.
Bessent’s Treasury Sticks With Yellen-Era Long-Term Debt Plan

The US Treasury on Wednesday maintained its guidance on keeping sales of longer-term debt unchanged well into 2025, despite newly installed Secretary Scott Bessent having criticized the issuance strategy of his predecessor before he was picked for the job.
Macquarie Shuts US Debt Capital Markets in Private Credit Pivot

Macquarie Group Ltd. is shuttering its US debt capital markets arm, a business that includes leveraged loan origination, syndication and trading, to focus resources on private credit, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Gold Hits Fresh Record on Haven Demand as Tightness Persists

Gold climbed to a fresh record high, as trade-war worries bolstered haven demand and there were continued signs of short-term tightness in the market.
Vanguard’s Record Fee Cut Puts Rivals BlackRock, Invesco in Tough Spot

Vanguard Group Inc.’s biggest salvo yet in its campaign to cut fees for the investing masses presents industry rivals with a painful choice.
Traders Rush to Safety in Loan ETFs Again on Interest-Rate Pain

Investors plowed record cash into a pair of leveraged loan ETFs last week, in a high-conviction bet that the Federal Reserve will be slow to slash interest rates.
Alphabet’s Discounted Valuation Is an Antidote to Tariff Risk

Despite being targeted by Beijing in retaliation to US trade tariffs, Alphabet Inc.’s durable growth and attractive valuation may offer insulation from all the geopolitical uncertainty.
Apollo Raises Record From Private Wealth as Credit Grows

Apollo Global Management Inc.’s plan to tap wallets of rich clients is paying off, with its wealth business raking in record capital last year and boosting assets from the sector 50%.
Bessent Takes the Helm on US Debt Sales After Blasting Yellen

After repeatedly blasting Janet Yellen last year over her department’s strategy for issuing federal debt, it’s now up to Scott Bessent to make the call on sales of Treasuries, with bond dealers conflicted over what he’ll do in a pivotal release due Wednesday.
Vanguard’s Average Fee Is Now Just 0.07% After Biggest-Ever Cut

Vanguard Group has slashed the fees for dozens of its mutual funds and ETFs in a record move that’s likely to send a shock wave through the asset management industry.
US Oil Outpaces Global Price Gains as Tariffs Menace Supply

The US crude benchmark outpaced gains in other oil markets after President Donald Trump announced tariffs that threaten flows from two of America’s biggest foreign suppliers.
Bond Traders Warn of Inflation Shock as US Yield Curve Flattens

US bond markets are flashing a warning to US President Donald Trump that his move to unleash tariffs on top trading partners risks fueling inflation and stymieing growth.
Goldman Knows DeepSeek Affects the Future of Work

I recently asked DeepSeek to model the impact of artificial intelligence on US labor productivity growth.
The Fed’s Best Bet Is Patience as Confusion Reigns

A lot has changed since a new administration took charge on Jan. 20, so the Federal Reserve’s decision last week to maintain its policy rate might seem odd.
Apple’s ‘Best Quarter Ever’ Leaves Much to Be Desired

Apple Inc. described its latest results as its “best quarter ever,” but that’s only true if you stop reading near the top of the press release issued Thursday evening. Overall revenue may have reached record levels, but big questions lurk about large parts of the iPhone maker’s business.
UPS’ Amazon Reduction Is the Right Move

Carol Tomé, chief executive officer of United Parcel Service Inc., is ripping off a Band-Aid in one excruciating shot of pain to fix the courier’s post-pandemic problem with depressed profit margins.
Meta’s Aggressive AI Bet Sets Up Stock’s Longest Gain Since 2015

Meta Platforms Inc. shares are on track for their longest streak of daily gains in almost a decade, with its latest earnings report adding to investor confidence about its strategy with artificial intelligence.
Why Chinese Tech Keeps Surprising the West

DeepSeek didn’t come out of nowhere. But it seemed to catch Silicon Valley and global investors by surprise this week, to the tune of billions of dollars in stock market value.
Extending the 2017 Tax Cuts Would Be Fiscally Reckless

For the new Congress, deciding the fate of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will present an immediate dilemma. Allowing the law’s provisions to expire as scheduled at the end of the year would effectively raise taxes on tens of millions of Americans.
Apple’s Flagging AI Hopes Get Revival From DeepSeek’s Emergence

Concerns over Apple Inc.’s first-quarter results have met with 11th-hour optimism that it could eventually benefit from the same force that recently wreaked havoc on the tech sector.
Tariffs Dominate Earnings Calls With Firms Bracing for Fallout

It’s early days, but there already appears to be a clear buzzword among corporate executives this earnings season: tariffs.
DeepSeek Calls for Deep Breaths From Big Tech Over Earnings

By now, almost everyone has heard about DeepSeek, the Chinese-made AI that has taught the US a thing or two about building cheaper artificial intelligence.
Lutnick Says Trump’s Tariffs Will Restore US Economy and Respect

Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, offered a detailed defense of tariffs in his confirmation hearing, the clearest signal yet from a cabinet pick that the new administration is prepared to impose the levies on allies and adversaries alike.
Powell Says Fed Doesn’t Need to Be in a Hurry to Lower Rates

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said officials are not in a hurry to lower interest rates, adding the central bank is pausing to see further progress on inflation following a string of rate reductions last year.
Treasuries Slip as Traders Scrutinize Powell’s Inflation Remarks

US Treasuries were lower as traders parsed tweaks to the Federal Reserve’s policy statement regarding progress on the fight against inflation.
Crypto Enters the Debanking Debate With a Weak Case

“Debanking” is about to get a lot of airtime in US politics, but be warned: This debate is a chimera. Crypto enthusiasts, culture warriors and banks all have dogs in the hunt, with each leaning on the others’ interests and narratives to advance their own.
DeepSeek Is Coming for Sam Altman’s Other Company Too

If OpenAI LLC were a listed company, Monday would have been a very bad day for the stock.
Fed’s Balance-Sheet Plans Mystify Wall Street as Officials Meet

Buried in a rote US Treasury survey released on the eve of the latest holiday weekend was a question that all of Wall Street wants the answer to: What’s the Federal Reserve’s plan once it’s done drawing down its crisis-era bond holdings?
How Trump Can Slash Red Tape and Enrich America, Too

Every year, millions of Americans living abroad suffer a profound administrative indignity: complying with a US income-tax regime that treats them like miscreants and complicates the lives even of those who owe nothing.
If Wall Street Wants to Buy More Houses, Let It

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed restrictions on large financial firms buying homes, and state legislators in Virginia and Nebraska have similar ideas.
Microsoft Probing If DeepSeek-Linked Group Improperly Obtained OpenAI Data

Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI are investigating whether data output from OpenAI’s technology was obtained in an unauthorized manner by a group linked to Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, according to people familiar with the matter.
Oaktree’s Howard Marks Says Don’t Expect Low-Rate Era to Return

Oaktree Capital Group LLC co-founder Howard Marks says investors who made a fortune in the era of easy money should not expect the same strategies to deliver such exceptional returns in the future.
The Fed Will Duck and Weave on Policy, But Not for Long

When it comes to degrees of difficulty, this week’s Federal Reserve meeting is shaping up as a walk in the park compared to what awaits policymakers down the road.
Nvidia’s Stock Crash Solves a Wall Street Puzzle

DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has developed a model that can apparently answer questions as well as any chatbot in the US. It might even help answer a long-running question on Wall Street without being asked.
Investors to Watch Powell’s Tone as Market Teeters

As the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting begins, investors have accepted that the central bank probably won’t be cutting interest rates this time.
AI’s Electricity Demand Means Cool New Tech Is Coming to Boring Grids

Bosses at artificial intelligence companies aren’t worried about the end of the world or the start of government regulations. Their biggest worry is more mundane: finding enough electricity to keep servers running at data centers.
Bullish Tech Traders Made Record Wrong-Way ETF Bets Before Rout

Exchange-traded fund investors who placed record bets on the US technology space last week are getting crushed Monday as anxiety over competition from a Chinese startup’s AI model is hitting tech stocks hard.
US Yields Fall to Lowest This Year as Tech Slump Fuels Haven Bid

Treasuries rallied on Monday as investors flocked to the safety of US government bonds after equities slumped in a selloff driven by technology shares.
DeepSeek Buzz Puts Tech Shares on Track for $1 Trillion Drop

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek’s latest AI model sparked a $1 trillion rout in US and European technology stocks, as investors questioned bloated valuations for some of America’s biggest companies.
Bitcoin Follows Tech Stocks Lower as New AI App Rattles Markets

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tumbled, following technology stocks lower, as the emergence of a new Chinese artificial-intelligence model triggered a global selloff in riskier assets.
The Three Forces Shifting the Investment Landscape

Three factors heavily influenced the financial landscape over the last 12 months — AI-focused technological optimism, hoped-for leveling up, and higher government bond yields.
DeepSeek Shows Silicon Valley’s Huge Blindspot on AI

Last year, the chief executive officer of a leading AI firm was asked at a private Silicon Valley dinner about how his company differentiated from others building “foundation models,” the systems underpinning chatbots like ChatGPT.
Tax-Slashing ETF Trailblazer Preps for a Fresh $5 Billion Haul

Four years after handling the first conversion of a hedge fund to an ETF, Wes Gray is gearing up to lead a surge of tax-busting deals aimed at investors big and small.
S&P 500 Sees Best Start for a President Since 1985

The world’s biggest stock market is heading for its best start for a new US president since Ronald Reagan was sworn in to power in 1985.
Pimco, Dodge & Cox Lead Revival in Actively Managed Bond Funds

US bond funds actively managed by industry heavyweights like Pacific Investment Management Co. attracted the most new investment last year as money returned after a two-year dry spell.
Apple Tests Key Technical Level in Worst Start Since 2008

Apple Inc.’s stock has had a rough start to the year and is now flirting with a key level that could signal more downside ahead if breached.
Vanguard’s S&P 500 Fund Is About to Become World’s Largest ETF

A seemingly unstoppable flood of money has Vanguard Group Inc. on the brink of claiming a crown that State Street Corp. has held for decades.
Trump's Big AI Goals Start Small: 57 Jobs at a Texas Data Center

In a small Texas city nearly 200 miles west of Dallas, the first data center associated with the $100 billion Stargate venture from OpenAI, SoftBank Group Corp. and Oracle Corp. is taking shape.
Meta to Spend as Much as $65 Billion on AI Efforts in 2025

Meta Platforms Inc. plans to invest as much as $65 billion on projects related to artificial intelligence in 2025, including building a giant new data center and increasing hiring in AI teams, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said Friday.
Crypto’s Richest Man Turns VC Firm Into Giant Family Office

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, a few months out of prison and worth $70 billion thanks to the relentless crypto rally, is turning the former venture capital arm of his Binance Holdings Ltd. into a family office.
US Existing-Home Sales Pick Up at End of Worst Year Since 1995

Sales of previously owned homes in the US rose for the third straight month in December, entering 2025 with some momentum after the worst year in nearly three decades.
GE Needs a Greater Balance Between Dividends and Buybacks

General Electric Co., known now as GE Aerospace, has reclaimed its position as the largest industrial company by market value as jet engine production and after-market service both ramp up.
America’s Best Stock Picker Keeps Beating Passive Funds

For the third time in four years, the stock picker beating everyone is Fidelity Investments Inc.’s decoder of computer chips, crushing every measure of performance as the more popular passively managed index funds tracking market benchmarks proved little more than also-rans in 2024.
Wall Street’s Tech-Powered Bond Trades Hit Record $1 Trillion

A tech-powered approach to bond trading that helps firms move hundreds of securities in one go has just posted its best year yet.
SpaceX Addition Spurs Flood of New Cash Into Little-Known ETF

An exchange-traded fund from a relatively unknown shop is catching the attention of online traders and gathering flows after investing in Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Oracle Takes Run at Cloud’s Big Three With Trump-Backed AI Pact

Oracle Corp. has charged out of the gate in 2025, after its best year in a quarter-century.
How Trump’s Protectionism Could Increase Free Trade

Free trade is in trouble. That’s hardly startling news when the US has an avowed protectionist in the White House, but the problem runs deeper than it may at first appear.
Are US Taxes Too High or Too Low? Choose Your Chart

The gap between US federal spending and tax revenue is currently bigger, as a share of gross domestic product, than it’s ever been outside of major war or other crisis.
Saudi Crown Prince Makes $600 Billion Investment and Trade Pledge to Trump

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman told President Donald Trump he’s willing to expand investments and trade with the US in the coming four years by $600 billion, according to the kingdom’s state-run news agency SPA.
Netflix Shares Soar to Record After Huge Gain in Subscribers

Netflix Inc. shares soared to a record high on Wednesday after the streaming giant reported its biggest quarterly subscriber gain in history, buoyed by its first major live sporting events and the return of Squid Game.
Nvidia Zero-Day Options Are the Next Big Bet for One ETF Upstart

The ETF industry’s upstart-in-chief is back with another roll of the new-product dice — this time betting on a game-changing expansion of Wall Street’s zero-day options boom.
JPMorgan’s Dimon Sees Inflated Stocks as ‘Animal Spirits’ Return

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dealmakers are spending their time in the Swiss Alps huddling with ebullient clients, but the boss of the biggest US bank is striking a more cautious tone.
No, Ray Dalio, There's Not a UK Debt Death Spiral

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has a new book to promote. So while I am loath to fuel the sales campaign, his latest bomb in an interview with the Financial Times — warning of a “death spiral” for Britain’s sovereign debt — requires a riposte.
SoftBank Joins OpenAI, Oracle in AI Pact Unveiled by Trump

SoftBank Group Corp., OpenAI, and Oracle Corp. are forming a $100 billion joint venture to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure, an effort unveiled with President Donald Trump aimed at speeding development of the emerging technology.
Apple’s Tough January Worsens as Analysts Cut on iPhone Risk

Apple Inc. received a pair of analyst downgrades, in the latest sign that soft iPhone sales are becoming an increasing concern for investors, as artificial intelligence fails to act as a hoped-for growth catalyst.
There Are Stock Gems to Mine Before the Bots Take Over

There’s a lot of chatter on Wall Street about artificial intelligence replacing analysts — the folks at banks and brokerages who tell investors which stocks to buy, hold or sell. The bots should be able to make those recommendations just as well as humans.
Restoring Fiscal Control Can’t Wait Much Longer

Since the start of the new year, the bond market has been urging Congress to come to terms with America’s spiraling budget problems. Soon it might be demanding immediate action.
US Bonds Advance as Trump Delays on Tariffs, Oil Prices Fall

US government bond yields approached their lowest levels of the year after President Donald Trump refrained from immediately implementing tariffs and oil prices declined, easing inflation concerns.
Trump Starts Reshaping US Energy With Focus on Oil and Gas

President Donald Trump launched a sweeping overhaul of US energy policy hours after taking office Monday, putting the weight of the federal government behind fossil-fuel production and pulling back from the fight against climate change.
Trump’s Tariff Shifts Are a Warning for Corporate America to Expect Whiplash

Donald Trump opened his second term as US president with a market-jolting recalibration of his tariff policies, in a sign of turbulence ahead for investors and corporate executives.
The US Gas Comeback Is Real

New Yorkers bowing their heads into a cutting wind is typically a bullish sign for natural gas prices, and this January is no exception.
Raising the SALT Cap Is Supposed to Benefit Whom, Exactly?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that President Donald Trump signed into law in December 2017 imposed a $10,000 limit on the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted on a federal income tax return.
The Definitive Guide to Where the US Has Squeezed Russia’s Oil Flows the Hardest

The latest US sanctions on oil tankers hauling Russian petroleum look set to cause severe disruption across the nation’s export machine, with some of Moscow’s flows at risk of a near wipeout if history is any guide.
BofA’s Hartnett Says Trump Trade to Shield US Stocks From Plunge

Donald Trump’s return to the White House will likely protect US stocks from a big selloff, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists, as investors focus on his protectionist agenda and proposals for lower corporate taxes.
The Fed’s Stress Tests Are Facing a Stress Test

The Federal Reserve faces a reckoning: Sometime soon, it’ll probably have to subject its stress tests to public scrutiny, highlighting serious flaws in what has become its primary tool for ensuring the resilience of the banking system.
Surging Long-Term Rates Stoke GOP Tensions on Paying for Tax Cut

Surging long-term interest rates and stubborn inflation are inflaming divisions among congressional Republicans over paying for the sweeping tax cuts Donald Trump promised, complicating the path to passage with the party’s already tenuous majority.
Trump Team Readies Oil Sanctions Plan for Russia Deal, Iran Squeeze

Advisers to President-elect Donald Trump are crafting a wide-ranging sanctions strategy to facilitate a Russia-Ukraine diplomatic accord in the coming months while at the same time squeezing Iran and Venezuela, people familiar with the matter said.
BlackRock’s Amped Up ETF Taps Into Wall Street’s Stock Anxiety

BlackRock Inc. is tapping into a fast-growing corner of the options-powered ETF world with an offering aimed at Wall Street investors bracing for the S&P 500 to tread water.
Mexico Cozies Up to Trump With Crackdown on China Trade

First came the raid on a Mexico City shopping center known for selling Chinese-made clothing, toys and electronics
Microsoft’s Stock Revival Hinges on Showing Growth From AI Binge

Microsoft Corp. has plowed tens of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence. With its stock struggling, the key question is how quickly those investments can prove to be successful.
Canada a ‘Good Place to Hide’ If US Stocks Drop, Contrarian Says

Canada’s stock market — where returns have lagged the US for two straight years — might offer investors protection against a downturn in US stocks, a Toronto-based asset manager says.
Elon Musk’s Robotopia Will Bloom in Aging Europe

There will be more humanoid robots than people by 2040, Elon Musk recently bragged.
US Bond ‘Death Spiral’ Risk Brushed Aside by Foreign Funds

Whether you’re speaking with Europe’s largest money manager, Australia’s giant pension funds, or a cash-rich insurer in Japan, there’s a resounding message you’ll hear when it comes to US Treasuries: They are still hard to beat.
Big US Bank Profits Surge as Biden Era Comes to a Close

For all of Wall Street’s excitement about Donald Trump’s growth agenda, the biggest banks are ending the Biden years on a high note.
Wall Street Has Best CPI Day Since at Least 2023: Markets Wrap

Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief after a surprise slowdown in inflation spurred a stock rally and a plunge in bond yields, reinforcing bets the Federal Reserve is on track to keep cutting rates this year.
The Inflation Genie Is Moving to the White House

The latest updates on the labor market and consumer prices show President-elect Donald Trump inherits an economy where inflation is poised to return to the Federal Reserve’s target later this year.
BlackRock Gets Record Client Cash, Revamps Leadership Team

BlackRock Inc. attracted an annual record of $641 billion in client cash, underlining the firm’s global reach across public and, increasingly, private assets as it integrates multibillion-dollar acquisitions and reshapes its leadership.
Goldman Profit Doubles as Stock Traders Score Record Haul

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cruised past estimates as its equity traders delivered their best year on record.
Nvidia’s $3 Trillion Rally Is On Edge, Wall Street Is Unfazed

Nvidia Corp.’s $3 trillion run-up in market value in the two years since ChatGPT helped trigger an AI frenzy is bigger than any stock rally in history in such a short time span.
Jamie Dimon’s Succession Race Just Lost a Top Candidate

Jamie Dimon, who turns 69 in March, will one day retire as chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. The candidates to succeed him have been well advertised.
So Long, Net Neutrality, and Good Riddance

One of the longest, most technical and, as it turns out, most inconsequential public-policy debates of the 21st century was about net neutrality.
The $2 Trillion Home Insurance Nightmare Is Getting Even Worse

On top of the human tragedy they’re still inflicting, the Los Angeles wildfires are exposing a gap between what people thought their homes were worth and what they’ll actually get from insurance companies when those houses have been reduced to ash. Potentially thousands of homeowners are learning it won’t be nearly enough.
Wall Street Set for Higher Open on Tariff Report

Wall Street was set for a higher open on Tuesday, though a renewed rise in Treasury yields damped the sentiment boost offered earlier by the prospect of gradually imposed US trade tariffs.
China Weighs Sale of TikTok US to Musk as a Possible Option

Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off a controversial ban on the short-video app, according to people familiar with the matter.
Traders Brace for Biggest S&P Earnings-Day Reactions Ever

Traders are bracing for one of the most volatile earnings periods in stock market history.
Don’t Bank on Your Banking Job Outlasting AI

Over the past few months, I’ve had occasion to speak at a number of conferences concerned with the impact of artificial intelligence on financial jobs.
Private Equity Does Not Belong in Your 401(k)

Private equity wants access to Americans’ retirement accounts, and is lobbying President-elect Donald Trump’s administration to get it.
Surging Bond Yields Make a Strong Case for Fiscal Sanity

The recent surge in bond yields is directing renewed attention to America’s grim fiscal outlook.
US Reliance on Saudi Oil Is Nearing Its Endgame

For decades, one of Saudi Arabia’s most strategic overseas outposts was a little-known office in New York City that coordinated its oil sales to American clients.
Goldman Sees Dollar Rallying 5% or More as US Growth Dominates

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has upgraded its dollar forecasts, citing a robust US economy and likely higher tariffs that may slow monetary easing.
Treasuries Selloff Ripples Through World Markets After Jobs Data

Treasuries extended their drop after Friday’s blowout employment report strengthened speculation that the Federal Reserve is poised to pause its interest-rate cuts for virtually all of this year.
OpenAI Emphasizes China Competition in Pitch to a New Washington

OpenAI’s top executives are planning to host events in Washington DC and two key swing states to bolster support for investment in artificial intelligence as the company adapts to the biggest change in the US political landscape since ChatGPT launched.
TSMC Sales Beat Estimates in Boost for AI’s Outlook in 2025

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s quarterly sales topped estimates, reinforcing investor hopes that the torrid pace of AI hardware spending will extend into 2025.
Chinese Traders’ Demand for Global Stocks Prompt Rare ETF Halts

Chinese investors’ fierce appetite for overseas shares has triggered rare, full-day suspensions on a pair of exchange-traded funds tracking global equities.
Energy Sector Goes From S&P 500’s ‘Worst to First’ in 2025 Start

Energy is the star sector of the S&P 500 Index in the early days of 2025, shaking off two consecutive years when it was a market laggard, and gaining despite Wall Street’s dim outlook for oil and gas stocks.
A New World for Facebook and Instagram: Zuckerberg’s Splinternet

When Mark Zuckerberg earnestly looked at a camera and told the world (or President-elect Donald Trump) that he was shutting down all fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram, he left out some important context.
Indonesia’s Showdown With Apple Is Far From Over

Indonesia isn’t taking a step back from its hardball approach to Apple Inc. The showdown has turned into quite a spectacle, but it’s unlikely the wins will be sustainable.
Big-Tech Love - And Fear - Fuels Record Boom for Invesco’s ETFs

Invesco Ltd.’s ETF lineup absorbed a record amount of cash in 2024 from at least two classes of investors: those chasing AI-driven gains, and those shying away from big tech’s sway.
Janus Henderson Takes CLO-Tracking Fund to Europe After US Win

After cementing its position as the dominant player in the US for a niche but highly lucrative investment vehicle, Janus Henderson is looking to try its luck in Europe.
Who’s Afraid of Rising Treasury Yields? Not Stocks

Stock investors have been watching the runup in US Treasury yields with considerable alarm of late.
Boeing Investors Shouldn’t Bank on a GE-Style Windfall

A contestant could be forgiven for guessing Boeing Co., but the correct answer would be General Electric Co., and the talented executive is Larry Culp.
US-China Tech Breakup Is a Race to the Bottom

A messy, ongoing tech breakup between the US and China is forcing a rethink about what the industry might look like for consumers in a decoupled world.
Can Howard Marks Spot a Stock Bubble Twice?

Most people assume that the S&P 500 Index will go up over long holding periods.
Bankers Need the Right Trump Outcome to Justify Stock Optimism

US investment banks have little room for error in their upcoming full-year results.
Fed’s Harker Says More Rate Cuts Are Coming But Timing Uncertain

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said officials are on track to lower interest rates this year, but the exact timing will depend on what happens with the economy.
Global Bond Selloff Leaves US Treasury Yields Flirting With 5%

The selloffs that keep flaring in the world’s bond markets are pushing yields toward key thresholds amid escalating worries about elevated inflation, tempestuous politics and swelling government debts.
Biden to Further Limit Nvidia AI Chip Exports in Final Push

President Joe Biden’s administration plans one additional round of restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp. just days before leaving office, a final push in his effort to keep advanced technologies out of the hands of China and Russia.
US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Just Shy of 7% Bridles Home Purchases

US mortgage rates edged up to just shy of 7% at the turn of year and a gauge of home-purchase applications tumbled to the lowest level since February, adding to evidence of a struggling housing market.
Trump Gathers SALT-Focused Republicans Before Tax Fight

A cohort of about 20 Republican House members from New York, New Jersey and California was invited to meet with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate Saturday ahead of a looming fight over an extension of his 2017 tax cuts.
Treasury Market Gets First 5% Yield in Sign of What Could Come
The 20-year Treasury bond offered a grim warning as a selloff fueled by inflationary angst gripped global debt markets: 5% yields are already here.
Google’s Most Serious Rival Isn’t Microsoft. It’s a Startup

The AI boom of the past two years has largely been a two-horse race. Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Microsoft Corp.-funded OpenAI have duked it out for customers, while Amazon.com Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. have nibbled at the margins for market share.
Bitcoin Is Not a Nothing, But Not a Something Either

A few weeks ago, a reader emailed to challenge what he described as our “cautionary, skeptical and net negative” stance on Bitcoin.
ECB's Lagarde Faces a Make-or-Break 2025

Every central banker has a make-or-break moment. As the euro crisis raged in 2012, then-European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi took to describing the common currency as a “bumblebee”:
Privatize the USPS? Not in an Era of Crony Capitalism

President-elect Donald Trump is said to be interested in the privatization of the US Postal Service, a prospect that also appeals to his DOGE project and its allies in Congress.
Fed’s Cook Says Officials Can Be More Cautious With Rate Cuts

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said policymakers can proceed more cautiously with additional rate cuts, citing a sturdy labor market and recent bumpiness in inflation data.
Nvidia Investors Look to Huang CES Speech to Spark Next Breakout

Nvidia Corp. investors have high hopes that Monday’s speech from CEO Jensen Huang will spark a fresh breakout in the chipmaker’s shares, which have plateaued since November after roaring higher for much of 2024.
Biden’s Steel Move Is No Way to Treat an Ally

The most telling moment in the Biden Administration’s decision to block Nippon Steel Corp.’s attempted takeover of United States Steel Corp. was unintentional.
Gold Investors Stay Bullish for 2025 on Trump Volatility

Money managers are seeing plenty of reasons to remain bullish on gold, following a stellar 2024 that saw the precious metal post its biggest annual gain since 2010.
Biden Bars Offshore Oil Drilling in US Atlantic and Pacific

President Joe Biden is indefinitely blocking offshore oil and gas development in more than 625 million acres of US coastal waters, warning that drilling there is simply “not worth the risks” and “unnecessary” to meet the nation’s energy needs.
MicroStrategy Buys Bitcoin After Adding Preferred Offering

MicroStrategy Inc. bought $101 million of Bitcoin after announcing that it would use perpetual preferred stock as well as common shares and debt to acquire more of the cryptocurrency.
The UK Can Find Its Place in Trump’s America

What happens in the US economy doesn’t always stay there, particularly when it comes to the UK.
Three Ways the Fed's Message Falls Short — and How to Fix Them

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has indicated that the central bank’s communication will be part of its 2025 monetary policy review.
How Trump Can Achieve Sustained 3% GDP Growth

The incoming Trump administration has set a goal of growing the economy by 3% per year, similar to promises made during Donald Trump’s first term in office.
Fast-Money Quants Saw Big Year Go Bust in Wild Cross-Asset Ride

Quant funds that make money surfing the momentum of markets saw a promising year slip away in 2024 when big bouts of volatility lashed everything from Japanese stocks to cocoa futures and Treasuries.
Biden Blocks Nippon Steel’s $14.1 Billion Takeover of US Steel

President Joe Biden has blocked the $14.1 billion sale of United States Steel Corp. to Nippon Steel Corp., killing a high-profile deal that sparked a political firestorm and tensions between the US and Japan.
Don’t Fear the Froth. Stay Invested Even If Stocks Are Overvalued.

Maybe you have a pile of cash to invest, but you’re terrified of putting it into a US stock market near record highs.
A ‘Made in China’ Crisis Awaits Big Auto

When Jaguar’s “copy nothing” brand reboot hit late last year, one self-styled car enthusiast replied on X: “What the actual hell is this.” Jaguar’s response: “The future.”
Regulation, Deals and Crypto: Fintech Themes to Watch in 2025

The clouds that hung over the financial-technology industry in 2024 appear to be clearing as interest-rate cuts, recoveries in fintech stocks and promises of a looser regulatory environment in the second Trump administration paint a more promising outlook for startups.
Stock Bears Are Going Extinct. Time to Worry?

It’s that time of year when Wall Street soothsayers look ahead 12 months and try to divine the path of US stocks.
Where the Smart Climate Tech Venture Money Is Going in 2025

This year is shaping up to be a dramatic one for climate tech investors.
Chinese Stocks Tumble in Worst Start to a Year Since 2016

Chinese stocks posted their worst start to a year in nearly a decade as investors braced for economic uncertainties with weaker-than-expected manufacturing data and an anticipated hike in tariffs.
The Fed Has to Fix Its Communication Problem

The Federal Reserve has begun one of its reviews of “monetary policy strategy, tools and communications.” This month’s cut in interest rates and investors’ reaction to it underline just why such a review is needed.
A Crypto Optimist’s Guide for 2025

Before I undertake the hard task of predicting where the crypto industry will go in 2025, let’s take a minute to recall where it has been.
What the Housing Industry Needs in 2025

It’s now half a decade since anything in the US housing market could be considered normal. The pandemic boom was followed by a transaction bust, induced by the central bank, that did little to lower sky-high prices.
European Stocks Decline as Year-End Rally on Wall Street Fades

European stocks fell in the penultimate trading session of 2024, a year of modest gains for the region that contrasted with the bullish Wall Street rally.
Crypto’s $205 Billion Stablecoin Market Set to Go Mainstream

While Bitcoin’s surge above $100,000 captivated the headlines in 2024, many financial firms were more focused this year on a different type of cryptocurrency whose price is never meant to rise — or fall for that matter.
S&P 500’s 2024 Rally Shocked Forecasters Expecting It to Fizzle

By this time last year, the stock market’s rally had blown past even the most optimistic targets and Wall Street forecasters were convinced it couldn’t keep up the dizzying pace.
Gold’s 27% Advance Stands Out in Mixed Year for Metals Markets

Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27% advance that’s been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks, and a wave of purchases by central banks.
Where Are Stocks and the Economy Going? Ask Bonds

I will be looking at a few indicators in 2025 to tell me where financial markets are going. Most of them relate to the bond market, because it is both a window into the overall economy and an important component of how stocks and other risky assets are valued.
Bond Vigilantes Are Putting Governments on Notice

On a rather quiet final Friday of the year, I used my Bloomberg Terminal to check how key government bond yields in advanced economies have changed in 2024.
Technology Will Make the Pace of Change Even Faster

Advances in AI, including artificial general intelligence, are very likely to continue — but it’s unclear how much of a difference they’ll make.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin Fund Became ‘Greatest Launch in ETF History’

BlackRock Inc.’s iShares unit offers more than 1,400 exchange-traded funds around the world, yet none of them have performed quite like this.
Bitcoin Rally Fizzles as Token’s Record-Breaking Year Winds Down

A Bitcoin rally is fizzling in the final days of a record-breaking year for the digital asset, as investors assess the remaining impetus from President-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of the cryptocurrency sector.
Treasuries Trade Mixed, With 30-Year Yield Near 2024 Highs

Treasuries were mixed in thin trading as traders absorbed the prospect of a less aggressive path ahead for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts and priced in greater risk for US long-term debt.
Dollar Eyes Best Year in Almost a Decade

The dollar is headed for its best year in almost a decade as US economic strength reins in expectations for the Federal Reserve’s rate-cutting cycle and President-elect Donald Trump’s threats of harsh tariffs underpin bullish bets on the currency.
Tokenization Has Become Wall Street’s Latest Favorite Crypto Buzzword

Tokenization, or the process of creating digital representations of real-world assets on a blockchain, has become one of this year’s buzzwords in both conventional and crypto finance circles.
Boeing Headlines Industrial Prospects and Pitfalls in 2025

The new year will start with plenty of intrigue, especially in manufacturing, aerospace and logistics, the area where I hunt for interesting storylines about how companies navigate opportunities and pitfalls.
OpenAI Mulls Plan for a More Conventional For-Profit Business

OpenAI, founded a decade ago as a research organization, is considering a change to the AI company’s structure that would create a more conventional money-making corporation alongside a nonprofit arm.
Books We Read in 2024 to Prepare Us for the Future

Recommend reading that provides a bed of knowledge for the key themes we think will define 2025. Ours differs from other lists you might see elsewhere at this time of year in that we focus on relevance rather than recency, though there are new books here, too.
Dollar Dominance Is the Key to US Debt and Deficits

The eclipse of the dollar, and with it the ability of the US to borrow on a scale that would cripple any other country, has been long predicted. For at least half a century, skeptics have counted on something — or someone — coming along to knock American assets from their perch. Don't plan for a requiem just yet.
Treasuries Fall as Long Rates Expand Gap Over Short Maturities

Treasuries were under pressure in a holiday-shortened session as investors remain wary to park cash in US government debt that matures in a decade or more.
US Oil Exports to China Dwindle as Demand Wanes, Buying Shifts

US crude exports to China plunged by almost half this year as shifts in the nation’s economy weighed on demand and it bought more barrels from other countries including Russia and Iran.
In American Debt We Trust — But for How Long?

America’s national debt would have horrified Ronald Reagan.
China Mulls Record $411 Billion Special Bonds, Reuters Says

China’s policymakers plan to sell a record 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) of special treasury bonds in 2025, Reuters reported on Tuesday, a move aimed at bolstering the slowing economy.
Obamacare Is More Popular and Costlier Than Ever

A rude surprise could be in store for the millions of Americans who get health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. If Congress doesn’t act next year, enhanced premium subsidies will expire by December, causing enrollees’ payments to increase by more than 75% on average.
Good Debt? Bad Debt? There’s No Such Thing

People often make a distinction between “good debt” and “bad debt,” in terms of both personal finances and public spending.
For Emerging Markets, ‘Better Luck Next Year’ Is a Hard Sell

Emerging markets-focused investors have had little to celebrate over the past year.
US Regains Primacy in Crypto Market on Trump Agenda, ETF Demand

The crypto market’s center of gravity is back in the US as 2025 approaches, courtesy of Donald Trump’s reelection to the presidency and widening demand for the nation’s digital-asset funds and derivatives contracts.
Hedge Funds Cut Nuclear Technology Exposure After ‘Hard’ Rally

Some hedge fund managers are sounding the alarm on overvalued nuclear power stocks and scaling back exposure after a stunning rally this year.
MicroStrategy’s Long-Shot S&P 500 Bid Stokes Wall Street Agita

To Michael Saylor’s online fanbase, it’s the next step in the great normalization of crypto: Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy Inc. enters the S&P 500 next year, forcing the likes of index-tracking funds to buy his controversial company en masse. Whether they like it or not.
Orders for US Business Equipment Rise by Most in Over a Year

Orders placed with US factories for business equipment rebounded in November, posting the strongest monthly advance in over a year.
Bond Traders Face 2025 Amid Most Agonizing Easing in Decades

Bond traders have rarely suffered so much from a Federal Reserve easing cycle. Now they fear 2025 threatens more of the same.
Europe’s Hottest Stock Has an American Architect

Forced to seek a government rescue barely a year ago, Siemens Energy AG was an unlikely candidate for Europe’s best performing stock of 2024.
America Needs to Break Its Debt Addiction — Crisis or Not

This is the first part of a series of Bloomberg Opinion columns exploring the risks related to the US’s rapidly expanding debt and budget deficit.
OpenAI Unveils More Advanced Reasoning Model in Race With Google

OpenAI is preparing to launch a new artificial intelligence model that it said is capable of more advanced human-like reasoning than its current offerings, ratcheting up the competition with rivals such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
Private Credit Plots Expansion in Bid for $40 Trillion Prize

Private credit firms want more than corporate lending. The largest are laying the groundwork to finance everything from auto loans and residential mortgages to chip manufacturing and data centers in an effort to swell the size of the market by the trillions.
Trump Is Right: Abolish the Debt Ceiling

Amid Donald Trump’s chaotic, last-minute intervention into congressional negotiations about government funding, he has stumbled upon a good idea: He wants to abolish the debt ceiling.
Quantum Computers: Getting Real?

Take it from Niels Bohr: “Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.”
Wall Street Needs to Prepare for an AI Winter

Surely one of the silliest things that happened in tech stocks in 2024 was the sudden tumble in Nvidia Corp. shares moments after its fiscal second-quarter earnings release in August.
Bitcoin Slumps as Trump Euphoria Gives Way to Wariness on Fed

Bitcoin extended its slide from this week’s record high to almost 15% as hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve prompted traders to sell an asset that has more than doubled this year.
Twin Boom-and-Bust Hits $10 Trillion ETF Industry in Overdrive

The $10.4 trillion US exchange-traded fund industry’s blockbuster year comes with an asterisk: even amid record inflows and launches, funds are shuttering at a nearly unprecedented clip.
Treasuries Gain as Key Fed Inflation Figures Trail Estimates

US Treasuries gained after a closely watched batch of inflation data came in below expectations, leading traders to lift the outlook for Federal Reserve interest-rate reductions next year.
Central Banks Started a Rates Descent They Can’t Finish

Central banks’ climbdown from the post-pandemic inflation peaks commenced amid both optimism and trepidation.
Wall Street Traders Rush for Exit After Fed’s Rate-Cut Shift

Almost exactly one year after sparking a furious rally in financial markets, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell did the exact opposite on Wednesday, staking out a cautious view on interest-rate cuts in 2025 that stunned investors.
The Fed Is as Clueless as Markets

In normal times, the conduct of monetary policy is a lot like driving a car through a thick fog of uncertainty. You have a general idea of where you’re going, but you want to move slowly to avoid accidents. At the moment, it’s more like driving while double blindfolded — in a car with malfunctioning brakes. The most prudent move is to stop.
US Existing-Home Sales Rise as Buyers Accept High Mortgage Rates

Existing-home sales in the US topped a rate of 4 million in November for the first time in six months as house hunters begrudgingly accept mortgage rates above 6%.
BlackRock ETF Buys First Muni Bonds Issued Through Blockchain

A BlackRock Inc. fund has bought municipal debt issued earlier this year in a first-of-its-kind deal that relies exclusively on blockchain technology.
Walmart’s 78% Surge Leaves Retail Foes Big and Small in Dust

At a time when the American consumer’s resiliency has been questioned amid signs of a slowing economy, Walmart Inc. has thrived. The world’s largest retailer, famed for its discount prices but increasingly known for its pursuits in advertising and an online marketplace, is headed for its best year since 1998.
Bill Gates-Backed Fund Bets $40 Million on Carbon Removal Firm Deep Sky

The clean-tech venture firm founded by Bill Gates is providing a $40 million grant to carbon-capture startup Deep Sky Corp., which seeks to build large-scale facilities to clean carbon from the air.
S&P 500 Buyers Step in Ahead of Fed Meet Despite Narrow Breadth

While concern has grown in the past week that narrowing market breadth has tapped the brakes on the S&P 500 Index’s blistering rally, it turns out that stock bulls are still stepping in to snap up shares ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision.
Bond Traders Target Deeper 2025 Fed Rate Cuts Than Market Expectations

Some bond traders have been boosting options and futures wagers that the Federal Reserve is about to signal deeper interest-rate cuts next year than the market anticipates.
Google Is Pushing Quantum Computing Closer to Reality

Alphabet Inc.’s Google has reanimated excitement over quantum computing with an announcement about how its new chip, Willow, trounced a classical computer to solve a mathematical equation much faster.
The New AI Stock Pickers Are Destined to Disappoint

Meet the new stock pickers. They will remind you of the old stock pickers.
Mutual Fund Conversions Hit Record in ETF Industry’s Epic Year

New exchange-traded funds riding buzzy investment themes are helping fuel record industry growth this year. Yet, it’s also shaping up to be a banner era for money managers revamping their tried-and-tested mutual funds into the tax-efficient product.
Broadcom’s ‘Nvidia Moment’ Has Arrived. Now It Needs to Deliver

Broadcom Inc.’s massive rally after last week’s earnings report is reminiscent of when Nvidia Corp. shares first started to take off back in 2023.
MicroStrategy’s Nasdaq Entry Kicks Off New Era of Momentum Risk

MicroStrategy Inc.’s entry into the Nasdaq 100 opens up the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin to a new — and untapped – investor: the index-tracking juggernauts.
The Trump-Xi Bromance Has a Chance in 2025

Xi Jinping and Donald Trump's bromance could be rekindled in 2025, if both sides play their cards right.
The Federal Reserve Should Wait Before Cutting Again

Investors see recent inflation data as a green light for the Federal Reserve to trim another quarter point from the short-term interest rate.
A 500% Rally Shows the Elon Musk Euphoria for Bold-Faced Fund

From Wall Street funds to small-time day traders, those who dared to bet big on Elon Musk’s business empire are closing out the year with hefty payoffs, as Donald Trump’s US election win turbocharges the fortunes of the world’s richest man.
Bitcoin Rises to Record After Longest Weekly Winning Run Since 2021

Bitcoin rose to a record high on President-elect Donald Trump’s support for digital assets and optimism about the upcoming inclusion of MicroStrategy Inc., an accumulator of the token, in a key US stock gauge.
Wall Street Eyes 2025 Volatility Spikes on Trump Tariffs, Geopolitics

Investors anticipating another calm year in 2025 should be on guard for more shocks like the one seen in August as uncertainty around Donald Trump’s tax and tariff policies threaten to roil markets.
Jeremy Grantham’s GMO Goes Mainstream With ETF and Mega-Cap Bets

Jeremy Grantham’s valuation-oriented investment firm is famous on Wall Street for trumpeting the contrarian, and decidedly bearish, views of its co-founder, seemingly every passing year.
The Fed Faces an Important Choice After This Rate Cut

There is widespread agreement in markets and among economists that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its policy meeting on Wednesday.
Chip Cities Rise in Japan’s Fields of Dreams

Rice paddies that lay fallow for decades in some of Japan’s most far-flung regions are now its hottest properties.
The Fed Can’t Ignore All of Trump’s Intentions

When US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faces the media after the central bank’s policy-making meeting next week, he’ll probably get a politically fraught question: How will the Fed incorporate president-elect Donald Trump’s stated plans — including tax cuts, tariffs and deportations — into its economic outlook and monetary policy?
Broadcom Shares Jump After Chipmaker Predicts AI Sales Surge

Broadcom Inc., a chip supplier for Apple Inc. and other big tech companies, rallied in premarket trading after predicting a boom in demand for its artificial intelligence chips.
Fed to Cut Once More Before Slowing Pace in 2025, Economists Say

Federal Reserve officials will lower interest rates this month for a third straight time and pare back the number of rate cuts they anticipate next year, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
A 500% Rally Shows the Elon Musk Euphoria for Bold-Faced Fund

From Wall Street funds to small-time day traders, those who dared to bet big on Elon Musk’s business empire are closing out the year with hefty payoffs, as Donald Trump’s US election win turbocharges the fortunes of the world’s richest man.
Currencies Drop as China Disappointment Rattles Emerging Markets

Emerging-market currencies in Asia and the South African rand retreated as China’s policy makers appeared to disappoint investors expecting fiscal measures to boost the economic outlook.
Xi Readies Bargaining Chips for US Trade War

China got a head start on a looming trade war with the US by showcasing a new range of tools it’s prepared to use if Donald Trump makes good on his threat to punish the world’s second-biggest economy with tariffs.
Hedge-Fund Startups Dwindle as Managers Battle Pressure on Fees

The near-$5 trillion hedge fund industry is having one of the toughest years in decades in convincing fee-conscious investors to fork out cash for new market players.
Exxon's AI Power Play Aims to Beat Nuclear

To most of us, a power plant is a source of electricity. To Exxon Mobil Corp., it’s a machine that converts natural gas into money. And this is a propitious time for doing that.
Big Tech Is Betting on AI. Should You?

In the two years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene, artificial intelligence has come to dominate investor consciousness more than any other technological breakthrough in the past two decades.
SpaceX Valuation Jumps to About $350 Billion in Insider Deal

SpaceX and its investors have agreed to purchase as much as $1.25 billion of insider shares in a transaction valuing Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite maker at about $350 billion, according to an internal email seen by Bloomberg.
Inflation Anxiety Just Got a Reality Check

Inflation optimists were riding high at the start of 2024. Price pressures seemed to be cooling quickly, and market pricing suggested that the Federal Reserve might lower policy rates by a whopping 1.75 percentage points this year.
US Inflation in Line With Forecasts Solidifies Bets on Fed Cut

US consumer prices rose at a firm pace in November that was in line with expectations, solidifying expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week.
Treasuries Rise as Inflation Data Fuels Wagers on a Fed Rate Cut

US Treasuries gained and traders boosted their bets on a Federal Reserve interest-rate reduction next week after a report showed consumer prices last month accelerated in line with expectations.
Does Bitcoin at $100,000 Signal a Last Laugh for HODLers?

What is there to say with Bitcoin at $100,000 for those of us who thought $10,000 looked nuts.
India Shouldn’t Let Its Data Turn Chinese

India’s institutional strength used to be reflected in the reliability of its national accounts.
Worried About Stocks? $1 Trillion in Buybacks Will Help

December is a big month for stock buybacks, and by month’s end, companies are expected to spend more money repurchasing shares this year than ever before.
Crypto Volatility Picks Up as Trump-Fueled Rally Starts to Fray

A bout of selling buffeted crypto as the optimism sparked by President-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of the sector begins to cool.
Google Invests in Venture to Build Energy Parks for Data Centers

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is investing in mega energy parks that will generate renewable power as the company races to fuel its data centers.
Wall Street Wealth Chiefs See Hottest Money in Private Markets

Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. wealth executives are seeing private markets increasingly shape their businesses, marking a major shift from liquid assets that historically drove financial markets.
Dollar Optimism Is Spreading From Hedge Funds to Asset Managers

A resilient US economy and deepening geopolitical tensions around the world are making asset managers rethink their expectations for a weaker dollar.
Nvidia Hit With China Probe in Escalation of Global Tech Wars

China has opened a probe into Nvidia Corp. over suspicions that the US chipmaker broke anti-monopoly laws around a 2020 deal, taking aim at the AI heavyweight as Washington ramps up sanctions.
The US Can’t Manufacture Its Way to a Thriving Middle Class

he economic-policy consensus that prevails in the US is right about one thing.
ESG Is in Its Flop Era

As a concept, environmentally responsible investing is in its flop era. Right-wing backlash has turned “ESG” into a four-letter word in terrified corporate boardrooms.
Crypto Doesn’t Deserve a Tax Exemption

I am (mostly) bullish on crypto and (usually) skeptical of higher taxes, especially on capital gains.
Wall Street Banks Predict Biggest China Rate Cuts in Decade

China’s central bank will deliver the biggest interest-rate cuts in a decade next year as policymakers intensify efforts to shore up growth and arrest deflation, in the view of a number of Wall Street lenders.
JPMorgan Asset Prefers Real Estate and PE to Direct Lending

Private credit may be all the rage among investors, but there are better alternatives, according to JPMorgan Asset Management.
GM Is on a Road to Nowhere in China

Getting a stay of execution doesn’t mean you’re no longer on death row.
A Bitcoin Reserve Would Be a Bad Deal for Americans

Bitcoin has shot up more than 40% since Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, in part on hopes that he’ll champion a government reserve devoted entirely to the cryptocurrency.
A $500 Billion Haul Reignites Passive Controversy on Wall Street

The passive-investing juggernaut is picking up speed — and it’s stirring up fresh angst about the dangers posed by the index-tracking boom across Wall Street.
Mid-Caps Could Be the Magnificent Refuge Tech Investors Need

There was a great chart in a recent Goldman Sachs Group Inc. report that got me wondering whether medium-size companies might have superpowers. Here’s my adaptation of the original graphic
Bond Traders Leaning on Fed Rate Cuts Eye Payrolls for Clues

Bond traders seeking support for bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month will closely watch Friday’s US employment report for November.
Asness’ AI Twin Heralds End of Human Fund Managers

Hedge fund executive Cliff Asness says artificial intelligence is becoming “annoyingly better” at doing parts of his job.
Bitcoin Soars Past $100,000 on Trump’s Pro-Crypto Pick for SEC

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of a crypto proponent to be the next head of the US securities regulator lifted Bitcoin to $100,000 for the first time as traders warmed to the prospect of relaxed regulations.
Hedge Funds Make MicroStrategy Wall Street’s Hottest Trade

To sate his multibillion dollar rampant appetite for Bitcoin, Michael Saylor has tapped demand from retail investors transfixed by MicroStrategy Inc.’s more than 500% rally this year. He’s also benefited from hedge funds who care far less where the stock trades.
This Is Not France’s "Truss" Moment

Quite a few observers have described the dramatic fall of the Barnier government in France not just as a political crisis but also an economic and financial crisis.
$8 Billion for Intel Won’t Fix America’s Chip Problem

Since its enactment in 2022, the Chips and Science Act — a $280 billion splurge intended to revive US semiconductor manufacturing — has been at best a mixed success. A $7.9 billion grant to Intel Corp., announced by President Joe Biden’s administration last week, shows how this gravy train may be headed off the rails.
Emerging Currencies Hold Gains After Powell While Won Rebounds

Emerging-market currencies held gains after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers could move cautiously as they lower interest rates. The South Korean won rebounded on Wednesday as President Yoon Suk Yeol rapidly reversed his martial law declaration.
Fed’s Powell Expects Good Relations With Trump Administration

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell downplayed the prospects of tension with the incoming Trump administration and said he expects officials can move cautiously as they continue lowering interest rates.
China Tech Stocks Left Behind in Traders’ Hunt for AI Winners

China’s major technology stocks have been left behind in this year’s global frenzy over artificial intelligence, and a lack of demand for actual AI usage coupled with geopolitical pressures make it unlikely they can cash in anytime soon.
Health-Care Spending Is Sinking the Federal Budget

The $1.8 trillion federal budget deficit in the fiscal year that ended in September was the third biggest ever in dollar terms, trailing only the pandemic deficits of the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years. As a share of gross domestic product, a better gauge for historical comparisons, it was, at 6.4%, the biggest ever outside of a large war or global crisis.
Tariff Inflation Will Likely Be Transitory, But Fed Won’t Say So

Donald Trump’s tariff barrage may trigger a response from the Federal Reserve that the new president won’t like.
Bond Traders Position for US Treasury Market to Extend Rebound

Bond traders are positioning for the US Treasuries market to extend its recent advance, showing confidence that yields will continue to pull back from the peaks hit after Donald Trump’s election victory.
Dollar Faces Treacherous December on Trump, Rate Risks

Dollar bulls emboldened by Donald Trump’s win are entering a month that has historically punished the greenback.
BlackRock Buys Credit Firm HPS in $12 Billion All-Stock Deal

BlackRock Inc. agreed to buy HPS Investment Partners in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $12 billion, a purchase that will propel the world’s largest asset manager into the highest ranks of private credit.
Enron 2.0 — So Bad It’s Good?

It’s the anniversary of the first-ever controlled nuclear fission chain reaction. And it’s the day that Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001.
Smarter Taxes and Higher Revenues Are Vital in 2025

One of the most important issues for Congress next year is tax reform.
The Fed’s Next Big Policy Rethink Needs Rethinking

Next year, the US Federal Reserve will undertake an exercise with global implications: the periodic monetary policy framework review, at which it rethinks its approach to managing the world’s largest economy.
Investment Banks Will Lose Billions of Dollars to Private Rivals

Big banks have been warning their investors about the competition they face from private credit, electronic market makers and others for some time.
The Wrong Oil Price Is Truthfully a Problem for OPEC+

he best scandals are those that start when someone, somewhere, decides to say something utterly shocking: the truth! A senior official of the OPEC+ oil cartel has said publicly what many thought privately — the group has been keeping oil prices too high, effectively subsidizing its rivals.
Stocks Versus Bonds Dilemma Hits EM Traders as Trump Returns

Investors are scrambling to decide if Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House will sustain or derail the rally in emerging-market bonds witnessed under Joe Biden.
Treasuries Drop as Market Braces for Big Data Week, Fed Speakers

US Treasuries fell on Monday as traders awaited a hefty week of economic data and speeches from Federal Reserve officials that will likely determine expectations for the central bank’s policy decision later this month.
Biggest Hedge Funds Make the Most of the Trump Trade in November

The world’s biggest hedge funds made the most of trading opportunities sparked by Donald Trump’s reelection last month, keeping the industry on track to post its strongest returns in at least four years.
The Vintage Year for US Stock Markets That Few People Expected

2024 is set to enter Wall Street’s hall of fame of bull years.
This $7 Trillion Pile Won’t Save the Bulls

The money-market industry just reached a significant milestone with Crane Data reporting that these cash-like funds have amassed a record $7 trillion in assets. There are many ways to think about this development.
US Bitcoin ETFs Head for Record Monthly Inflow on Trump Optimism

A group of one dozen US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds is on the cusp of a record monthly net inflow, bolstered by the digital asset’s historic surge toward $100,000 on President-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of crypto.
Corporate Bond ETFs Are Fueling a Rise in Monster Block Trades

The boom in portfolio trading, where investors can buy or sell scores of corporate bonds with just a few clicks of a mouse, is fueling mega trades that were rare in credit markets just a few years ago.
Buffett’s Life Advice May Be More Valuable Than His Portfolio

On Monday, Warren Buffett announced that he was donating more than $1 billion in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shares to four family foundations — a continuation of his commitment to give away the vast majority of his wealth to charity rather than pass it on to his family.
Comcast’s Spinoff Plan Is Too Good to Ditch for Quick Cash

“Think of what we could do together” is a touching line at the denouement of Wicked: Part 1, the movie currently raking it in at the box office for Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures.
Payment Scams Are Surging. Banks Need Help

’Tis the season for a surge in financial frauds and scams, a huge and growing problem that caused nearly $500 billion in losses globally last year, along with untold human suffering.
Kneecapping Google Would Be Bad For Tech Competition

We call them “Silicon Valley rivals,” but when you think about it, the big tech titans have mostly stayed in their respective lanes for the past 20 years.
Bessent Has $6.7 Trillion Mountain of Worry Waiting at Treasury

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen came under fire this year from economists such as Nouriel “Dr. Doom” Roubini for stepping up the issuance of short-term Treasury bills.
Trump’s Trade Chief Advocates ‘Strategic Decoupling’ From China

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the top trade position sees China as a “generational challenge” to the US and has advocated for a strategic decoupling from the country.
JPMorgan Sees US Equities Extending Global Dominance in 2025

The dominance of US equities over the rest of the world is unlikely to abate unless geopolitical and trade policy risks fade, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists.
In Hot Credit Market, Simple Fixed-Maturity Funds Are Booming

Credit investors squeezed by the tightest spreads in almost 20 years are opting for bare-bones strategies, creating a boom for Europe’s fixed-maturity funds.
US GDP Grows at Solid 2.8% Pace, Helped by Consumer Spending

The US economy expanded at a solid pace in the third quarter, largely powered by a broad-based advance in consumer spending as inflation continued to cool.
Google Chrome's Divorce Is the DOJ's Antitrust Warm-Up Act

News broke this week that the US Department of Justice wants to force Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell Chrome, its dominant web browser. That has led to much head scratching in the tech industry.
Rocket Lab Shows SpaceX Isn’t the Only Game in Orbit

While space startup Rocket Lab USA Inc. prepares to test-launch its new medium-sized rocket next year, its shares have already blasted into orbit.
Bond Market Halts Brutal Run as Buyers Pounce on 4.5% Yields

The US bond market is finally showing signs of steadying after a two-month selloff, with investors starting to swoop in whenever yields test new peaks.
Dollar, US Yields Fall on Bets Bessent Will Dilute Trump Plans

The dollar fell and US government bonds rallied after Donald Trump picked Scott Bessent to run the Treasury, a Wall Street veteran who investors expect will take the sting out of the administration’s more aggressive trade and economic policy proposals.
Gold Tumbles as Traders Mull Treasury Pick and Fed Outlook

Gold tumbled as traders digested Donald Trump’s pick of Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary and looked toward the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate decision.
Trump Set to Supercharge Options Boom Driven by Retail Investors

Donald Trump’s presidency is set to bring a fresh bout of volatility to markets, supercharging an options boom driven by retail traders.
Booming MicroStrategy ETFs Are Straining Limits at Prime Brokers

Amid a red-hot run in the shares of MicroStrategy Inc. last month, Matt Tuttle got some bad news from the prime brokers for his booming leveraged ETF linked to the shares of the crypto-centric company.
Backdoor Private Credit Funds Are Luring Billions From Insurers

The world’s biggest private credit managers are turning to an obscure investment product to help raise billions from deep-pocketed insurance companies, testing the limits of industry safeguards meant to curb risk.
How Germany Can Make Peace With Trump on Trade

The second coming of Donald Trump is unquestionably bad news for Germany.
Charles Schwab Eyes Spot Crypto Trading Once Regulations Change

Charles Schwab Corp.’s incoming chief executive officer, Rick Wurster, said the firm is looking to offer spot cryptocurrency trading once US regulations make doing so easier — something that’s more likely once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Snowflake Shares Soar by Most in Four Years After Strong Outlook

Snowflake Inc. shares surged by the most in more than four years after the company issued a sales outlook that surpassed investors’ expectations, suggesting new products are attracting strong demand.
Goldman Gives the Blockchain Revolution a Home

Most important advances in technology occur when someone combines a variety of innovations in different fields in a commercially successful way.
MicroStrategy's Infinite Money Glitch Won’t Last

“Overheated” is how short-sellers Citron Research described MicroStrategy Inc. on Thursday.
Blackstone Private Credit Fund Taps Debt Market for $1.5 Billion

Blackstone Inc.’s main private credit fund stormed the investment-grade bond market to raise a combined $1.5 billion in a single day, adding to the rush of direct lenders trying to lock in cheaper financing costs.
Trump Is Making the 60/40 Portfolio Great Again

The post-election stock market is already giving investors a wild ride. Big individual stock selloffs, massive rallies, and a dizzying array of market narratives built on Wall Street’s best attempts to read President-elect Donald Trump’s mind.
Fidelity Ramps Up Quant Franchise With Five New Active ETFs

Fidelity Investments is expanding its reach in the competitive world of systematic strategies for the masses, with the launch of five new active ETFs.
Buffett’s $325 Billion Cash Hoard Is an Early Warning Signal

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported its stock holdings last week — a widely anticipated quarterly update of Warren Buffett’s latest trades. There were some notable ones, including the addition of Domino’s Pizza Inc. to Berkshire’s portfolio and more trimming of its stake in Apple Inc.
Bitcoin Climbs Closer to $100,000 on Trump’s Support for Crypto

Bitcoin approached the historic $100,000 level, fueled by optimism that President-elect Donald Trump’s support for crypto heralds a boom as the US pivots to friendly regulations in place of a crackdown.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink Cleared to Start Brain Chip Trial in Canada

Canada’s University Health Network said its Toronto Western Hospital would be the first non-US site of a trial for a device created by Neuralink Corp., Elon Musk’s brain-implant company.
Nvidia Says New Chip on Track After Forecast Disappoints

Nvidia Corp. assured investors that its new product lineup can maintain the company’s artificial intelligence-fueled growth run, though the rush to get the chips out the door is proving more costly than expected.
Bitcoin Rises to Record With MicroStrategy Stepping Up Purchases

Bitcoin climbed to a record high for a second consecutive day, with MicroStrategy Inc. accelerating the pace of its massive purchases of the cryptocurrency.
Roubini Launches Treasury-Alternative ETF to Ride Trump-Era Risk

Nouriel Roubini is seizing on Donald Trump’s inflation-threatening policy agenda to make a case for an alternative haven trade to Treasuries in a world of elevated volatility.
Will Trump’s $280 Billion Housing Trophy Stay Out of Reach?

In the months before Donald Trump entered the White House the first time around, speculation mounted that he would release mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the federal conservatorship they’d operated under since being bailed out during the global financial crisis.
AI’s Slowdown Is Everyone Else’s Opportunity

The multi-trillion-dollar artificial intelligence boom was built on certainty that generative models would keep getting exponentially better. Spoiler alert: they aren’t.
Bitcoin Sets Another Record Amid US’s Growing Embrace of Crypto

Bitcoin set another all-time high, supported by a series of developments highlighting the deepening embrace of the digital-asset industry in the US under crypto cheerleader Donald Trump.
Trump Should Bring On a Great American Housing Boom

Most Americans, from both parties, say the government needs to increase the supply of affordable housing. For President-elect Donald Trump, that should offer a good opportunity to summon his instincts for development — and self-promotion — to get America building again. Call it the “Trump Building Boom.”
Nvidia Is Helping Google Design Quantum Computing Processors

Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker at the center of a boom in artificial intelligence use, is teaming up with Alphabet Inc.’s Google to pursue another technology once relegated to science fiction: quantum computing.
Powell’s Wait-and-See on Trump Policies Is a Switch From 2016

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he wants to wait and see what policies the incoming Trump administration will implement before the central bank forecasts what it means for the economy.
Citadel’s Ken Griffin Says Multistrategy Hedge Fund Boom Is Over

The era of explosive growth in multistrategy hedge funds is over, according to billionaire Ken Griffin, who runs one of the biggest such firms.
Crypto’s Coming Back. Here’s How to Avert Disaster

The crypto party seems to be getting restarted. Bitcoin is surging and big players are celebrating amid expectations that President-elect Donald Trump will make the US, as he put it, “the crypto capital of the world.”
Holiday Outlooks Due From Major Retailers in Test of US Consumer

Last week’s selloff, which comes on the heels of what has been a generally successful earnings season for Corporate America, has investors bracing for one final test: a reading on the state of the consumer from a series of retail bellwethers who report in the coming days.
Prominent Wall Street Bear Wilson Sets Bullish US Stocks Target

Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson, well known for his bearish views on US equities in recent years, has an outright bullish outlook for 2025.
Trump’s Scoreboard Is the S&P 500, and It’s Wall Street’s Best Hope

If Wall Street learned one thing during Donald Trump’s first term as president, it’s that the stock market is a way he keeps score. At various points he took credit for equities rallies, urged Americans to buy the dip, and even considered firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who he blamed for a selloff.
Musk Escalates Altman Legal Feud, Casting OpenAI as Monopolist

Elon Musk is ramping up his feud with Sam Altman, alleging in a court filing that OpenAI is trying to corner the market for generative artificial intelligence and sacrificing safety in a race to get ahead.
Traders See Just a 50% Chance That Fed Cuts Rates in December

Traders see an interest-rate cut next month as a coin toss as resilient economic data empowers Federal Reserve officials to take a potentially more-cautious approach to easing.
Gold Faces Worst Week Since 2021 as Fed Signals No Rate-Cut Rush

Gold traded near a two-month low, on course for its worst week since June 2021 as traders wind back expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next month.
Treasury Yield Surge Draws Buyers After 10-Year Tops 4.5%

The highest Treasury yields in months — reached Friday after a batch of strong economic data cast additional doubt on whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month — proved appealing to bond investors.
China Trade War Is One Trump Doesn’t Have to Fight

This isn’t the same China that greeted Donald Trump after his first win in 2016. The economy, once widely believed on a course to knock the US off its perch as the preeminent commercial power, has since revealed some acute vulnerabilities that don’t seem to be going away. And the president-elect seems to be gearing up for a trade war he no longer needs to fight.
Big Tech Traders Are in Wait-and-See Mode on Trump’s Second Term

Big Tech stocks have had a relatively muted reaction to Donald Trump’s election victory, as investors parse how his second term might play out. So far, many are reserving judgment.
Fink Pushes BlackRock Into High-Stakes Bet on Private Markets

Larry Fink turned to big deals to get BlackRock Inc. out in front of a decade of money gushing into index funds. Now he’s doing the same to make sure his firm isn’t left behind in the stampede into private assets.
Druckenmiller Leads Family Offices Boosting US Bank Stock Bets

Stanley Druckenmiller’s family office led investment firms for the world’s rich in boosting allocations to US bank shares last quarter, putting them in line to profit from a rally in financial stocks.
A Near-$1 Trillion ETF Rush This Year Breaks Wall Street Records

This year was already a landmark one for exchange-traded funds, but as of Friday the ETF universe can add another superlative: biggest annual inflows on record.
Trump’s ‘Epic’ Deregulation Must Preserve Financial Stability

Given that he was just elected, Donald Trump’s plans for financial regulation are, like so much else, a mystery. Yet his campaign’s disdain for the administrative state — and the public’s growing exasperation with red tape — suggests the country is in for a period of bureaucratic humility. Here’s hoping the financial system doesn’t become vulnerable as a result.
Trump Is Right: Expat Taxes Are Too Complicated

President-elect Donald Trump pledged last month to eliminate “the Double Taxation of overseas Americans.” Never mind the clumsy wording — taxes on US citizens working abroad aren’t excessive so much as excessively complicated — this is one campaign promise that may actually be fulfilled, given the Republican control of both houses of Congress. That would be a good thing not only for those Americans but also for America.
US Producer Prices Rise, Risking Pressure in Fed’s Favored Gauge

US producer prices picked up in October, fueled in part by gains in portfolio management costs and other categories that feed into the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
Bitcoin Briefly Tops $93,000 on Trump Agenda, Fed Policy Outlook

Bitcoin spiked above $93,000 for a short period as expectations of further interest-rate reductions by the Federal Reserve added to the impetus from President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance.
Private Equity Finds Yet Another Way to Keep the Money Coming In

Private equity’s recent splurge of piling ever more debt onto already highly leveraged bets has sparked fears about financial-system risks. Banks, however, are positioning themselves to take advantage.
Traders Ramp Up Bets on a Treasury Selloff After Trump’s Win

Treasuries held on to recent losses ahead of the US inflation report, with traders loading up on bets for further declines in anticipation that Donald Trump’s pledged policies will fan price increases and keep interest rates high.
Bitcoin Rises Above $90,000 as Rally Resumes on Trump Optimism

A surge in Bitcoin that paused earlier Wednesday is regaining steam, sending the original cryptocurrency above $90,000 for the first time, as traders assess the remaining market impact of President-elect Donald Trump’s rhetorical support for crypto.
Trump May Be Good for Crypto — But Bad for Bitcoin

The price of Bitcoin has jumped by more than $20,000 since the Nov. 5 elections in the US, with about one-third of the gains coming with favorable early results for Republicans, and the rest trickling in as Donald Trump’s victory became certain and his party continued to pick up seats in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Wall Street Sees Dollar Soaring More, But Splits on How Much

The US dollar’s rally is gaining momentum alongside Donald Trump’s threat of sweeping tariffs, leaving currency strategists in agreement it has further to rise while war-gaming just how far it will go.
Buffett’s Berkshire Is Being Packaged Into a Leveraged ETF

Warren Buffett created Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Class B shares almost 30 years ago to stymie money managers who sought to split the high-priced conglomerate’s stock.
Wall Street’s Higher-for-Longer Rate Brigade Plunges Into Loans

Investors are piling into US leveraged loan ETFs, betting that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies will potentially boost inflation and push the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer.
Powell Doesn’t Fear Trump. He Also Can’t Contain Him

The US Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome Powell, are rightly choosing not to act on any assumptions about what Donald Trump might do as president. That said, if he follows through on his more extreme campaign promises, they’ll struggle to contain the economic consequences — a problem that equity investors ignore at their peril.
The Bitcoin Bubble Isn’t All About Trump

I think I finally understand value of cryptocurrencies: They add some volatility to your portfolio. Maybe that’s why they have found such a champion in Donald Trump, who if nothing else adds some volatility to our politics.
BlackRock Targets Money-Market Fund Business in New ETF Push

BlackRock Inc. is throwing its weight behind an early push to bring exchange-traded funds to money-market investors.
Wall Street Bets on New Riches Ahead in Markets All-In on Trump

All year, a slew of Wall Street pros have questioned the durability of an indiscriminate risk rally that has fattened stock prices by trillions of dollars, sent Bitcoin soaring, fueled a credit bonanza, and more.
Bitcoin Options Show Traders Betting on $100,000 by Year-End

Bitcoin options traders buoyed by Donald Trump’s election victory are already eyeing a landmark price of $100,000 for the original cryptocurrency, after it surged to a fresh record on hopes for a more crypto-friendly administration.
Can Chevron Win Back Wall Street in 2025?

Mike Wirth became the king of Big Oil on Oct. 7, 2020. That was the day the chief executive officer of Chevron Corp. elbowed out archival Exxon Mobil Corp. to become America’s largest oil corporation by market value. It was the zenith of a honeymoon between Wall Street and Wirth.
Trump Inherits an Economy at a Tricky Time

Donald Trump will inherit, to all appearances, a solid economy when he assumes the presidency in January. After all, the stock market is at record highs, unemployment is low by historical standards and gross domestic product has been expanding at a healthy pace of around 2.5% so far this year.
Bond Market on Risky Path as Traders Regroup From Wild Week

The bond-market selloff unleashed by Donald Trump’s presidential victory last week ended almost as quickly as it began.
Hedge Funds Shorting Tesla Just Lost More Than $5 Billion

Since Donald Trump’s election win, the hedge funds clinging on to bets against Tesla Inc. have lost billions of dollars, as they feel the fallout of the special relationship between the president-elect and Elon Musk.
Lucrative Bonuses for Wall Street CEOs Take Shape on Trump Win

Donald Trump’s return to the White House is already starting to tee up a deluge of bonuses in Wall Street’s corridors of power.
Oil Falls on China Demand Woes Even as Market Remains Rangebound

Oil fell after Chinese stimulus measures disappointed speculators, but not enough to jolt prices from the narrowest trading band since July.
AI Takeoff Turns Data Centers Into America’s New Building Boom

US companies are plowing money into building data centers as they race to get ahead in artificial intelligence.
Banks’ New Trick Could Mean Trouble for Everyone

If you’re unfamiliar with synthetic risk transfers, there’s a chance you’ll hear all about them when the next financial crisis hits. They’re the latest way for big banks to game rules designed to safeguard the system, and they’re growing fast. So far, regulators seem all but oblivious.
Online Travel Firms Show Post-Pandemic Boom Still Has Steam

A few months ago, travel companies were warning that the great post-pandemic boom in consumer travel was losing steam.
S&P 500 Is on Track for Its 50th Record This Year

Stocks rose at the end of their best week in 2024 after solid consumer sentiment data and bets that newly elected President Donald Trump’s pro-growth agenda will keep fueling Corporate America.
Debt, Arms and Nuclear Power Are Key to German Renaissance

The collapse of Germany’s deeply unloved and dysfunctional three-party coalition offers Europe’s biggest economy an opportunity for political and economic renewal. Two important questions arise: Will Germany put aside political squabbles and grab its golden opportunity.
Austin Exposes New York City’s Broken Housing Market

Here’s something that would have seemed pretty much inconceivable two years ago: According to Zillow, home prices have now risen more in New York City and its environs since the beginning of 2020 than in metropolitan Austin, Texas.
Tesla and Detroit’s Automakers Price In a Trump Joyride. Good Luck.

Detroit voted overwhelmingly for Vice President Kamala Harris, but investors in “Detroit” backed President-elect Donald Trump. Shares in General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. jumped on news of Trump’s election win, with GM reaching a new high for the year and Ford up by almost 6% on Wednesday, more than double the S&P 500 Index’s gain.
Bentley Motors Delays Its Master Plan for Electric Vehicles

Bentley Motors Ltd. is delaying a plan to offer only fully electric vehicles by 2030 as EV sales continue to disappoint projections across the industry.
AI Will Transform Medicine. There's Just One Catch

Cerebrospinal fluid leaks, caused by tears or holes in the spinal cord, are rare and difficult to identify. Because the symptoms aren’t uncommon — including nausea, neck pain, ringing in the ears and debilitating positional headaches — patients can spend years without a proper diagnosis. Some have been told they have allergies.
Traders Sense an Inflation-Constrained Fed Is Back

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower its benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%. The big question is how much lower the Fed might go from there during this rate-cutting cycle. The bond market suggests it won’t be as low as some expect or as low as policymakers signaled less than two months back.
Commodities Slide as Trump Win Boosts Dollar, Threatens Trade

Commodities broadly declined on prospects that a stronger dollar and potential trade disputes under a Donald Trump presidency will weaken the appeal of raw materials in global markets.
The LNG Market Will Remain Tight Until 2027

At the height of summer, Europe had hoped that the coming winter would be its last difficult one to secure enough natural gas. By the middle of next year, liquefied natural gas was expected to turn into a buyer’s market, easing the squeeze the region has suffered since Russia invaded Ukraine. No longer.
The ‘Happiness Plateau’ Doesn’t Exist

The idea that money can’t buy you happiness is one of the world’s most persistent tropes. King Midas is granted his wish that everything he touches will turn to gold only to starve to death.
Credit Risk Drops in a Knee-Jerk Reaction to Trump’s Win

Credit risk fell in reaction to Donald Trump’s US presidential win, even though his presidency may be marred by tariffs and possible trade wars.
Palantir Earnings Provide Litmus Test for 140% AI-Fueled Rally

Palantir Technologies Inc.’s premium valuation will be put to the test when the data analysis and software company reports results after the market close on Monday.
Apple Explores Push Into Smart Glasses With ‘Atlas’ User Study

Apple Inc. is exploring a push into smart glasses with an internal study of products currently on the market, setting the stage for the company to follow Meta Platforms Inc. into an increasingly popular category.
Treasuries Slip on Election Day as Volatility Hits One-Year High

Treasuries fell as a strong report on services ahead of Thursday’s Federal Reserve interest-rate decision added to volatility around the US election.
US Bitcoin ETFs Suffer Record Outflows Ahead of Election Day

US exchange-traded funds investing in Bitcoin recorded their highest daily net outflow to date as markets brace for Election Day.
US Voting Day Is Here at Last After a Bruising 2024 Campaign

The 2024 presidential campaign was marked by two assassination attempts, a candidate switch, divisive rhetoric and warnings about the fate of democracy. And that may have only been the beginning.
Bond Traders Greet a Momentous Week With Their Wagers Reeled In

After driving Treasury yields higher for weeks, traders are taking chips off the table before the US election, reluctant to take bold bond bets with the presidential race too close to call.
Typical US Homebuyer More Likely to Be Older, Single and a Woman

The age of a typical homebuyer jumped to an all-time high of 56 in the US, with many young people locked out of the housing market while older owners tap their accumulated home equity for cash purchases or to make large down payments, according to a report.
Ryanair Cuts Passenger Growth Target Amid Boeing Jet Delays

Ryanair Holdings Plc cut its passenger growth target for next year because of delivery delays from aircraft supplier Boeing Co.
Intel, Samsung Results Rallies Seen Short-Lived on AI Challenges

Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. have shed a total of $227 billion in market value this year on their lack of leadership in artificial intelligence.
Amazon Reassures Investors With Cloud Growth, Cost-Cutting

Amazon.com Inc. reported strong results that showed a company humming on all cylinders, a testament to its efforts to cut and reallocate costs and put the cloud computing and e-commerce giant on sounder footing.
Tech Giants Are Set to Spend $200 Billion This Year Chasing AI

Three months ago, Wall Street punished the world’s largest technology firms for spending enormous amounts to develop artificial intelligence, only to deliver results that failed to justify the costs.
Bond Traders Scour US Jobs Data for Clues on Fed’s Rate Plan

Investors who’ve been hedging against a deeper selloff in US Treasuries are preparing for volatility as Friday’s hurricane- and strike-tinged US employment report offers final clues ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy decision.
Brain Tech Is Here and Not as Creepy as You Think

A middle-aged man who works in emergency services in the US had been battling depression and suicidal thoughts for 17 years, unable to sleep most nights and leaving his wife and teen daughter walking on eggshells because of his irritability, before he opted for a shot in the dark.
Squeezed Homebuilders Are Bad News for the Housing Market

Builders are an important part of any plausible fix for the housing shortage in the United States — not only constructing more homes but also finding ways to improve affordability.
Apple Sparks Concerns With Tepid Forecast, China Weakness

Apple Inc., heading into its most critical sales period of the year, sparked fresh concerns about revenue growth and lingering weakness in an intensely competitive China market.
Apple’s AI and Vision Pro Products Don’t Meet Its Standards

Today, Apple is having to become a different type of company. Its two most important products are being developed very much in the full view of the public, and I would say before they have met the previous Apple standard. “It just works” is now “we’re working on it.”
DoubleLine Sees Compelling Case to Buy Asset-Backed Securities Tied to Data Centers

It’s a good time to buy asset-backed securities tied to data centers, according to a October research note from DoubleLine Capital LP, as demand for digital infrastructure is booming and supply is constrained by energy requirements.
Meta Warns of Worsening AI Losses After Sales Narrowly Beat

Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will ramp up heavy investments in AI and other futuristic technologies, continuing a years-long tug-of-war between the company’s long-term bets and the core advertising business that provides the vast majority of Meta’s revenue.
Open Banking Will Be Great — With Guardrails

For the land of free markets and open competition, the US has surprisingly little choice when it comes to payments. Americans use cards for most of their purchases, and most of those transactions are handled by just two companies, Visa or Mastercard, which levy billions of dollars of fees on the merchants that rely on them.
Key US Inflation Gauge and Spending Pick Up in Solid Economy

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying US inflation posted its biggest monthly gain since April, bolstering the case for a slower pace of interest-rate cuts following last month’s outsize reduction.
A Hybrid That America’s Truck Lovers Can Love — for Now

If Elon Musk sold plug-in hybrid vehicles, he surely wouldn’t call them plug-in hybrid vehicles, or PHEVs, or anything else that sounds coined by an engineer. Far too clunky. Surely “Cyborgtruck” would offer a more futuristic spin on these marriages of gasoline and batteries?
Gold Rises to Record High as Looming US Election Fans Demand

Gold rose to a record on Wednesday on haven demand before the US election, and held a narrow gain after jobs and GDP data that showed the ongoing resilience of the US economy.
Alphabet’s Pricey AI Bet Pays Off With Cloud, Search Growth

Google parent Alphabet Inc. is showing an expensive foray into artificial intelligence is starting to pay off, delivering better-than-expected sales for its cloud-computing business and driving more usage of its flagship search engine.
Private Credit’s Banking Romance May Turn Sour

To understand the wave of bank partnerships with private-credit fund managers during the past year or so, think back to the boom in mortgage lending through securitization in the early 2000s. The same forces are at work: a huge demand for finance, limited and costly bank capital and investment bankers’ ingenuity and desire to generate business.
BP Needs a Swifter Reality Check on Share Buybacks

In corporate-speak, when a company says a key target is “currently” unchanged but it plans to disclose a “review” soon, you know trouble is coming. And indeed, there’s trouble ahead for BP Plc.
Alphabet Needs More Than Strong Results to Tame Wall of Worries

Alphabet Inc. shares have gone nowhere for months, trailing Magnificent Seven peers as investors struggle to price risks confronting the company. It’s a stretch to believe Tuesday’s results will blow away those concerns.
Wall Street CEOs Tout US Resilience Against Concerns Over Europe
The titans of finance who congregated in Riyadh this week for Saudi Arabia’s annual Davos-style confab were mostly upbeat on the prospects for the US economy, but concerned about more sluggish growth in Europe.
Banks’ New Trick Could Mean Trouble for Everyone

If you’re unfamiliar with synthetic risk transfers, there’s a chance you’ll hear all about them when the next financial crisis hits. They’re the latest way for big banks to game rules designed to safeguard the system, and they’re growing fast. So far, regulators seem all but oblivious.
Weird Things Are Happening in the Bond Market

The US presidential election Nov. 5 is shaping up to be the mother of event risks so you’d think the safest of all havens would be holding up. But it’s not — and that’s only one of the notable anomalies springing up in financial markets. Yields on 10-year US Treasuries have risen nearly 70 basis points since the Federal Reserve's punchy half-point initial rate cut on Sept. 17.
Apple Ships $6 Billion of iPhones From India in Big China Shift

Apple Inc.’s iPhone exports from India jumped by a third in the six months through September, underscoring its push to expand manufacturing in the country and reduce dependence on China.
Yardeni Sees Bond Vigilantes Mustering as US, UK Prep Debt Sales

Wall Street veteran Ed Yardeni says the approaching US election could augur the return of the market’s bond vigilantes as the Treasury Department readies new debt issuance plans.
Bitcoin Traders Refocus on $70,000 With Cash Flowing Into ETFs

Bitcoin traders are targeting the $70,000 price level last reached in June once again after cryptocurrencies briefly dipped across the board late Friday and US exchange-traded funds continued to see steady inflows.
Apple Rolls Out AI Platform Alongside New iMac With M4 Chip

Apple Inc., heralding a “new era” for its devices, started rolling out its first set of Apple Intelligence features and introduced a new 24-inch iMac desktop with a faster, AI-focused M4 processor.
The Porterhouse at Weis Points to Inflation’s Demise

Although Americans say they don’t like paying the current level of prices for goods and services that resulted from the worst bout of inflation in 40 years, they can take comfort from the fact that those prices, while admittedly not coming down in most cases, are actually becoming more affordable.
A Boeing Space Exit Would Be a Win-Win-Win

A true win-win-win situation doesn’t come along often. One could be brewing with a Boeing Co. decision to look at a potential sale — or perhaps more realistically a spinoff — of its space business.
Haven’t Worked at the Same Place for 10 Years? Join the Club

Been with the same employer for 10 years or more? That doesn’t exactly make you a rarity in the US, where 30.2% of employed wage and salary workers were in that situation as of January 2024, according to data released last month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while this percentage is down from a decade ago, it’s close to where things stood for the much of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
Starmer Looks to Win Over Skeptics With UK Plan to Lead on AI

At his party’s inaugural investment summit last week, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer positioned himself as a champion for artificial intelligence. Appearing alongside former Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt, Starmer called AI an “opportunity,” rather than something to be scared of, and said his country “needs to run towards” it.
The Inflation Struggle Is Over. Just Don’t Tell Anyone

Even with inflation well and truly on the way down after the most aggressive interest-rate tightening in a generation, central banks are averse to declarations of victory. That the pace of price increases has been reined in without a major economic downturn is an accomplishment that warrants some trumpeting.
The Intelligent Investor Is Still Worth Reading 75 Years Later

When Warren Buffett calls a book on investing “by far the best book about investing ever written,” it is common sense to concede the point.
Stock Investors Grapple With String of Coin-Toss Risk Events

Equity investors face a bewildering sequence of tough-to-predict outcomes and confusing market signals. Patience and a steady hand look like valuable attributes in navigating through the noise.
How a $33 Billion Fund Manager Scored a Perfect Record Betting on Value

To those who argue that value investing has gotten too hard in today’s momentum-chasing, passive-driven world, Scott McBride’s results are a bit of a conundrum.
Economists Boost US Growth, Spending Forecasts Into Early 2025

Economists nudged up quarterly US economic growth projections through early next year on more sanguine views of consumer demand and maintained views that limited inflation will keep the Federal Reserve on a path toward lower borrowing costs.
AI’s Effect on the US Economy Will Be Wildly Uneven

One of the only things growing faster than progress in AI applications is speculation about AI’s effect on the economy. I don’t have all the answers, not by a long shot, but I do think we should expect great unevenness in adaptation, and that itself will alter our world.
Hundreds of ESG Funds Are Being Wound Down, Morningstar Says

Asset managers in Europe and the US have spent 2024 winding down hundreds of ESG funds, as the investment strategy continues to bump up against regulatory headwinds.
US Hospitals Are Hanging by a Thread

As Steward Health Care Systems LLC’s network of hospitals was struggling, it stopped paying some of its vendors. One of those vendors was a supplier of bereavement boxes, the tiny cases used to transport the remains of newborns who don’t survive.
The World Bank Somehow Lost Track of at Least $24 Billion

Imagine if humanity decides it doesn’t have enough amusement parks. All the world’s nations announce they will be financing new ones across the planet. Bankers stand next to models of future parks and hand comically large loan checks to the developers. It’s not nearly enough to end the global amusement-park crisis, but they still win accolades and shareholder approval for doing their part.
US Treasuries Rebound as Market Takes Break From Days of Losses

The sharp selloff in Treasuries abated on Thursday, with US bonds rallying alongside European peers, after three straight days of declines.
Tesla Delivers Blowout Quarter and Upbeat Outlook for 2025

Tesla Inc.’s shares surged after the carmaker reported surprisingly strong earnings and forecast as much as 30% growth in vehicle sales next year.
Disney’s Happily Ever After Iger Is Finally On Track

Last year, James Gorman told the In Good Company podcast that now that he had stepped down as CEO of Morgan Stanley, he wanted a board role that was more than an easy paycheck. "I want something that is complicated. I like solving problems,” he said.
US Previously Owned Home Sales Fall to an Almost 14-Year Low

US sales of previously owned homes declined to an almost 14-year low in September as prospective buyers waited for a further decline in mortgage rates and more attractive asking prices.
Treasuries Slide for Third Straight Day as Fed-Cut Bets Wane

Treasury yields climbed for the third straight day amid growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates at a gradual pace and as traders fretted about the potential inflationary implications of the US presidential election.
Vanguard Sticks to Higher-Quality Debt ‘Playbook’ as US Economy Expected to Slow

Vanguard Group Inc. sees more opportunities in the lowest rung of investment-grade bonds, even as spreads for triple-B notes reached their tightest since 1998 last week.
SEC to Increase Scrutiny of AI Tools Used by Brokers, Advisers

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s examiners will step up scrutiny of financial firms’ use of artificial intelligence next year, the latest sign of regulators’ growing concerns about the emerging technologies.
Bonds Slump Globally as Traders Rethink Fed’s Rate Cut Path

Bonds extended losses as investors mulled the prospect of slower US interest-rate cuts, a trend that risks upending debt positions everywhere.
AI's Power Drain Demands a Novel Solution: Us

Big Tech is going nuclear in its pursuit of artificial intelligence. Power-hungry datacenters are just one part of a broader freak-out over how the US grid will handle even bigger loads including electric vehicles and re-shored factories, plus withstand extreme weather, all while decarbonizing at a reasonable cost.
China Stimulus Is More Than Just One ‘Damn Number’

Ironically, China’s President Xi Jinping has been cornered into the same uncomfortable spot reserved for high-profile chief executives like JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon: Impatient stock investors are brushing aside the intricacies of running complex businesses and demanding simplistic numbers to justify their euphoria.
Decade of Big S&P 500 Gains Is Over, Goldman Strategists Say

US stocks are unlikely to sustain their above-average performance of the past decade as investors turn to other assets including bonds for better returns, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists said.
Fears of False Start for Fed Leave Emerging Markets in Limbo

Price action in some of the world’s most risk-sensitive assets is signaling concern that the Federal Reserve’s decision to begin lowering interest rates may have been premature — or unsustainable.
Hazard-Obsessed Stock Investors Risk Missing a Year-End Rally

Investors laser-focused on the risks looming in the next few weeks may be left unprepared if their worst fears don’t come to pass.
Treasury 10-Year Yields Will Test 5% in Six Months, T. Rowe Says

Benchmark Treasury yields may soon hit a key level on the back of rising inflation expectations and concerns over US fiscal spending, according to T. Rowe Price.
The Energy Transition Is Powered By — Wait for It — Coal

In what should be one of the least surprising developments, global electricity demand is soaring everywhere as the world moves to electrify everything. Out go gasoline cars, in come electric vehicles; out go gas boilers, in come heat pumps; and so on and so forth. That’s the energy transition.
Boeing's Union Finally Has a Labor Deal That Makes Sense

A dark cloud will be hanging over Boeing Co. when it releases its third-quarter earnings report Wednesday morning and Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg, who has only been in the job since August, presides over his first quarterly conference call with analysts for the storied planemaker.
Netflix Beats Wall Street’s Forecasts in Every Major Metric

Netflix Inc. added more than 5 million customers in the third quarter and eclipsed Wall Street’s expectations on every major financial metric despite a new programming slate constrained by last year’s strikes in Hollywood.
How Market Forces Came for the Dinosaurs

Around 110 million years ago, a dinosaur went hunting. Stalking through ferns along a riverbank, he twitched his nose to the wind and caught scent of a plant-eater ahead. His head darted upward. His eyes locked on the target. The dinosaur drew his sickle claws upward, ready to make a lethal strike. But something wasn’t right.
A Bull Run in Emerging Markets Is Overdue and Easily Missed

In China’s resurgent stock market, there’s a lesson for investors about the perils of market timing.
In Space, No One Can Hear Musk's Rivals Scream

Navigating space is hard. It’s expensive, complex, time-consuming and dangerous. And yet you have to hand it to Elon Musk: His SpaceX firm makes it look easy.
Trifecta of Fed Rate-Cut Regret Is an Illusion

We’ve had several weeks of strong data since the Federal Reserve cut policy rates by a half percentage point. It started with a surprisingly robust jobs report, followed by a janky and above-expectations inflation report.
Shakeup in Bond Futures Stands to Reignite Burned Treasury Trade

The unwinding of positions in Treasury futures stands to rekindle a popular bond-market wager that’s been burned as traders pare back expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
US Mortgage Rates Climb to 6.52%, Highest Since Early August

US mortgage rates rose sharply for a second straight week, reaching the highest level since early August while prompting steep declines in both home-purchase and refinance activity.
TSMC Hikes Revenue Outlook in Show of Confidence in AI Boom

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. raised its target for 2024 revenue growth after quarterly results beat estimates, allaying concerns about global chip demand and the sustainability of an AI hardware boom.
Boeing Is Flexing the Financial Muscle It Has Left

Boeing Co. is flexing its financial muscle even in light of a crippling labor strike and a disgraceful period of execution that resulted in two deadly plane crashes, the near-disaster of a midair door-panel blowout and whistleblowers who have detailed a culture of putting profit over quality.
BlackRock’s Third Pivot Is Its Most Adventurous Yet

When BlackRock Inc. completed its initial public offering in 1999, it fell a bit flat. There was no first day pop; Founder and Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink didn’t even get to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Valued at just under $900 million, the firm was one of 30 large investment-managers in the US, managing $165 billion of assets.
Toyota Joins With Hyundai's Boston Dynamics on AI-Powered Robots

Toyota Motor Corp.’s research unit and Hyundai Motor Co.’s Boston Dynamics are joining forces to speed up development of humanoid robots with artificial intelligence.
Fitch Sees More Stress for Colleges With Budgets Under Pressure

Fitch Ratings predicts an even gloomier financial outlook for US colleges and universities, with smaller private schools being hit the hardest.
Some Hedge Funds Are Missing a Trick — Volume Alpha

Machine learning is ubiquitous in financial markets, and we tend to associate it with the sexy parts of hedge fund investing: what to buy, what to sell and how to pick a bottom or a top.
US Weighs Capping Exports of AI Chips From Nvidia and AMD to Some Countries

Biden administration officials have discussed capping sales of advanced AI chips from Nvidia Corp. and other American companies on a country-specific basis, people familiar with the matter said.
Boeing’s Endless Doom Loop Gives No Respite to CEO Ortberg

As Boeing Co. lurches from one crisis to the next, there’s been one constant for the embattled planemaker: Its predicament appears to be only getting worse.
Five Themes for Traders to Watch as Earnings Season Kicks Off

Earnings season is here, and the US stock market’s furious $9 trillion 2024 rally is facing perhaps its biggest test of the year.
AI Will Transform Philanthropy, Too

In an age of accelerating progress in artificial intelligence, everyone is debating AI’s implications for the labor market or national security. There is far less discussion of what AI could or should mean for philanthropy.
Vietnam’s Relationship With Big Tech Is at a Crossroads

Vietnam may be quickly outgrowing its role in the global tech industry as the attractive manufacturing sidepiece to China.
Money Should Work Better. Crypto Can Actually Help

If money makes the world go around, it hasn’t been doing a very good job lately. Beyond developed nations — in eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa — people and businesses are increasingly finding themselves cut off from global payments. An unintended consequence of necessary measures to enforce sanctions and thwart criminals, the trend is doing significant damage to trade and economic growth.
Volatile Bond Market Puts Traders on Defense Amid Fed-Cut Doubts

Bond investors are going on defense as the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cutting path turns more uncertain.
Hedged-Up Wall Street Traders Still Haunted by August Meltdown

Take a snapshot of markets right now, and it’s a picture of health. Stocks are at records, corporate bonds show no signs of worry and commodities remain buoyant on global economic optimism.
Nvidia Rides Fierce Blackwell Demand Toward Stock Record Again

Nvidia Corp.’s shares are roaring back after the company successfully calmed investor concerns about product delays and its long-term growth prospects.
Boeing Needs Some Help to Stem Its Cash Burn and Losses

It’s almost always bad news when a statement from a prominent company hits late on Friday. For those who missed Boeing Co.’s release at 4:30 p.m. New York Time ahead of a three-day weekend for the bond market, Boeing laid out the ugly truth of blowout operating losses at its commercial aircraft and defense businesses during the third quarter, which combined for about $6.4 billion.
Jamie Dimon Is Right. Forget the ‘Damn Number.’

The top corporate conference calls are attended by dozens of Wall Street analysts whose job it is to maintain detailed earnings and valuation models filled with minutiae. Quarter after quarter, they populate their spreadsheets with revenue and cost assumptions to predict exactly what earnings per share will be months and years into the future.
Chinese Stocks Climb as Traders See Hope in Beijing’s Promises

Chinese stocks overcame a bout of early volatility to post their biggest gain in a week on Monday, suggesting that investors are hopeful the government will deliver on its promise of more fiscal support.
Bond Traders’ Big Week Ends With Fed Rate Cuts Even Less Certain

The bond market is growing less convinced by the day that the Federal Reserve will embark on two further interest-rate cuts this year.
When Will Musk’s Robotaxis Actually Arrive?

The key moment during the Tesla Inc. robotaxi event Thursday night came when a member of the audience interrupted Chief Executive Elon Musk’s spiel about the benefits of autonomous vehicles. He had just opined about Airbnb-like fleets of money-earning robotaxis that you could care for like a shepherd tends their flock — stirring stuff, this — presaging “a glorious future” when someone shouted: “When will they be available?”
BlackRock Enters New League With $450 Billion in Alternative Assets

BlackRock Inc. reaching $450 billion in alternative assets is putting a finer point on a case it has been making all year: it’s not just an ETF powerhouse.
JPMorgan’s Silver Lining Still Comes With a Cloud

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s net interest income was the hot topic of its third-quarter results, much to the irritation of Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, who grew impatient with quibbling over details of the bank’s outlook on its earnings call on Friday.
US Credit Draws In Foreign Investors Eying Lower Costs to Hedge

Foreign investors have been buying more US corporate bonds, a trend that will likely continue as Federal Reserve monetary easing lowers the cost of hedging and investors hunt for yield.
Hong Kong ETF Investors Make Record Bet on Stock Market Decline

Investors in Hong Kong have bet a record amount on exchange-traded funds that profit when stocks decline, showing how quickly sentiment is shifting following a breakneck rally.
Dollar Extends Weekly Gaining Trend as Traders Trim Fed Cut Bets

Traders are pushing the dollar toward its second-straight weekly gain in anticipation of a slower pace of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
The IPO Slump Is Fine Unless You’re Jamie Dimon

Two senior Wall Street executives complained this week that over-regulation is discouraging initial public offerings. JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon partly blamed the zeal of securities regulators for the drop in IPOs that began in March 2022, a sentiment echoed by Citadel Securities CEO Peng Zhao.
Musk Shows Tesla Cybercab, Sees Sub-$30,000 Cost and 2026 Production

Elon Musk unveiled Tesla Inc.’s highly anticipated self-driving taxi at a flashy event that was light on specifics, leaving investors questioning how the carmaker expects to achieve its ambitious goals.
For Bond Traders, It’s Wait Till Next Year (Again)

A return to lower yields has been every bond fund manager's dream since the nightmare of 2022. But now, with expectations dashed that they’d get their wish this year, it appears they’ll have to hang their hopes on 2025.
China Has Taken Out an Insurance Policy, Not a Bazooka

With many having characterized China as “uninvestible” just a few months ago, investors’ enthusiastic response in recent weeks to a perceived shift in the authorities’ policy reaction function is also likely to be an overreaction. It grossly oversimplifies the competing priorities of a country with internal imbalances, inefficient resource allocation channels, and exposure to further geopolitical tensions.
US CPI Rises More Than Forecast, Stalling Inflation Progress

Underlying US inflation rose more than forecast in September, representing a pause in the recent progress toward moderating price pressures.
Big Banks Prep for Billions More in Bond Issuance After Earnings

Wall Street banks are expected to launch a barrage of bond sales as soon as next week, capitalizing on ultra-low credit spreads and strong demand from investors after they report quarterly results.
Investors Buying CLOs Are Increasingly Using ETFs, Bank of America Says

Investors who buy bundles of loans packaged into bonds are increasingly using exchange-traded funds to do so, according to a report from Bank of America.
Elon Musk Readies the Robotaxi He Is Betting Tesla’s Future On

Elon Musk went all-in to get robotaxis onto roads, sacrificing a widely anticipated cheaper car, gutting teams focused on other projects and downplaying Tesla Inc.’s sales slowdown.
US Weighs Google Breakup in Historic Big Tech Antitrust Case

The US Justice Department is considering asking a federal judge to force Google to sell off parts of its business in what would be a historic breakup of one of the world’s biggest tech companies.
Why Robinhood Is Seeking Merry Traders Overseas

Britain’s stock-investing culture has been withering for years, with the only real growth coming from consultants, policymakers and commentators generating ideas on how to revive it. So why is Robinhood Markets Inc. so keen to expand in the UK? The draw may be more the country’s enthusiasm for online betting than allocating savings to equities.
Unions Need to Join the 21st Century Economy

It is hard to be “the most pro-union president in American history,” as Joe Biden likes to claim, while also leading an effort to “reimagine and rebuild a new economy,” as he has also promised. That’s because these goals are fundamentally incompatible: America’s unions no longer fit the modern economy.
Is China Breaking Out or Breaking Bad?

China’s recent stimulus announcements sparked a massive rally in its stocks, and a growing chorus of analysts see more gains ahead. Is this a reawakening of the country’s long slumbering stock market or just another false start? Bloomberg Opinion’s Nir Kaissar and Shuli Ren, based in the US and Hong Kong respectively, met online to discuss the risks and opportunities.
How to Think About the Surprising US Jobs Data

Judging from the public commentary, last Friday’s US jobs report confused economists in terms of their understanding of economic developments in the world’s largest economy and the policy approach of the Federal Reserve.
US Bonds Slip Again as Traders Price In Gradual Fed Rate Cuts

The rout in US government debt extended slightly on Tuesday, with longer-dated yields at the highest levels since late July and inflation data later in the week expected to enable Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
Wall Street Sees More Room for Defense Stocks’ Torrid Advance

It’s no secret that betting on defense suppliers when geopolitical tensions ratchet higher pays off — at least in the short term. But Wall Street says there’s more to this latest rally.
US Corporate Bond Spreads Rally to Three-Year Low, Bucking Risks

US investment-grade corporate bond spreads have narrowed to the lowest level in more than three years, a clear sign of just how bullish credit investors are even as macro and geopolitical risks mount.
America’s Jobs Market Has Entered the Twilight Zone

The strong gain of 254,000 jobs in September was a welcome surprise after months of cooling in the labor market and reinforced other signs of strength in the US economy. However, one month does not make a trend, and even with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates, a sustained turnaround in hiring will take time.
Raise the $1,000 Limit on Emergency 401(k) Withdrawals

Thanks to new legislation, Americans with retirement plans now have easier access to cash in the event of a financial emergency. A provision in the Secure Act 2.0 that took effect this year allows individuals with 401(k)s and other retirement plans to withdraw up to $1,000 without triggering a 10% early distribution penalty.
Oil Bets Most Bullish in Two Years as Mideast Tension Flares

Oil futures posted their largest gain in more than a year last week. And the frenzy was even bigger in the options market.
Corporate Bonds Gain an Edge Over Stocks as Fed Cuts

The outlook for corporate debt is improving now that the Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates, according to the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey.
Bond Traders Buckle Up for ‘No Landing’ After Jobs Surprise

The “no landing” scenario – a situation where the US economy keeps growing, inflation reignites and the Federal Reserve has little room to cut interest rates – had largely disappeared as a bond-market talking point in recent months.
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Private Equity-Backed Texas Housing Development Taps Muni Market

In suburban Texas, a neighborhood complete with an amphitheater, dance hall and goat farm is scheduled to be erected 40 miles from Houston’s downtown — providing municipal-bond investors a window to bet on one of the fastest-growing areas of the US.
Traders Rip Up Bets on Big Fed Cuts as Jobs Data Hits Bonds

Traders slashed their bets on the pace of future Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts after September US employment data blew past estimates and signaled a robust hiring trend.
OpenAI Gets $4 Billion in Credit on Top of $6.6 Billion Fundraise

OpenAI has tapped global banks for a $4 billion revolving line of credit on top of its recent $6.6 billion fundraising, building a massive war chest to stay ahead in the costly race to develop more sophisticated artificial intelligence.
El-Erian Warns Fed After Jobs Data: ‘Inflation Is Not Dead’

Mohamed El-Erian says the Federal Reserve needs to renew its focus on its fight against rising prices after September’s surprisingly hot jobs report served as a reminder that “inflation is not dead.”
Strong Jobs Report Takes Pressure Off Fed for Next Meeting

Surprisingly strong hiring in September has taken pressure off the Federal Reserve by reducing worries over the US labor market, giving policymakers room to continue cutting interest rates at a more gradual pace in coming months.
Meta Unveils AI Video Generator, Taking On OpenAI and Google

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. debuted a new artificial intelligence tool that can generate or edit videos based on a simple text prompt, elevating competition with rivals like OpenAI and Google in the race to develop the world’s most advanced AI technology.
Druckenmiller Is Wary of Fed’s Next Move After Hot Jobs Data

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller is concerned that the Federal Reserve has boxed itself into a corner when it comes to future interest-rate cuts.
India Won’t Grow Without Taking on the World

Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his “Make in India” policies shortly after being elected prime minister in 2014, New Delhi has chased the dream of a prosperous manufacturing sector. There have been some successes — when it comes to making mobile phones, for example.
Retailers Have No Room for Error This Holiday

With interest rates lower, inflation collapsing and wages rising faster than prices, there’s potential for a very happy holiday for US retailers.
One Underappreciated Way to Reduce Inequality: Work More

The various bestselling books on income inequality cite a variety of driving factors. Robert Kuttner blames global capitalism. Paul Krugman pins it on bad domestic economic policies. Thomas Piketty writes of capitalists as if they are rentiers, extracting royalties from the system.
The Fed Needs to Tread Carefully in Twitchy Money Markets

It might not be time to really get nervous about US money markets, but it’s definitely time to pay more attention. Signs of strain emerged as September turned into October this week — it wasn’t completely wild, but the tensions were the worst since early 2020.
Nvidia Insider Share Sales Top $1.8 Billion and More Are Coming

Nvidia Corp. insiders have cashed in on shares worth more than $1.8 billion so far this year — and more selling is on the horizon.
TSMC Gets Single-Stock ETF as Direxion Funds Allow Leverage Bets

Direxion Funds has launched two exchange-traded products that focus on a single emerging-market stock — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. — allowing investors to make outsized bullish bets on it or take positions against the direction of the market.
Boeing’s Frail Finances Give Strikers All the Power

While a strike by East Coast port workers is strangling the flow of goods from Maine to Texas and grabbing headlines, news of machinists at Boeing Co. about to enter their fourth week of picketing near Seattle has receded a bit into the background.
How My Hard Economic Landing Forecast Went Wrong

I’ve been too pessimistic about the risks of a so-called hard landing for the US economy over the past few years. Although most of my conclusions that led to that view were correct, such an outcome remains very much in doubt.
Tesla Really Needs Musk’s Robotaxis to Live Up to the Hype

Guys, you were so close. If it wasn’t for that last little bounce of Wall Street optimism on the last day of September, Tesla Inc.’s latest sales figure would have beaten estimates — just.
Nvidia Partners With Accenture to Boost Corporate AI Adoption

Nvidia Corp. has expanded a partnership with technology consultant Accenture as part of an effort to drive adoption of artificial intelligence within businesses and boost orders for the chipmaker’s products.
Dalio, Abu Dhabi Royal’s G42 Said to Shelve Investment Venture

Ray Dalio’s family office and Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s artificial intelligence firm G42 have abandoned plans to set up an asset management venture together in Abu Dhabi, according to people familiar with the matter.
The US Economy’s Landing Isn’t as Soft as We Think

For all the talk of a soft landing in the US, there’s one corner of the economy where the hazard lights are flashing: the $1.6 trillion motor-vehicle lending market, which accounts for around a quarter of non-mortgage consumer credit. For the past three years, bad debts have been rising.
Fink Sees Boom in Infrastructure Fueling Global Economic Growth

BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said infrastructure is a major component to help stimulate growth in every economy and there’s enough capital in the private sector to fund investment.
Global Debt Binge Brings Record $600 Billion of Bond Sales

Companies and governments around the globe spent the past month streaming into debt markets, seizing on declining interest rates ahead of an uncertain US presidential election that many fear will spur volatility in markets.
Suddenly Asia Is Place to Be as Stocks, Currencies Outperform

Asian assets swung violently over the past three months, rocked by a succession of epochal events that culminated in a giant stimulus boost for China and propelled the region’s equities to world beaters.
Biden Should Intervene in the East Coast Port Strike

The much-anticipated labor strike at ports along the East and Gulf coasts has begun, and the impact is a bit anticlimactic — for now.
In Markets, Crystal Balls Lose to the Many Quiet Voices

Victor Haghani, James White and Jerry Bell of Elm Partners Management conducted a fascinating experiment to investigate the value of getting tomorrow’s headlines today, and the trading acumen of finance students. The results may suggest to some that finance courses need an upgrade...
Market-Boosting Moves in US, China Yet to Convince Economists

A stronger-than-expected pivot to stimulus in the world’s two biggest economies has brightened the market outlook. For economists, the jury is still out.
JPMorgan Slips as Morgan Stanley Sees Fewer Benefits From Rate Cuts

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has been the best performing big bank stock since the Federal Reserve started hiking interest rates more than two years ago. But as the US central bank begins to unwind those moves, Morgan Stanley says it’s time for investors to wait before they buy more shares.
Stocks Are In and Bonds Are Out: Top Trades for the Rest of the Year

US stocks will outperform the nation’s government and corporate bonds for the rest of this year as the Federal Reserve keeps cutting interest rates, the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey shows.
Your Next Financial Adviser Will Be on an App

Just as the industrial revolution changed the way goods are manufactured and consumed, so the technological revolution will do for services. Once something can be made at scale, the market for it can expand and be segmented. The same goes for financial planning.
Gold’s Record Run Can’t Continue Forever, Right?

Gold is what you buy when everything isn’t goldilocks. Inflation, deflation, war, pestilence — gold is a certain anxious state of mind made tangible in a seductive but mostly useless metal. In a weird spin, gold has been enjoying a goldilocks period itself, hitting a new record last week. More that that, it seems almost immune to things that would usually drag it down.
Murdoch’s Bid Still on the Wrong Side of Rightmove

Rupert Murdoch has so far made it easy for Rightmove Plc to resist his takeover bid.
Blame NFL’s Revenue-Sharing Model for David Tepper

If on-field success is a measuring stick, Appaloosa Management co-founder David Tepper’s 2018 purchase of the Carolina Panthers has been a disaster.
The Fed Should Stop Tying Its Hands on Interest Rates

So far, so good. The Federal Reserve’s efforts to engineer a soft landing for the economy are going well.
The Cheating Game Inside the OPEC+ Oil Cartel

Since the beginning of the year, the OPEC+ countries that are subject to output caps have pumped together more than 600,000 barrels a day above their self-imposed limits.
Who’s Really Keeping Ozempic and Wegovy Prices So High?

On Tuesday, congressional leaders spent two hours taking to task Novo Nordisk Chief Executive Officer Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen over the high price of the company’s diabetes and obesity drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. Now the question is whether those prices will change.
Wall Street’s ETF Assets Hit $10 Trillion Milestone

Assets held by exchange-traded funds in the US hit $10 trillion for the first time as the investor-friendly products continue their relentless takeover of Wall Street.
‘Crystal Ball’ Breaks as Traders Fail to Get Rich in New Study

If investors had known in advance the size of the Federal Reserve’s latest interest-rate cut, would they have made big money on stocks and bonds trading on this market-moving intel?
The $6.3 Trillion Money-Market Industry Just Got Its First ETF

A new exchange-traded fund attempting to carve out a slice of the $6.3 trillion sitting in traditional money-market funds is launching Wednesday.
Bonus-Starved Bankers Are Jumping Ship for Private Credit Riches

At a finance conference in London this summer, four senior investment bankers set about persuading the room that the $1.7-trillion private credit market isn’t a threat to Wall Street. Barely three months later, two of them have jumped ship to seek their fortunes in the upstart asset class.
Blaming Greedflation for High Food Prices Is Misguided

Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent proposal to ban price gouging in the grocery industry has raised tricky questions about the recent history of grocery prices, inflation and market power. Markups in grocery stores appear to be persistently higher than before the pandemic. But don’t rush to the conclusion that market power is the only explanation here.
OpenAI Is Just Like the Rest of Silicon Valley After All

That is much clearer and far more accurate. On Wednesday, Reuters first reported that the company is set to announce a restructuring under which its nonprofit board will lose control over the company’s core business.
Private Equity Calls in Experts to Fix Firms They Can’t Sell

Buyout heavyweights are increasingly resorting to the old-fashioned way of making money — actually running the companies they’ve bought.
Wall Street Drives Office Revival on Manhattan’s Ritziest Street

Financial services companies are office hunting on one of New York City’s fanciest addresses, Park Avenue, and the biggest beneficiary may be a once-beleaguered real estate investment trust that happens to find itself in the right place at the right time.
Sam Altman Is Spreading Himself Too Thin

Sam Altman has his hands in countless projects while also building “mankind’s last invention”: artificial general intelligence, or AI systems that surpass our own cognitive abilities. These galactic aspirations were reinforced on Monday when Altman published a dramatic blog post reminding us that superintelligence will bring prosperity for everyone. It’s just a “few thousand days” away, he added.
We Asked a Nobel Prize-Winning Economist How to Fix Fintech

Financial services, like many institutions, are losing Americans’ trust. That’s a problem. Economies depend on a healthy financial system, as became painfully evident during the 2008 financial crisis, and that system operates largely on trust — confidence that people can access the money in their bank accounts, that their investment accounts are secure, and that their trades will be filled at quoted market prices, to name just a few everyday financial interactions.
Wall Street Has Proven That Trust Can Be Rebuilt

America’s financial industry has long had trust issues. Never mind the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-08; mistrust of the markets dates back to at least 1929, if not the Dutch East India collapse of 1769. But this history has an upside: Financial institutions have a lot of experience creating systems to build, maintain and restore trust — and have learned lessons that can be applied across the economy.
OpenAI Pitched White House on Unprecedented Data Center Buildout

OpenAI has pitched the Biden administration on the need for massive data centers that could each use as much power as entire cities, framing the unprecedented expansion as necessary to develop more advanced artificial intelligence models and compete with China.
AI Market Will Surge to Near $1 Trillion by 2027, Bain Says

The global market for AI-related products is ballooning and will hit as much as $990 billion in 2027, as the technology’s quick adoption disrupts companies and economies, Bain & Co. said.
Intel Doesn’t Need a Takeover. It Needs a Turnaround

They say if there’s ever a Silicon Valley Mount Rushmore, the first face to be chiseled into the stone would be that of Gordon Moore. The Intel Corp. co-founder’s famous prediction about the rate at which semiconductors would improve has provided the bedrock to American technology leadership.
Microsoft’s Three Mile Island Deal Is Great News

At risk of understatement, let’s call it a big deal. Microsoft Corp.’s agreement with Constellation Energy Corp. to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania could prove highly consequential — for the green-energy transition and much else besides.
Retail Investors Won on Fees But Are Losing on Risk

Retail investors have won the battle of fees. Brokerage accounts are free. Trading commissions are history. Anyone can own the entire stock market through a single exchange-traded fund for basically nothing. It’s a huge win for investors and terrible for the investment industry.
Rate Cut Kickoff Sparks Rush to Emerging Market Bond ETFs

Investors poured money into exchange-traded funds that buy emerging-market bonds last week as optimism around the Federal Reserve’s easing cycle fueled risk appetite.
Yardeni Says Fed Cut Raises Odds of ‘Outright Melt-Up’ in Stocks

US stocks can soar to fresh highs thanks to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive half-point interest rate cut last week, but it also could cause inflation to resurface if central bankers don’t tread carefully, according to Wall Street strategist Ed Yardeni.
Fed Officials Leave Door Open to Another Large Interest-Rate Cut

A handful of Federal Reserve officials on Monday left open the door to additional large interest-rate cuts, noting that current rates still weigh heavily on the US economy.
Traders, Don’t Fall in Love With Your Machines

Gary Gensler, chief US securities regulator, enlisted Scarlett Johansson and Joaquin Phoenix’s movie “Her” last week to help explain his worries about the risks of artificial intelligence in finance. Money managers and banks are rushing to adopt a handful of generative AI tools and the failure of one of them could cause mayhem, just like the AI companion played by Johansson left Phoenix’s character and many others heartbroken.
Fischer Black Would See Bubbles as Traps for Traders

Cliff Asness, co-founder of AQR Capital Management, made the news recently with the provocative claim that financial markets are getting less efficient. I worked at AQR for 10 years, but long before that I spent nearly two decades as the only mentee the renowned economist Fischer Black ever had. Fischer had a very different view of market efficiency and would, I think, have reached a different conclusion from Cliff’s data.
Stocks’ Post-Fed Rally Risks Adding ‘Accelerant Fuel’ to Selloff

While the stock market rallied after the long-awaited Federal Reserve rate cut last week, there’s a sense of unease accompanying the gains.
Fed’s Bostic Says Large Cut Bolsters Labor Market, Pace Not Set

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said starting the central bank’s cutting cycle with a large move will help bring interest rates closer to neutral levels as the risks between inflation and employment become more balanced.
We Get Either 4% Mortgage Rates or a Stable Job Market

The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut last week has led many to wonder what it means for mortgage rates. The housing website Redfin noted that some would-be homebuyers aren’t aware that we’ve already seen a steep decline, while others are waiting for mortgage rates to fall more.
America’s Fiscal Exceptionalism Is All Too Real

A popular rebuttal of the idea that the US ought to worry about its surging public debt is, “What about Japan?” America’s taxpayers are currently on the hook for 123% of gross domestic product, exceeding the previous record of 118% in the aftermath of the second world war, and the number is going up.
Good Luck to Qualcomm in Getting Intel Inside

There’s opportunism — and there’s Qualcomm Inc.’s approach to buy Intel Corp. The acquisitive semiconductor giant has an opening to attempt such a momentous deal thanks to the yawning gap between their market capitalizations. The snag is that many obstacles remain to a successful transaction.
Summers Sees Fed Rate Projections Upended, Higher Mortgage Rates

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said inflation will probably prevent the Federal Reserve from lowering interest rates as much as expected in coming years.
Jay Powell Makes a Heckuva Car Salesman

Jay Powell: Federal Reserve Chair, soft-landing pilot … car dealer extraordinaire?
Risky Banks Are Regulators’ Fault

It’s understandable that bank regulators, facing zealous industry opposition, are retreating from their effort to require the biggest lenders to fund their assets with more equity. After all, there hasn’t been a major blowup in 18 months and the banks insist they have more than enough capital.
Where the US and China Can Find Common Ground on AI

Earlier this month, OpenAI released its most-advanced models yet, saying they had the ability to “reason” and solve complex math and coding problems. The industry-leading startup, valued at some $150 billion, also acknowledged that they raised the risk artificial intelligence could be misused to create biological weapons.
A US Soft Landing Will Rest on Increasingly Shaky Ground

Americans might be forgiven for basking in self-satisfaction when it comes to the economy. The country’s most prominent CEO, Jamie Dimon, has called the country’s boom “unbelievable,” and its most stimulating magazine, The Atlantic, has dubbed it a “superstar.”
Dow’s Lack of AI Stocks Puts Blue-Chip Index ‘Behind the Curve’

The rise of artificial intelligence has reordered the American stock market, pushing the likes of Nvidia Corp. and other chipmakers into the upper echelons. There’s one storied corner, though, where the changes wrought by AI haven’t shown up: the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Big Banks Are Split on How Fast Fed Will Cut Interest Rates

Wall Street’s biggest banks are divided over how fast and deep the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates over the next year, setting the stage for jittery financial markets until the outlook clears.
Americans Face Credit Hit as Student Debt Goes Delinquent Again

Millions of Americans are falling behind on student loan payments a year after the pandemic freeze ended – and soon that will start hurting their credit scores.
Microsoft’s AI Power Needs Prompt Revival of Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant

The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania will invest $1.6 billion to revive it, agreeing to sell all the output to Microsoft Corp. as the tech titan seeks carbon-free electricity for data centers to power the artificial intelligence boom.
Apple Wins Big as $250 Billion of Index Trades Hit Wall Street

An action-packed week on Wall Street ends with a bang as index-tracking funds are set to reshuffle $250 billion of shares, just as a “triple witching” trading event hits.
ETF-Volatility Race Heats Up on 200% Leveraged MicroStrategy Bet

An ETF that just last month was dubbed the most volatile to ever hit Wall Street has already been upstaged, after the debut of a competing product that adds even more leverage.
Exciting Economics Is Often Misguided Economics

In the long-running popular series about what’s wrong with economics, there is a new entry: Our profession is too insular. “Economists generally agree that competition is good, and that markets with only a few dominant players are inefficient,” writes the economist David Deming in the Atlantic. “We may need to take a hard look in the mirror.”
Salesforce Is a Dark Horse in the AI Race

In the frothy business of selling artificial intelligence service, Salesforce Inc. has been punching above its own weight. “Salesforce?” I hear you wonder. The folks in the dull business of selling customer relationship management software?
The Fed’s Uncertain Destination Troubles the Bond Market

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday began its policy easing with a bang. Much of the focus was on its decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point from a two-decade high. But the key question for the bond market is where rates will land once all is said and done. Nobody knows for sure, and Chair Jerome Powell injected enough uncertainty to ensure a choppy ride ahead.
Wall Street’s New Era Off to Rocky Start Despite Big Fed Cut

Jerome Powell delivered exactly what traders up and down Wall Street had long hoped for: A big interest-rate cut that would justify this year’s steep rally in stocks and bonds as the era of tight monetary policy finally began to reverse.
Dalio Downplays Next Fed Move as Investors Flag China Risks
The size of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut this week won’t be a game changer for global investors, though risks from China’s slowdown continue to weigh on their minds, according to participants at a regional forum.
Junk Bond Investors Are Getting Ahead of ‘Rate Cutting Party’

The Federal Reserve’s looming rate cuts are fueling a rally in the riskiest corner of the US corporate bond market, but some investors are concerned the party may not last.
SEC Poised to Vote on Overhaul of Stock Pricing, Exchange Fees

The price increments at which thousands of stocks and ETFs are quoted look set for an overhaul Wednesday, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission votes on final rules to reduce them to less than 1 cent.
The Fed Is a Poor Guide for Stock Investors

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to begin cutting interest rates this week as moderating inflation allows the central bank to roll back some of its previous rate increases. I expect that some investors will be tempted to chase stocks given the stubborn conventional wisdom that interest rates and stock prices move in opposite directions. They should reconsider.
New Chatbot ETF Promises to Mimic Warren Buffett, David Tepper

It might just be the most audacious bid on Wall Street to exploit newfangled AI tools to mimic the legends of finance.
Mortgage Market’s Historical Sway Dulled as Fed Gears Up to Ease

The $8 trillion mortgage market can trigger big swings across fixed income when the Federal Reserve shifts interest rates, but investors say this time is different.
Vanguard Buys Dollars Saying Fed Rate-Cut Bets Gone Too Far

Vanguard, one of the world’s biggest asset managers, is buying the dollar this week on the view that market bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts are overdone.
Alphabet’s Antitrust Woes Have Made It a Cheap Buy for Bulls

Alphabet Inc. shares have been struggling for the past two months amid mounting regulatory uncertainty. For some bulls, that’s a buying opportunity.
AI Heralds a New Deal for Old Coal Plants

The new thing in electricity is datacenters. The new new thing is … coal?
Microsoft Plans New $60 Billion Buyback, Raises Dividend 10%

Microsoft Corp. raised its quarterly dividend 10% and unveiled a new $60 billion stock-buyback program, matching the size of a repurchase plan three years ago.
Risk Traders Buy Emerging-Market Bond ETFs Ahead of Fed’s Cut

Investors piled money into exchange-traded funds that buy emerging-market bonds on Friday amid optimism that developing-nation debt will get a boost from a highly anticipated Federal Reserve rate cut this week.
Mortgage Rates Puzzle Is a Worry for Housing and the Fed

There’s a puzzle developing in the housing market — mortgage rates have fallen rapidly to their lowest level since early 2023, but would-be homebuyers don’t seem to care. It’s possible this is just a timing issue with rates falling during the slow season for transactions and election jitters giving buyers additional reason to hold off.
Traders See Half-Point Fed Rate Cut Likelier Than Quarter-Point

Bond traders once again see Federal Reserve policymakers as more likely to cut interest rates by a half point than a quarter point at their meeting this week.
BlackRock Warns on Bonds, Saying Fed Rate Bets Are Overdone

BlackRock Inc. strategists turned underweight short-dated US Treasuries from overweight, saying the extent of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts the market is betting on is unlikely to pan out.
The US Is Locked in a State of Debt Denial

Perhaps it’s unsurprising that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are saying nothing about the country’s biggest economic-policy challenge – namely, how to rein in public borrowing. With an election to win, they’d rather emphasize lower taxes and/or higher public spending.
The Fed Should Go Big Now. I Think It Will.

The US Federal Reserve faces a crucial decision at its policy-making meeting this week: Ease off slightly on monetary restraint with a 25-basis-point interest-rate cut, or go for a rare 50-basis-point cut to fend off a recession.
Walmart Has Seized the Baton From Nvidia. What?

Consumer staples are one of the sleepiest sectors of the US stock market. Investors buy them for their low volatility and generous dividends, not exhilarating upside potential. But lately, toothpaste, bleach and certain big-box food retailers seem to be acting like the new semiconductors.
China Bond Yields Sink to Record Low With Intervention in Focus

China’s bond traders defied signs of intervention to push sovereign yields to a record low, setting the stage for a showdown with authorities seeking to tame the blistering debt rally.
The Spirit of Fracking Comes to US Lithium Mining

“Fracking” is an expletive in environmental circles. Yet the spirit of shale is creeping into a business with transformational potential for the energy transition. Schlumberger NV, the industrial giant best known for sucking oil and gas from shale, the seabed (and other places besides), this week announced a breakthrough in direct lithium extraction, or DLE.
Epic Yen Rally Is a Lesson in the Lost Art of FX Intervention

Japan's currency is enjoying an epic rally, heading for the biggest quarterly advance in years. That's quite a shift from a few months ago, when yen bulls were few and far between. Who can claim credit for this turnaround?
OpenAI, Nvidia Executives Discuss AI Infrastructure Needs With Biden Officials

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang met with senior Biden administration officials and other industry leaders at the White House, where they discussed steps to address massive infrastructure needs for artificial intelligence projects.
Single-Stock ETF Boom Intensifies With 18 Bets on Overseas Firms

The single-stock ETF frenzy is going global, with a new bid to launch products that give US traders a way to bet directly on overseas companies — without fretting about currency risk.
The Fed Has No Choice But to Assume the Worst

Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve seemed to have time on its side. Payrolls were growing at a healthy clip and the unemployment rate hovered near a five-decade low. Even though there were signs that inflation was licked, there didn’t appear to be much harm in keeping interest rates elevated for a while longer — just in case.
Hedge Fund Arb Trade Surfs $140 Billion Wave of Debt Coming Due

In a niche corner of the bond market, an almost $140 billion wave of maturing debt is poised to lend momentum to what is already one of Wall Street’s hottest hedge fund trades.
Fed to Pursue Three Quarter-Point Cuts This Year, Economists Say

The Federal Reserve is likely to lower interest rates by a quarter-point next week and at each of the two meetings that follow, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
El-Erian Says Cash on Sidelines Is Minimizing Bond Market Losses

Investors are using their massive cash piles to lock in attractive yields in global bond markets, helping to limit losses in the asset class, according to Mohamed El-Erian.
Private Debt Looks for Growth as Traditional Capital Flatlines

Institutional investors, which have traditionally made up private debt’s largest pool of money, are no longer a source of growth for the $1.7 trillion industry.
Where Money Managers See Dollar Going as Fed Cuts, US Votes

All signs point to a tough few months ahead for investors charting the dollar’s path, after the US presidential debate and a key inflation reading left markets anticipating heightened volatility through year-end.
Powell’s Inertia Leaves the Fed in a Bind After CPI Surprise

In some ways, central banking requires a trader’s instincts. Policymakers need to marry academic rigor with quick reflexes. There is a time for rumination and a time for action.
Big Tech’s Easy Ride Is Coming to an End

Tech companies of a certain size have long expected an easy ride from authorities, and for good reason. They always got it. Apple Inc. for years abused loopholes to pay virtually zero tax in the European Union while generating record profits there, thanks to special treatment from Ireland, where it bases its European headquarters.
Draghi’s Love Letter to Industrial Strategy Risks Heartbreak

Mario Draghi wants Europe to follow the United States and China down the road marked “industrial strategy.” As Europe’s most influential economist — a former head of the European Central Bank, prime minister of Italy and technocrat supreme — Draghi had enormous leeway in preparing his report on European competitiveness.
Wall Street’s Hottest Business Is About to Cool

Banks and shadow banks are meant to exist in separate worlds, but the financial links between them are increasingly seen as a source of potential instability. That’s a problem for banks because the business of forging those ties has lately been among the hottest activities on Wall Street.
US CPI to Show Another Muted Rise as Fed Debates Rate-Cut Size

Forecasters expect a monthly report on US consumer prices to show another month of muted increases, possibly playing into a Federal Reserve debate over how much to cut interest rates.
Goldman’s Kostin Urges Putting Brake on Stock-Index Reshufflings

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has a message for benchmark managers who are weighing big reshufflings of their indexes to account for a handful of stocks growing to interstellar size: slow down.
US Two-Year Yield Falls to Lowest Since 2022 Ahead of CPI Report

US Treasuries rallied ahead of a closely watched inflation reading that could cement bets on the size of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut this month.
US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Slides to Lowest Since February 2023

US mortgage rates slid last week to the lowest level since February 2023, emboldening homebuyers and spurring a pickup in refinancing applications in welcome news for the real estate market.
State Street, Galaxy Launch Crypto-Linked ETFs Even as Outflows Build

State Street Global Advisors and Galaxy Asset Management are launching a trio of cryptocurrency-focused exchange-traded funds even as investors pull back from spot Bitcoin funds.
The Stocks, Bonds and Currencies Investors Are Watching During the Trump-Harris Debate

Investors weighing election risks ahead of the first US presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are already a lot more jittery than they were before Trump and his onetime opponent, President Joe Biden, met onstage in June.
Apple, Google Lose Multibillion Dollar Court Fights With EU

Apple Inc. lost its court fight over a €13 billion ($14.4 billion) Irish tax bill and Google lost its challenge over a €2.4 billion fine for abusing its market power, in a double boost to the European Union’s crackdown on Big Tech.
Nvidia’s Blackwell Chip Delay Is Center Stage Amid Stock Slump

The next-generation processor was unveiled six months ago, but has faced engineering snags that delayed its release. While Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang tried to reassure the market last month that revenue from the chip is coming soon, some investors were left wanting for details.
Musk’s AI Side Gig Should Keep Its Distance From Tesla

The all-in view of Tesla Inc. was summed up in a line from a report this summer by one of the more all-in analysts covering the company: “The car is to Tesla what the video game chip is to Nvidia.
Big Oil Faces a ‘Good Sweating.’ Some Aren’t Fit

When John D. Rockefeller wanted to punish a rival, he cut prices to force them to operate at a loss. The father of the modern oil industry had a name for it: a “good sweating.” A century later, OPEC+ is giving Big Oil the modern equivalent of Rockefeller’s time-tested tactics. Not everyone will be fit enough for it.
US Bitcoin ETFs Bleed $1.2 Billion in Longest Run of Net Outflows

US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have posted their longest run of daily net outflows since listing at the start of the year, part of a wider retreat from riskier assets in a challenging period for global markets.
The Bond Market Rally Rides on How Fast the Fed Cuts Rates

Bond traders who struggled to predict how high the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates are finding the way down just as vexing.
Oracle Cloud Growth Could Cement Wall Street’s Next AI Favorite

Cloud computing has been one of the first industries to get a demonstrable boost from artificial intelligence. Oracle Corp.’s quarterly results on Monday are likely to extend that trend.
Stock-Selloff Fears for September Are Overblown

The US stock market has given us plenty of real and perceived calendar anomalies to think about. There’s the observed tendency for stocks to experience a “Santa Claus rally” (during the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the next) and the weekend effect (where stocks have a habit of slumping on Mondays).
Americans Have a New Piggy Bank to Raid — Their Houses

American consumers have surprised many economists this year by continuing to spend even as their savings shrink and the labor market cools. They’ve been aided in part by pockets of deflation that have boosted their purchasing power on things such as gasoline, automobiles and airfares.
Summers Says Jobs Weakness Makes It Closer Call on Fed Going 50

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said that while the August employment report wasn’t particularly poor, it did make predicting the size of the Federal Reserve’s likely interest-rate cut this month a tougher call.
Amundi Tie-Up Offers US Private Credit to Wealthy Individuals

Amundi SA and First Eagle Investment Management are looking to raise as much as $5 billion for a new private credit strategy that will offer wealthy individuals in Europe, the Middle East and Asia access to private loans made to mid-size US companies.
Nvidia’s $400 Billion Tumble This Week Makes Bitcoin Look Calm

Nvidia Corp. has wiped out more than $400 billion in value this week, weighing on key equity benchmarks as jitters spread over the health of the US economy and an AI trade that may have gotten ahead of itself.
Blue-Chip Company Debt Deluge Hits Record Two-Day Streak

After two days of record sales in the US blue-chip corporate debt market, another 11 companies are looking to sell bonds on Thursday, and demand for the securities is holding strong by key measures.
Voters Love No Tax on Tips, But Split Over $25,000 Housing Help

Former President Donald Trump’s proposals for targeted tax breaks are resonating with battleground-state voters, who overwhelmingly approve of his ideas to eliminate taxes on tipped income and retirement benefits.
Big Fed Rate Cuts Are Needed for the Young and the Jobless

Despite what you may have heard from the doomers, the US labor market is hardly falling apart at the seams. Layoffs are still extraordinarily low and a report Friday showed that the overall unemployment rate slipped to just 4.2%.
OPEC+ Kicks the Can Down a Very Uphill Road

OPEC+ is like a teabag – it only works in hot water. The late Robert Mabro, one of the savviest oil-market observers, liked to say the cartel only got the job done when it was under prolonged financial pain. To judge by its latest actions, OPEC+ has yet to realize it’s inside a warming kettle.
Why Singapore Is Bringing Blockchain Into Mutual Funds

Most people see “blockchain” and “funds” in the same sentence and immediately think of pools of money betting on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether. That isn’t how Singapore sees the utility of distributed ledgers.
BlackRock Dials Back Risk Across $131 Billion Model Portfolios

The world’s biggest asset manager is taking some chips off the table as markets enter a “new phase” of turbulence ahead of a Federal Reserve interest rate cutting cycle and the US presidential election.
S&P 500 Earnings Hinge on Trump, Harris Tax Plans, Goldman Says

Tax policies touted in the US presidential election could have a big impact on S&P 500 earnings, according to Goldman Sachs Inc. strategists.
Wall Street’s Big Bet on Jumbo Fed Cuts Hangs on US Jobs Report

The bold bet from the likes of Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. that the Federal Reserve will slash interest rates by a half-percentage-point this month faces its biggest test yet from Friday’s US jobs report.
American Drivers Signal a Top in Gasoline Demand

Labor Day weekend, marking the end of the US summer driving season, is typically the year’s last hurrah for gasoline producers. This year, the high-fives were reserved for drivers (and White House occupants): The average pre-long weekend pump price was down 13% from last year after gasoline refining margins collapsed in August. Pump prices have eased further this week.
Jane Street and Citadel Won’t Devour All of Wall Street’s Revenue

Jane Street Group LLC and Citadel Securities are on a tear. First-half revenue at the two predominantly electronic market makers grew about 80% compared with the first six months of 2023, according to Bloomberg News. That’s enough to make traditional Wall Street executives green with envy — but these upstarts aren’t going to completely devour the old guards’ lunch.
US Yield Curve Disinverts as Soft Labor Data Fuels Fed Cut Bets

A key segment of the US Treasury yield curve briefly turned positive as weaker-than-anticipated labor-market data bolstered bets on steep interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Would-Be Corporate Dip Buyers Armed With Fresh $107 Billion

Equity bulls looking for signs of relief after Tuesday’s stock rout may get a hand from a familiar friend: corporate America.
Bond Volatility in US Eclipses Europe as Recession Angst Rises

Bond traders are bracing for wilder market swings in the US than in Europe, as signs the world’s largest economy is faltering fuel bets on a jumbo interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
Nvidia Rout Has Traders Watching $100-Share Level Amid ‘Vacuum’

The sharp selloff that wiped a record $279 billion off Nvidia Corp.’s market value on Tuesday has traders scouring charts for clues as to where the pain might end.
The Fed Is Containing Yuan Bears. That’s Ironic

After a bruising few years, Asian currencies have suddenly become fashionable again. But this enthusiasm is dependent on words and deeds far away. The direction of global markets is driven overwhelmingly by the US. For now, that means interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
AI Culture Will Be Weirder Than You Can Imagine

There are two radically different visions of our AI future, and they depend on the cost of energy.
Firms Pile Into Bond Market in Busiest Day on Record

A record number of blue-chip firms swarmed the US corporate bond market on Tuesday, taking advantage of cheaper borrowing costs as they look to issue debt ahead of the US presidential election.
Sizzling ETF Flows in Manic Markets Fuel a $609 Billion Haul

Half your coworkers might have just spent August in Europe, but there were no holiday doldrums in the booming world of ETFs.
Cliff Asness Is ‘Old Man Whinging’ as Markets Get Less Efficient

Cliff Asness says he sounds like an “old man whinging,” but that’s not stopping him from writing 23 pages on his latest thesis: Financial markets these days aren’t what they were.
Shorts Are Circling Some of the AI Boom’s Biggest Question Marks

It’s the story of so many stock market manias: A transformative technology juices a few companies, a bunch of more questionable outfits follow in their wake, and Wall Street buys it all. Then time sorts out what’s real from fake.
Apple Rally Fueled by AI Promises Approaches a Crucial Test

Apple Inc.’s upcoming iPhone release has sent its stock price soaring because of promised artificial-intelligence features. Those gains appear vulnerable, at least in the short term, if history is any guide.
Wall Street Strategists Face Their Own Short Squeeze

Since the pandemic, Wall Street strategists have repeatedly underestimated the performance of the US stock market in their annual projections, leading to a mad dash to boost their outlooks in the back end of the year.
Yes, Let’s Reverse Brexit (a Bit) for Gen Z

What’s the point of Keir Starmer’s massive electoral majority if he remains hesitant to do something for young people on Brexit that’s not just compassionate and sensible, but also very popular?
BLS Data Slipups Are Becoming a Pattern

This can’t keep happening. With trust in government already ebbing, there’s yet one more reason to question the integrity of the office that distributes key data about jobs and prices. The problems at the Bureau of Labor Statistics need to be addressed quickly for the good of financial markets, the economy and public confidence in the state.
King Dollar's Softening Is Good News for Nearly Everyone

Has the tide turned decisively against King Dollar? A fall of around 5% in the greenback versus major currencies in the past two months, pushing the dollar index to a 13-month low, suggests its post-pandemic surge has meaningfully faltered.
Swap Bonds for Commodities in 60/40 Funds, BofA Strategists Say

Investors pursuing widely followed 60/40 strategies should consider swapping out bonds for commodities, according to strategists at Bank of America Corp.
Fed Favored Inflation Gauge’s Mild Gain Sets Stage for Rate Cut

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying US inflation rose at a mild pace and household spending picked up in July, reinforcing policymakers’ plan to start cutting interest rates next month.
What Jack Nicholson Knew About Forecasting Errors

Forecasting anything, let alone something as complicated as the economy, is fraught. Stretches of decent growth and low inflation that look, in retrospect, like happy days, can be upended by unforeseen events. Covid, the descent into recession and the sharp rebound are just a few examples. Errors, unfortunately, are an unavoidable part of trying to map the future.
Nvidia Investors Must Remember — Hardware Is Hard

There’s an adage in Silicon Valley: Hardware is hard. And expensive. And time-consuming. That’s the case even when you’re a company that’s really good at it — like Nvidia Corp., whose market value has grown to $3 trillion thanks to its extraordinary prowess in the trickiest hardware challenge today: building cutting-edge chips for artificial intelligence.
Nvidia Discusses Joining OpenAI’s Latest Funding Round

Nvidia Corp., the world’s biggest chipmaker, has discussed joining a funding round for OpenAI that would value the artificial intelligence startup at more than $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
One-Day-Only Funds Are Jack Bogle’s Nightmare Brought to Life

The late Jack Bogle — father of the first index fund — famously loathed their exchange-traded offspring, warning that it only incentivize speculative trading among “fruitcakes, nut cases and lunatic fringe.” Fast forward to 2024, and critics warn a new generation of ETFs are designed to do exactly that.
The Fed Is No Longer the Only Game in Town

Last week’s meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole was a kind of victory lap for the Fed. It may have also marked the peak of its power.
Fed Rate Cuts Are No Magic Fix for Anemic Hiring

Chair Jerome Powell cemented a shift in focus from inflation to employment last week when he said that the Federal Reserve does not seek a further cooling in the labor market. It was a welcome message for those concerned about an economic slowdown. But there are reasons to expect today’s sluggish hiring environment to persist at least into early next year, frustrating job seekers and policymakers alike.
Treasury Yields Rise After Resilient Data Suggests Measured Fed

US Treasury yields edged higher after resilient economic reports prompted traders to slightly trim their expectations for the scope of Federal Reserve easing this year.
With AI Story Intact and Rate Cuts Imminent, Markets Turn Higher

Nvidia Corp.’s earnings report was impressive by virtually any metric — except its own recent history.
Nvidia Tumbles After Disappointing Forecast, Blackwell Chip Snags

Nvidia Corp. failed to live up to investor hopes with its latest results on Wednesday, delivering an underwhelming forecast and news of production snags with its much-awaited Blackwell chips.
Big Tech Dominance Is Forcing Index Superpowers to Rethink Rules

The Big Tech boom is causing headaches for all-powerful index providers on Wall Street, who can send billions of benchmark-tracking dollars on the move with just a stroke of the pen.
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Tops $1 Trillion in Market Value

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. became the first US company outside of the tech sector to surpass $1 trillion in market value.
Why the Fed Shouldn’t Stop Worrying About Inflation

At the recent central-bank symposium at Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a widely expected message on interest rates: “The time has come for policy to adjust.” He all but confirmed that the Fed would cut rates by at least a quarter-point when its policymakers next meet in September.
Nvidia’s Earnings Will Test the S&P 500’s $4 Trillion Recovery

The almost $3 trillion rally in Nvidia Corp. shares over the roughly two years since ChatGPT’s unveiling has virtually rewired the US stock market, giving the artificial intelligence chipmaking giant an outsized influence on a bevy of equity indexes.
Fed Embraces Gradualism, a Familiar Policy for Uncertain Times

With a September interest-rate cut all but certain and attention turning to the pace of future reductions, Federal Reserve officials are coalescing around a gradual approach to the last mile of their inflation fight.
NFL Owners Set to Vote on Letting Private Equity Invest in Teams

NFL owners are set to vote on selling stakes in their franchises to private equity, potentially joining a shift by professional sports leagues to attract institutional investors.
California’s EV Dreams Face an Awkward Reality

California wants some insurance against pump prices. But in proposing that oil companies there hold a minimum stockpile of fuels, the state is also, and less obviously, seeking insurance against the complications of its own energy policies. In seeking to kill off gasoline demand but ensure suppliers stay engaged for years to come, the state is confronting one of the central challenges of the energy transition.
When Did the Great Stagnation Actually Begin?

“What happened in 1971?” It is one of the most important and debated questions in US economic history, and new research suggests that the answer may be lurking a few decades earlier — in 1948, to be precise.
Global Money Piles Into Indonesia as Fed Easing Cycle Approaches

Global money has flooded into Indonesia’s financial markets this month, signaling the country’s assets have quickly become a preferred investment destination as the US Federal Reserve’s easing cycle nears.
‘T-Bill and Chill’ Is a Hard Habit for Investors to Break

It’s been the ultimate no-brainer for more than a year: Park your money in super-safe Treasury bills, earn yields of more than 5%, rinse and repeat. Or as billionaire bond investor Jeffrey Gundlach put it last October, “T-bill and chill.”
PDD’s $55 Billion Stock Crash Sends Warning on China Economy

One of the last remaining bright spots for Chinese consumption is rapidly fading, as the nation’s economic malaise takes a toll on demand for even the most accessible of goods.
Nvidia to Keep Surfing Tech Spending Wave: Earnings Week Ahead

Expectations heading into Nvidia Corp.’s Wednesday report are high, with analysts anticipating another strong consensus beat that could prompt the chipmaker to raise its profit guidance.
Powell Ignored the Elephant in the Fed’s Jackson Hole Lodge Jonathan Levin

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday removed all doubt that interest rate cuts are just around the corner. “The time has come for policy to adjust,” he said at his much-hyped annual speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, setting off a knee-jerk rally in stocks and bonds.
AI Giants Can Learn a Thing or Two From Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg may have a history of copying of others’ ideas, but when it comes to navigating the generative AI hype cycle, he’s the one forging a smarter path.
Fed Criticism Is Cheap, and It’s Mostly Mistaken

I have listened to people bellyache about the Federal Reserve my entire adult life: Alan Greenspan lowered interest rates too much after the dot-com crash in 2000. Ben Bernanke printed too much money to bail out banks during the 2008 financial crisis.
Trump’s ‘Made in USA’ Bitcoin Threatens China Juggernaut Bitmain’s Reign

For years, a Chinese company has dominated one of the most lucrative corners of the cryptocurrency universe. Rising political tensions, and the prospect of Donald Trump retaking the White House, pose an unprecedented threat to that reign.
Dollar Slumps After Powell Touts Case for Interest-Rate Cuts

The dollar plunged after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell affirmed expectations that the central bank will cut interest rates next month, sparking a rally in the currencies of major global peers.
‘It’s Just Atrocious’: Jobs Snafu Stokes Fury on Wall Street

There’s no shortage of market-moving events on the docket to keep Wall Street busy right now.
Tesla’s Steep Price Cuts Help Get the Used EV Market Humming

Since early last year, the cars rolling off Tesla Inc.’s California assembly lines have been selling for steadily lower prices. This has had a happy knock-on effect on a car lot just across the freeway from the company’s San Francisco Bay area factory.
Countries Risk Overestimating Debt Capacity, Jackson Hole Paper Shows

Governments in the US and other developed countries, thanks to their central banks, may be deluded over how much debt they can pile up without significantly raising their costs to borrow.
Oaktree Plans to Seek Partner for 3,800 Home Project in Dublin

An Oaktree Capital Management LP venture plans to seek an equity partner to help develop a Dublin project that’s expected to be valued at billions of euro when it’s completed, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Treasuries Rally as Powell Locks in Bets on a September Rate Cut

Treasuries rallied after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole cemented expectations that the central bank will cut interest rates next month.
Powell Says ‘Time Has Come’ for Fed to Cut Interest Rates

Chair Jerome Powell said the time has come for the Federal Reserve to cut its key policy rate, affirming expectations that officials will begin lowering borrowing costs next month and making clear his intention to prevent further cooling in the labor market.
Private Credit Loses Ground in Fight for Family Office Money

It’s the hottest trade on Wall Street. Everywhere you turn, money managers have upped their investments in private credit, helping the asset class balloon into a $1.7 trillion industry. But there’s one group where interest appears to already be waning — the family office.
Economists See Faster Labor Cooling, Steeper Fed Cuts in Survey

A labor market softening more so than previously thought should spur faster and steeper interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, according to the latest Bloomberg monthly survey of economists.
Big Tech Dominance Is Forcing Index Superpowers to Rethink Rules

The Big Tech boom is causing headaches for all-powerful index providers on Wall Street, who can send billions of benchmark-tracking dollars on the move with just a stroke of the pen.
Is Elon Musk the Bankers’ Moby Dick? Not Yet

Call me Ishmael. The biggest question about an investment banking client like Elon Musk is whether he turns out to be a Moby Dick.
Apple and Alphabet’s Freakish Earnings Broke This Market Barometer

One of the most widely followed gauges of the stock market, for decades a reliable indicator of future returns, has led investors astray in recent years. Its misdirection comes down to the freakish earnings growth of big technology companies such as Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.
Meta Shares Are Flying High as Zuckerberg Sells His AI Vision

Technology giants that want to spend big on artificial intelligence and stay in the good graces of investors should take a page out of Meta Platforms Inc.’s playbook.
EM Stocks Getting Cheaper as Investors Cool to Analyst Optimism

Emerging-market stocks are trading at the steepest discount to US equities since the Covid-19 panic in March 2020 as skittish investors look elsewhere for growth opportunities.
Euro Rally Risks Being Abruptly Cut Short by Jerome Powell

The euro’s August gains have been relentless, taking it to a one year high against the dollar on Wednesday, but a cautious tone from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday could turn that momentum around.
Powell Confronts Policy Crossroads With All Eyes on Jackson Hole

Chair Jerome Powell will usher in the next chapter in the Federal Reserve’s inflation battle on Friday, when he’s expected to set the table for an interest-rate cut while reassuring investors that policymakers can stave off a sharp economic slowdown.
Homes Will Be Affordable Again – Just Not Anytime Soon

The worst of the housing affordability crisis is behind us. But the past two years have shown that housing isn’t a bubble that is likely to pop overnight, nor can prices be forced lower in the short term with government intervention. Rising incomes, falling mortgage rates, more construction and thoughtful policy will slowly chip away at the affordability problem.
Bond Traders Amassing Historic Level of Risk on Rate-Cut Bets

Bond traders are taking on a record amount of risk as they bet big on a Treasury market rally fueled by expectations the Federal Reserve will embark on its first interest-rate cut in more than four years.
Nvidia Eyes Return to Record as AI Spending Bonanza Continues

With questions swirling around Federal Reserve policy, the state of the economy and the US presidential race, at least one thing seems clear on Wall Street: spending on artificial intelligence remains a central priority.
Asset Managers Must Invest in Private Markets Now, Bain Says

A wide variety of asset managers need to look at investing in private markets if they want to avoid wipe-out, while revamping their entire strategies to ride the wave, according to Bain & Co.
Fed Confronts Up to a Million US Jobs Vanishing in Revision

US job growth in the year through March was likely far less robust than initially estimated, which risks fueling concerns that the Federal Reserve is falling further behind the curve to lower interest rates.
Citi Says Hedge Funds Are Using Dollars for New Carry Trades

Citigroup Inc. says the carry trade is back, but with a key difference: hedge funds are borrowing US dollars rather than the yen for their wagers on emerging markets.
Amazon’s AI Spending Plans Keep Stock From Joining Tech Rebound

More than any of the megacap technology stocks, Amazon.com Inc.’s big spending ways are coming at the expense of profits, and its shares are being punished as a result.
Welcome to the End of the Biggest Commodity Boom

Oil, copper, soybeans and a handful of others monopolized the attention — but of all commodities, the humble lump of iron ore benefited the most from the Chinese economic boom of the last 25 years.
Recession Guesswork Is Just as Reliable as It Sounds

The term “recession” made a big comeback in news stories and social media posts this month. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Chief Economist Jan Hatzius was among those who formally bumped up his odds of a downturn to considerable media hoopla.
The Stakes Are High for Powell and the Fed at Jackson Hole

This year’s presentation by Chair Jerome Powell is eagerly awaited due to the economic fluidity and financial volatility that the US has been experiencing, and its spillovers to the rest of the world.
How the Treasury Is More Powerful Than the Fed

Decisions made by the Treasury get much less attention than those made by the Federal Reserve, but they can be even more consequential for interest rates — and the entire US economy.
Global Bond Traders Are Seeking Protection From Inflation Threat

Just as bond traders grow more assured that inflation is finally under control, a camp of investors is quietly building up protection against the risk of a future spike in prices.
Texas Instruments Wins $4.6 Billion in Chips Act Grants, Loans

Texas Instruments Inc. is set to receive $1.6 billion in Chips Act grants and $3 billion in loans, the Biden administration announced Friday, marking the latest major award from a program designed to boost American semiconductor manufacturing.
Tech Rally Propels Emerging Stocks to Best Week in Four Months

Emerging-market stocks rallied on Friday, driven by tech companies in Asia, following US data which boosted investor optimism that the world’s biggest economy will avoid a recession.
Oil’s AI Hedge Works, Just Don’t Mention a Recession

Earlier this year, around the time Nvidia Corp.’s market cap eclipsed that of the entire S&P 500 energy sector, I wrote about whether oil and gas stocks might offer a decent hedge when AI-fever breaks. The past several weeks have offered a test.
New US Home Construction Falls to Slowest Pace Since May 2020

New-home construction in the US fell in July to the lowest level since the aftermath of the pandemic as builders respond to weak demand that’s keeping inventory levels high.
We Need to Talk About Taxes

At the end of next year, most of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to expire. If nothing is done, taxes will go up. Both presidential contenders say they won’t let this happen and have promised to extend many or most of the law’s changes.
BlackRock Says Blended Finance at ‘Turning Point’ as Deals Grow

BlackRock Inc. says the market for blended finance has now reached a “turning point,” as it targets growth in deals that combine private and public funding.
Wall Street Just Got Its Most Volatile ETF as Risky Bets Boom

In a part of the US market for exchange-traded funds that has become known for increasingly risky products, a new offering has debuted that stands out in the crowd.
Carry Trade That Blew Up Markets Is Attracting Hedge Funds Again

A popular yen-centered carry trade that blew up spectacularly two weeks ago is staging a comeback.
Man Group Quants Are Riding Private Boom for Public Stock Trades

Quant traders at Man Group Plc are betting that unlocking the secrets of private markets will give them an edge in trading public stocks.
What Panic? Stocks Are Quickly on Way Back to Record Highs

With US equities on the rebound, this summer’s selloff is looking more like a pause in the bull market than the beginning of its end.
Five Big Questions for the Fed at Jackson Hole

When US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at next week’s annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, people will be listening intently for any hint about what the central bank will do with interest rates at its September policy making meeting.
Alphabet Shares Face Months of Uncertainty on New Breakup Risk

Alphabet Inc. investors are facing a long period of uncertainty as they grapple with a scenario they previously saw as unlikely: a possible breakup of Google.
Soros, Druckenmiller Pared Megacap Holdings Ahead of Summer Rout

George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller’s investment firms trimmed their holdings in “Magnificent Seven” stocks before this year’s ebullient run-up in technology companies gave way to a major downturn in mid-July.
Is Private Equity a Threat? We Need a Better Answer

Is private equity a problem? To what extent could this class of investment funds, which manages almost $9 trillion worldwide on behalf of everyone from wealthy individuals to California teachers, cause or propagate the next financial crisis?
The Market May Be Too Aggressive on Fed Rate Cuts

The inflation numbers this week — both for producer and consumer prices — have served to reassure markets in two distinct ways: confirming continued progress in the battle against high price increases and supporting the ongoing shift in the Federal Reserve’s focus from its inflation mandate to its employment mandate.
Buffett’s Apple Sale Brings Value Back to Quality Investing

Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner Charlie Munger brought quality to value investing. Now Buffett is bringing value to quality investing.
Bond Traders Trim Bets on Fed Rate Cuts After Inflation Data

Bond investors pared back their expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts slightly as data showed US inflation ebbed further in July, reinforcing the case for a quarter-point reduction next month.
Receding AI Stock Euphoria Has Bulls Seeing Some Opportunities

Skeptics had long warned that artificial intelligence-related stocks were in a bubble. Now that some of the froth has come off, bulls see an opportunity.
US Considers a Rare Antitrust Move: Breaking Up Google

A bid to break up Alphabet Inc.’s Google is one of the options being considered by the Justice Department after a landmark court ruling found that the company monopolized the online search market, according to people with knowledge of the deliberations.
UBS’ Yard Sale Is the Star of Its Earnings Show

A year after UBS Group AG completed its emergency takeover of failing rival Credit Suisse, the project is faring better than the Swiss bank dared hope. It’s cut unwanted assets, people and costs faster than it promised — enabling it to deliver forecast-beating profits so far in 2024.
A Break in the Weather: Good News From the World’s Farms

The headlines suggest catastrophe for the global food supply: Biblical heatwaves, floods, storms and wildfires. And yet, in the world’s breadbaskets, the weather has been fair this growing season — so good that we’re facing an oversupply of key agricultural commodities and thus much lower prices than in 2022 and 2023.
There’s Something Fishy About Insiders’ ‘Other’ Trades

Regulators and investors have always had a keen interest in the trades that corporates executives and board members make in their companies’ own shares. The government has to look out for the integrity of financial markets, of course, while investors are eager to ride insiders’ coattails. Unfortunately, it’s never been easy to read the insider tea leaves.
Dimon Says He’s Skeptical Inflation Will Return to Fed’s 2% Target

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said he’s skeptical that inflation will return to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, citing risks including deficit spending and “remilitarization of the world.”
MSCI Trims China’s Index Presence by Removing DozenAbhishek Vishnoi and Sangmi Chas of Stocks

MSCI Inc. continues to cull China stocks from its indexes, setting the stage for a further drop in the nation’s share of a key emerging-market benchmark.
Interest-Rate Cuts Rely on Inconvenient Truths About Inflation

The tricky last yards of closing in on — and then maintaining — the hallowed 2% inflation target that all the major central banks adhere to requires a change of tactics. Over the past two years, a mantra of economic data-dependency has been drummed into us, keeping interest rates higher for longer.
Emerging Stocks, Currencies Diverge as Markets Price Fed Easing

The benchmark indexes for emerging-market equities and currencies, respectively, moved in opposite directions Monday, deepening a trend that emerged last week, when their short-term correlation was interrupted for the first time in 21 years.
Apple and Alphabet’s Freakish Earnings Broke This Market Barometer

One of the most widely followed gauges of the stock market, for decades a reliable indicator of future returns, has led investors astray in recent years. Its misdirection comes down to the freakish earnings growth of big technology companies such as Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. But there’s a way to revamp this market barometer as worries about elevated expectations and prices grow.
The Fed Is Too Late to Save the Housing Market This Year

The recent decline in mortgage rates on stronger evidence that the Federal Reserve is poised to ease policy has fueled hopes of better times ahead for companies tied to the housing market. That’s likely true, but the evidence of the past few weeks suggests it’s already too late for a revival this year.
Private Credit Enters Risky Terrain With Huge Bets on Consumers

First the private credit firms came for the banking industry’s lucrative corporate loan business. Now they’re grabbing a chunk of their consumer-lending work. The pressing question for this thriving multi-trillion dollar industry is whether it has timed its latest incursion badly.
Big Tech, Health-Care and High-Yield Stocks Are Dip-Buying Targets

A dizzying start to August, which saw US stocks whiplashed by economic jitters, lackluster earnings and the unwinding of the global yen carry trade, has left Wall Street searching for corners of the market that may have been unfairly punished.
Emerging-Market Currencies Gain, Set for Best Week of 2024

Emerging-market currencies are set to clock their biggest weekly gains of 2024, led by a rise in Brazil’s real on expectations its central bank could raise interest rates later this year.
With US Chips Act Money Mostly Divvied Up, the Real Test Begins

The Biden administration is nearly finished divvying up $39 billion in grants under the Chips and Science Act, the landmark bipartisan legislation aimed at revitalizing the domestic semiconductor industry. The bigger test still lies ahead.
Buffett’s Apple Share Dump Is Set to Reshape Major Stock Gauges

Warren Buffett’s sudden sale of a huge pile of Apple Inc. shares has come with a surprise silver lining for investors in the iPhone maker: Its influence in major stock indexes is set to be fully unleashed.
The S&P Always Looks Good Next to European Stocks

When markets gyrated at the turn of the month, US and Japanese stocks had the cushion of an earlier surge to fall back on. In Europe, the rout hit share prices that had been weakening since May. An earnings season dominated by pessimism from many of the region’s bosses has vindicated investors’ caution.
Fed Seen Rejecting Calls for Jumbo Rate Cut in Economist Survey

A large majority of economists surveyed see only a quarter-point decrease in interest rates coming in September — a finding that’s at odds with calls from some large Wall Street banks for a jumbo cut at the next meeting.
Investor Behind Record $2.7 Billion Bond Bet Says Recession Near

Back in June, a mystery investor made a record wager on long-dated Treasuries, creating waves in the ETF market where trading pros seek clues about sentiment on Wall Street. Now the firm behind that bet has revealed itself, and says its recession call is finally coming to fruition.
Wall Street Sees End of Fed’s Balance-Sheet Runoff This Year

The end of the Federal Reserve’s balance-sheet unwind is in sight, though its actual conclusion depends on the pace of interest-rate cuts and stresses in funding markets.
Nvidia Value Takes $900 Billion Hit Even as AI Spending Ramps Up

On the surface, Nvidia Corp.’s $900 billion selloff since its June record would suggest the artificial intelligence spending boom that propelled it there is cooling. But the undercurrents tell a far less dire story.
Steven Mnuchin Says It’s Time to Kill the New Treasury Bond He Created

It only takes a quick glance at the US bond curve to realize something is off. One Treasury security — the 20-year — is detached from the rest of the market. It hovers at yields that are far higher than those on the bonds surrounding it — the 10-year and the 30-year.
Gig Economy Emerges as a Bright Spot Amid Gloomy Tech Earnings

It has been a tough earnings season for the technology industry, and markets more broadly.
How Much Should Stocks Correct? Less Than You May Think

The stock selloff of the past month is forcing investors to think about whether the market remains too high, and if so, how far it might fall.
The Fed’s Wild Ride Has Just Begun

Has the US Federal Reserve gone too far in its fight against inflation, tipping the world’s largest economy into a damaging recession?
Beware the Bombs Baked Into Modern Stock Markets

Investor complacency is often blamed when rising stock markets ignore potentially unsettling data for weeks and then viciously sell off. But this very human-sounding characteristic mostly isn’t in the minds of traders: It’s baked into the structure of modern investment strategies.
Corporate America Stampedes Into Debt as Sales Pass $1 Trillion

Corporate borrowers are selling investment-grade bonds at the fastest clip since 2020 as companies take advantage of lower yields to issue debt before the November election.
The Fed Should Resist Placating Markets

Family Feud, a popular game show when I was growing up, would ask contestants to guess how a group of people had answered a specific question. It served as a regular and early reminder for me of the importance of supplementing one’s thinking with external perspectives.
A Recession Wouldn’t Be So Bad This Time

Turmoil in the markets has renewed fears that the US did not escape history after all, that a hard landing — a recession — is coming. Whether this is all a blip from a rising yen or a justified reaction to an actual weakening of the US economy is still unknowable.
America’s Debt Crisis Is Getting Too Big to Solve

Fiscal conservatism has more or less vanished from America’s political landscape. Government borrowing, despite the strong economy, continues to push public debt to record levels – and the presidential contenders and their parties say scarcely a word about it.
Big Tech Traders Struggle to Find Reasons to Buy This Dip

For months investors have faced a dilemma — pay through the nose for technology giants trading at eye-watering multiples, or wait for a cheaper entry point and risk missing out on the year’s biggest bull run.
Goldman Says Buying S&P After 5% Drop Is Usually Profitable

Buying US stocks after a slump of the scale witnessed over the past month has usually been profitable, according to a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysis of four decades of data.
Treasury Rally Ignites Debate on How Fast Fed Needs to Cut

A major rally in the $27 trillion Treasury market is laying bare anxiety that the US economy is sliding into recession and the Federal Reserve will need to start aggressively cutting interest rates.
What Bankers Say You Should (and Shouldn’t) Do When Markets Crash

On days like Monday’s dramatic selloff, which capped a three-week loss of $6.4 trillion in global wealth, personal finance experts usually have the same advice for wary retail investors:
AI Is Getting Cheaper. That Won’t Fix Everything

For a technology that promises to help businesses cut costs, artificial intelligence has had a big problem with being so costly.
The Fed Should Cut Rates Swiftly — Recession or Not

Friday’s weaker-than-expected jobs report has sparked a robust debate about whether the economy is sliding into recession or whether the rise in the unemployment rate in July was due to a continuing post-pandemic normalization of the labor market.
Buffett's $277 Billion Cash Hoard After Selling Apple Is a Warning

Warren Buffett has been selling a lot of stock, and that revelation is inducing his many admirers to follow suit. His Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., reported Saturday that it reduced several positions and slashed its stake in top-holding Apple Inc., a sign to some in markets that the “Oracle of Omaha” was bracing for deep stock-market declines.
Nasdaq 100 Futures Indicate Gauge’s Worst Open in Four Years

The Nasdaq 100 is set for its biggest opening drop in more than four years, with investors bracing for days of volatility amid rising concerns over a slowing US economy and overheated gains in the tech sector.
Global Bond Rally Accelerates as Market Bets on Big Rate Cuts

Global bonds rallied as traders bet the Federal Reserve and fellow central banks will turn more aggressive in cutting interest rates amid mounting concern that economic growth is faltering at a faster pace than expected just weeks ago.
Wall Street’s Bears Warn on Risks to Stocks From Slowing Economy

The US stock plunge is vindicating some of Wall Street’s most prominent bears, who are doubling down with warnings about risks from an economic slowdown.
An Emergency Fed Rate Cut Would Be A Mistake

With stock markets plunging around the world, traders are talking up the prospect of an emergency interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve after the US central bank passed up the opportunity to ease policy last week. Not only is this highly unlikely, it would be counterproductive.
Bitcoin Plunges, Ether Has Worst Drop Since 2021 as Crypto Sinks

Cryptocurrencies reeled from a bout of risk aversion in global markets on Monday, at one point sending Bitcoin down more than 16% and saddling second-ranked Ether with the steepest fall since 2021.
Bezos’ Wealth Drops by $21 Billion as Amazon Sinks on AI Fears

Jeff Bezos’ wealth slumped by more than $21 billion after Amazon.com Inc. said it planned to continue spending big on artificial intelligence even at the expense of short-term profits.
Munis Extend Rally as Jobs Miss Cements Path to Fed Rate Cut

Municipal bonds extended their rally on Friday after a lackluster jobs number cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates by the end of its next meeting in September.
JPMorgan, Citi See Fed Dealing Two Half-Point Rate Cuts in 2024

Wall Street banks are calling for aggressive interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve based on the latest evidence that the labor market is cooling.
Jobs Report Should Put a Jumbo Fed Rate Cut on the Table

In markets and economics, you sometimes have to hold two thoughts in your head simultaneously — an important lesson on a day in which the US unemployment rate unexpectedly surged to its highest in nearly three years.
Even Convertible Arbitrageurs Are Abandoning China

Global investors are gobbling up bonds that can be turned into stocks, feeling good about the prospects and return potentials of smaller companies.
A $1 Trillion Time Bomb Is Ticking in the Housing Market

Cassandras seldom get opportunities to be right about two disasters. Even the original Cassandra scored no notable victories after predicting the fall of Troy. But when a seer who successfully called one catastrophe warns of another coming, you might want to listen.
Big Tech Fails to Convince Wall Street That AI Is Paying Off

Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. had one job heading into this earnings season: show that the billions of dollars they’ve each sunk into the infrastructure propelling the artificial intelligence boom is translating into real sales.
Bonds Surge After Soft Jobs Data Raises Pressure on Fed to Cut

The bond-market rally escalated Friday after a report showed that job growth slowed sharply last month, further stoking speculation that the Federal Reserve will start aggressively cutting interest rates to keep the economy from stalling.
Nasdaq 100 Is in Correction Territory With AI Darlings Sinking

The violent rotation from Big Tech plunged the Nasdaq 100 Index into correction territory, wiping out more than $2 trillion in value in just over three weeks, as traders unwound bets that had been minting money for over a year.
Power Plants’ 833% Windfall May Unleash a Political Firestorm

A fifth of Americans are on the hook for an 833% jump in the cost to ensure the lights stay on. The folks being paid that premium, mostly electricity generators in this instance, face that most welcome of problems: What to do with a windfall.
Roubini Confuses Yellen’s Pragmatism for Treasury Activism

Economists Stephen Miran and Nouriel Roubini are making waves by suggesting in a paper published last week that the Treasury Department has actively engineered easier financial conditions by increasing the issuance of short-term bills and, consequently, reducing the share of longer-term notes and bonds, thereby keeping yields lower than they would otherwise be.
Fed on Course for September Rate Cut as Risks to Job Market Grow

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled central bank officials are on course to cut interest rates in September unless inflation progress stalls, citing risks of further labor-market weakening.
Nvidia Adds Record $329 Billion in Value as Volatility Soars

Nvidia Corp.’s wild ride this week is headed for the record books.
US Job Market’s Pandemic Unwind Puts Recession Signals to Test

Predicting a labor-market downturn was never an easy task. But unique post-pandemic dynamics are making it even harder for economists to determine whether a recent uptick in the unemployment rate is signaling trouble ahead.
US Hiring and Wage Growth Both Slowed in ADP July Data

US companies added the fewest number of workers since the start of the year and wage growth slowed, consistent with signs of a softer labor demand.
Pension Funds Are Hooked on Private Equity, No Matter the Risks

Private equity has been in the news frequently in the last few weeks, and not in a good way.
Trump Likes the Idea of a Federal Bitcoin Reserve. Don’t Laugh

Which financial assets a central bank should buy and sell is hardly a novel question. Historically, the US Federal Reserve has focused on shorter-term Treasury securities, but quantitative easing had the Fed buying mortgage securities and quality commercial paper in significant quantities. More generally, central banks often hold gold and foreign currencies.
US Plans to Hold Note, Bond Sales Steady for ‘Several Quarters’

The US Treasury left its quarterly issuance of longer-term debt unchanged for the second straight time, and maintained its guidance that it doesn’t expect to need increasing issuance of notes and bonds for “several quarters.”
History Favors Stock and Bond Bulls Alike When the FOMC Meets

History is on the side of stock and bond bulls as Federal Reserve officials kick off a two-day policy meeting.
Ackman-Backed Tech Founder Tries to Fulfill His ‘Berkshire 2.0’ Promise

Canadian entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson’s early decision to ditch a career as a journalist and teach himself web design has proved lucrative, making him the majority owner of a technology investment firm worth more than $300 million.
Will Investors Get Good AI News This Week? Don’t Bet on It

Unfortunately, investors have little else to work with given the table scraps of useful data being offered by the tech giants. None of the top companies have yet adequately spelled out the financial performance of AI adoption on their income statements.
Traders Eye Fed, BOJ Rate Talks With Markets Roiled by Earnings

Volatility is back — at least a little — heading in to a week filled with central bank interest-rate decisions and quarterly earnings for some of the world’s biggest companies.
Big Business Signals to Fed It’s Either Rate Cuts or Job Cuts

When the Federal Reserve signals the likely path of monetary policy to investors this week, including an anticipated start to interest rate cuts in September, it can no longer be complacent about the labor market.
Goldman Sachs Makes Bigger Bet on $129 Billion Muni ETF Market

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is launching four new municipal-bond exchange-traded funds, adding to the $129 billion corner of the state and local government debt market.
Google’s $23 Billion Snub From Wiz Will Sting Them Both

Money talks, but even $23 billion didn’t convince the founders of Wiz Inc. to sell to Alphabet Inc.
Subsidize Solar and Wind Power, Not EVs

Like it or not, the world is going to fall far short of meeting its current goals for reducing carbon emissions.
Want Good Value on a Home? Check Out San Francisco

San Francisco has been the subject of a lot of negative press over the past several years. It was hit hard by the pandemic exodus from cities, the shift to work from home that emptied offices, the crime and homelessness that marred its national reputation, and pledges by corporate leaders such as Elon Musk to relocate their company headquarters elsewhere.
Jamie Dimon’s Crack at Shadowy Proxy Firms Is Resonating

Pressure is again mounting on the proxy advisory firms that recommend how investors should vote on executive pay and other corporate matters. Regulators need to remember who should be prioritized here — investors, not company management.
Treasuries Lead Global Bond Rally as Traders Bet Cuts Are Near

US bonds rallied sharply as signs of a slowing economy and a recent stock-market rout fueled calls for quicker interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, further juicing bets on a steeper yield curve.
Markets Tear Up the Popular Trades That Reached ‘Stupid Levels’

The assumptions that have driven this year’s global financial markets are being rapidly rethought.
Bitcoin, Ether Slide as Risk Aversion Spreads to Crypto Market

Ether, the second-largest token, paced a drop in digital assets following a slump in equities that spread unease in global markets.
$1 Trillion Rout Hits Nasdaq 100 Over AI Jitters in Worst Day Since 2022

Investors soured on the promise of artificial intelligence Wednesday, sparking a $1 trillion rout in the Nasdaq 100 Index as questions swirled over just how long it will take for the substantial investments in the technology to pay off.
The Fed May Be Two Meetings Away From a Policy Mistake

The US inflation rate, which had surged to over 9% two years ago, is now around 3%. Based on current trends, it should settle at 2.5%-3%, a range that most economists would deem consistent with financial stability, including a firm anchoring of inflationary expectations.
Two-Year Treasuries See Record Investor Demand at Auction

Investors flocked to the US Treasury’s monthly sale of two-year notes in a powerful demonstration of faith in Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts beginning this year.
IPOs Finally Bring Summer Heat With $5.5 Billion in Deals on Tap

US initial public offerings should get a boost this week from as much as $5.5 billion in first-time equity issuance that could be the opening investors have been clamoring for during this latest new listings slump.
Will We Ever Learn to Avoid Bubbles?

When he took his first space walk, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman had a revelation. “I used to think I was scared of heights,” he said. “Now I know I was just scared of gravity.”
SEC Seen Approving Spot-Ether ETFs in Latest Crypto Milestone

Regulators approved the first US exchange-traded funds investing directly in Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, according to filings and statements from asset managers.
Jamie Dimon’s Handpicked Wall Street Duo Hunts More Market Share

One was in the car with her family, the other had his phone off, when Jamie Dimon began dialing their numbers on a Saturday in January with a question: Could they run a Wall Street operation bigger than Goldman Sachs?
Alphabet Results to Set Tone for Big Tech on Advertising, Cloud

All eyes are on Alphabet Inc.’s earnings report to set the tone for how megacap technology companies fared in the second quarter.
Private Equity Is Illiquid by Design. Why Worry About It?

A recent Financial Times opinion piece laid out how illiquidity makes private equity hazardous for investors. The Bank of England’s Nathanaël Benjamin warns private equity illiquidity is a systemic risk to the financial system.
I Gave Up a 2.6% Mortgage to Upgrade. Will I Regret It?

The mortgage lock-in effect ended in the Levin household shortly before my in-laws arrived from Mexico to celebrate my daughter’s birthday at our home in the Miami area. As usual, my wife and I had no place to put them, and they had to get a room at a Courtyard Marriott.
Berkshire Hathaway Sells More of BYD, Bringing Stake Below 5%

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has sold off another block of BYD Co. shares, taking its stake in one of the world’s biggest carmakers to under 5% from more than 20% two years ago.
Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Sees US Small Cap Rally Losing Steam

The recent out-performance of US small-caps is facing technical resistance and lacks fundamental drivers to carry on for a longer period of time, according to Morgan Stanley’s chief US equity strategist Mike Wilson.
American Farmers’ Next Hot Commodity Is Canola for Biofuels

Canola oil — invented in Canada 50 years ago as a healthier, shelf-stable cooking fat — may soon venture beyond the world’s kitchen cupboards to a spot in the airways.
The Magnificent Seven Panic Is Over and We Survived

For the better part of 2024, market commentators have bemoaned the fact that a few mega-capitalization stocks, dubbed the Magnificent Seven, appeared to be carrying the entire US market.
Flailing Stock Market to Get a Lifeline From Earnings, Survey Shows

Despite the recent stock market slump that has some Wall Street pros bracing for a summer correction, respondents to Bloomberg’s Markets Live Pulse survey expect the latest round of corporate earnings to reinvigorate the S&P 500 Index.
Netflix Adds 8 Million Customers, Extending Lead Over Rivals

Netflix Inc. extended its lead over the streaming competition, adding 8.05 million customers in the second quarter and raising estimates for annual sales and profit margins.
Japan Should Go Big or Go Home on Startups

After languishing for three decades, Japan is on the cusp of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to revitalize its economy through tech innovation and entrepreneurship.
Modi Put Up Tariff Walls. Now He Must Bring Them Down

Now that a jobs crisis is weakening his hold on power, how serious is Prime Minister Narendra Modi about reviving India’s factories? We will know in next week’s budget, a chance to remedy a disastrous lurch toward protectionism.
The Rice Price Scare is Over — Let’s Learn the Lessons

Wheat and corn are the most actively traded grains in financial markets. But they can’t damage the global economy like rice. The staple for half the world is largely ignored by Wall Street, but it’s the one commodity that really matters for global food security.
Netflix Adds 8 Million Customers, Extending Lead Over Rivals

Netflix Inc. extended its lead over the streaming competition, adding 8.05 million customers in the second quarter and raising estimates for annual sales and profit margins.
Amex Says It’s Going on Marketing Spree as Billings Growth Slows

American Express Co. warned it’s planning to increase spending on marketing in the coming months after billings growth on the payments giant’s credit cards slowed in the second quarter.
Economists Trim US Inflation Forecasts, Paving Way for Fed Cut

Economists trimmed their US inflation projections through the first half of 2025 and see a slightly higher unemployment rate, a combination they expect will encourage the Federal Reserve to start lowering interest rates.
Hedge Funds Have an Election Plan: Sell the Calm, Buy the Chaos

How’s this for an election trade? Sell your winners now so you have cash on hand this fall to do some aggressive buying as the political jockeying heats up.
Britain Has a $5 Billion Bitcoin Stash. Reeves Can Unleash It

Rachel Reeves is going to need some money. The UK’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer has inherited, she says, one of the worst sets of circumstances since World War II.
Copper Set for Worst Week Since 2022 as China Plenum Disappoints

Copper headed for its worst weekly loss since 2022 and iron ore extended a slump toward $100 a ton as a policy meeting in China failed to lay out more stimulus to shore up metals demand.
Airfare War Is Ending Quickly as Carriers Retreat

There’s a new-found religion in the US airline industry, and investors should be thrilled. It’s called discipline.
Trading Desks Disrupted, Bankers Go Home as Outages Sweep Globe

Legions of bankers from Hong Kong and London to Dubai and South Africa were caught up in the global IT outage, leaving some unable to log on to computer systems and hobbling others from making trades.
Fed Prepares for September Cut as Powell Shifts Focus to Jobs

For more than two years, inflation has eclipsed everything else at the Federal Reserve. In a shift eagerly awaited by global markets, that’s poised to change.
Goldman’s Top Stock Analyst Is Waiting for AI Bubble to Burst

Over three decades on Wall Street, Jim Covello has learned how painful it can be to bet against an inflating tech stock bubble. The market has a way of minting riches, month after month, even after it’s clear the latest breakthroughs aren’t playing out quite as expected.
TSMC Hikes Revenue Outlook to Reflect Heated AI Demand

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. lifted projections for 2024 revenue growth after quarterly results beat estimates, reflecting its confidence in the longevity of the global AI spending boom.
Blackstone Profit Misses Estimates as Real Estate Exits Slow

Blackstone Inc.’s real estate arm weighed on the investment giant’s second-quarter results, as high interest rates crimped property valuations and investors pumped less money into the business.
Backlash Against ESG Seen in Sharp Decline of Fund Launches

At some of the world’s biggest asset managers, ESG fund launches are quietly stalling.
Wall Street Senses the Barbarians Are Finally at the Gates

The barbarians are back at the gates. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are confident that their most important clients are about to get active after a long spell on the sidelines and help goose the long-awaited revival in investment banking fees.
Fed’s Critics on Inflation Should Now Champion July Cut

Back in 2021, legions of critics lambasted the Federal Reserve for failing to take proactive and forward-looking steps against the emerging inflation threat. Curiously, many of them have gone silent on the risk that the Fed might get caught flatfooted again, this time by failing to cut interest rates soon enough in the face of weaker inflation and a cooling labor market.
‘AI Laggards’ Find Favor as Magnificent Seven Stocks Lose Luster

Wall Street is looking beyond the obvious megacap stocks to find the next leg of the artificial intelligence trade.
Tesla Stock Will Surge 10-Fold on Robotaxis, Ark’s Wood Says

Tesla Inc. forming an autonomous taxi platform will be the catalyst for a roughly 10-fold increase in its share price, Ark Investment Management LLC’s Cathie Wood said, echoing years of bullish predictions about a business the carmaker has yet to stand up.
Wall Street Starts Calling Time on ESG Labels After Backlash

At Institutional Investor, keeper of Wall Street’s version of the Oscars for financial analysts, the winner in one category this year is — nobody.
Goldman Sells $5.5 Billion of Bonds in Post-Earnings Binge

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. joined rival JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the tapping the US investment-grade market after reporting second-quarter earnings.
Wall Street Economists See Compelling Case for Fed to Cut Now

A growing number of Wall Street economists are cautioning the Federal Reserve is waiting too long to reverse course after raising interest rates to a two-decade high.
Correlations Between Credit and Equities Are Breaking Down

Credit markets are breathing a sigh of relief after inflation data showed price pressures are cooling broadly, but a weakening economy poses fresh risks to corporate debt.
Goldman, Wells Fargo Join Big Banks’ Corporate Bond Sales Binge

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are joining rival JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the tapping the US investment-grade bond market after reporting second-quarter earnings.
Insurers Tied to Apollo, KKR Buy Mortgages Outright in New Twist

Yield-hungry insurance firms are adopting an unconventional strategy: they’re skipping mortgage-backed bonds and buying the underlying whole loans outright.
The Housing Market Will Tell the Fed How Much to Cut Rates

It’s been clear since the fall of 2022 that the housing market needed lower interest rates to fix many of its problems including a lack of affordability for buyers, the mortgage rate lock-in dynamic for homeowners, and reduced activity for companies ranging from Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. to suppliers of building materials.
The EU Should Be Careful How It Takes On Big Tech

Big tech companies have brought the 21st century some of its greatest innovations. Amazon.com Inc., Google search, Apple Inc.’s iPhone and other digital products have made people’s lives immensely more convenient and productive — a consumer benefit worth, by one estimate, more than $2.5 trillion a year. They deservedly dominate their respective markets.
Yes, You Can Save Too Much for Retirement

A young colleague came to me recently with a shameful admission: Despite the lecturing of her friends and family, as well as her own best intentions, she had not yet signed up for the company 401(k) plan. She lives in an expensive city and is nervous about tying up her money for the next 40 or 50 years.
Apple Hits Record High Again After Being Named Top Pick at Morgan Stanley

Apple Inc. surged to another record high on Monday after the tech giant was named a top pick at Morgan Stanley, with the broker seeing the launch of the company’s artificial intelligence platform triggering a record rush among users to upgrade their smartphones, tablets and computers.
BlackRock Hits $10.6 Trillion Asset Record, Cites ETF Boost

BlackRock Inc. hauled in $51 billion of client cash to its long-term investment funds in the second quarter, pushing the world’s largest money manager to a record $10.6 trillion of assets.
Gen Z’s Alternative Investing Bug Will Cost Them Dearly

Younger investors are thinking about their investment portfolios all wrong, and it’s not entirely their fault. Ultimately, it’s up to them to recognize where the best long-term returns lie before too much precious time is wasted.
Earnings Expectations Are High for the Right Reasons

Human nature is such that there are always some folks who put a negative spin on obviously good news.
As Tide Goes Out on Private Credit, Smaller Firms Look Exposed

The clubby world of private credit seems to be running out of space for the little guy.
Treasuries Rally as Cool Inflation Boosts Bets on Three Fed Cuts

Treasury yields tumbled after benign inflation data renewed confidence that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at least twice this year.
Nuclear Energy Gets a Much-Needed Boost

President Joe Biden, as you’ve no doubt heard, has had a rough few weeks. Yet on Tuesday, he signed a bill into law that could well prove transformative for America’s energy future. Here’s hoping — whatever happens in November’s election — that more progress lies ahead.
The Fed Should Cut Rates Now. Sadly, It Won’t.

Thursday’s wildly encouraging consumer price index report shows that the Federal Reserve should be cutting policy rates at its meeting later this month. Unfortunately, they’ll probably keep us waiting until September.
Wall Street’s Portfolio-Trade Fad Hooks Slow-Moving Muni Market

The boom in portfolio trading is starting to creep into the market for state and local government debt.
Private Equity's Creative Wizardry Is Obscuring Danger Signs

As Pete Stavros addressed the private equity industry’s yearly shindig in Berlin last month, the KKR & Co. executive’s words were slightly less headline grabbing than those of Apollo Global Management’s co-president Scott Kleinman. But they were just as troubling.
Big Bet on Treasuries Needs Benign Inflation Data to Survive

Bond investors who’ve been positioning for a rally in the Treasury market are now looking for an endorsement from Thursday’s US inflation data.
Goldman Strategists Say Big Tech’s AI Splurge Worries Investors

Investors are growing increasingly concerned that US technology megacaps are spending too much on artificial intelligence, according Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists.
Bain, Reverence Near $3.5 Billion Deal for Envestnet

Bain Capital and Reverence Capital Partners have agreed a deal to take Envestnet Inc., a provider of wealth-management software, private.
Quant Hedge Funds Dealt Fresh Blow From China’s Short-Sale Curbs

One after another, the money-making trading formulas for China’s quantitative hedge funds are disappearing.
European Stocks Edge Higher Ahead of Key US Inflation Print

European stocks edged higher, extending gains into a second day, ahead of a key US inflation print that’s expected to show price pressures continuing to ease.
Big Banks' Stress Tests Are Still Flawed

By some metrics, the US financial system is in great shape. All 31 banks that underwent the Federal Reserve’s stress tests this year maintained adequate capital even in a “severe” economic scenario.
M&A Is Back. Bonuses, Not So Much.

Life has been getting busier for investment bankers, but dealmakers aren’t cashing any checks yet. A stream of big-ticket merger and acquisition announcements this year bodes well for future revenue and bonuses, but no one gets paid until deals are completed. And that might not happen until late 2024 or even next year.
Market Strategists Thankfully Abandon S&P 500 Targets

Piper Sandler & Co. is eliminating its price target for the S&P 500 Index. Its Wall Street counterparts should follow suit.
Will AI Ever Pay Off? Those Footing the Bill Are Worrying Already

Tracking down those in the technology industry cautious about artificial intelligence is much like looking for Republicans in San Francisco: There’s plenty of them out there, if you’d care to ask. And lately, they seem to be growing in number.
Microsoft, Apple Drop OpenAI Board Plans as Scrutiny Grows

Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. dropped plans to take board roles at OpenAI in a surprise decision that underscores growing regulatory scrutiny of Big Tech’s influence over artificial intelligence.
Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Says a 10% Stock Market Correction Is ‘Highly Likely’

Traders should brace for a significant pullback in the stock market as uncertainty swirls around the US presidential campaign, corporate earnings and Federal Reserve policy, according to Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson.
Oaktree’s Howard Marks Sees Opening in Private Equity, Real Estate Pain

Struggling under the weight of interest rates, highly-levered assets within private equity and real estate are promising distressed investors some of the best opportunities in more than a decade, according to Howard Marks, co-chairman and co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management.
Returns of $7.2 Trillion Green Sector Outpaced Only by Tech Stocks

If the companies that derive revenue from products and services that help reduce carbon emissions were taken as a single industry group, they would have had the second-best financial performance of any equity sector over the past decade.
Tech Giants Face Tough Task to Sustain Second Half Stock Rally

The world’s largest technology stocks drove a banner first half for the S&P 500. The question for the rest of the year is whether their strength continues.
The US Housing Crisis Is Really About Low-Wage Jobs

America’s housing crisis is often portrayed as a matter of supply. Depending on whom you ask, the shortfall is anywhere from 1.5 million to 7 million homes. Much of the policy debate focuses on how to close that gap.
The Private Equity Bubble Is About to Deflate

Markets today pose a new existential question: Can there be a bubble in something if it has no price?
Another Green Bubble Is Deflating in Biofuels

The oil company declared its traditional business was all but over. “The demand for fossil oil products will continue to decline,” it said in late 2020 as the pandemic slashed consumption. Even when Covid-19 is over, consumption wouldn’t “recover to previous levels.”
TSMC Shares Soar to Record on Expectations of Tight 2025 Supply

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose to a record intraday high in Taipei after Morgan Stanley joined a list of brokers boosting price targets on the chipmaker before its earnings.
Big Bond Bet Favored by Citi, JPMorgan Gets Boost Before CPI

The bond trade that some of Wall Street’s biggest banks say will dominate the rest of 2024 is gaining steam before a crucial inflation reading that will help seal the wager’s fate.
Labor Market Weakness Keeps Door Open For Canada Rate Cuts

The Canadian labor market unexpectedly lost jobs for the second time in four months, keeping the central bank on track to further cut rates this year.
Supreme Court Sensibly Made Markets Regulation Less Political

Last week, the Supreme Court overturned a decades-old legal doctrine that gave federal regulators the power to interpret unclear laws. This touched off a lot of wild rhetoric about the end of the administrative state.
Ancient Rome Survived High Inflation. We Can, Too

Worried that inflation is coming down too gradually? The Romans had a not-so-subtle solution: Anyone suspected of ratcheting up prices faced execution. If you’re currently anxious about declining fertility across today’s major economies, they had an answer for that, too: Celibacy was discouraged among women, Vestal Virgins excluded. Offenders might forfeit their inheritance.
The US Economic Slowdown Is Looking More Threatening

On the surface, the US employment report for June looked pretty good. Some 206,000 jobs were added, which exceeded the 190,000 median estimate of more than five dozen economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Also, wage growth continued to moderate, easing concern that fast-rising earnings would underpin inflation.
Starmer Vows Stability After Election Victory Exposes Discontent

New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised a government of “stability and moderation” after leading his Labour Party to a landslide election victory that ended 14 years of Conservative rule that became characterized by turmoil and infighting.
McDonald’s $5 Meal Tells You Where Prices Are Headed

Between McDonald’s $5 value meal, Taco Bell’s $7 cravings box and budget breakfasts from Starbucks and Wendy’s Co., fast food chains are fighting hard to win over hungry Americans this summer. Why now? It comes down to price-sensitive customers voting with their wallets and forcing companies to chase traffic to grow revenue and profits.
MegazoneCloud Picks JPMorgan, Banks for IPO as AI Interest Grows

MegazoneCloud Corp. has selected firms including a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. to help it kickstart an initial public offering that could value one of Asia’s biggest cloud and AI services companies at several billion dollars.
Tesla Shares on Track to Turn Positive for 2024 After $200 Billion Rally

Tesla Inc. shares are set to extend gains for an eighth consecutive session on Friday, putting the stock of the world’s most valuable automaker on track to turn positive for the year.
US Bond Yields Fall as Jobs Report Supports Case for Fed Cuts

US Treasuries gained, pushing yields lower, after a mixed report on the US labor market left traders holding tight to bets that Federal Reserve officials will lower interest rates this year.
Trying to Kill Chinese Tech Only Makes It Stronger

In trying to block China’s climb up the ladder of technological sophistication, the US may inadvertently be giving its rival a hand up.
US Payroll Growth Slows and Jobless Rate Ticks Up to 4.1%

US hiring and wage growth stepped down in June while the jobless rate rose to the highest since late 2021, bolstering prospects that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in coming months.
Labour’s Win Gives Britain a Chance to Redeem Itself

Ever since Rishi Sunak’s rain-sodden announcement to call a general election on July 4, one question has hung over British politics: Will Labour win by a landslide or just a regular majority?
Why Disconnecting Global Trade From China Is So Hard

A US-led effort to gradually disconnect trade ties with China, rising costs, and a broader understanding of the need to diversify production is driving manufacturers to invest in alternative locations.
Gold Set for Weekly Gain as US Jobs Data May Give Clue on Easing

Gold headed for a back-to-back weekly gain on expectations that the Federal Reserve will trim interest rates before year-end, with traders looking ahead to US payrolls data for the next batch of clues on the outlook.
Bezos to Sell $5 Billion of Amazon as Shares Hit Record High

Jeff Bezos disclosed a plan to unload 25 million additional shares of Amazon.com Inc. worth $5 billion on the day the stock hit a fresh record.
EU’s Hard Line on Tech Keeps Users Off the Cutting Edge

As promised, the European Commission is getting tough on big tech. Buoyed by what it sees as the successful implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, regulators are now going full tilt with their feistier legislation on anti-competitive behavior and improper use of personal data.
Private Funds’ Hundreds of Billions of Opaque Debts Need Light

The dearth of private equity deal-making has been a nightmare for big investment banks used to getting 20% to 30% of their total advisory revenue from the industry.
Gen Z Is Taking Too Much Risk in the Markets

My financial education didn’t have the most auspicious start. I suppose I was lucky that in high school I had a class on basic investing and finance.
Ether ETF Hopefuls Gear Up for Approval as Soon as Mid-July

Asset managers are optimistic that the SEC will greenlight the first US ETFs that invest directly in Ether as soon as mid-July, saying the back and forth with the regulator remains constructive.
Only Musk’s Robotaxi Can Save Tesla Investors Now

Tesla Inc. is, according to its promoters — very much including Chief Executive Elon Musk — an artificial intelligence giant trapped in a carmaker’s body. That much was evident from quarterly sales and production numbers, and the market’s reaction to them, on Tuesday morning.
Wall Street Maps Out What a Trump Win Would Mean for Bonds

Financial giants from Goldman Sachs & Co. to Morgan Stanley and Barclays Plc. are taking a fresh look at how a Donald Trump victory in November could play out in the bond market.
Bridgewater Launches $2 Billion Fund Powered by Machine Learning

Bridgewater Associates is launching a fund that uses machine learning as the primary basis of its decision-making.
Powell Welcomes Recent Data But Fed Needs More Confidence to Cut

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the latest economic data suggest inflation is getting back on a downward path, but added officials would like to see more evidence before lowering interest rates.
US Labor Market Shows Signs of Losing Steam, Putting the Fed on Alert

Economists and some Federal Reserve officials are increasingly on alert that pain could be on the horizon for American workers amid signs the labor market is losing steam.
Hedge Funds Are Just Too Big to Beat the Market

Hedge funds were once the hottest investment around, but they’ve long ceded the spotlight to better performers, including private assets, real estate, technology startups and even cryptocurrencies.
BlackRock Goes From Alternative to Unconventional With PE Data Deal

How alternative can you get? Historically, conventional fund managers have dealt with the threat from private equity and hedge funds by creating or buying alternative investment funds of their own.
BlackRock Buys Preqin for $3.2 Billion in Private Data Push

BlackRock Inc. will acquire private capital database provider Preqin for £2.55 billion ($3.2 billion) in cash, as the world’s largest money manager accelerates its push to become a major player in alternative assets.
Trump Ascendancy Has Morgan Stanley Team Touting Steeper Curve

The growing prospect of a Trump presidential victory is making yield curve steepeners an attractive bet as growth will likely slow and inflation quicken under such a scenario, according to Morgan Stanley.
Boeing Should Take a Plea Deal With One Condition

The fallout keeps coming from a door plug that blew off a Boeing Co. 737 Max plane in midair during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
There’s a New Mr. Yen in Town

Jerome Powell is Mr. Yen. He has been for some time, but it has taken a while for the world to catch on.
Oil Retreats From Two-Month High as Traders Weigh Mixed Outlook

Oil retreated from a nearly two-month high as traders weighed a weakening physical market against escalating Mideast tensions.
A $400 Billion Frenzy as Nvidia, Crypto Boom: ETFs So Far in ‘24

Hype over artificial intelligence, the eagerly anticipated launch of Bitcoin funds, and billions of dollars flowing toward the seemingly unstoppable stock-market surge: ETFs have seen it all and been the beneficiary so far this year.
Bitcoin Eclipsed by Ether, Solana in Crypto Bets Tapping ETF Hype

Bitcoin’s performance is starting to be overshadowed by the Ether and Solana tokens as hype around US cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds shifts to the two smaller digital assets.
US Consumer Sentiment Falls by Less Than Initially Estimated

US consumer sentiment declined in June by less than initially estimated on expectations inflationary pressures will moderate.
Fed’s Daly Says Latest Data Show Monetary Policy Is Working

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said inflation data out Friday indicates monetary policy is working, but said it’s too early to tell when it will be appropriate to lower borrowing costs.
Buffett Gifts to Gates Foundation to End When He Dies, WSJ Says

Warren Buffett’s donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will stop when he dies, with his daughter and two sons overseeing a new charitable trust, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Tesla Is About to Lose Its EV Market Majority in the US

Tesla Inc. is on the verge of losing a key bragging right it’s held for the past six years: outselling all EV competitors in the US combined.
Bonds Set for Biggest Monthly Gain in 2024 as Inflation Ebbs

US Treasuries are headed for their biggest monthly rally of the year after the Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge decelerated, bolstering expectations for interest-rate cuts starting this year.
El-Erian Says Slowing Economy Raises Fed Policy-Error Risk

Softening in the measure of inflation favored by the Federal Reserve highlights a slowing economy that’s upping the risk of a policy error by the central bank, Mohamed El-Erian said.
Fed’s Favored Inflation Gauge Slows, Supporting Case for Cut

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying US inflation decelerated in May, bolstering the case for lower interest rates later this year.
Zuckerberg’s VR Vision Validated by Apple’s Vision Pro Pullback

As Apple Inc. prepared to introduce its Vision Pro headset a year ago, the worry at Meta Platforms Inc. was that the hardware geniuses in Cupertino were about to unveil a breakthrough in mixed reality, some new take on a computing platform that Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg had been trying to crack for more than a decade.
The Real Reason to Worry About the Huge US Budget Deficit

The US government’s finances keep looking worse. The latest Congressional Budget Office projections suggest that it will need to borrow an added $400 billion this year to cover its budget deficit — and trillions more over the next decade.
Nvidia’s Wild Stock Swings Put AI Rally Stamina in Spotlight

Big swings in Nvidia Corp. shares have reignited debate about the staying power of the chipmaker’s rally. While the stock’s valuation and threat of competition are major concerns, one variable is key: durability of demand.
FedEx Stokes Investors With Hint of a Freight Deal

FedEx Corp. dropped a bomb on the market Tuesday afternoon with the announcement that it will do an “assessment” of its freight unit. Investors seemed to like the move, pushing up the shares as much as 15%, on the possibility of a windfall and a more pure-play package delivery and logistics company.
The Petrodollar Is Dead, Long Live the Petrodollar

The petrodollar died this month -- or so I learnt via the financial blogosphere. In the past fortnight, Google searches for “petrodollar” have spiked to a record, and viral posts about Saudi Arabia ditching the greenback have ricocheted throughout commodity and currency trading rooms. Apparently, a cataclysmic event has ended American economic hegemony.
Goldman Signals End of an Era in Private Equity With a Big Hire

A long era of easy profits in private equity is gone, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is digging in deeper for the harder work ahead.
Bond Market in Step With Fed Is About to Slam Into US Election

It took much of the first half of the year for Treasury bond investors to fall in line with a Federal Reserve signaling higher-for-longer interest rates. Now, as they weigh the timing of a second-half pivot, they must also contend with potential wild-card risks from a hotly contested presidential race.
Bond Traders Boldly Bet on 300 Basis Points of Fed Cuts by March

Traders in the US rates options market are embracing a nascent wager on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path: a whopping 3 percentage points worth of cuts in the next nine months.
Wall Street Banks Accelerate Buybacks Ahead of Fed Stress Tests

The biggest US banks haven’t waited for this week’s stress tests to signal optimism about their capital levels.
Economic Doomers Just Dived Into the Shallow End of the Pool

After being so consistently wrong in recent years about how the US economy and households would perform coming out of the pandemic, doomsayers should have learned their lesson. But there they were in full force after Pool Corp. said late Monday that it was lowering its earnings outlook because households aren’t installing backyard swimming pools as they once did.
The Fed Needs a Bit More Fight On Tougher Bank Rules

Big US banks look to be getting their way in the fight over tougher capital rules. The Federal Reserve is talking to other regulators about changes to the updated standards that were proposed last July, according to Bloomberg News, which could mean capital demands increasing by less than one-third of what was originally envisaged.
AI's Hunger for Power Can Be Tamed

The artificial intelligence hype that made Nvidia Corp. the world’s biggest company has come with a price for the world’s climate. Data centers housing its powerful chips are gorging power and belching carbon dioxide, and sobering figures now reveal the extent of the problem.
Norinchukin’s Woes Show Banks Are Still Getting Rates Wrong

Norinchukin Bank is best known outside of Japan as an investing whale in the market for bonds that package up loans to private equity businesses, known as collateralized loan obligations.
We’ve Already Picked Decoupling’s Low-Hanging Fruit

Declines in foreign direct investment in China bolster the thesis that global companies are turning away from the world’s most-important production hub, continuing the trend of decoupling that has policymakers and corporate leaders looking for alternative manufacturing bases. The truth of the nation’s deteriorating importance isn’t so simple.
Nvidia’s Murky AI Future Isn’t Reflected in Its Price

Every now and then, a company comes along that is so dominant and is growing so quickly that it feels like the only stock anyone cares about. I’m referring, of course, to Nvidia Corp., the chip giant powering artificial intelligence. Its stock has surged 4,000% over the past five years, making it one of the three most valuable businesses in the world alongside heavyweights Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc.
Jain Global Raises $5.3 Billion, Secures Cash From Abu Dhabi

Bobby Jain has gathered $5.3 billion in commitments for his new multistrategy hedge fund, marking the biggest fundraising haul since ExodusPoint Capital Management’s record debut.
Nvidia Rout Takes Breather as Traders Scour Charts for Support

Nvidia Corp. shares showed signs of steadying after a $430 billion selloff sent traders searching for signals as to where the bottom may be.
How India Can Engineer a Future Beyond Software

In the early 2000s, Alok Nanda’s new colleagues called him the “bumper guy.”
Homebuilders Urgently Need Fed Rate Cuts

New home construction slumped to the weakest level in four years in May, confirming a trend that’s been evolving for the past few months — residential construction is once again acting as a drag on economic growth in the US.
Stocks Face Meager Upside After 2024 Gains, Survey Shows

The S&P 500 Index has likely logged most of the gains it will see this year as investors are growing increasingly nervous about the stock market’s rich valuations, according to the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey.
Nvidia Sales Grow So Fast That Wall Street Can’t Keep Up

Nvidia Corp. is the most expensive stock in the S&P 500 Index, with its shares trading for roughly 23 times the company’s projected sales over the next 12 months.
How Long Can High Rates Last? Bond Markets Say Maybe Forever

Just as optimism is growing among investors that a rally in US Treasuries is about to take off, one key indicator in the bond market is flashing a worrying sign for anyone thinking about piling in.
Anthropic Releases ‘Most Intelligent’ AI Model in Rivalry With OpenAI

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is releasing a new AI model that it calls its fastest and most capable yet in a rivalry with OpenAI.
US Existing-Home Sales Fall a Third Month as Prices Set a Record

Sales of existing homes in the US fell for a third straight month in May while prices set another record, underscoring persistent affordability challenges that hobbled the important spring selling season.
High-Grade Company Bonds Increasingly Trade Near Junk Levels

Some money managers that buy junk bonds have been pouring money into investment-grade notes instead, because the yields can be almost as high now.
Pro Athletes Want to Sell You a Stake In Their Earnings. Hard Pass.

Are you bored with the cash, stocks and bonds in your retirement portfolio? Then perhaps it’s time to spice things up with shares in an NFL outside linebacker.
Private Credit Investors in Europe Ditch Extra Leverage on Default Fears

Private credit investors in Europe are abandoning leveraged plays to try to get ahead of a potential wave of defaults.
CBO Jacks Up US 2024 Budget Gap Forecast by 27% to Nearly $2 Trillion

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office ramped up its estimate for this year’s US budget deficit by 27% to almost $2 trillion, sounding a fresh alarm about an unprecedented trajectory for federal borrowing.
Xi, Putin Score Wins as More Asia Leaders Aim to Join BRICS

As Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang wrapped up separate meetings in Southeast Asia this week, the two partners in the BRICS economic bloc encountered a region keen to join a group seen as a hedge against Western-led institutions.
Dell, Super Micro Shares Jump on Reports of ‘AI Factory’ for Elon Musk’s xAI

Dell Technologies Inc. shares rose on Thursday after Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell said the company is building a “Dell AI factory” for Elon Musk’s startup xAI alongside Nvidia Corp.
Bitcoin Slumps to More Than One Month Low as Risk Appetite Ebbs

Bitcoin slumped to a more than one-month low with this year’s record-breaking rally showing signs of fatigue in the absence of fresh market catalysts.
Paying Walmart Managers Millions Is Just Good Business

After being on the frontline of the pandemic, then grappling with an edgy public and a spike in shoplifting, its been a tough few years to work retail. But for Walmart Inc. managers, at least, things are looking up.
At Blackstone's $339 Billion Property Arm, the Honeymoon Is Over

Nadeem Meghji was on honeymoon in late 2022 when the biggest storm to have rocked Blackstone Inc.’s property business hit its peak.
All Roads Lead to Nvidia as Tech Sees Record Inflows, Says BofA

The ongoing artificial intelligence frenzy that briefly made Nvidia Corp. the world’s most valuable company this week also drove record inflows into tech funds, said Bank of America Corp. strategists.
Global Bonds Jump as Weak European Data Boosts Rate-Cut Bets

Bonds surged after business activity across Europe encountered an unexpected setback, prompting traders to amp up wagers on monetary easing.
Apple’s AI Rally Puts Valuation at Risk of Outpacing Reality

Apple Inc.’s record-breaking rally has invited skepticism as to whether its artificial intelligence strategy justifies the stock’s valuation.
What a Japanese AI Unicorn Can Teach Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley’s “move fast and break things” mantra propelled tech innovation for the internet age. In the era of artificial intelligence, it should take a leaf out of Japan’s playbook and slow down.
‘Sellers Are Entering the Market’ With S&P Faltering Beyond Tech

Take out the few big tech companies that keep pushing the S&P 500 Index to all time highs and it looks like the engine is running on fumes.
Morgan Stanley Looks to Latin America as Global Tensions Rise

Morgan Stanley is increasing its investments in Latin America as geopolitical conflicts elsewhere in the world give the region increasing prominence in the global economy.
Treasuries Are a Whisker Away From Erasing This Year’s Loss

US Treasuries are on the brink of breaking even during a roller-coaster first half of the year.
New US Home Construction Plunges to Slowest Pace Since June 2020

New home construction in the US slumped in May to the slowest pace in four years, as higher-for-longer interest rates sap the housing industry’s momentum from earlier this year.
China Will Struggle to Undo US Dominance

The hottest thing in global economics is an oldie but a goodie. This market darling is enjoying enviable growth and sucking in capital from around the world. It possesses a vibrant labor market and a currency that's not just a store of value, but increasingly seen as an ascendant strategic asset. And it’s not the China of yesteryear.
US Retail Sales Barely Increase In Sign of Consumer Strain

US retail sales barely rose in May and prior months were revised lower, pointing to greater financial strain among consumers.
Strange Things Lurk Under the Hood of the Payroll Numbers

As the monthly nonfarm payroll employment numbers repeatedly blew past economists’ forecasts over the past couple of years, one small sector in particular stood out.
How the Fed Is Helping Make the Case for a Carbon Tax

The longer interest rates stay higher, the stronger the case grows for … a carbon tax.
Nvidia Insiders Cash In on Rally as Share Sales Top $700 Million
Nvidia Corp. insiders have sold shares worth more than $700 million this year as the stock continues to push deeper into record territory amid unrelenting demand for its chips.
Retail Funds Dive Into Quant-Factor ETFs After $48 Billion Haul

Traders are lavishing billions of dollars on quant-powered stock trades, boosting an investing style that’s struggled to gain traction in an era when simple bets on traditional large-cap indexes have paid off handsomely.
Hedge Funds Turn Cautious on Stocks Even as Wall Street Strategists Get Bullish

Wall Street strategists are rushing to raise their targets for the S&P 500 Index, but hedge funds are growing increasingly cautious about equities due to the Federal Reserve’s reluctance to cut interest rates, softer economic data and narrow stock market breadth.
Trading Indicator With 100% Win Rate Signals Sell Long Bonds Now

A technical trading strategy with a perfect trading record this year is signaling that it’s time to sell long-maturity Treasuries after a rally last week.
Lazy Fed Forecasts Are a Disgrace. Let’s Do Better

The Federal Reserve will begin a review of its monetary policy framework later this year, including a potential reconsideration of the ways it communicates with the public. Of great interest is the fate of the dot plot, an anonymous collection of policymakers’ interest rate projections that generates considerable attention each quarter on Wall Street.
Double-Digit US Stock Returns Are in the Past, Bubble or Not

There’s a lot of bubble talk around US stocks. The market has been on fire in recent years. The S&P 500 Index has more than doubled in value since bottoming in March 2020 on Covid fears. It’s also up 14% a year since 2010, including dividends, nearly 5 percentage points a year better than its long-term annual return.
Apple Eyes Best Week Since 2021 on Bet AI iPhones Are Must-Haves

Apple Inc. investors finally have a roadmap for how it will use artificial intelligence — and they’ve responded by pushing the stock toward its best week in more than two years.
Solar Power’s Giants Are Providing More Energy Than Big Oil

The manufacturers of solar equipment, similarly, aren’t in the final analysis providing us with panels of silicon and glass, but machines that can harvest power from the sun. The activities of each group of companies provide a fresh flow of useful energy to the world every year. And by many measures, the solar companies have already overtaken Big Oil.
G-7 Pledges to Step Up Action on Russia Fleet, Energy, Metals

Group of Seven leaders meeting in Italy this week will pledge to tighten enforcement of their price cap on Russian oil, choke the Kremlin’s future energy projects and reduce Moscow’s revenues from metals, according to a statement seen by Bloomberg.
Fed Diverges From Global Peers in New Era of Higher for Longer

The Federal Reserve’s move to signal fewer interest-rate cuts this year deepens its divergence from peers who have already begun to ease.
Binance CEO Teng Sees ‘Landmark’ Year as Crypto Goes Mainstream

This is turning out to be a “landmark year” for the crypto industry, Binance Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Richard Teng said, thanks to growing regulatory clarity, more mainstream adoption and the launch of exchange-traded funds tied to Bitcoin.
AI Is Making Robots Smarter. They’ll Need Boundaries.

Artificial intelligence is sweeping across the economy. It’s showing up in the stock market with Nvidia’s meteoric rise, and the marketing blitz around AI is inescapable, whether from software providers peddling the promise of harnessed data to golf-club makers trumpeting an AI design. Narrow AI is now a real tool, and companies are figuring out how to deploy it.
JPMorgan Asset Management Sees Stocks Powering On In Second Half

A historically strong start to the year for the US stock market should continue into the second half of 2024, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset management division.
JPMorgan to Wager on Weight-Loss Boom With $500 Million Fund

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset-management arm raised more than $500 million for a biotech venture-capital fund that will bet on the hottest corner of health care: weight-loss drugs.
Bond Market Splits From Fed Again by Betting on 2024 Rate Cuts

Bond traders loaded back up on interest-rate-cut bets — and even the pushback coming out of the Federal Reserve did little to shake their conviction.
Don’t Legitimize Cornering the Copper Market

When the Hunt brothers cornered the silver market in 1980 by amassing a huge cache of the precious metal, jeweler Tiffany & Co. ran an advertisement in the New York Times denouncing the move: “We think it is unconscionable for anyone to hoard several billion, yes billion, dollars worth of silver and thus drive the price up.”
Apple to ‘Pay’ OpenAI for ChatGPT Through Distribution, Not Cash

When Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and his top deputies this week unveiled a landmark arrangement with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone, iPad and Mac, they were mum on the financial terms.
Only Apple Would Try to Rebrand AI. Will It Succeed?

You have to hand it to Apple Inc. After an embarrassing, tone-deaf ad last month that made the company look oblivious to AI’s impact on the world, its marketing department has now rebranded AI as “Apple Intelligence.” It’s a feat of superiority only the company could pull off.
A Brief Guide to What Really Matters on CPI-Fed Day

Wednesday is shaping up to be a doozy in the US bond market. Following the release of the consumer price index at 8:30 a.m. in Washington, investors will turn to the Federal Reserve’s policy rate decision at 2 p.m., which includes an update to policymakers’ carefully scrutinized economic projections.
US Inflation Broadly Cools in Encouraging Sign for Fed Officials

A key measure of underlying US inflation stepped down for a second month in May, a pleasant surprise for Federal Reserve officials looking for signs that they can start to lower interest rates.
Oracle Shares Set for Record High on AI-Fueled Cloud Growth

Oracle Corp. reported better-than-expected bookings and announced partnership deals with tech rivals, giving a boost to Chairman Larry Ellison’s effort to redefine the software maker as a major competitor in the business of cloud computing.
JPMorgan Risk Swap Ends Up at a Familiar Place: Rival Banks

When JPMorgan Chase & Co. arranged a series of trades to shift the risk of losses from $20 billion of its loans, some of those dangers wound up at a familiar place: rival banks.
GM Approves $6 Billion Stock Buyback on Growth in EVs

General Motors Co. authorized a new $6 billion share buyback plan as improving profitability in its electric vehicle operations allows the automaker to return cash to investors.
Bond Traders Will Follow New Fed Dots All the Way Into 2025

Bond traders who have come to terms with the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates through 2024 are looking toward this week’s Federal Reserve meeting for clues on how to game out 2025 and beyond.
Fed’s Higher-for-Longer Stance Hits Firms That Expected Rate Cut

American businesses and consumers started the year thinking interest rates would finally come down, making big plans to buy equipment or a house. Now all of that is on hold, slowing large swaths of the economy for the foreseeable future.
Hedge Funds Pile Into Copycat Quant Trades They Once Derided

Wall Street’s half-trillion-dollar business cloning quant trades has some surprising new customers: the very firms whose strategies it mimics.
Watch What Consumers Do, Not How They Feel

Over the past few years, even as they have been gritting their teeth and complaining about higher prices, consumers have been fueling US economic growth. Now their pandemic savings are gone and the labor market is cooling off, raising the question: How much will the economy slow down?
Traders Are Bracing for Volatility on Fed-CPI Double Blow

Whether it’s another move up or a dive down, traders are bracing for added volatility wrought by Wednesday’s dual macroeconomic catalysts: a report on consumer prices in the morning and the Federal Reserve’s rate decision in the afternoon.
Broader Tech Rally Hangs on Fed Getting Closer to Cutting Rate

A broad equity rally isn’t spilling over into the technology sector, where gains are still concentrated in just a few artificial intelligence winners that have become defensive plays amid an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop.
Apple’s $471 Billion Rally Hinges on Whether AI Event Delivers

It’s the moment of truth for Apple Inc.’s artificial intelligence plans — and for the $471 billion rally that has rescued the stock from the doldrums.
Two Companies Will Guide Global Supply Chains

A splintering of global supply chains, driven by both political and business considerations, has hundreds of manufacturers and logistics providers debating where to go next. They’d be well advised to take their cues from two Taiwanese companies who’ve led the charge.
Homes for Sale Are Piling Up, Just Not Where the Buyers Are

Lately the housing market has faced a different conundrum at every turn. This year’s puzzle is the disconnect between an aggressive rise in the number of existing homes for sale and still sluggish transactions.
Tesla Investor’s Suit Targets Vote on Texas Move, Musk Pay

A Tesla Inc. shareholder sued to challenge an upcoming proxy vote about whether the electric-car maker should move its corporate home to Texas and re-approve a $56 billion pay package for co-founder Elon Musk that was thrown out by a Delaware judge.
Here’s Everything Apple Plans to Show at Its AI-Focused WWDC Event

Apple Inc. isn’t typically the first to embrace new product categories — as it famously showed with its iPhone, smartwatch and Vision Pro. All those areas were established before the company showed up, but Apple found a way to make its mark.
US Moves Closer to Tariffs on Asia Solar Panels With Vote

The US government moved closer to imposing new tariffs on solar cells and panels from Southeast Asia after an agency’s initial determination that American manufacturers are being harmed by cheap imports from the region.
Stunning Job Numbers May End Up Being Just OK

The labor market data is full of conflicting signals, but the big picture is that the US economy is in pretty good shape. That’s worth celebrating, irrespective of what the “good news is bad news for interest rates” crowd tells you.
LNG Is Both a Savior and a Curse in Europe

In its moment of most need, back in 2022, the liquified natural gas market saved Europe. Now, that same LNG market is the continent’s new vulnerability. The good news is that the weakness should be short-lived; the bad news is that it won’t go away before the next winter.
Ackman’s Pershing Pitch Shows Why So Few Hedge Funds IPO

There’s a reason so few hedge fund firms seek a stock market listing: Investors don’t like them. The allure of an economic interest in these money machines is tempered by the risks. First, there’s key-person risk. Many such firms are dominated by a single executive.
El-Erian Says Strong Jobs Data Closes Door on July Fed Rate Cut

Stronger-than-expected US May jobs data closes the door on a July Federal Reserve rate cut, Mohamed El-Erian said.
US Bitcoin ETFs Post Longest Run of Inflows as Token Nears Record

US exchange-traded funds investing directly in Bitcoin attracted net inflows for an unprecedented 18th straight day, a spurt of demand that has helped to lift the largest digital asset toward a record high.
Treasury Yields Surge as Hot Jobs Data Dims Fed Rate-Cut Bets

Treasury yields surged as surprise strength in the US labor market forced traders to pare back their wagers on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year.
Cathie Wood Says Ark Is Well Placed in AI After Nvidia Trim

Cathie Wood said Ark Investment Management is well positioned in artificial intelligence assets, even after her company trimmed back on Nvidia Corp. shares before the rally last year.
First-Quarter US Labor Costs Marked Down on Weaker Output, Hours

US labor costs increased in the first quarter by less than previously reported, reflecting downward revisions to economic output and hours worked and consistent with other signs of moderating activity.
‘Everything Is Not Going to Be OK’ in Private Equity, Apollo’s Co-President Says

The private equity industry must face up to the reality of lower valuations, according to Apollo Global Management Inc.’s Scott Kleinman.
Elon Musk Isn’t a Victim No Matter What Tesla Says

It’s a tough gig portraying the world’s third-richest person as a victim, but Tesla Inc.’s board of directors are giving it a go.The question is whether the company’s institutional shareholders will be intimidated into buying that story at a pivotal vote on June 13.
Fragile Banks Won’t Make the US or Europe Stronger

Less than 15 months after the world’s most recent banking crisis, regulators in the US and Europe are already poised to roll back reforms aimed at reducing the risk of further financial disasters. It’s a serious mistake.
NXP, Vanguard to Build $7.8 Billion Singapore Chip Wafer Plant as Tech Firms Hedge Against China

NXP Semiconductors NV is teaming up with a company partly owned by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to build a $7.8 billion chip wafer plant in Singapore, marking a boost for the island nation’s tech ambitions.
Apple Made Once-Unlikely Deal With Sam Altman to Catch Up in AI

When a 23-year-old Sam Altman took the stage at Apple Inc.’s annual developer conference in 2008, he gushed about being able to use the company’s new App Store to promote his software, a friend-locating service called Loopt.
After $2 Trillion Gain, Nvidia Is Still Irresistible to Many

Its business is massive, its profits are booming and everyone already knows Nvidia Corp. is the hottest stock on Wall Street.
BlackRock, Citadel Back Texas Stock Exchange in Challenge to NYSE

BlackRock Inc., Citadel Securities and other investors are backing an upstart Texas stock market, laying down a challenge to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Inc. and signaling a potential boost for a state trying to grab more of the financial services industry.
Intel CEO Takes Aim at Nvidia in Fight for AI Chip Dominance

Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger took the stage at the Computex show in Taiwan to talk about new products he expects will help turn back the tide of share losses to peers, including AI leader Nvidia Corp.
Fidelity Piles On Pressure in Looming Revenue Plan for ETF Firms

Fidelity Investments is flexing its muscles in efforts to extract payments from ETF firms in exchange for listing and maintaining their products on its massive platform, stoking industry ire.
Majority of Middle-Class Americans Say They Struggle Financially

Almost two-thirds of Americans considered middle class said they are facing economic hardship and don’t anticipate a change for the rest of their lives, according to a poll commissioned by the National True Cost of Living Coalition.
Global Bond Rally Endures Ahead of Jobs Data Critical for Fed

A global bond rally continued, sparked by signs the world’s biggest economy is cooling, ahead of the crucial next read on the state of the US labor market.
Do You Trust Bill Ackman to Build a $250 Billion Fund Manager?

Celebrity fund manager and activist investor Bill Ackman just sold 10% of his investment management company in a deal that valued Pershing Square at $10.5 billion. An initial public offering could come as soon as next year, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
A Hospital Bankruptcy Offers a Cautionary Tale on Private Equity

As private equity investment in health care has surged to almost $1 trillion over the past decade — funding new technologies, clinical trials and more — a lack of transparency has made it hard to assess whether the industry is also putting patients at risk.
JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley Split on Outlook for Equity Gains

Investors betting on further US equity gains over the coming months will be disappointed, according to strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Their peers at Morgan Stanley disagree.
Nvidia and AMD Square Off in Fight to Take Control of AI

Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s chiefs showcased new generations of the chips powering the global boom in AI development, deepening a rivalry that may decide the direction of artificial intelligence design and adoption.
GameStop Shares Surge as Gill’s Reddit Return Shows Huge Bet

GameStop Corp. shares surged after the Reddit account that drove the meme-stock mania of 2021 posted what appeared to be a $116 million position in the video-game retailer.
OPEC+ Says Goodbye to Its $100-a-Barrel Oil Quest

After relentlessly pursuing $100-a-barrel oil, the OPEC+ cartel has all but thrown in the towel. Whether the U-turn is a tactical retreat, or a strategic shift, is still unclear. But for now its impact would be the same: Oil prices would be somewhat lower and global inflation would ease.
Inflation Feels Bad No Matter How You Define It

The people who experience the US economy continue to disagree with the people who measure it, and the most likely reason is inflation: Most Americans still see it as a major problem, while most economists don’t. But this debate recently veered from economics to semantics.
Nvidia’s Founder Leads Parade of CEOs to Summit on Future of AI

Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang will lead a gathering of tech business leaders in Taipei starting Sunday, an unusual opportunity for the industry’s most important executives to come together and figure out the future of computing and AI.
Goldman Sees Obesity-Drug Market Growing to $130 Billion by 2030

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sees growing potential for the global market for weight-loss drugs by the end of the decade.
America’s Tax Cut Era Must End

For more than two decades, America has pursued a policy as costly as the New Deal of the 1930s or the Great Society of the 1960s, but with a much narrower aim: cut taxes.
Bonds Rally as Inflation Gauge Sustains Fed Rate-Cut Outlook

US government bonds rallied Friday, adding to their monthly gain, after benign inflation data kept alive predictions that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at least once this year.
Big Investors Demand Hedge Funds Beat Cash Before Charging Fees

Institutional investors have grown tired of paying fees to hedge funds for what they see as “skill-less returns.”
Inflation Takes Three Years to Fall to 2% in Cleveland Fed Model

Inflation may not return to the US central bank’s 2% target until mid-2027, according to research from Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
UBS Completes Historic Takeover as Credit Suisse Ceases to Exist

UBS Group AG completed the historic acquisition of its former rival Credit Suisse, marking a new chapter for the Swiss financial sector as the defunct bank has formally ceased to exist.
Weakest Parts of the Economy Are Hindering Rate Cuts, Too

When people think about the Federal Reserve and interest rates in 2024, one common view is that economic growth and inflation remain too hot to justify rate cuts. Another is that the labor market and inflation continue to cool, and it will soon be time for rate cuts.
Dell Escapes Nvidia’s Shadow as Its Own AI Tailwinds Accelerate

Dell Technologies Inc. shares have been acting like market-leader Nvidia Corp. of late, and investors are betting the company will see a similar boost from artificial intelligence.
Stablecoin Risks Grow as Congress Dithers

Congress keeps talking about regulating stablecoins but doing nothing. It’s a lapse that poses growing dangers to investors, the financial system and even (perhaps) national security.
The Fed Thinks It’s Fighting Inflation. Think Again.

To a large and under-appreciated extent, the job of the US Federal Reserve entails chasing an elusive number: r*, or the neutral short-term interest rate. When the Fed’s target rate is above r*, it should restrict growth. When it’s below, it should stimulate economic activity.
Dimon Says ‘Could Be Hell to Pay’ If Private Credit Sours

Jamie Dimon said he expects problems to emerge in private credit and warned that “there could be hell to pay,” particularly as retail clients gain access to the booming asset class.
Treasuries Steady After Selloff Ahead of GDP and Inflation Data

Treasuries pared this week’s sharp losses Thursday after inflation gauges in the US first-quarter economic growth data were unexpectedly revised lower.
Bullish Nvidia Trade Soars as Day Traders Bet on Leveraged ETFs

The latest Nvidia Corp. frenzy is fueling an unprecedented rally in the booming industry of leveraged-up ETFs as retail traders go all-in on the world’s “most important stock.”
Play Video Fed’s Beige Book Points to Modest Growth in US Economy, Prices

The US economy expanded at a “slight or modest” pace across most regions since early April and consumers pushed back against higher prices, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book survey of regional business contacts.
Why Nvidia, Not Solar, Has a Place in the Sun

The semiconductor industry is a strange field. Play your cards right, and you can turn $60 billion or so of annual revenue into a $2.62 trillion business. Do things differently, and roughly the same volume of sales might translate into $44 billion of market capitalization.
The US Economy Won’t Be Immune to High Rates Forever

In spite of the highest Federal Reserve policy rates in two decades, the US economy grew about 2.5% last year, unemployment remains low and stocks are near all-time highs, leading many observers to conclude that the economy must have become less interest-rate sensitive — and probably needs permanently high benchmark rates to prevent overheating.
Goldman Racks Up $21 Billion for Its Largest Private Credit Pool

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has put together $21 billion for private credit wagers, its biggest war chest yet for Wall Street’s buzziest asset class.
BlackRock’s $20 Billion ETF Is Now the World’s Largest Bitcoin Fund

BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has become the world’s largest fund for the original cryptocurrency, amassing almost $20 billion in total assets since listing in the US at the start of the year.
Hedge Funds Return to Bond Trade With Checkered Past

A surge in issuance of a type of bond that can convert into stock on maturity is helping revive a hedge fund strategy that was crushed during the financial crisis.
Banning This Hedge on Election Risks Is Shortsighted

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission appears to have little respect for the power of markets, going by their proposal to ban futures contracts on electoral outcomes.
Slow-Moving Property Crisis Means Averting a Greater One

The big news in the $20 trillion US property market last week was that, for the first time since the financial crisis, investors suffered losses on top-rated bonds backed by the mortgage on an office building.
The ‘Everyone Wins’ Stock Market Is Dead — Ask Target

Target Corp.’s sales slump last quarter marked the latest example of supposed softening in US consumption, making some stock-market investors jittery that recession could still be in the cards.
A Little Regulation Is Just What Crypto Needs

Sometimes industries want to be regulated. It’s not that they favor all of the associated restrictions, but that regulation means legitimation. The mere act of passing laws circumscribes some activities as deserving of legal protection.
The Slowdown in US Electric Vehicle Sales Looks More Like a Blip

After an underwhelming start to the year for US electric-vehicle sales, it might seem easy to conclude that the boom times are over. Sales were flat in the first quarter, Ford dramatically scaled back expansion plans and Tesla laid off 10% of its global workforce.
Wall Street Moves to Fastest Settlement of Trades in a Century

The US stock market is finally as fast as it was about a hundred years ago.
Darpa-Backed Startup Seeks $70 Million to Join AI Chip Goldrush

A Silicon Valley startup backed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is seeking at least $70 million more from investors in its quest to to develop an ultra-efficient chip for artificial intelligence technology, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg.
Options Traders Pile Into Big Short on India Volatility

In a market that’s captured the attention of global finance for allegedly making $1 billion for Jane Street Group, many trading firms are employing a relatively simple strategy: short volatility.
Coinbase’s Supreme Court Loss Is Its Own Fault

To hear the words “Coinbase” and “Supreme Court” in the same breath likely inspires thoughts of the justices jousting over cryptocurrency. But this week’s decision in Coinbase v. Suski is a reminder that even in our clever new era, old principles of contract law often hold sway.
Nvidia Clears the Way for AI Stocks to Keep Powering Higher

Nvidia Corp. just gave the green light to traders betting that the rally in artificial intelligence computing stocks — not to mention its own — has room to run.
Nvidia Stock Surges as Sales Forecast Delivers on AI Hopes

Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker at the center of an artificial intelligence boom, jumped in premarket trading after a bullish sales forecast showed that AI computing spending remains strong.
Fed’s Inflation Debate Shifts to How Much Goods Prices Can Drop

As Federal Reserve officials stare down the last mile in their campaign against inflation, one key question is becoming increasingly central to the debate: Will goods prices continue to fall?
JPMorgan Hunts for Private Credit Firm to Grow in Hot Sector

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is on the hunt to buy a private credit firm to augment its $3.6 trillion asset management arm, as the biggest US bank makes more inroads into Wall Street’s buzziest sector.
The Rise of the Disposable Car

Modern cars are equipped with heaps of electronic devices, many of which are designed to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents. But there’s a catch: The high cost of repairing these systems may mean the vehicle is written-off, or totaled, following a crash.
The New Dream Job Is Working for … the Government?

One of the best parts of being a young college graduate, and naïve to the grim realities of the working world, is being deluded about how great your career will be. Maybe you’ll found the next Nvidia, or win the Nobel Prize in your field, or start a charity that will make the world a better place.
Biden Doubles Down on His Student-Loans Mistake

With his signature student-loan-forgiveness plan struck down by the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden is pushing to cancel debts by other means. His latest proposal aims to relieve nearly 30 million borrowers, on top of those who’ve received forgiveness under previous initiatives.
Private Equity Is Bad for Your Health

The bankruptcy of Steward Health has become the latest cautionary tale about private equity’s involvement in health care. Cerberus Capital Management’s purchase in 2010 of several Massachusetts-based nonprofit hospitals was meant to be a life preserver for the struggling chain, but instead its woes deepened, compromising patient care.
Colleges Ramp Up Debt Sales in Frenzied Race for New Students

US university students are up to their ears in debt. And, increasingly, so are many US colleges.
The Fed’s Uniformity on Rates Comes With Risks

Whether traditionally thought of as “hawks” or “doves,” Federal Reserve officials have recently converged to notable uniformity in their policy signaling of high interest rates for longer. This has come at a time when more Wall Street analysts are embracing a wider band of uncertainty for their projections of economic growth and inflation.
Credit Bulls Say Bonds Hold Biggest Edge Over Stocks in Decades

Credit bulls are pointing at a set of metrics to show that high-grade bonds have rarely been this cheap, burnishing the appeal of corporate debt at a time when it’s offering little upside over government securities.
Nvidia Is the Final Hurdle for Mega Tech’s Earnings Victory Lap

A surprisingly strong earnings season for big tech reaches its grand finale Wednesday afternoon when Nvidia Corp., the artificial intelligence chipmaking giant, reports its results and gives a much anticipated outlook that could set the tone for the second half of the year.
Slowing EV Sales Are Upending Banker Climate Strategies

Electric vehicles have swiftly gone from a rare bright spot in the fight against climate change to a cause for concern.
Biden Widens Student Loan Relief to More Than 10% of Borrowers

More than one in 10 Americans with federal student loans have been approved for some measure of debt relief under President Joe Biden, the White House said, as it announced a new round of forgiveness.
What a World Growing Older Fast Means for Investing

Idanna Appio spent 15 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysing the history of sovereign debt crises. Now, as a fund manager at the $138 billion First Eagle Investments, she’s reached a conclusion: US Treasury bonds are too risky to hold.
Holistic AI Is Now H, a New French Startup With $220 Million Out of the Gate

A French artificial intelligence startup, simply called H, has raised $220 million in initial financing from a slew of billionaires and venture capitalists on the promise of building the next generation of powerful AI tools.
Fed’s Waller Needs ‘Several More’ Months of Good Inflation to Cut Rates

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he needs to see “several more” months of good inflation figures to begin interest-rate cuts, though recent data suggest progress has likely resumed.
Where Do Shadow Banks Get Their Money? Your Deposits

Shadow banking is back. A constellation of less-regulated intermediaries — from insurers to private investment funds — is increasingly taking on the traditional business of banks, making trillions of dollars in risky loans and occupying a central role in the economy.
The Cooling in Apartment Rents Won’t Last Long

The consumer price data last week showed a gradual deceleration in housing inflation. Economists expect this will persist for a while as official statistics slowly catch up to moderating market rents.
Bond Rally Built on Inflation Euphoria Faces UK Reality Check

A global bond rally ignited by signs that inflation in the world’s largest economy is finally slowing once again faces a reality check this week.
Copper’s Boom Story Has Some Truth — and Lots of Hogwash

When Thomas Edison wired his own house in Menlo Park, then a tiny village in New Jersey, he fabricated a primitive cable. As insulation he chose a mix of asphalt, linseed oil and beeswax; for the core, copper wire.
Private Equity Is No Place for Your Nest Egg

Retirement is expensive. If you’re lucky, yours will last a few decades, and you’ll be earning no or very little income. So if you want to have enough money when you retire, you basically have three options: Save more, take more risk with your investments, or work longer.
America Is Joining Its Frenemies Back in the Fossil Fuel Club

Geography, it’s often said, is destiny. The paths nations follow though history are written like a script on the patterns of their rocks, rivers, plains and coasts, in ways that often confound the views of the people who inhabit them. It’s rare for a country to escape that geological fate.
One of the Last Big Bears on Wall Street Turns Bullish on US Stocks

One of Wall Street’s most prominent bears has just turned positive on the outlook for US stocks.
Nevermind Those EVs — Oil Demand Keeps Growing

Like clockwork, the commodities market worries in May about the strength of oil demand heading into the northern hemisphere summer holiday. Nervousness about the seasonal pickup in oil consumption abounds.
JPMorgan Asset Revives Government-Focused Money Market Fund

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset management arm has created a new European money market fund focused on public debt, a kind of investment that largely disappeared when interest rates were negative.
To Save Venezuela, Give Maduro an Exit Strategy

Hopes for regime change in Venezuela have surged in recent weeks, the result of a coalescing political opposition and apparent divisions within President Nicolás Maduro’s ruling socialist party ahead of July 28 elections.
San Francisco's Startups Are on the Mend

The fortunes of Silicon Valley startups rose and fell together like never before in recent years. Partly that was due to the indiscriminate tidal wave of money that washed through venture capital, but it’s also because many business-to-business software startups are closely connected as each other’s customers.
Millennium, Point72 and Elliott Are Among Bitcoin ETF Buyers

When it comes to Bitcoin ETFs, it’s not just the retail trading crowd that’s taking the plunge. It’s now clear that hedge funds, pension funds and banks have also sprinkled capital into the exchange-traded funds after their blockbuster debut that was more than a decade in the making.
David Tepper Scoops Up Alibaba as Hedge Funds Hunt for Bargains in China

Billionaire investor David Tepper loaded up on beaten-down Chinese stocks last quarter while reducing stakes in high-flying US tech firms, leading hedge fund managers who are slowly warming up to China amid a record gap in valuations between the two markets.
Bitcoin’s Correlation With Tech Stocks Jumps to Highest Level Since August

Bitcoin was lumped in with other speculative investments during the run-up of the Federal Reserve’s last tightening cycle, slumping on expectations higher interest rates would damp the appetite for risk.
Treat Buy Now, Pay Later Loans Like Real Debt
It’s been close to two years since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau indicated it was looking to tighten regulations on popular “buy now, pay later” services. Since then, the sector has grown to $300 billion.
The Future of Robots Is Coming on Two Legs

Most people have seen robots in human form. The Hollywood version has starred in movies for decades. Now there are videos on the internet of real bipedal robots, whether it’s Elon Musk’s Optimus or the incredibly flexible two-legged robot from Boston Dynamics. Agility Robotics has one with legs that bend back at the knees like a flamingo.
Wall Street’s E-Trading Boom Adds New Fuel to Private-Debt Mania

The rise of electronic trading and growing popularity of portfolio trading has had an unintended consequence for the US corporate bond market: making private credit even more attractive.
BlackRock’s Rieder Says Cut, Not Hike, Would Tame US Inflation

BlackRock Inc.’s Rick Rieder has some advice that bucks conventional wisdom: The best way for the Federal Reserve to temper inflation will be to lower rates, not hold them higher.
Revival of Meme-Stock Frenzy Points to a Frothy US Stock Market

This week’s meme-stock pop is a sign that US equity markets are frothy and potentially peaking, according to the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey.
Hot Commodity Silver Outpaces Gold as Buying Gains Momentum

Gold’s record-setting rally may have captured the headlines this year, but it’s silver that’s running harder and faster as the less glamorous metal benefits from robust financial and industrial demand.
The Dow Hit 40,000. It Doesn’t Matter

Huge news from the markets today: The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 40,000 points for the first time. The number is splashed across financial news sources the world over (including Bloomberg), even though the index closed back below the threshold by the end of trading.
Jamie Dimon Sees ‘Lot of Inflationary Forces in Front of Us’

The JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer said significant price pressures are still influencing the US economy and may mean interest rates will be higher for longer than many investors are expecting. Dimon cited costs linked to the green economy, re-militarization, infrastructure spending, trade disputes and large fiscal deficits.
US Housing Starts, Permits Fall Short as Mortgage Rates Rise

New US home construction rose by less than forecast in April and permits for new activity dropped, suggesting the recent rise in mortgage rates is giving builders pause.
The Inflation Battle Is Far From Over

There was white smoke over the Bureau of Labor Statistics, sort of, on Wednesday morning. The key measures of consumer price inflation for April confirmed expectations for a slight decline, and alleviated growing anxiety over a possible reacceleration. Risk assets across the world spent the rest of the day exhaling deeply.
The Long, Slow Decline in Fund Manager Fees May Be Ending

Active exchange-traded funds have seen record inflows in recent years, taking assets under management to $630 billion.
Walmart Beat Inflation. Now It Must Offer More Than Deals

Aside from the big box bloodbath of 2022, when an abrupt halt in buying left Walmart Inc. sitting on too many sweatpants and patio sets, the world’s biggest retailer has been one of the beneficiaries from inflation.
JPMorgan Trading Clients Are Buying Commodities on AI Build-Out

As artificial intelligence rolls out around the globe, will it drive inflation or deflation? The answer is both — one and then the other, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s new global co-heads of sales and research.
The Great ‘Vibecession’ Rages Through an $11 Trillion Stock Boom

Time and again, Jerome Powell has made it clear. Financial conditions, the Federal Reserve’s key lever for cooling the US economy, are tight.
US Core CPI Cools for First Time in Six Months in Relief for Fed

A measure of underlying US inflation cooled in April for the first time in six months, a small step in the right direction for Federal Reserve officials looking to start cutting interest rates this year.
Here Are the Key Takeaways From US CPI Report for April

Here are the key takeaways from the US CPI report for April released Wednesday.
The Dollar Is on a Rampage, But Not on the Attack

An unfortunate byproduct of the dollar’s unexpected surge has been the revival of a bogey that just won’t die: currency wars. The phrase gets thrown about during periods of dislocation in the foreign-exchange market and has the beauty of meaning whatever the person who utters it desires.
Higher for Longer? Rates Could Be Higher Forever

Our holiday from history has come to an end. I am referring not to world peace but to the zero-interest-rate environment so many people expected would last forever.
Alphabet AI Event Will Show Whether Blowout Results Were a Fluke

Alphabet Inc.’s recent results raised hopes that the Google parent can still be a big player in artificial intelligence. Now it has a chance to prove it.
Powell Reiterates Fed Likely to Keep Rates Higher for Longer

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank needs to be patient as it awaits more evidence that high interest rates are curbing inflation, doubling-down on the need to keep borrowing costs elevated.
Overdue Bills Are Rising With US Debt Delinquencies, Fed Survey Shows

US household debt has reached a record and more borrowers are struggling to keep up.
Bond Traders Await US Inflation Data Behind Half of 2024’s Rout

Nothing has been setting the US bond market’s direction this year more than the monthly inflation figures. This week will be no exception.
Goldman’s ‘No Return’ Market May Still Surprise

Wall Street strategists are worried that US stocks are on a trip to nowhere, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go along for the ride.
Nvidia Rivals Gold as Shield Against Inflation, Survey Shows

The biggest US tech stocks are not only a bet on innovation but also a possible hedge against inflation, according to some respondents in the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey.
Ozempic Maker Novo Nordisk Plans Bond Sale to Fund Expansion

Novo Nordisk A/S plans to sell bonds for the first time in more than two years to help finance its large program to expand production of its blockbuster treatments.
Tariffs and Timidity Are Driving US Carmakers into a Ditch

Faced with the greatest challenge of the 21st century, America is giving up.
Where’s the Bond Market’s Breaking Point? It’s Not $35 Trillion

Everyone is worried about the excessively high level of US government debt. Everyone, that is, except America’s creditors.
This Round of Inflation Data Will Matter Greatly

Here we go again. Brace for the latest dose of critical data on US inflation over the next three days, as the New York Federal Reserve publishes its monthly survey of consumers’ inflation expectations Monday, followed by the Labor Department’s report on producer prices Tuesday and consumer prices Wednesday.
DeepMind CEO Targets $100 Billion-Plus AI Drug Discovery Business With AlphaFold

Google DeepMind has released a new version of AlphaFold, a landmark tool for predicting protein structures, that puts the artificial intelligence software on a path to make breakthroughs in biology research and bolster a business that Google’s AI chief says could be worth north of $100 billion.
Deer Park Bets on Real Estate, Expecting Fed to Cut Rates in ‘24

Hedge fund firm Deer Park Road Management Co. is set to pounce on beaten-down prices in the residential mortgage market on expectations that the US Federal Reserve will start lowering rates later this year.
Microsoft’s Hedge Against OpenAI Makes Perfect Sense

When Microsoft Corp. invested more than $10 billion for a chunk of OpenAI, scientists inside its storied research division were rankled about being shoved aside for a newer player from outside the company.
Druckenmiller Sold Some Nvidia Stock. Don’t Panic.

In the US stock market, investors have been conditioned to hold onto their winners. The Magnificent Seven were so-named because most of them — both individually and collectively — have delivered consistently extraordinary returns for a decade or so.
We Actually Need to Build More Luxury Homes. Here’s Why

There is broad agreement that the US housing market needs more homes . There is also broad agreement that affordability needs to improve. But it doesn't necessarily follow that we should build more affordable homes.
Oil Extends Two-Day Climb on Renewed Optimism for US Rate Cuts

Oil advanced for a third day to trade at a one-week high as US jobs data supported the case for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, buoying risk assets including crude.
Apple to Power AI Tools With In-House Server Chips This Year

Apple Inc. will deliver some of its upcoming artificial intelligence features this year via data centers equipped with its own in-house processors, part of a sweeping effort to infuse its devices with AI capabilities.
Zuckerberg’s Free AI Is a Clever Form of Bait

There’s a persistent mystery about Mark Zuckerberg, and it’s not the one about his new chain necklace. The chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc. has spent billions of dollars building powerful artificial intelligence models and is giving that technology away for free.
Top Bond Forecasters Diverge as Fed Keeps the Market in Limbo

Anshul Pradhan and Stephen Stanley both saw the current US bond market coming. They just don’t agree on where it’s going.
Private Equity’s $3 Trillion Burden Sparks Hunt for Exit Options

As the market for initial public offerings bounces back after two lifeless years, investors who’ve been impatiently waiting for their payoff are finally getting some returns.
How to Fix America’s Cruel and Unusual Tax Code

It probably escaped your attention, but the Internal Revenue Service recently piloted a program to help Americans cope with their notoriously complex tax system.
Bezos, Zuckerberg Lead Magnificent Seven Insider Stock Sales

Insiders at the Magnificent Seven tech companies are following Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg in realizing gains from the stocks that have largely powered the boom in US equity markets.
It’s Dangerous to Stay Out of Stocks

Points of Return often argues for caution on stocks. It never argues to get out of them altogether. That’s because history demonstrates that over long time spans it’s very dangerous to be out of the market altogether.
Amazon Commits $9 Billion to Double Singapore Cloud Push

Amazon.com Inc. plans to spend $9 billion expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in Singapore, the latest global tech company to boost investment in Southeast Asia.
US Revokes Intel, Qualcomm Licenses to Sell Chips to Huawei

The US has revoked licenses allowing Huawei Technologies Co. to buy semiconductors from Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, further tightening export restrictions against the Chinese telecom equipment maker.
US to Triple Chipmaking Capacity by 2032, Industry Group Says

US chip production is poised to explode in coming years, helping ease a risky dependency on East Asia, according to a projection by the Semiconductor Industry Association.
No, Jerome Powell Isn’t Playing Politics

Investors’ hopes for rate cuts this year have faded. The past quarter’s economic data showed that the inflation battle is not over; whether the Fed eases now depends on the data, a point Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve have repeated ad nauseam.
Buffett Shouldn't Worry About Self-Driving Teslas

At last weekend’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. annual meeting, one shareholder asked Warren Buffett how his auto insurer Geico might fare in the event that autonomous-driving technology succeeds in slashing the number of accidents, as Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk suggested it would on an earnings call last month.
Zero-Day Options Boom Will Only Grow Even As Some Investors Fear Disaster

Two years after Wall Street’s love affair with fast-twitch stock options began, Bloomberg’s latest Markets Live Pulse survey suggests the unprecedented boom still has room to run — even as almost half of respondents fear an eventual blowup.
At $2 Million Per Minute, Treasuries Mint Cash Like Never Before

For the first time in nearly a generation, fixed income is living up to its name.
Emerging-Market Optimism Hit by Fed as Currencies, Debt Sink

An April rout in emerging-market bonds and currencies has some former bulls turning negative on the outlook for the asset class.
Want to Reduce the Cost of Housing? Build More of It

When it comes to the current debate over housing affordability, I feel like my position has been clear and consistent: Twelve years ago, I wrote a book called The Rent Is Too Damn High. At the same time, I also have to admit that most Americans do not share my preferred solutions.
Bill Gross Is the Bond King, But Diversification Is Emperor

Gross was famous for squeezing out extra yield using corporate bonds, mortgages, derivatives and other instruments.
Apple Rallies Most in 18 Months on Upbeat Forecast, Buyback

Apple Inc. shares jumped the most in almost a year-and-a-half after the company posted stronger-than-expected sales last quarter and predicted a return to growth in the current period, sparking optimism that a slowdown is easing.
Treasuries Soar as Traders Pull Forward Fed Cuts After Jobs Miss

Treasuries surged and traders ramped up bets on how soon the Federal Reserve will begin to cut interest rates this year after a US labor-market report trailed estimates.
Lagging Real Estate Stocks Have Dropped Too Far, Analysts Say

Wall Street analysts see a double-digit upside potential for the S&P 500’s biggest losers this year: real estate stocks.
Google and Microsoft Don’t Care About Fed’s 2% Inflation Goal

As the Federal Reserve acknowledges a setback in its inflation fight, one question looms large: Why hasn’t the economy slowed the way policymakers expected?
How Crazy Would It Be If Warren Buffett Bought Boeing?

Here’s a conversation starter ahead of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual meeting on Saturday: Warren Buffett should buy Boeing Co.
Bitcoin Faces Worst Month Since FTX Crash With ETF Demand Cooling

The prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates is weighing on crypto, underlined by deepening Bitcoin losses after the token’s worst monthly drop since the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire in November 2022.
Powell Keeps Rate Cuts on Table But Leaves Timing Less Certain

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell kept hopes alive for an interest-rate cut this year while acknowledging that a burst of inflation has reduced policymakers’ confidence that price pressures are ebbing.
Buffett Devotees Head to Omaha for First Meeting Without Munger

When Berkshire Hathaway Inc. devotees gather in Omaha on Saturday for its annual meeting, there will be a noticeable void on stage.
Want to Buy TikTok? Beware of Used Goods

ByteDance Ltd.’s Hail Mary legal effort to avoid selling or shutting down TikTok relies on convincing a judge the social network will disappear entirely, squashing the free speech rights of millions of Americans.
Index Funds Need to Be Passive, Not Political

The rise of index funds has provided millions of Americans with a cheaper and more efficient way to invest. With more than $23 trillion in assets between them, BlackRock Inc., Vanguard Group Inc. and State Street Corp. have become the top shareholders in many US-listed companies.
Self-Driving Teslas Can’t Duck the US-China Silicon Curtain

What’s the value of a good story? $82 billion, to judge by Tesla Inc.’s 15% share price gain Monday.
Microsoft to Invest $1.7 Billion in Indonesia for AI, Cloud

Microsoft Corp. will invest $1.7 billion to build out cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Indonesia, betting on Southeast Asia’s biggest economy to spur growth.
AI Faces Its ‘Oppenheimer Moment’ During Killer Robot Arms Race

Regulators who want to get a grip on an emerging generation of artificially intelligent killing machines may not have much time left to do so, governments were warned on Monday.
Once Unthinkable Nuclear Plant Revival Is a Reality in US Shift

A month after the US offered $1.5 billion to restart one shuttered nuclear power plant, there’s a growing sense among officials in the industry and government that it may not be the last.
Oil Producers Flush With Cash Cut Reliance on Funding Markets

Last year, the demand for loans from fossil-fuel companies fell 6% year-on-year and that followed a decline of 1% in 2022.
Amazon Earnings to Bring More Scrutiny For AI-Tethered Stocks

Amazon.com Inc.’s “show-me” moment will arrive on Tuesday when its earnings become the latest litmus test on appetite for heavy artificial intelligence spending.
Hong Kong Vies With US in Bitcoin ETF Market After Crypto’s Revival

A batch of exchange-traded funds investing directly in crypto debuted in Hong Kong on Tuesday, heralding potential competition for US Bitcoin products whose popularity stoked a record rally in the digital asset.
Goldman Sees Momentum Traders Buying Stocks in Every Scenario

Momentum traders are modeled to buy equities over the next week regardless of market direction, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s trading desk.
The Fed’s Quantitative Easing Program Cost Too Much

America’s experiment with quantitative easing is almost over. This week, the Federal Reserve will likely announce plans to slow the shrinkage of its balance sheet, foreboding the end of a long period in which it sought to stimulate the economy by holding large quantities of Treasury and mortgage securities.
Stocks Trade for 390 Minutes a Day. Increasingly, Only 10 Matter

The regular market for US equities runs for 390 minutes on a standard trading day. But at the rate things are going, eventually the last 10 might be the only ones that matter.
Bankers Doing Bond Deals Jolted by New Era of Issuer Clauses

Message to bond underwriters: Some big customers are sizing up your ESG credentials.
Why UK Giants Should Think Twice Before Ditching London Listing

The sorry state of Britain's equity markets has been well-documented. Across all UK indexes there have been just three initial public offerings so far this year after over 100 de-listings in 2023. The noise that this is only the beginning is getting louder.
Your Retirement Anxiety Can’t Be Cured Online

The often-cited goal of having a $1 million retirement nest egg needs to be retired itself. Adjusted for inflation , it would take nearly $1.9 million to have the same purchasing power today as in 1999, when the oldest of millennials were just turning 18.
Wall Street Humbled as Fast-Reversing Markets Confound the Pros

With inflation up, economic growth down and two-year Treasury yields testing 5%, Bill Gross sensed the music in markets was fading, and said it was time to get over the likes of the Magnificent Seven.
Apple Intensifies Talks With OpenAI for iPhone Generative AI Features

Apple Inc. has renewed discussions with OpenAI about using the startup’s technology to power some new features coming to the iPhone later this year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Investors Seek Billions From SVB’s Husk. Why Regulators Refuse to Pay

The dust had barely settled after Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse last year when savvy investors began lining up for a big payout, based on a hastily written government press release.
Inflation Is Overshadowing US Economic Resilience, Hurting Biden

The US economy is resilient, and it’s bad news for Joe Biden.
Focus on the Right Inflation Data — Not Nightmare Scenarios

Markets are supposed to be forward-looking, so it’s a bit of a mystery that bonds sold off as dramatically as they did on evidence that bad first-quarter inflation was worse than previously understood.
A Strong Economy Doesn’t Necessarily Make the Fed’s Job Harder

The US economy expanded at a strong 3% last year, though growth slowed to a 1.6% annual rate in the first quarter with a drag from imports.
Fed’s Preferred Core Inflation Gauge Rose at Brisk Pace in March

The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of underlying US inflation rose at a brisk pace in March, reinforcing concerns of persistent price pressures that are likely to delay any interest-rate cuts.
Jamie Dimon Has a Rival in Tech: Silicon Valley Bank

Since Silicon Valley Bank became the second-biggest failure in US history a year ago, other lenders have been trying to take its place in banking the fast-moving, entrepreneurial world of startups and tech companies.
Housing Will Get More Expensive Because of the Fed

It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that today’s high interest rates will fuel shelter inflation down the road. After all, the Federal Reserve has tightened monetary policy to stamp out price pressures in the economy.
High Yields Lure Buyers as US Sells $180 Billion of Treasuries

Demand for Treasuries is holding up as the US government floods the market with more than $180 billion of new debt this week, a testament to the appeal of high yields for shorter-term notes.
Microsoft, Alphabet Face a ‘Show Me’ Moment After Meta Misfire

The stakes are high as two of the biggest artificial intelligence players prepare to unveil results, a day after Meta Platforms Inc. alarmed investors with its forecast.
World’s Biggest Energy Traders Are Returning to Metals Markets

Some of the world’s biggest energy trading companies are returning to metals, years after getting burnt in the notoriously difficult markets.
Bank Stocks Rally That Beat Mighty Tech Now Faces Earnings Test

A rally that has seen European bank stocks outpace both US peers and the Nasdaq over the last three years faces a key test in coming days when most of the region’s major lenders report results.
Meta’s $360 Billion Rally to Collide With Lofty AI Expectations

When it comes to social-media stocks, there’s Meta Platforms Inc., and then there’s everyone else.
The ‘Finternet’ Will Be Here Soon — Are You Ready?

Finance in the 21st century is still too costly, and clubby. Besides, when compared with the instantaneous gratification in other aspects of our digital lives, money appears to move too slowly online.
AI Search Startup Perplexity Valued at $1 Billion in Funding Round

Perplexity AI, a startup using artificial intelligence to build a search engine to compete with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, has raised about $63 million in a new funding round that values the company at more than $1 billion.
Tesla Stock in ‘No Man’s Land’ After 43% Rout Ahead of Earnings

Elon Musk is known to challenge the status quo — and that’s exactly what Tesla Inc.’s investors are worried about right now.
New US Home Sales Jump to Highest Level Since September

Sales of new homes in the US bounced back broadly in March as an abundance of inventory helped drive prices lower.
Don’t Exit Stocks as If You’re a Pension Fund

Rising interest rates and the fear of giving back stock market gains are pushing pension fund managers to move capital from stocks to bonds.
Inflation’s Last Mile Will Test the Fed

The Federal Reserve’s difficult task suddenly looks even harder. The central bank’s goal has been to restrain demand enough to push inflation gently back to its 2% target without tipping the economy into a recession.
Alphabet’s Cash Boom Is Raising Dividend Hopes on Wall Street

Alphabet Inc. is bringing in so much cash that hopes are rising it will take a page out of the Meta Platforms Inc. playbook and start paying a dividend.
US Dollar’s Extended Reign Delivers Stark Wake-Up Call for Markets

The world’s financial markets are encountering a force they didn’t bet on for 2024: A strong dollar is back and looks set to stay.
Climate Change Is Stunting Our Economic Growth

Imagine you were running for king of the world on a platform of slashing economic growth by 20% forever. You’d be lucky to get your own family to vote for you. And yet humanity insists on running the global economy on fossil fuels that are doing exactly that sort of damage.
How JPMorgan’s Cash Call Beat Bank of America

When the Federal Reserve flooded the economy with cash during the Covid-19 pandemic it exacerbated a problem for America’s largest banks: What to do with all the extra deposits.
Copper Homes in on $10,000 a Ton as Supply Angst Continues

Copper traded near $10,000 a ton, hitting a new two-year high on its way, as investors continue to pile in on a bet that miners will struggle to service a surge in demand for the bellwether industrial metal.
Are Rates High Enough? Fed Resets Clock on Interest-Rate Cuts

A string of disappointing inflation data has forced the Federal Reserve to reset the clock on its first interest-rate cut and re-evaluate the trajectory of price growth.
JPMorgan Says Buy the Dip If India Poll Volatility Hits Stocks

Investors should use any swings in Indian stocks during the weekslong election as an opportunity to buy, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s private banking unit.
Yellen Meets Japan, South Korea Counterparts in Bid to Boost Economic Ties

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen acknowledged the concerns of Japan and South Korea over sharp declines in their currencies during a trilateral meeting of finance chiefs that may offer Tokyo and Seoul more scope to defend the yen and the won.
Too Many Passive Investors? There’s No Such Thing

US markets are doing much better than markets everywhere else, but no one seems to know why. Yes, there are theories: Perhaps it’s the promise of AI, although it remains to be seen how AI will play out and who will profit.
Jamie Dimon Has a New Vision for Money in an AI World

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon makes no secret that his firm is all-in on artificial intelligence. Now, the head of the world’s biggest bank is laying out his vision for the future of money in an AI world.
King Dollar Risks Becoming Greenback the Bully

When does a strong dollar become too strong? “Right now” would be the cry of most emerging-market currencies, not to mention policymakers in Japan. Even the European Central Bank says it’s paying attention to the foreign exchange market.
Hedge Funds Sell Off Winning Energy Stocks to Buy Soaring Oil

With energy stocks trading near all-time highs and oil climbing as well, hedge funds think they’ve found a trade to capitalize: Sell the shares and pour the profits into buying more crude.
Wall Street Takes New Role as Matchmaker in Private Credit Boom

Banks have found another way to fight back after private lenders have grabbed ever larger pieces of the lucrative business of financing leveraged buyouts.
US Yields at 2024 Highs Lure Buyers Even as Shorts Dominate

The highest US yields since November are beginning to attract some opportunistic buyers, even as negative sentiment remains firmly entrenched throughout the Treasury bond market.
Powell’s US Rates Warning Means Headaches for Rest of the World

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is making life tougher for his peers around the world as the prospect of higher-for-longer US interest rates reduces room for easier policy elsewhere.
US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Rises to a Four-Month High of 7.13%

US mortgage rates climbed to a four-month high last week, potentially signaling a bumpier recovery for the residential real estate market.
TSMC Capex Outlook Key to Next Phase of $340 Billion Stock Rally

With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. still trading at pedestrian valuations even after surging to a record high, there is potential for its upcoming results to drive the stock even higher.
Crypto Can Turn Pro With a Little Help From Congress

Last July, the House Financial Services Committee approved two major pieces of legislation aimed at creating a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act and the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act.
The 2% Inflation Target Regime Should Now Be Retired: Marcus Ashworth

With the end of great inflation scare in sight, it's time the central bank hive mind contemplated what it might learn from the failure of its economic models.
What If Fed Rate Hikes Are Actually Sparking US Economic Boom?

As the US economy hums along month after month, minting hundreds of thousands of new jobs and confounding experts who had warned of an imminent downturn, some on Wall Street are starting to entertain a fringe economic theory.
New US Home Construction Falls to Lowest Level Since August

New home construction in the US slowed last month as a leveling off in interest rates has given way to a lull in housing demand and caution among builders.
El-Erian Says World ‘Frozen’ by Strong Dollar, High US Rates

Policymakers around the world are struggling to confront a surging greenback and lofty US interest rates, according to Mohamed El-Erian.
It’s Suddenly Lonely Being a Dove on Fed Policy. So Be It.

Fixed-income markets are back in a tizzy over inflation, thanks to the combination of rising risks for energy prices and strong retail sales data — both of which come on the heels of a higher-than-expected consumer price index last week.
Treasury Yields Jump to New 2024 Highs After Hot US Retail Sales

Most US Treasury yields climbed to new year-to-date highs, with the 2-year note’s approaching 5%, after hot retail sales data further eroded investor confidence that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rate cuts this year.
US Regional Banks Dramatically Step Up Loans to Oil and Gas

A group of US regional banks is ratcheting up lending to oil, gas and coal clients, grabbing market share as bigger European rivals back away.
China Industrial Overcapacity Has Peaked, EIU Report Says

China’s overall manufacturing overcapacity has peaked as global demand picks up in consumer sectors, the Economist Intelligence Unit said, predicting trade tensions will persist due to Chinese companies’ rising competitiveness.
JPMorgan Strategists Say Earnings Unlikely to Boost Lofty Stocks

Don’t bank on an upbeat corporate earnings season to drive equities higher as much of the optimism is already priced in following the record-breaking rally this year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists.
Why Everyone in Finance Is Getting Ripped

Graham Ambrose has never felt stronger. He can barbell back squat 145kg (320 lbs) for four sets of six repetitions and bench-press more than 100kg for a single rep. His friends and colleagues notice that his clothes fit tighter and he’s fond of posting mirror selfies on Instagram.
Growth From Mergers? Here’s What You Want to Hear

Everyone says that mergers and acquisitions mostly fail. Now Bain & Co. brings a challenge to the received wisdom.
Cathie Wood Muscles Into ChatGPT Boom With New OpenAI Stake

Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management has announced that it holds a stake in Silicon Valley artificial intelligence darling OpenAI, a bet that the nascent AI industry will remake the tech landscape.
Enjoy Cheaper Rent While You Can. It Won’t Last.

he current state of the market for renters is akin to being in the eye of a multi-year hurricane. Rents surged in 2021 and 2022, driving a wave of apartment construction that helped to stabilize or even lower prices this year.
Your Plug-In Hybrid SUV Won’t Save the Planet

Back when the electric vehicles revolution appeared unshakable and Tesla Inc. was valued at more than $1 trillion, few of us gave much thought to hybrids. But amid consumer wariness about EVs’ driving range and insufficient public recharging infrastructure, vehicles that combine a combustion engine and electric motor are back in fashion, at least for now.
Apple Signal of AI Intent Unleashes $112 Billion Stock Surge

The stock market has punished Apple Inc. this year for failing to offer a vision of where its future growth will come from. The shares caught a bid Thursday after the tech giant took a step toward providing an answer.
U-Turn on Fed Rate Cut Bets Wipes Out Last Year’s Bond Gains

Investors wagering on an extension of last year’s global bond gains have been served a harsh reality check.
Nuclear Medicine Is Big Pharma’s New Target in Cancer Race

As pharma giants spend billions on acquisitions of startups developing new ways to harness radiation in the fight against cancer, the chief executive officer of Perspective Therapeutics Inc. found himself getting top billing at two different industry gatherings this week.
Fed Faces a Big Risk, But It’s Not the One Many Think

I have been arguing for almost a year now, here and elsewhere, that US consumer price inflation would become sticky after a period of favorable disinflation going into the end of 2023. Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected data release, the third in a row, is evidence that this scenario is indeed unfolding.
Big Bank Earnings to Test Stocks’ Market-Trouncing Resurgence

The biggest US bank stocks have soared over the past six months, outpacing the S&P 500’s gains. But whether they can maintain that momentum is the big question entering earnings season.
If US Inflation Reflected Rising Home Insurance Costs, It’d Be Even Higher

If the rising price of homeowners insurance were factored into the US Consumer Price Index — a key metric of inflation — it could have added 80 basis points, or about 0.8%, to last year’s CPI increase of 3.4%, according to an analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence.
Biden’s Battle Against Inflation Gets Tougher With Latest Data

A third consecutive month of higher-than-expected inflation data dealt a double-barreled blow to Joe Biden’s political prospects ahead of November’s election, exacerbating concerns voters could punish him over high prices and delaying hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts the president has predicted.
Powell’s Soft-Landing Dream In Danger as Traders Hedge Inflation

Signs that inflation has yet to release its grip on markets have simmered for weeks. Now they’re boiling over after Wednesday’s hotter-than-forecast consumer price index sent stocks and bonds reeling.
Meta Trades at a Discount to Magnificent Seven After $1 Trillion AI Rally

Meta Platforms Inc.’s record-breaking, artificial intelligence-fueled rally has added $1 trillion in market value since its darkest days of 2022, and yet by some perspectives it’s still trading at a discount.
The Four-Day Work Week Is Decades Away

Some big technological innovations promise to make people more productive, but a four-day work week will not be the norm anytime soon. And legislation imposing it over the next four years would harm the economy.
Sorry, Home Sellers: The 6% Commission Isn’t Going Anywhere

Negotiation is an essential part of buying or selling a home. But for nearly a century, there’s been one part of the process where haggling doesn’t fly: the 5% to 6% standard commission charged by US realtors.
US Core CPI Tops Forecasts Again, Likely Delaying Fed Rate Cuts

A measure of underlying US inflation topped forecasts for a third straight month, heralding a fresh wave of price pressures that will likely delay any Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts until later in the year.
Bond Trader Places Record Futures Bet on Eve of Inflation Data

A block trade in US short-term interest-rate futures Tuesday was the biggest on record and helped drive gains for the Treasury market.
Extreme Market Swings Dominate as Hot Economy, Oil Feed Anxiety

A steady march higher in markets was snapped by a stretch of jarring volatility as traders gave hints there’s a limit to their appetite for hot economic data.
Treasury Yields at Year’s Highs Draw Buyers Despite Fed Rethink

Treasury yields reached their highest levels of the year Monday — where they swiftly attracted buyers — as traders decided two Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts are likelier than three this year.
How ‘Shareholder Value’ Became a Wall Street Mantra

Michael Jensen, who died on April 2, did as much as any single thinker to shape modern financial capitalism, particularly as it is practiced in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Google Shows AI Model Is Enterprise-Ready After Gemini Mishaps

Google unveiled a host of updates to its artificial intelligence offerings for cloud computing customers, emphasizing that the technology is safe and ready for use in the corporate realm, despite recent stumbles in consumer-facing tools.
Biden Pursues Student-Debt Relief for About 26 Million Americans

President Joe Biden’s alternative student-debt relief plan could forgive loans for as many as 26 million Americans, a far-reaching initiative that will be tested by the same challenges that beset his original program struck down by the Supreme Court.
Blackstone $10 Billion Deal Is Latest Bet Property Near Lows

Blackstone Inc. struck a roughly $10 billion deal for an apartment landlord in the latest sign that the real estate investor sees a ripe moment to pour money into the property market.
The Odds of $100 Oil Are Rising as Supply Shocks Convulse the Market

When oil jumped above $90 a barrel just days ago, military tensions between Israel and Iran were the immediate trigger. But the rally’s foundations went deeper — to global supply shocks that are intensifying fears of a commodity-driven inflation resurgence.
Dimon Likens AI’s Transformational Potential to the Steam Engine

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said artificial intelligence may be the biggest issue his bank is grappling with, likened its potential impact to that of the steam engine and said the technology could “augment virtually every job.”
Wall Street Searches for AI Winners Across Emerging Markets

Some of the world’s biggest money managers are searching for the next wave of artificial intelligence winners beyond the US.
Yellen Implores China to Rethink Economic Growth Strategy

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen implored Beijing’s top leaders to fundamentally rethink their economic growth strategy, as she wrapped up a high-stakes trip to China that’s been a balancing act in strengthening bilateral ties while delivering stark criticisms.
How You Can Avoid Getting Lost in the Land of the Titans

The only way to outperform an index is to be different from that index in the right way. For the last few years, there has only been one way to do that. But if the Titans tank, if they flatline or even if they are just joined in their bull market by more sectors and companies, there will be many more.
Beaten-Down Bond Traders Are Betting Jobs Data Means More Losses

A rough start to the year for bond traders risks getting worse with the release of key US employment data on Friday. Treasury yields remain near their highest levels of 2024 ahead of the report, which is forecast to show that solid jobs growth moderated in March.
El-Erian Sees Two Fed Rate Cuts This Year Despite Strong Data

Mohamed El-Erian still expects Federal Reserve officials to cut interest rates twice this year, even as a blockbuster jobs report pushes traders to rethink the timing.
Summers Says Hot Jobs Data Show Neutral Fed Rate ‘Much Higher’

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said that the surge in US payrolls in March illustrates that the Federal Reserve is well off in its estimate of where the neutral interest rate is, and cautioned against any move to lower rates in June.
American Exceptionalism Is on Display in the Bond Market

Many of us have our favorite economic and financial indicators. I’m referring to those indicators that don’t get a lot - if any - attention from the television channels geared toward finance and markets and yet can provide important insights. One of my favorites - the divergence between key US and German fixed-income benchmarks - is at a notable level.
The ‘Great Wealth Transfer’ Is a Delusion

The Great Wealth Transfer sounds like a heist film or a game show. It’s neither.
Wall Street Just Doesn’t Get Retirement

As a retirement economist — not to be confused with a retired economist, which are rare — I often find myself talking to Wall Street types who happen to be in charge of a lot of other people’s money.
Treasuries Selloff Deepens as Traders Push Back First Rate Cut

A rough start to the year for bond traders just got worse as data showed a buoyant US labor market with few of the stresses that could prompt the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.
Gold Retreats From Record as Traders Weigh Fedspeak, Await Data

Gold retreated after hitting a fresh record as investors weighed remarks from policymakers ahead of a key jobs report due Friday.
Think UK Stocks Are Cheap? Try Buying a Whole Company

Foreign acquirers — mainly from the US — are targeting UK companies again. This time they’re being forced to pay up. Forget the apparent cheap valuations of London stocks when a handful of shares are traded. Buying an entire UK company means burning a hole in your pocket.
Hey Google, Please Set YouTube Free

Shares in Google-parent Alphabet Inc. have lagged competitors so far this year. There is worry its faltering progress in artificial intelligence means the outlook’s not so hot for its core business of selling ads alongside search results. But one part of its empire, minimally detailed on the company’s filings like some side hustle, shows no sign of being knocked from its throne.
Winners of 2023 Bank Crisis Are Finding the New Spotlight Harsh

Two regional banks emerged as winners last year as deposit runs shook their industry. Their fortunes have diverged since: New York Community Bancorp Inc. required a frantic rescue last month. First Citizens BancShares Inc. has stretched its rally to more than double in value.
Fed Blocks Tough Global Climate-Risk Rules for Wall Street Banks

US regulators, led by the Federal Reserve, have thwarted a push to make climate risk a focus of global financial rules, according to people familiar with the matter.
Yellen Eyes Valuable Asset on China Trip: Insight on Economy

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her team are hoping their second visit to China in nine months, building on a series of bilateral talks, will yield valuable clues to the true state of the world’s No. 2 economy — even if no significant policy agreements are anticipated.
The Fed Is Wrong About How Low Interest Rates Will Go

Financial markets and the US Federal Reserve remain in disagreement on a subject crucial to asset prices and economic growth: how low interest rates will eventually go.
Powell Says Fed Has Time to Assess Data Before Deciding to Cut

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled policymakers will wait for clearer signs of lower inflation before cutting interest rates, even though a recent bump in prices didn’t alter their broader trajectory.
An AI-Rally for Software Makers Will Demand Investor Patience

Investors need more patience for the euphoria about artificial intelligence to lift the stocks of software makers.
Bond Traders Load Up on Bearish Wagers as Rate-Cut Odds Dwindle

Bond traders are piling into bearish bets, fueling a selloff in benchmark Treasury securities, as fresh evidence of robust US growth triggers a recalibration of expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate policy.
Health Care Is Still Too Costly for Americans

America’s approach to health care is an outlier among the world’s rich countries, and not in a good way. Extraordinarily complex and hideously expensive, it still manages to leave some 26 million people without coverage.
Exxon’s $60 Billion Fight With Chevron Will Reshape Big Oil

The prize is called Stabroek — a series of oil fields off the coast of Guyana, the Latin American nation bordering Venezuela and Brazil. The potential riches are incredible — about 11 billion barrels of oil, worth nearly $1 trillion at current prices.
Wall Street Seizes Bitcoin Volatility With Leveraged, Short ETFs

The frenzy surrounding the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds has yet to lose steam as Wall Street’s latest entrant offers supercharged versions of such products.
Oldest Hedge Fund Strategy Winning Cash After $70 Billion Exodus

Stockpicking hedge funds are coming back into favor for the first time in two years after a turnaround in their performance.
The Tech Giants Are Eating the Chatbot Kings

Innovation only gets hindered when AI startups find themselves on an assembly line to Big Tech. Here’s hoping the open-source movement continues to thrive.
Bond Market Sees Fewer Rate Cuts Than Fed, Deepening Losses

For a brief moment last week, the market and the Federal Reserve were on the same page about the pace of monetary easing. It didn’t last long, and Treasuries investors are paying the price.
AI Boom Needs Vertiv Almost as Much as It Needs Nvidia

The artificial intelligence craze has driven Nvidia Corp. to a $2.3 trillion market value from about $360 billion at the beginning of last year, which means the chipmaker is trading at a price that’s 75 times higher than earnings. It is also taking some industrial companies along for the ride with a lot of room to run.
Billions Flood Active ETFs in Hunt for Cheap EM Stocks

As investors scour the globe for under-valued stocks, one increasingly popular destination is actively managed exchange-traded funds that focus on emerging markets.
Lithium Trading Hits Record on CME as Funds Seize Budding Market

Trading of CME Group Inc.’s nearly three-year-old lithium hydroxide futures contract is soaring, with more funds crowding into the budding market as prices of the battery metal falter.
Crash or Soar? Traders Are Preparing for Stock Market Extremes

Investors who just booked profits from one of the strongest first quarters for the S&P 500 Index in decades are preparing for what comes next — whether that’s stocks climbing higher or crashing back to earth.
June Fed Rate-Cut Odds Dip Below 50% After Strong ISM Data

Bond traders priced in less monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve this year — and briefly set the odds of a first move in June to less than 50% — after a gauge of US manufacturing activity showed expansion for the first time since 2022.
The US Economy’s Resilience Is Now Undeniable

Reasonable people can disagree about whether US disinflation is actually stalling and what it might mean for Federal Reserve monetary policy. But it’s getting much harder to deny the underlying strength of the economy, suggesting central bankers can afford to wait before reducing benchmark interest rates.
Financial Markets Just Delivered a Powerful Reminder

What an impressive start to the year for US stocks! Not only did the S&P 500 Index achieve its largest first-quarter gain since 2019, it did so amidst significant challenges.
The Dollar Is More Armored Division Than Currency

There’s just no getting past the supremacy of the dollar, much as skeptics of American influence wish for it or lonely yen bulls cry for relief. The greenback has been frequently tipped to retreat, only for it to blow away everything in front of it.
What Are the Odds of Enjoying March Madness Now?

Now that gambling has taken a dark turn. Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision ending the prohibition on sports gambling in most states, March Madness betting has become easier and more accessible. As a result, more people are betting not against their coworkers, but through online gambling sites.
Dalio Says China Must Fix Debt Problems or Face ‘Lost Decade’

Ray Dalio warned that China should cut its debt and ease monetary policy or face “a lost decade.”
Powell Juices Bond Market Bet on Inflation With Tilt to Jobs

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s increasing focus on protecting the job market is encouraging a swath of bond traders putting bets on inflation rates to remain elevated.
Fed Hawks Put the Dollar on Track for Best Quarter Since 2022

The dollar is poised for its best quarter since late 2022 as Federal Reserve officials push back against the latest bout of rate-cut wagers.
US Pending Home Sales Bounce Back After Slumping in January

Pending sales of previously-owned homes in the US recovered last month after declining at the start of the year, adding to evidence that the housing market is gradually improving.
Amazon Bets $150 Billion on Data Centers Required for AI Boom

Amazon.com Inc. plans to spend almost $150 billion in the coming 15 years on data centers, giving the cloud-computing giant the firepower to handle an expected explosion in demand for artificial intelligence applications and other digital services.
Tesla’s $25,000 Car Means Tossing Out the 100-Year-Old Assembly Line

Tesla Inc. has a plan to fend off cheaper competition from China with a $25,000 electric car. But first it has to overhaul a 100-year-old manufacturing process pioneered by Henry Ford.
Generative AI Is Coming for Your Bank. Maybe.

Big banks are scrambling to work out what to do with generative artificial intelligence: how to use it to make some of their people smarter or free up others to do only higher-value tasks, and how to ingest and process data more rapidly, speed up decision making and cut costs. Every bank fears their competitors getting good at AI before they do.
Pension Funds to Buy More Infrastructure on Energy Transition

Pension funds around the world are significantly underinvested in infrastructure and will help drive growth as they tip more capital into assets that will be part of the global energy transition, according to a report by IFM Investors.
The Fight Over Bank Capital Keeps Missing the Point

US financial regulators have been working on what’s optimistically known as Basel III Endgame – the long, slow effort to reform global banking rules following the crash of 2008. They’re apparently getting cold feet.
A Dream Run for Homebuilders Is Ending

Homebuilders were one of the big surprise winners in the US economy last year as record-low inventory of existing houses for sale and gently rising prices allowed companies such as KB Home and Lennar Corp. to ramp up construction and maintain high profit margins. Both have said they expect more of the same in 2024 — they may be in for another surprise.
AI Could Have a Surprising Effect on Interest Rates

As improvements in artificial intelligence continue apace, so do questions about how AI will influence economies, asset prices and — the question of the moment — interest rates: Is AI more likely to make them go up or down?
Burned Before, Bond Markets Resume Rate-Cutting Trades Worldwide

Bond traders are cautiously reloading wagers that burned them just weeks ago as the Federal Reserve and key global peers finally appear set to begin reducing interest rates as soon as June.
Morgan Stanley’s ETFs Break $1 Billion With Mutual Fund Flips

Morgan Stanley’s exchange-traded lineup now holds more than $1 billion thanks to the firm’s first-ever mutual-fund conversions.
Banks’ New Trick Won’t Make Their Risks Disappear

One big reason the global financial system nearly collapsed in 2008 was that banks had shifted risks into the shadows, relying on insurance-like instruments that proved incapable of absorbing losses.
Trump’s Social Media Company Is Set to Trade Tuesday on Nasdaq

Former president Donald Trump’s social media startup is set to begin trading Tuesday after completing a blank-check deal that may bring him a financial windfall.
Junk Market Flashes Warning as Fed Eyes Higher Rates for Longer

Junk-rated US companies have seen their interest costs rise after the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike campaign, but profits haven’t kept up, putting a squeeze on finances and underscoring a key risk for investors in high-yield debt as the trend persists.
Investors Can’t Always Trust the Data, and That’s OK

I was attracted to finance because it promised some order amid chaos. Here was this market, with billions of transactions a day — and yet it managed to set a price for each asset, a price that put a literal number on the value of future risks, or more precisely how much people value those risks in the present day.
Resistance Is Futile, But Maybe Not With AI

There is an important warning here for everyone giddy with the recent advances of generative AI. Breathtaking developments in the realm of technology do not render history obsolete. It lives on alongside the latest gadgetry, because the present is not where history ends and the future begins; it is where the past and the future fuse.
Raising the Retirement Age Won’t Help Anyone

It’s budget season in Washington, which means the politicians are delivering their annual warnings about the looming Social Security crisis.
AI Sparks Life Into Left-for-Dead Energy Sector

Artificial intelligence is shining its aura on one of the most benighted corners of the stock-market. While two AI hardware firms top the S&P 500 leaderboard so far this year — Super Micro Computer Inc. and Nvidia Corp. — a close third is Constellation Energy Corp...
Fed’s Barr Says Changes to Capital Rules Likely to Be Significant

The Federal Reserve’s top banking regulator said there will likely be significant changes to a controversial plan to force big lenders to hold more capital — another signal that Wall Street’s efforts to scuttle the initial proposal are succeeding.
Reddit Soars 48% in Debut as AI Pitch Gets Warm Reception

Reddit Inc. shares soared 48% above their initial public offering price, as investors embraced the social media company’s vision of profiting from the growth of artificial intelligence.
Microsoft Deal, Apple-Google Talks Show Tech Giants Need AI Help

Earlier this week, Microsoft Corp. named artificial intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman chief of its consumer AI business and hired most of the staff from his Inflection AI startup. A day before, Bloomberg reported that Alphabet Inc.’s Google was in talks to license its Gemini AI engine to Apple Inc.
Giving Intel $20 Billion Exposes American Weakness

Intel Inc. is receiving $20 billion in grants and loans to help finance the expansion of its production capacity in the US, becoming the largest beneficiary by far of the 2022 Chips and Science Act, the cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s plan to reverse a decades-long decline in the US’s share of global semiconductor output.
Tesla Trims Car Output in China as EV Sales Growth Slows

Tesla Inc. has reduced production at its plant in China, according to people familiar with the matter, amid sluggish growth in electric-vehicle sales and intense competition in the world’s biggest auto market.
The AI Assembly Line Ends With Microsoft, Google and Meta

It’s almost impossible for an artificial-intelligence startup to build anything as good as ChatGPT, but Inflection was getting there.
Gold Jumps Above $2,200 an Ounce for First Time on Dovish Fed

Gold surged above $2,200 an ounce for the first time as investors grew more confident about the Federal Reserve’s path for rate cuts, boosting the appeal of non-interest bearing bullion.
US Spot-Bitcoin ETFs Post Largest Three-Day Outflow Since Launch

A group of 10 spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted its biggest three-day outflow since the products debuted in January, a turnaround from the clamor for exposure that earlier drove to the token to a record high.
Fed Stays on Track for Rate Cuts With One Eye on Bumpy Inflation

Federal Reserve policymakers are largely sticking to their path of interest-rate cuts — for now — after hitting a bump on the road to low and steady inflation.
Asian Stocks Surge to 2022 High on Fed’s Outlook, Tech Rally

A key measure of Asian stocks rose to its highest level since April 2022, powered by technology companies and the Federal Reserve’s supportive comments on the outlook for US interest-rate cuts.
Goldman Plots Course to Become a Top Five Model-Portfolio Player

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is charting a path to break into the top ranks of what’s projected to grow into a more than $10 trillion industry by the end of the decade.
Evaporating US Bitcoin ETF Demand Sends Token to a Two-Week Low

Bitcoin sank to a two-week low before paring losses as demand for dedicated US exchange-traded funds dries up and investors question the Federal Reserve’s scope to lower interest rates quickly.
If You’re an AI Bull, Keep an Eye on Uranium

The AI revolution might be coming hand in hand with a power revolution — something for investors in uranium to watch.
Don’t Ask Cathie Wood About Nvidia, or TSMC

Cathie Wood seems to have the worst timing on artificial intelligence stocks. She offloaded Nvidia Corp.’s shares in early 2023, failing to grasp the popularity and disruptive power of ChatGPT.
Real Estate Pain Is Showing Up in an Obscure Investment Product

An obscure investment product used to finance risky real estate projects is facing unprecedented stress as borrowers struggle to repay loans tied to commercial property ventures.
Nvidia Unveils Successor to Its All-Conquering AI Processor

Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang showed off new chips aimed at extending his company’s dominance of artificial intelligence computing, a position that’s already made it the world’s third-most-valuable business.
BofA Strategists at Odds Over Presence of ‘Euphoria’ in Stocks

Wall Street is so divided on whether the US stock market’s meteoric rise has gone too far, too fast that even Bank of America Corp.’s own strategists disagree.
Wall Street Banks Tap Europe’s Buoyant Bond Market

Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are piling into Europe’s bond market to raise money, the first Wall Street banks to do so this year as they take advantage of strong funding conditions.
Biden’s Budget Arithmetic Doesn’t Add Up

President Joe Biden’s new budget isn’t going anywhere. Policy for the current fiscal year is in disarray, to say nothing of the one that starts next October — and things will probably get worse as elections approach.
Five Key Charts to Watch in Global Commodities This Week

Here are five notable charts to consider in global commodity markets as the week gets underway.
US Homebuilder Sentiment Increases to an Eight-Month High

Sentiment among US homebuilders climbed to an eight-month high in March as a limited number of existing homes for sale and mortgage rates that are down from their peak spurred demand.
BlackRock, Man Group Reveal Big Japan Bets Before BOJ Decision

Snap up more Japanese stocks, ratchet up shorts on government debt and keep buying the yen: these are some of the most popular calls from big-name money managers ahead of a central bank meeting that may end the world’s last experiment with negative interest rates.
Markets Showing Signs of Bubble on Big Tech, Crypto Surge, BofA’s Hartnett Says

Markets are showing characteristics of a bubble in the record-setting surge by tech’s so-called Magnificent Seven stocks and the all-time highs in cryptocurrencies, according to Bank of America Corp. Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett.
S&P Would Need to Rise 20% to Look Like 90s Bubble, SocGen Says

If a bubble is forming in US stocks, it has plenty of room to expand before it bursts, according to strategists at Societe Generale SA.
Blackstone Says Time to Buy Real Estate as Prices at Bottom

Real estate prices have bottomed and there’s a great opportunity to move fast and buy assets at beaten-down prices, according to Blackstone Inc. President Jon Gray.
Japan Is Back, China Is Over. The Trouble With Narratives

Japan is back, China is over. Only a few years ago, such an assertion would have been dismissed out of hand. The latter was on the road to economic dominance and the former languished, characterized by endless stimulus that produced little tangible benefit, and doomed by a shrinking population.
The Stock Market Is Running Low on Inspiration

All durable bull markets need bouts of positivity to keep them moving higher, and the next month is shaping up to be a good-news desert.
Fed Gets More Reasons to Delay Interest-Rate Cuts

Fresh data on inflation and unemployment filings gave Federal Reserve officials more reasons to hold off on cutting interest rates, even as retail sales suggested a slowdown in consumer spending.
American Debt Stings Like Never Before in New Era for Households

After years of managing household budgets through the stress of the worst inflation in a generation, US families are increasingly pressured by a different kind of financial squeeze: The cost of carrying debt.
Gold’s Record-Setting Pace Is Exuberantly Rational

Gold has definitively broken out of the range it's been stuck in since the start of this decade, reaching a record $2,195 per troy ounce this month.
Private Credit Has Had Its 15 Minutes of Fame

Just as private credit is becoming an asset class of its own and private equity houses are finding a new revenue stream away from their bread-and-butter buyout businesses, this burgeoning part of leveraged finance is losing steam.
Tesla's Terrible 2024 Turns the Magnificent 7 Into 6

How bad is 2024 going so far for Tesla Inc.? Well, its stock is down more than Boeing Co., making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 Index.
US Retail Sales Miss Forecasts After Steep Drop in Prior Month

US retail sales rose by less than forecast after a steep drop to start the year, underscoring concerns about the durability of consumer spending.
Nvidia CEO Faces Sky-High Investor Expectations at AI Conference

Nvidia Corp.’s annual artificial intelligence conference is just days away and expectations are high for the semiconductor maker to deliver news that will sustain the blistering rally in its stock.
Bond Traders Prep for New Dot Plot, With Three Cuts in Question

After dialing back their expectations for 2024 Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts substantially since the start of the year, bond traders on Wednesday will take their next cue when policymakers release their own updated projections for their benchmark.
Google’s Bad Gemini Rollout Did the World a Favor

Google’s investors are entitled to be furious about the stunningly incompetent rollout of the company’s Gemini artificial intelligence system. For everybody else, including this grateful Google user and committed technology optimist, it was a blessing.
The Fed Will Slow QT. What Matters Is Where It Stops

With interest-rate cuts off the table for now, the US Federal Reserve will focus on a different topic at next week’s policy-making meeting: when and how to slow quantitative tightening, the process of reducing the vast securities portfolio amassed in previous efforts to support economic activity.
Save Taxes With BOXX? It Is Too Good to Be True

Among the many too-good-to-be-true financial stories is the Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, known by its ticker BOXX, that offers Treasury bill yields taxed at capital gains rates.
Corporate Bond Rush Is Breaking Down a Maturity Wall That Everyone Feared

Less than a year ago, investors were gaming out what would happen when billions of dollars of bonds reached maturity dates, leaving borrowers potentially crushed by costly refinancings. Now, those fears are fizzling away, with companies rushing to sell debt to a buoyant market.
Wall Street Sees Risks of Later Start Date for Fed’s QT Tapering

As Federal Reserve officials prepare for an in-depth conversation about its balance sheet at next week’s meeting, Wall Street strategists can only agree that all of the plans being discussed by the central bank carry some growing risks.
Crypto’s ‘Alameda Gap’ Narrows as Billions Pour Into Bitcoin ETFs

A long awaited batch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds is already influencing the way crypto markets function, just two months after they launched in the US on Jan. 11.
Oh Canada, Your Economy Is Better Than You Think

Going against type, some Canadians are being very negative. A chorus of doomsayers is pointing out that by some measures, Canadian per-capita GDP is in decline.
No Sign of Bubble Forming for BofA: ‘This Bull Market Has Legs’

Bank of America Corp. sees little evidence to support the worriers on Wall Street who say the stock market has risen too far, too fast and is approaching bubble territory.
Nvidia ETF That Delivers Double Gains Sees Record Flows

Artificial intelligence bulls are increasingly gravitating toward an ETF that amps up bets on Nvidia Corp. as trading volumes and inflows hit all-time highs.
US Core Inflation Tops Forecasts for a Second Straight Month

Underlying US inflation topped forecasts for a second month in February as prices jumped for used cars, air travel and clothes, reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s cautious approach to cutting interest rates.
Trading US Inflation Is Muddying Bond Market’s Auction Gameplan

Bond traders have plenty on their plates the next couple days, even after they absorb a crucial US inflation reading that stands to shape expectations for Federal Reserve policy for months to come.
Tech CEOs Are Addicted to Taking Needless Risks

There’s a new law of the land taking root in Silicon Valley: the more technology makes us laypeople replaceable, the more the technocrats building it are considered indispensable.
What the US Economy Needs Is a Cheap Date

There has been a lot of theorizing about why so many Americans feel worse off economically. True, real wages are now finally increasing, the labor market is great, the stock market is up, and consumers are spending.
Magnificent 7 Stocks Aren’t Too Pricey, JPMorgan Strategist Says

The ranks of Wall Street strategists playing down concerns around a bubble in US technology megacap stocks are growing.
Bond Traders Eye Key US Inflation Report to Game Out Next Bets

This week, the US bond market faces its own Super Tuesday of sorts: the release of fresh inflation data investors will use to predict when the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates.
One of the Most Infamous Trades on Wall Street Is Roaring Back

Forget the artificial-intelligence frenzy — the most-exciting trade on Wall Street right now might just be betting on boring.
US Household Net Worth Rose to Record in 2023 on Stock Holdings

Household wealth in the US increased to a record last year as investors reaped the benefits of a surging stock market and higher home values.
A $70 Billion Investor Prepares for Fed Rate-Hike Risk in 2024

Australia’s QIC Ltd. expects the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates elevated through the year — or even raise them further — as the US economy powers ahead, a contrarian call that’s increasingly gaining traction.
JPMorgan Asset Management Says China Remains ‘Irreplaceable’

JPMorgan Chase & Co. will continue hiring in China for its asset management business as it targets growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
US Jobless Rate Hits Two-Year High Even as Hiring Stays Strong

The US jobless rate climbed to a two-year high in February even as hiring remained healthy, pointing to a cooler yet resilient labor market.
Financial Crises Are a Feature, Not a Bug, of the US System

It’s a year since the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank – and the renewed cries of “never again.” Almost instantly began inquiries to work out who to blame, as well as hurried efforts to tighten banking rules, raise capital demands and enact laws to make executives pay.
Bond Market Looks to Jobs Data to Validate Rate-Cut Expectations

Risks are building for bond traders who’ve spent the last couple of weeks adding to bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year.
Nvidia Looks Primed for a Stock Split After $1 Trillion Rally

Nvidia Corp’s scorching rally has added more than $1 trillion in value this year alone, sending it well above the level where it last split its shares. Some see the AI giant well placed to do so again.
BofA Says Tech Stocks Post Largest Weekly Outflows on Record

The largest weekly outflow on record for technology stock funds hasn’t dimmed the broader euphoria that is driving US equities to “ferocious” gains, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists.
Cathie Wood, Flying Taxis, and ARK’s Rematch With a Grizzly Bear

The last time Cathie Wood and ARK Investment Management found themselves on the opposite side of a call made by Grizzly Research, they lost tens of millions of dollars. It’s not stopping them from facing down the activist short seller once again.
How to Avoid a Crash in Your New Electric Car

Fisker Inc.’s warning that it may run out of cash within 12 months absent fresh equity or debt raises a new and worrying question for car owners: What happens if the maker of your electric vehicle goes bust?
The Great Resignation Is Now the Big Stay

The Great Resignation is in the rear-view mirror, and the labor market is showing hints of swinging back in the complete opposite direction.
If Only Congress Would Focus on the Deficit That Matters

All the fearmongering in Washington over the $1.5 trillion federal budget deficit hides a truth few politicians would admit — that hefty headline number you hear so much about is an unreliable measure of US fiscal health.
Nvidia ‘Bubble’ Talk Spreads to ESG Investors Who Rode Highs

Concerns that Nvidia Corp.’s stratospheric gains might be unsustainable have spread to ESG investment managers who beat the market last year by betting big on the stock.
Powell Reiterates Fed Needs More Confidence on Inflation to Cut

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated to lawmakers that the US central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates until policymakers are convinced they have won their battle over inflation.
Alphabet’s AI Missteps Are Opportunity For One Fund Manager

Concerns about Alphabet Inc.’s artificial intelligence missteps have weighed heavily on the Google-parent’s stock, but a Boston Partners fund manager believes this has created a golden opportunity for investors.
Spike in Bitcoin Volatility Heralds an Early Test of US ETF Demand

Bitcoin price swings are becoming more intense following the digital asset’s run to a record high, and a key question now is how investors in US exchange-traded funds for the cryptocurrency will react.
A Zero Pay Gap Is the Goal. But What Happens Next?

What happens if we ever get to a zero gender pay gap? If we do hit that milestone, can we declare victory?
California Mints Millionaires Faster Than They Can Leave

After Covid-19 arrived in 2020, a lot of wealthy people fled locked-down California. Elon Musk, the world’s second-richest human, moved to Texas, griping that the Golden State had become “a little complacent, a little entitled.”
Powell in a ‘Delicate Dance’ With Wall Street as Markets Heat Up

Ever since the Federal Reserve began its policy-tightening campaign, Jerome Powell has been happy to ignore one form of inflation: Rising asset prices.
Treasuries Hold Modest Gains Ahead of Powell’s Remarks

Treasuries held modest gains ahead of remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and key labor-market data, which are set to test bond investors’ conviction about interest-rate cuts in the US.
Inflation Worrywarts Are Crashing the Party

A curious thing has happened in the US market discourse: In the absence of major concerns about jobs and growth, commentators have started to worry that the economy is too good to keep inflation contained.
Public Pensions Should Be Safe, Not Levered Up

America’s public pension funds have gotten themselves into a bind. They’re responsible for paying trillions of dollars in future retirement benefits to teachers, firefighters, police, and other state and local employees, but their assets fall far short of what’s needed to fulfill those promises.
Bitcoin Is Up But the Future of Money Lies Elsewhere

A new form of digital money is going viral, capturing tens of millions of users, billions of transactions and the attention of global central banks. No, not Bitcoin, which is trading at around $68,000 and closing in on a fresh all-time high.
JPMorgan Sees ‘Froth’ in US Stocks, While Goldman Says Rally Justified

The sharp rally in US stocks this year has left strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. divided about whether a market bubble is forming.
Americans Now Pay as Much Interest on Other Debt as on Mortgages

US households are now paying roughly as much interest on other kinds of debt, from credit cards to student loans, as they are on their mortgages, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Crypto Exuberance Is Hitting Overdrive as Ether ETF Battle Looms

Crypto exuberance is hitting overdrive thanks to the game-changing launch of Bitcoin ETFs — with seven issuers now pushing US regulators to greenlight funds tracking Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.
Has Bidenomics Worked? It’s Too Soon to Say

With the US economy booming, the job market growing and inflation retreating, the consensus is near-unanimous: Bidenomics has been vindicated.
America Blew Almost $2 Trillion. Make It Stop.

The US federal budget seems out of control. Funding spats and debt-ceiling standoffs routinely threaten to force defaults and shutdowns. America's once-unassailable credit rating keeps slipping. Has the government simply become too big to manage?
Does Interest Rate Pain Explain the Consumer Sentiment Gap?

The apparent disconnect between the state of the US economy and voters’ perceptions of it has puzzled economists for months. Unemployment is low, inflation has come way down and real wages are no longer lagging behind.
Private Credit Mania Shrugs Off Mounting Risks in Junk-Bond Market

Private loans are most likely to perform best in credit as other categories of risky corporate debt face more defaults, according to the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey.
As Bond Bears Grumble, Investors From Pimco to DWS Gear Up to Buy the Dip

Traders surprised by this year’s painful rise in bond yields are still looking to snap up US debt given their ongoing assumption the US economy will eventually slow in 2024.
Nvidia Becomes Tesla’s Successor as Market Flips From EV to AI

Nvidia Corp.’s rise is captivating the stock market and driving the S&P 500 Index to new highs. But it also raises cautionary reminders of another investor darling that soared on dreams of a technological transformation, only to tumble back to earth when those hopes turned to disappointment.
Wall Street Turbocharges Bitcoin's Wild Rally and Rakes In Cash

To Jamie Dimon, it's no better than a “pet rock.” To the late Charlie Munger, longtime lieutenant to Warren Buffett, it's “massively stupid.” And to US Senator Elizabeth Warren, it's a great tool if you’re a terrorist, drug dealer or fraudster.
China Quants Making Big Cap Bets Weather Stock Turmoil

A group of systematic investors betting on large Chinese companies has emerged largely unscathed from this year’s “quant quake” that’s sparked turmoil in the stock market and a crackdown by regulators.
A Trader’s Guide on What to Watch at China’s Policy Meeting

China’s equity investors will be watching for trading cues from policy priorities and signals about fiscal stimulus at a meeting of the country’s top officials next week.
Pimco Sees Swelling Deficit Dragging Bonds ‘Back to the Future’

Pacific Investment Management Co. is warning that US fiscal profligacy threatens to drag the Treasury market back to 1980s, a time when bond vigilantes demanded far higher compensation to own longer-dated bonds.
A Fed Held Hostage by Data Is Asking for Trouble

It’s right for economic data to influence the Federal Reserve’s policy approach. Yet, there is an important distinction between being informed by the numbers and being held hostage by them — particularly for an institution whose tools operate on the economy with a lag.
The Achilles’ Heel of ETFs Promising 100% Income Yields

One of the hottest products for retail investors the last couple of years is the single-stock option-income exchange-traded fund. While the basic idea is similar to the old and respectable covered-call writing strategy, the modern versions grabbing attention and dollars are supercharged, promising income yields of 100% or more.
Big Tech’s Boom Has Strategists Scrambling to Keep Up With Rally

The frenzy around AI stocks has blindsided Wall Street forecasters, spurring a race among strategists to keep up with a stock market rally that’s already blowing past their expectations when 2024 began.
Fed’s Williams Repeats Rate Cuts Likely Coming Later This Year

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said he doesn’t see a need for officials to tighten policy further and reiterated that he expects the central bank to cut rates later this year.
Alphabet Faces ‘Clear and Present Danger’ of Falling Short in AI

The only thing that matters to Alphabet Inc. investors is whether it can get artificial intelligence right.
Go Ahead and Break Up With Your Realtor

Like travel agents, real estate agents will need to offer more value and be more available to those willing to pay. They can also be my friend, so long as they don’t charge too high a commission.
The Message in Bezos’ and Zuckerberg’s Stock Sales

With the S&P 500 near all-time highs, insider share sales have picked up at top-performing companies. This quarter alone, Jeff Bezos sold about $9 billion in Amazon.com Inc. stock and Mark Zuckerberg’s net sales of Meta Platforms Inc. amounted to around $850 million.
Need to Sell Your House? It’s Time to Hustle

If you need to sell your home in the next few months, I’d get on with it. As we enter the spring selling season, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the period during which sellers had the leverage in the housing market is over.
Flawed Valuations Threaten $1.7 Trillion Private Credit Boom

Colm Kelleher whipped up a storm at the end of last year when the UBS Group AG chairman warned of a dangerous bubble in private credit.
Bitcoin’s Best Month Since 2020 Revives Crypto-Linked Stocks

A major rally in Bitcoin is refueling gains in shares of cryptocurrency-linked mining and trading companies, putting the group back on track to add to last year’s big run.
New York Still Has Enough Rich People to Pay the Bills

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people with the means to do so left New York City and New York state. With state finances in particular highly dependent on high earners’ income taxes, this was a worrying development.
Berkshire and Lilly Race to Shake Tech’s Grip on Trillion-Dollar Club

Big Tech stocks created, and have so far dominated, the trillion-dollar club in the US. For the first time, there’s a race brewing for an outsider to join their ranks.
US Plan to Speed Stock Settlements to Cost Investors $30 Billion

US regulators’ plan to speed up settlement times in securities markets will come at a cost for investors around the world — more than $30 billion annually, according to a new report from Bloomberg Intelligence.
ETF Focused on Cash-Flow Rakes In Billions Despite Snubbing AI Mania

Over the past year and counting, money managers have ramped up exposure to a handful of Big Tech companies – swelling market valuations along the way.
The Big Bond Steepener Is Flopping as the Fed Delays Rate Cuts

What was supposed to be the darling trade of 2024 has unraveled, thanks to the Federal Reserve upending predictions over how fast it would lower interest rates.
Capital One’s Discover Deal Should Aid Competition

Capital One has grown into the ninth-biggest US bank by assets through the relentless promotion of its credit cards, which provide two-thirds of its revenue.
Buffett Could Simply Say He’s Betting Oil Prices Go Up

Not to say Warren Buffett’s folksy observation this weekend on the US oil business is incorrect, but it gets something awfully incorrect...
The US Budget Office Is Frequently Wrong on Purpose

US federal debt will reach a record 116% of gross domestic product by 2034, up from 93% today. That’s according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Risk Models Behind World’s Best Hedge Fund Strategy Are Getting a Lot Harder to Crack

As the best hedge fund strategy of 2023 becomes a magnet for mainstream investors, the risk models it relies on are getting a lot tougher to crack.
Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF Exodus Reaches $7.4 Billion in First 30 Trading Days

The world’s biggest Bitcoin ETF has reached an inauspicious milestone: an entire month of consecutive outflows.
Treasury Market Tests Appetite for Yield With Another Auction

Investors in US Treasury debt are bracing for another auction, after sales of two- and five-year notes drew only middling demand — despite yields near the highest levels of the year.
BlackRock Says ‘New Regime’ Calls for More Active Management

BlackRock Inc., which capitalized on a decade-long boom in index investing, said investors should rely more heavily on actively managed strategies.
Open-Source Software Is Worth a Lot More Than You Pay for It

Open-source software may well be the greatest “public good” the market economy has ever produced. What it shows is the power of voluntary social cooperation.
What Have You Made on Private Equity? Who Knows?!

There are lies, damned lies and statistics – and then there’s IRR. The internal rate of return metric used by private-capital managers has long had critics in finance and academia because it is easily manipulated and hard to compare with the transparent returns of, say, stocks and bonds.
Warren Buffett Reminds Us of Charlie Munger's Greatest Advice

The Warren Buffett philosophy was never an immutable doctrine frozen in time. In his first shareholder letter after the death of his late, great partner Charlie Munger last November, the Oracle of Omaha reminded investors how important it is to change with the circumstances.
Wall Street Traders Are Too Scared to Fight the AI Rally

For a lesson in the perils of being a skeptic on Wall Street when everyone else is a buyer, consider Rob Arnott, who made a sensible case five months ago that Nvidia Corp. had become a bubble.
Berkshire Inches Toward $1 Trillion Valuation After Results

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shares rose as much as 5.5% in premarket trading on Monday, set to push the market value of Warren Buffett’s conglomerate even closer to $1 trillion.
US, China Exploring New Debt Relief Options to Avoid Wave of Emerging-Market Defaults

The US and China are discussing new measures to prevent a wave of emerging market sovereign defaults, according to people familiar with the situation, one of the most significant attempts in years at economic cooperation between the rival superpowers.
Fidelity Manager Dumps Nearly All Treasuries on Growth Optimism

A Fidelity International money manager has sold the vast majority of US Treasuries from funds he oversees on expectations the world’s biggest economy still has room to expand.
Yield-Crazed Day Traders Pony Up for ‘169%’ Option-Income ETFs

How many Wall Street buzzwords can you fit into one security? The limit is being tested by a new breed of options-fueled exchange-traded funds making inroads with the retail crowd.
How Do You Profit From Bitcoin ETFs? Investors Face Dilemma

Asset manager VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF is listed under the ticker ‘HODL,’ highlighting a dilemma facing buyers of the popular investment vehicles.
AI Billionaires Club Looks Like a New Gilded Age

After several decades of transformative tech wealth, the AI boom is ushering in another. Not only has Nvidia Corp.’s soaring valuation made co-founder Jensen Huang an extremely wealthy man, but his distant cousin Lisa Su, head of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., is now worth $1.2 billion.
US Productivity Is on the Upswing Again. Will AI Supercharge It?

Three consecutive quarters of strong growth have put productivity either back on trend or well above it, depending on which recent trend line you’re following. Productivity’s sharp rise and fall from 2020 to 2022 was apparently just another one of those weird pandemic phenomena, now disappearing in the rearview mirror.
Boy, This Economy Is Hard to Read. Mea Culpa.

Slower inflation was supposed to be a sign that the economy was cooling, all part of the Federal Reserve’s plan for higher interest rates to restore balance to the economy. For a while, things looked on track.
Cathie Wood Can Only Watch as Nvidia Rides AI Wave She Foresaw

Cathie Wood made a wild prediction almost two years ago: Annual economic growth could accelerate to as much as 50%, thanks to breakthroughs in the world of artificial intelligence.
Wave of Cash Seen Washing Into Credit as Investors Seek Duration

Cash may still be king for the moment, but after more than $1 trillion flowed into money-market funds last year as short-term rates rose, investors are trying to figure out where it goes next.
Major US Stock Indexes Hit Records as Nvidia Rekindles AI Rally

All three major American stock indexes stormed to fresh all-time highs Thursday as Nvidia Corp.’s results rekindled faith that breakthroughs in artificial intelligence will boost profits and give stock prices further room to run.
Nvidia's Scary Valuation Is No Reason to Head Overseas

With US valuations ostensibly high compared to global peers, many investors are asking themselves if now is the time to dip their toes into international equities. They’re asking the wrong question.
Seven (More) Samurai to Take On the Magnificent Seven

They call them the Seven Samurai. Analysts from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. caused a stir in Tokyo this week with a well-timed report highlighting a group of stocks that could serve as Japan’s equivalent of the Magnificent Seven that have come to dominate US equities.
Quant Factors Swing the Most in Years Beneath Stock Market Calm

To the casual observer, the backdrop to this year’s record-breaking stock rally has been one of epic calm in markets. To Wall Street’s math wizards, it’s been anything but.
Fed Minutes Show Most Officials Flagged Risks of Cutting Rates Too Quickly

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest gathering show most officials remained more worried about the risk of cutting interest rates too soon than keeping them high for too long and damaging the economy.
A Tale of Two Metals Will Determine the Future of Energy

The world’s biggest miner BHP Group Ltd. grew powerful by building dominant positions in producing the minerals of the future. That makes the challenges it’s facing with two key clean-tech ingredients a sobering lesson for the energy transition.
Capital One's Deal for Discover Could Help Spark an M&A Rush

Capital One Financial Corp.’s $35 billion deal for rival credit card provider Discover Financial Services is more than an opportunistic move on a rival that had a lamentable 2023. The takeover reinforces the impression that corporate leaders are willing to take risks on big M&A again.
Junk-Bond Market Gets Riskier With Erosion in Credit Quality

The $1.4 trillion US junk-bond market is getting junkier, as more debt gets either downgraded or elevated out of the high-yield universe altogether, leaving greater potential risks for investors.
Nvidia’s High-Stakes Earnings Moment Has Entire Market on Edge

Nvidia Corp.’s market-leading advance has left even the bulls questioning if an earnings beat will be enough to propel the AI chipmaker’s shares higher.
Wall Street Brokers Are Coming for the Hot Retail-Options Trade

It’s been blamed for fueling stock volatility and dismissed as the latest case of market speculation gone too far.
Federal Reserve Flight 2024 Hasn’t Landed Yet

Financial markets have lately been intensely focused on the US Federal Reserve’s next moves: How soon will it start cutting interest rates, and how low will it take them this year?
Your 401(k) Will Be Gone Within a Decade

If you are among the 56% of US workers with a retirement plan, I have some bad news for you: Your 401(k) will be gone in 10 years, tops. Not the money, thank goodness — Americans have trillions of dollars in these accounts, and there is an entire industry built around them — but the plans themselves.
Wall Street Banks Are Trying Everything in Fight to Win Underwriting Deals

Investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Barclays Plc are striving to get a lucrative fee-making machine back in action.
Goldman Lifts S&P 500 Target With Profit Optimism to Drive Rally

Just months after setting a 2024 target for the S&P 500 Index, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists have boosted their forecast for a second time, reflecting Wall Street’s optimistic outlook for earnings.
Markets Start to Speculate If the Next Fed Move Is Up, Not Down

Investors are beginning to war-game how the Federal Reserve can manage a US economy that just won’t land, with some even debating whether interest-rate hikes will be needed only weeks after a steady run of reductions appeared all but certain.
US Housing Starts Drop to Slowest Pace in Five Months

US new-home construction fell in January, indicating the recovery in the housing market will be gradual as many buyers await a further decline in mortgage rates.
In Battered China Stocks, ‘Lottery Ticket’ Trades Gain Favor

In the wreckage of China’s stock market meltdown, some traders are making long-shot bets that officials in Beijing can stoke a recovery.
Inflation Selloff Is a Wake-Up Call for Traders

It’s tempting to dismiss the response to Tuesday’s inflation data as an outsized reaction to a slight miss in numbers that are particularly vulnerable to seasonal noise. Yet the development is also indicative of deeper issues whose influence may well be with us for the next few months and quarters.
Elon, It’s Time for a Tesla Buyback. Ugh.

Tesla Inc. is a car manufacturer that pitches itself, very successfully, as a technology hothouse. So perhaps it will take the most tech-like step possible in 2024: Announce a big stock buyback.
Hedge Fund Investors Are Getting More Demanding About Charges

More hedge funds are agreeing to conditions on their performance fees, reflecting a tougher environment for attracting investors to riskier strategies.
Banks Are Piling Back Into Everything From Mortgage Debt to CLOs

US banks are starting to ramp up purchases of everything from mortgage-backed securities to collateralized loan obligations after nearly two years of cutting back, adding fuel to a multi-month rally across credit markets.
Traders Look to US Price Data as Treasuries Hover Near 2024 Low

Bond traders are turning their attention to the latest reading on inflationary pressures in the US economy as concern mounts the recent selloff has further to run.
Could Recessions Actually Help Save Lives?

There are only two certainties in this world, so the saying goes — death and taxes. The macroeconomist might add recessions to that list. All three of them may well be inevitable, but maybe we can make each of them just a bit less bad.
The Fed Has the Tools to Stop Bank Runs

As New York Community Bancorp Inc. scrambles to shore up its capital to deal with potential loan losses, analysts are watching to see if depositors pull their money.
Wall Street Is Going to Great Lengths to Avoid Chinese Equities

Global money managers, desperate to avoid exposure to sliding Chinese markets, have fresh investing tools at their disposal as pessimism toward the world’s second-largest economy snowballs.
Year’s Highest Treasury Yields Face Test With Slew of US Data

A slate of US economic data is about to put the loftiest Treasury yields this year to the test.
Nearly All Wealth Gained by World’s Rich This Year Comes From AI

Nvidia Corp. co-founder Jensen Huang’s wealth has surged as a blistering rally in AI-related stocks pushed the chipmaker’s market value above Amazon.com Inc.’s for the first time.
Dear Valentine, Can You Love Me for My Credit Score?

Just know that involving money in the hunt for love limits your options and might eliminate potential partners who in many other ways could provide you with a meaningful and fulfilling relationship.
Who’s Afraid of a January Price Quirk? Traders

The latest consumer price index reading indicated that core prices — excluding volatile food and energy — rose 0.4% in January from a month earlier, exceeding the median economist forecast.
Big Tech Rally on Shaky Ground as Rate View Darkens

Warnings that the tech-fueled stock rally had gone too far had been ringing out for weeks. And for weeks, equity bulls pushed the likes of Nvidia Corp. higher, confident that artificial intelligence growth and an on-hold Federal Reserve would help justify nosebleed valuations.
Traders Pull Back Bets on Fed Interest-Rate Cuts Before July

Traders ratcheted down their expectations for a Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut before July, and Treasury yields soared, after a report showed that inflation remains sticky in the US.
Big Oil Is the Magnificent Seven’s Hedge-in-Waiting

May 17, 1995, a Wednesday, was a historic day for energy stocks. Not that they acted that way: Like the oil price — about $20 a barrel — they were flat. The action was elsewhere: Technology stocks overtook the energy sector’s weighting in the S&P 500 for the first time that day.
Californians Are Dreaming of Lower Taxes

Some Americans like to mock France and Sweden for their high taxes. Yet California — whose economy is bigger than that of both countries — has comparable tax rates, when federal and state tolls are combined, and a new study suggests that they are causing some top earners to leave the state entirely.
Bitcoin’s Bounce Doesn’t Settle the Biggest Worries About Crypto

Digital currencies are back, at least if you ask the crypto faithful. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has at last approved Bitcoin exchange-traded funds— begrudgingly, with a hard nudge from the courts. Renewed investor enthusiasm in risky assets such as technology stocks seems to have rubbed off on tokens, too.
Crunch Time Nears for FX Traders Grappling With Faster Trading

There’s one topic dominating the agenda as FX traders descend on Miami this week: how the currency market can adjust to a fast-approaching change to US stock settlements that stands to shake-up their industry.
BofA Survey Shows Investors Are All In on US Tech Stock Rally

Investors are going “all in” on US technology stocks as they turn the most optimistic about global growth in two years, according to a survey by Bank of America Corp.
Bond Traders Need to Price In Risk of Future Fed Hikes, Citigroup Says

Bond traders have come more in line with the Federal Reserve’s trajectory for the upcoming easing cycle. Strategists at Citigroup Inc. say what’s missing now is traders hedging the risk of a very brief easing cycle followed by rate increases shortly thereafter.
Dow 5,000 Rang in ’90s Boom. What About S&P 5,000?

Everyone knows you’re not supposed to bet on a bubble, but what about a potential bubble?
Mark Zuckerberg’s 20-Year Formula for Success Has Expired

The other day I did something I haven’t done for years. I browsed Facebook. By which I mean: I really took a look around. Good grief, what a mess! It’s like walking round an abandoned amusement park of badly executed ideas.
The Stock Market Is Loving Private Equity’s New Normal

The private equity industry has rediscovered its mojo. The latest updates from the publicly traded firms specializing in the asset class satisfied investors’ appetite for bullish vibes from the leadership teams. As shares in alternative investment managers build on an already strong recovery, the risks of disappointment can only mount.
Bitcoin Eyes Longest Winning Run in a Year as ETFs Attracts Inflows

Bitcoin is flirting with a winning run last seen a year ago, aided by the record-breaking debut of US exchange-traded funds for the token.
Morgan Stanley Says Firms Are Focused on Costs Like Never Before

US companies are discussing cost control on earnings calls at a record rate, amid a push to reallocate funds and invest in new technologies, according to an analysis by Morgan Stanley strategists.
Six Years After Volmageddon, Volatility Fears Resurface in US Stocks

Six years after a famous blowup in the volatility market shattered a lengthy calm in US stocks, the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey reveals growing Wall Street concern over a new boom in trades that bet against equity turbulence.
AI Is Driving More Layoffs Than Companies Want to Admit

United Parcel Service Inc.’s largest layoffs in its 116-year history were made possible, in part, by new technologies including artificial intelligence, CEO Carol Tomé said last week. Citing one example, she said that machine learning allows salespeople to put together proposals without having to ask pricing experts for guidance.
Global Share Buybacks Return With a Bang as Stocks Hit Records

Stronger than expected earnings are leading companies on both sides of the Atlantic to announce share buybacks at a blistering pace as 2024 gets going — a potentially crucial pillar of support for global stock markets already trading at all-time highs.
JPMorgan Study on Bitcoin ETF Liquidity Favors BlackRock, Fidelity

The Bitcoin exchange-traded funds started by BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments are gaining a liquidity edge over a larger rival from Grayscale Investments LLC, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists.
New Rules Will Force SPACs to Sober Up

Special purpose acquisition companies have for too long existed in a regulatory gray area. With new rules approved last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission has provided needed clarity for these entities and their investors.
New SEC Rule Will Impair the World's Most Important Market

The SEC is using its authority over dealers to sneak in the back doors of these entities, which will inevitably create new or modified entities to reduce the cost of regulation.
Is TikTok’s Financial Advice Any Good? As an Economist, I Say Yes

TikTok stands accused of poisoning the minds of Gen Z, making them hate America and giving them a distorted view of history. Without getting into all that, I will say this: TikTok is not the worst place to learn about personal finance.
Treasury Yields Reach 2024 Highs With Inflation Back in Focus

Treasury yields rose further — with some reaching year-to-date highs — ahead of inflation data comprising the market’s next test after a string of Treasury auctions went off without a hitch.
Nvidia Nears Amazon’s Market Value as Blazing Rally Drives Ahead

Nvidia Corp.’s stock has rallied so much this year that it’s now threatening to overtake Amazon.com Inc. to become the fourth most valuable US company.
Hedge-Fund Short Sellers Revel in Hidden Cash Perk Like 2007

Hedge funds are paid big bucks for making smart market bets. Yet these days, a simple feature of the financial plumbing — largely overlooked on Wall Street during the low interest-rate era — is helping juice industry returns.
Treasury 30-Year Bond Sale Finds Buyers to Crown Good Refunding

The US government sold $25 billion of 30-year bonds at a lower-than-anticipated yield, soothing investor nerves about demand for longer-dated debt.
Doom Spending Is Not Self-Care

Doom spending is “spending money despite concerns about the economy and foreign affairs to cope with stress,” says the credit-tracking company, and about 27% of Americans say they’re doing it.
The Federal Reserve Isn’t Political. Well, Not Exactly.

In an interview with 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was asked “To what degree does politics determine your timing” of when to reduce interest rates? Powell firmly replied that “We do not consider politics in our decisions. We never do. And we never will.”
Top AI Companies Join Government Effort to Set Safety Standards

The top US artificial intelligence companies will participate in a government-led effort intended to craft federal standards on the technology to ensure that it’s deployed safely and responsibly, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
As China Markets Flail, Rest of the World Is Roaring Ahead

This year’s turmoil in China has sparked a stock meltdown, blown up structured financial products, led to public disgruntlement, and now President Xi Jinping has put a new market regulator in control.
US Big-Tech Mania Drives Developed-Market Stocks to Record

A roughly $61 trillion global benchmark of developed-market equities rose to an all-time high on Wednesday, with Wall Street’s technology behemoths leading the way.
US Treasury’s Biggest-Ever 10-Year Auction Garners Solid Demand

The US government sold a record $42 billion of 10-year notes Wednesday at a lower-than-anticipated yield, soothing investor nerves after a recent rout and indicating confidence that the Federal Reserve will eventually cut interest rates.
A Soft Landing for the US Economy Could Slip Away

Stocks and bonds rallied at the end of last year on the hope of a seemingly improbable combination of dynamics playing out to support financial assets in 2024 — cooling inflation, solid economic growth, a resilient labor market, and as much as 150 basis points of interest-rate cuts.
Big Gas Needs to Be a Backup Instead of a Bridge

Natural gas used to sell itself. Emitting less nasties than coal, including carbon dioxide, plus being cheap and homegrown, it was once hailed by former President Barack Obama as a “bridge fuel.”
Amazon Economists Tout New Model to Call Recessions in Real Time

Spotting a recession in real-time, instead of months after the fact, is among the holy grails of forecasting. Two economists at Amazon.com Inc. say they’ve figured out a new way to do it.
Treasuries Brace for Biggest-Ever 10-Year Auction to Test Demand

Bond investors, still reeling from Treasuries’ worst two days in more than a year, are preparing for a new test on Wednesday when the government holds its biggest-ever sale of 10-year debt.
Fed’s Kashkari Sees Two to Three Rate Cuts as Appropriate in 2024

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said officials need to see “a few more months” of inflation data before cutting interest rates, adding that he thinks two to three cuts will likely be appropriate for 2024.
Hedge Funds Trading Treasuries to Be Tagged Dealers by SEC

Hedge funds and proprietary trading firms that regularly trade US Treasuries are set to be labeled as dealers by the Securities and Exchange Commission — a tag that brings greater compliance costs and scrutiny.
Zuckerberg’s Secret Weapon for AI Is Your Facebook Data

For many people, Facebook is the internet, and the number of its users is still growing, according to Meta Platforms Inc.’s latest financial results. But Mark Zuckerberg isn’t just celebrating that continuing growth.
Big Oil’s Boring Quarter Was Great News for Investors

Big Oil has delivered a set of remarkable earnings. Without fanfare, ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Shell Plc all did in the fourth quarter what they’d promised: Start new oil and gas projects; cut costs; return lots of money to shareholders. It’s a model for the notoriously boom-and-bust industry.
Magnificent Seven Implosion Can Wait

Investor worries about market concentration aren’t going away, and it’s easy to understand why: the so-called Magnificent Seven mega-cap growth stocks now constitute about 29% of the S&P 500 Index by market weighting, eliciting ominous comparisons to the peak of the dot-com bubble.
‘Money Dysmorphia’ Traps Millennials and Gen Zers

Never hesitant to rebrand an existing phenomenon, millennials and their Gen Z frenemies are admitting to having “money dysmorphia” — a feeling of insecurity around their financial situation even when the true picture reveals little cause for concern.
Traders Betting on Tesla Rebound Pile Into Leveraged ETF Options

Tesla Inc.’s slide to the lowest level since May attracted a wave of bullish option buying not in the stock itself, but with an exchange traded fund that offers more leverage.
Treasuries Suffer Large Two-Day Loss as Fed Message Sinks In

Treasuries are headed for their biggest two-day loss in months as strong economic data reinforced the message of Federal Reserve officials including Chair Jerome Powell that interest-rate cuts are unlikely to begin before May.
EVs Take a Gap Year Awaiting Sub-$30,000 Tesla

The energy transition requires subsidies, policy support and technological progress. Above all, though, it needs people to literally buy into it, and nothing exemplifies that better than electric vehicles.
Why Banks and Airlines Love Rewards Cards More Than You Do

Brian Kelly is The Points Guy, a pioneer in the cottage industry that helps credit card users get the most out of airmiles and other rewards. He got into it when young out of a determination to always fly business class. His motivation? “I’m six-foot-seven!” he says.
Finally, a New Apple Device Really Worth Talking About

By now, we all know the routine: An early start. A line down the street. Apple Inc. store employees whooping and hollering with such coordination it must make Kim Jong Un envious.
China’s Small-Cap Crash Shows What Happens Without Market Rescue

China’s smallest stocks are flashing a warning about the potential downside for the world’s second-largest equity market if Beijing fails to follow through on a highly anticipated rescue campaign.
Traders Look to Bitcoin ETFs to Patch ‘Alameda Gap’ in Crypto Market

The era of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds is a chance to repair the decay in crypto markets caused by the collapse of the FTX exchange and its sister hedge fund Alameda Research, according to market makers.
American Consumers to Forge Ahead Through Credit Strains and Layoff Threats

American shoppers won’t be deterred by mounting credit-card bills or the recent ripple of layoffs, according to the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey.
Bond Market Rate-Cut Bets Rattled by Powell Pushback, Jobs

The US economy is testing bond traders’ faith that the Federal Reserve will deliver a series of interest-rate cuts this year.
Meta’s Stock Bounce Shows How Big-Ticket Job Cuts Can Pay Off

Layoffs are being mentioned on US earnings calls at the highest rate since the pandemic — and as Meta Platforms Inc. shows, such cost-cutting can pay off for investors.
Goldman Sachs’ Rubner Says US Stock Market ‘Could Go Down a Lot’

If the US stock market goes down a little from here, it “could go down a lot.”
BofA’s Hartnett Says Stock Markets Are Behaving Like Dot-Com Era

The rush into technology stocks is resembling the bubble of 1999, reflecting an assumption that the economy will perform strongly despite tighter monetary policy, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists.
JPMorgan’s Trades Threaten to Take Privacy Out of Private Credit

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is making the titans of private credit markets very anxious.
A Revived Meta Buys the Permission to Keep Spending

Meta Platforms Inc.’s efficiency-obsessed investors don’t like to see the company spend money. Unless — and this will shock you — it’s going into their pockets.
Powell Goes Off Script and Reduces Flexibility

For several months, I have pushed back against the market expectation that the Federal Reserve’s cycle of interest-rate cuts would start as early as March.
Markets Don’t Know What to Expect Anymore, and That’s Good

When it comes to financial markets, nothing is certain. For much of the last few decades, however, it was easy to convince yourself otherwise: Interest rates mostly went in one direction, down, and high inflation was a thing of the past.
Bitcoin ETF Price War Is Trickling Down to Crypto Custodians

Less than a month after the debut of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, the asset managers offering the investment vehicles appear to be seeking ways to bolster their own profitability.
Meta, Amazon Set to Gain by $279 Billion on Strong Earnings

Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. soared in pre-market trading Friday after delivering quarterly earnings and outlooks that far exceeded Wall Street’s expectations.
Treasuries Surge as Bank Stock Rout Rekindles Fed Rate-Cut Hopes

Treasury yields tumbled Thursday as a second day of declines for US financial stocks led traders to price in a more rapid pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
Tesla’s Profit Margins Deserve More Appreciation

For Tesla Inc., being the tenth most valuable company with the greatest market capitalization and fastest growing profitability of any maker of cars and trucks, is seemingly atrocious.
Apple CEO Tim Cook Needs to Start Putting Out Fires

As the market prepares for Apple Inc.’s earnings on Thursday, all I can think is this: Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has problems. Plenty of them.
The Fed’s Risk Management Is Now the Big Economic Risk

The inflation problem is largely behind us, and most signs suggest that Federal Reserve policymakers know it. So why didn’t they just go ahead and cut rates on Wednesday instead of leaving their target range at 5.25% to 5.5%? Why wait until March or (more likely) May?
Morgan Stanley Bear Mike Wilson Sees Stock Rally Broadening

One of Wall Street’s most prominent bears is now expecting gains in the US equity market to broaden into less loved corners than the big tech companies that have dominated the rally so far.
US Jobless Claims Rise to Two-Month High as Labor Market Cools

Initial and recurring applications for US unemployment benefits both rose to a two-month high, suggesting some slowdown in the labor market.
Apple, Amazon and Meta Take Spotlight as Stock Rally Wavers

Big Tech’s struggle to meet lofty investor expectations this earnings season has taken air out of a record-breaking stock run. Pressure is now on Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. to come through on Thursday.
Wall Street Gets Reality Check as Powell Saps Fast Rate-Cut Bets

Jerome Powell delivered a clear message to traders eager for the central bank to start slashing interest rates: Not so fast.
Microsoft Omits the AI Progress Report Investors Wanted

If artificial intelligence is going to live up to the hype, Goldman Sachs analysts said recently, the excitement stage of AI needs to shift drastically this year into a period of meaningful deployment.
The World Is Transitioning to American Oil From Saudi Crude

Picture the scene: Weeks after the world came together at the COP28 summit with a deal for “transitioning away from fossil fuels,” Saudi Arabia, the oil industry’s flagship producer, cancels a planned increase in its crude output capabilities. On paper, it’s the stuff climate activists dream about.
The American Economy Is a Shop Full of Surprises

Economic growth in the US is off to a better start than expected this year, thanks largely to a long-awaited pickup in consumers buying “stuff” again after they shifted spending to experiences in 2022.
US Increases Quarterly Debt Sale, Sees No More Boosts Coming

The US Treasury boosted the size of its quarterly issuance of longer-term debt for a third straight time and suggested that no more increases are likely until next year.
Microsoft, Alphabet and AMD Struggle to Meet AI Expectations

Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. — three companies working harder than nearly anyone to weave artificial intelligence into their products — are finding that investor expectations for the technology are hard to meet.
‘It’s All Choppy’: Pimco, DoubleLine, BlackRock Embrace Bond-Market Swings

Trading in bonds these days means having to put up with more frequent market gyrations — and that’s just fine with big investors like Pimco and BlackRock Inc.
China’s Glut, India’s Drought. Two Faces of Liquidity

Lenders in the world’s two most-populous nations are having very different problems with monetary and fiscal taps. In China, creditors are drowning in cheap central bank cash, but loan demand is muted. In India, banks are in the middle of their fastest expansion in a decade, but they’re parched for liquidity.
Reddit Flirts With Wall Street and Potential Disaster

There’s a reason the social network has taken so long to go public: There’s a good chance it might all fall apart.
Americans’ Working Years Need a Better Ending

A comfortable retirement is supposed to be the culmination of the American dream, yet far too many actual Americans are falling short of achieving it. In the spirit of fan fiction, I'd like to set up a better ending.
Federal Reserve’s Dilemma Is a Nice Problem to Have

The latest economic data for the US are better than most dared hope a year ago. Inflation has fallen much faster than the Federal Reserve expected, and so far without the abrupt economic slowdown and higher unemployment that many economists thought likely.
Banks Are Hawking US Recession Hedges Tied to Both Stocks, Bonds

Investors’ lingering fears of recession have prompted Wall Street banks to hawk a complex hedge: exotic options that pay off if stocks fall and bond yields also drop.
Bullish Stock-Market Sentiment Sends Contrarian Signal Ahead of Fed

The stock market’s rally to record highs heading into this week’s Federal Reserve meeting has some of Wall Street’s biggest optimists growing concerned that the good vibes are sending a contrarian signal.
US Treasury Seen Boosting Long-Term Debt Sales One Last Time

Wall Street is widely expecting the US Treasury to announce a final increase to its sales of long-term debt this week, after a steady ramp up in supply that’s sometimes tested buyers’ appetites for funding a widening budget deficit.
Sports Bets and Financial Disasters Share Some Traits

What does a November 2023 hockey bet have to do with the 2008 financial crisis and the Chunnel connecting England to France? A lot, and the relation is key to understanding financial disasters — not to mention getting paid for longshot sports bets and getting from London to Paris safely.
Apple Is Our Hope for Making AI More Private

There’s a price to pay for all the generative AI tools that professionals are using to make themselves more efficient. It’s not just a subscription fee to OpenAI, Microsoft Corp. or some other AI company — it’s their privacy too.
Guaranteed Income Plans Only Work in Studies — So Far

The number of studies showing the success of universal basic income programs continues to mount. The latest comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, which recently released its initial report on a pilot project designed to test the feasibility of so-called UBI.
Stock Market’s Fate Rests on $10 Trillion in Big Tech Earnings

Investors wondering where the S&P 500 is headed, at least for the next month or so, will want to pay attention to three key days this week.
US Manufacturers to Temper Investment Pace After Vibrant 2023

Capital spending by US manufacturers will probably cool in 2024 after a banner year of investment in plants as still-elevated borrowing costs and demand concerns temper a lingering desire to upgrade operations.
Busy Week for Bonds Won’t Make Things Any Clearer for Traders

Bond traders looking for something to jolt the $27 trillion Treasury market out of its recent rut will probably still be left waiting for answers, even after a busy week packed with a Federal Reserve meeting, the government’s quarterly debt-sale plans and a slew of economic data.
Musk Waves Goodbye to Tesla’s Growth Targets

Henceforth, no company should ever say they are experiencing a slowdown. Tesla Inc. has redefined this experience as being “between two major growth waves.”
Fed’s Preferred Core Inflation Gauge Slows to Below 3% Rate

The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation rose at the slowest annual pace in nearly three years while consumers spent at a robust rate, keeping the debate alive as to whether officials will soon cut borrowing costs.
Largest Bitcoin ETF’s Slowing Outflows Lift Some Recent Crypto Gloom

Bitcoin rose past $41,000 amid a slowdown in outflows from the $20 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust that strategists said may help to stanch a two-week slump in the token.
Jamie Dimon’s JPMorgan Successor Will Be Human, Too

Investors will literally beg Jamie Dimon not to retire: One did so at JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s investor day last year. But the chairman and chief executive officer of America’s biggest bank can’t do his job forever.
US Investor Exodus Deals Historic Blow to Global ESG Fund Market

For the first time ever, ESG funds suffered net global outflows amid a major exodus by US investors from environmental, social and governance strategies.
Bet Against the US Superconsumer and Lose

Economic growth is barely positive in the Eurozone, and the Chinese stock market has been in freefall. But for all its doubters, the US economy and markets continue to shock the world. For a moment at least, that’s worth celebrating.
The Fed Tells Banks Not to Be Shy About Asking It for Money

When Brookline Bancorp Inc. needs to borrow short-term cash quickly — part of the regular course of business for the Boston-based lender — it has a range of options. One source of cheap money it’s loath to turn to, however, is the Federal Reserve for fear of setting off alarm bells.
Busting Up the Home Sales Cartel Is Overdue and Necessary

The housing market, a key driver of the economy, has struggled of late. Sales of previously owned US homes just had their worst year since 1995, and affordability recently hit a record low by one measure.
Crypto Is Going Mainstream, Which Means It’s Over

Two big things have happened in the crypto world this month: a public validation and a semi-private snub. Both of them bode poorly for its future.
Microsoft’s Rise to $3 Trillion Took Much More Than Windows

This week, Microsoft joined the $3 trillion club — which so far has only two members, the other being Apple Inc., which first hit the milestone two years ago.
Should I Buy China Shares Now? All You Need to Know After $6 Trillion Rout

China’s authorities are stepping up efforts to stabilize the stock market after a massive selloff. The collapse in valuations since a peak in 2021 makes them the world’s “best value proposition,” according to at least one market veteran.
Wall Street Unleashes Quants in Race for Private-Market Billions

Wall Street is turning to its biggest brains as the battle for supremacy in the world of private assets heats up.
Bond Market Braces for Record Auction Sizes for Some Treasuries

When the Treasury Department previews its note and bond auction sizes for the next three months on Jan. 31, some of the projected sizes are likely to be the biggest investors have ever seen.
The Bipartisan Tax Deal Is Good But Not Good Enough

After months of talks, lawmakers have reached a bipartisan agreement on changes to the tax code. They’re now struggling to get it passed in time for the new tax-filing season.
US 30-Year Yield Reaches Year-to-Date High After Poor Auction

The US 30-year yield climbed to its highest level so far this year Wednesday after poor demand for an auction of five-year notes, a week before the Treasury is expected to announce a heavier borrowing schedule for the February-to-April period.
JPMorgan Says Corporate Bond Markets at Risk of February Gloom

JPMorgan & Chase Co. said US corporate bond spreads are at risk of widening next month, and that February is often a difficult month for the debt.
Credit Traders Are Using Default Swaps to Hedge Their Bets on Interest Rates

Nomura Asset Management’s Richard Hodges began the year by buying credit default swaps, worried that rate-cut bets were becoming too aggressive. He reduced the hedge when the cost of protection increased, and now stands ready to dip in again.
Euro’s Status Languishes as Dollar Still King After 25 Years

The euro celebrates 25 years of virtual existence this month, with its digital creation in 1999 followed by the introduction of physical notes and coins in 2002. It's embedded successfully as the domestic means of exchange within the 20-nation euro zone.
The Last Mile of Inflation Has a Bad Reputation

In the rapidly evolving outlook for interest rates, some things are still sacrosanct. The pace of price increases has slowed significantly, and the argument is now how much — rather than when — borrowing costs will be lowered this year.
US Home Purchase Applications Increase to Highest Since April

Applications for home-purchase mortgages in the US rose to the highest level since April, signaling housing demand is picking up as borrowing costs hold below 7%.
China Funds Attempt to Cool Retail Frenzy Over US Stock ETFs

China’s mutual fund houses are trying to tamp down investors’ enthusiasm for US stocks, putting new restrictions on buying into their products as demand soars.
Goldman Says Momentum Traders to Sell Stocks in ‘Every Scenario’

No matter which way markets go, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says some traders are modeled to sell stocks over the next week.
US GDP Data Will Showcase Consumer Set to Power Economy in 2024

Forecasters who follow the US economy found themselves in a familiar place after a recent retail sales report: revising up their estimates for GDP.
Who Wants to Be a Trillionaire?

When will the world have its first trillionaire? A recent report from Oxfam International predicts one within a decade, noting that the five wealthiest men in the world are 114% richer today than they were in 2020.
BlackRock's Pricey Infra Deal Will Beget More M&A

It’s a seller’s market for infrastructure asset managers. Conventional and alternative investment firms are falling over themselves to expand in this lucrative area, and M&A is the easiest way for them to leapfrog the competition.
China Selloff Leads to Record $38 Trillion Gap With US Stocks

The value of China’s stock market has never been this far behind that of the US, as the losses continue to pile up in a seemingly relentless equity rout.
Shift in Key Options Bet Suggests S&P 500 Can Rally Even Further

Options traders are betting on more gains in the S&P 500 Index after it hit a record high on Friday.
Where Investment Chiefs Are Putting Their Cash in Unstable 2024

This year is already shaping up to be a tough one for investors to navigate, with heightened debate over central bank moves, prospects for economic slowdowns and crucial elections around the world all weighing on fund managers’ minds.
AI Is Much Better at Evolution Than Revolution

We’ve had almost a year now to assess whether Microsoft Corp.’s plan to add ChatGPT to its Bing search engine made any difference in the great battle against Google. It will come as no surprise to learn that it didn’t — Bing’s market share in online search has barely moved.
The Introverts Have Taken Over the US Economy

While many things are getting back to normal, the pandemic profoundly changed American life — sometimes just by speeding up prevailing trends. The technology already existed to allow many Americans to work from home, for example, but the pandemic normalized it.
A Rewiring of the World’s Biggest Bond Market Will Transform Trading

After years of regulatory tinkering, Washington is now forcing through the most rigorous overhaul of the world’s biggest bond market in decades.
Wall Street’s ‘Foolish’ 2024 Trade Is Betting on Early Fed Rate Cuts

The latest warning for investors unleashing dovish monetary wagers across the board: Two thirds of Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse respondents said that betting on early monetary easing is the “most foolish” among popular trades heading into 2024.
Fund Pros Burned in AI Surge Are Giving Up on Active Management

The never-ending rise in technology megacaps is driving stock-picking pros to do something they don’t want to do: give up on beating the benchmark.
Emerging-Market Money Manager Beats 99% of Peers by Ignoring Fed

An emerging-market money manager who is outperforming 99% of his peers says equity investors can make money in 2024 whether the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates or not, by focusing on countries undergoing economic transformations.
China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day

Chinese stocks just capped another dismal week, with a gauge of mainland firms listed in Hong Kong languishing at the bottom of global equity index rankings for the year so far.
S&P 500 Wobble Pushes ‘Fear Gauge’ to Highest Since November

A sense of torpor that’s descended on Wall Street’s chief fear gauge since the fall is starting to disappear.
BofA’s Hartnett Says Growth, AI Stocks Are Favorites Again

The stocks that led the rally in 2023 are again traders’ top picks, defying broader outflows, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists.
Everyone Seems to Want Uranium Right Now

A product has just gone up in price by 90% in 12 months. It now costs more than it has in 16 years. Most people would think twice about diving into a market like that.
Shorter Workweek Is Canary of the Labor Market

Corporate America has greeted 2024 with a run of job-cut announcements. The reductions, though modest, seem puzzling at a time when the stock market is flirting with all-time highs and real gross domestic product growth continues to be healthy.
Traders Dust Off 2000s Options Playbook to Cash In on Higher Rates

Citigroup Inc.’s option volume was light on a recent Wednesday, until the session’s last 90 minutes when a wave of trades hit. These weren’t bets on the shares moving — rather, they were part of a long-dormant strategy that’s back in vogue thanks to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.
Seismic Bond Shift Has Traders Watching Yield Curve’s Moves

Bond traders are growing convinced that US Treasury yields are on the brink of returning to the way they’ve traded for most of their existence — it’s the how, why and when of the normalization that keeps financial markets bouncing around.
The Fed Should Hit Pause on Its Capital Endgame

Time is tight for the Federal Reserve’s effort to redraw US bank capital rules, but they shouldn’t rush the job.
Blackstone and BlackRock Master the Art of Moneymaking

Two major events are shaking up the asset-management world. Blackstone Inc. raised $1.3 billion for its first retail private equity fund, targeting those who have at least $5 million to invest.
Hedge Funds Cash In on New Year’s Swoon in Most-Shorted Stocks

Fast-money bears are feasting in the new-year equity selloff as traders recalibrate bets on the path of Federal Reserve policy.
Real Estate Stocks Tumble as Traders Reassess March Rate Cut Bets

Real estate stocks were the biggest drag on the S&P 500 Index Wednesday as traders moved back their bets on an interest-rate cut.
Bitcoin ETF Approval Fails Investors

What was Gary Gensler thinking? The chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission cast the tie-breaking vote last week to approve 11 exchange-traded funds based on the spot price of Bitcoin.
Have No Fear of the Fed’s $7 Trillion Stash

The US Federal Reserve faces a monetary-policy challenge above and beyond determining the right level of short-term interest rates: how much and how quickly to reduce the more than $7 trillion in securities still on its balance sheet — holdings it amassed in previous years to help stimulate growth.
US Companies Pay Up to Hedge Debt After Interest-Rate Volatility Soars

Wall Street corporate bond desks are seeing a major increase in demand for hedges as debt issuers grapple with soaring interest-rate volatility.
Fed Can Cut Rates This Year Absent Inflation Rebound, Waller Says

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the US central bank should take a cautious and systematic approach when it begins cutting interest rates, a process that can start this year absent a rebound in inflation.
Wall Street Forecasters Are Rushing to Lift Stock Outlooks

After sidestepping last year’s scorching stock rally on concern about higher interest rates, Wall Street’s top forecasters can’t get bullish fast enough amid expectations for cuts by mid-year.
The Virtue Economy Is Over

The virtue bubble has not only peaked; it is starting to deflate. For the last few years, the ESG movement has affected both how people invest and what they buy.
ChatGPT May Rival Flash Boys in Transforming Markets

Large language models, such as ChatGPT, are threatening to disrupt most areas of life and work. Financial trading is no exception.
Earnings Will Beat Expectations Only Because the Bar Is Low

Earnings estimates have been slashed so much over the past three months that Wall Street strategists now expect most companies will easily beat analyst forecasts this season.
Nvidia’s Red-Hot 2024 Start a Bright Spot as S&P 500 Eyes Record

Nvidia Corp. is off to its strongest-ever start to a year by one measure, keeping up a blistering rally that saw shares gain nearly 240% in 2023.
Bond Bulls Fixated on Fed-Rate Cuts Risk Getting Smacked Around

Bond traders are growing more convinced that US yields are heading lower as they bet on a series of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, yet the path to cheaper borrowing costs is set to be extremely bumpy.
Why the Cost of Money Is About to Go Up

What’s the most important price in the global economy? The price of oil? The price of semiconductors? The price of a Big Mac? More important than any of these is the price of money. For more than three decades it was falling, but now it’s set to rise.
Vanguard Spurns Bitcoin ETF, Schwab Dives Right In, While Merrill Evaluates
When it comes to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, many investors are discovering that approved does not mean available.
The US Debt Is Now $34 Trillion. Don't Worry. Seriously.

US federal government debt ended 2023 at a record $34 trillion. The worries are bipartisan, with both Republicans and Democrats hearing about out-of-control borrowing from their constituents.
Pristine Inflation Data Is Too Much to Expect

The Federal Reserve is likely to cut policy rates this year less than the market expects, and the latest inflation report shows why.
Magnificent Seven Stocks to Give Way to Magnificent Many in 2024

If 2023 was all about the Magnificent Seven on Wall Street, this year is poised to usher in a broader array of winners.
Bitcoin ETF Trades Top $4.6 Billion in ‘Ground-Breaking’ Day

The first US ETFs that directly hold Bitcoin got off to a strong start, with billions of dollars changing hands in a historical first day of trading for the long-sought investment vehicles.
Bond Market Adds to Fed Rate-Cut Bets Despite Inflation Uptick

Bond traders shrugged off higher-than-anticipated inflation readings for December, pricing in a larger total amount of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year beginning in May.
Fed Needs to Tame Rampant Bond Volatility

The Federal Reserve won’t want a repeat of 2023 where 10-year Treasury yields soared from a low of 3.3% in April to peak at 5% in October — only to plummet back to 3.8% by year-end.
Nice Soft Landing, America. But What Comes Next?

Let’s assume the US economy has achieved a rare soft landing, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently declared. The pandemic-driven disruption is over, jobs recovered, inflation contained.
Bitcoin ETF Hype Is More Memestock Than Gold 2.0

The hype around US spot Bitcoin ETFs has reached meme levels akin to pandemic-era laser eyes: Crypto prices are soaring, hackers are mobilizing and Redditors are pumping. But the promise of game-changing, gold-like adoption looks like a meme too far.
China Stock ETFs See Record Inflows as Mutual Funds Fall Out of Favor

China’s exchange-traded funds attracted record inflows in last year’s equity rout just as actively-managed products fell out of favor, a sign that investor preference is shifting.
AI Tool Helps Fix Faulty Trades Amid Shift to Faster Settlement Times

As the financial industry grapples with the shift to shorter settlement times, banks and broker-dealers will soon have a new artificial intelligence tool to fix and prevent trades that go awry during the settlement process.
US Inflation Accelerates, Tempering Case for Fed to Cut Rates

US inflation accelerated in December as Americans paid more for housing and driving, challenging investor bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon.
Wall Street Quants Grapple With New Era Where Cash Actually Pays

Roaring inflation and rapid rate hikes have brought a welcome return of the kind of big swings and dislocations beloved by investing’s smart set, but it hasn’t been a blessing for every breed of quant.
BlackRock, Ark Slash Bitcoin ETF Fees Again Ahead of SEC Deadline

Competition among prospective Bitcoin exchange-traded fund issuers intensified, as companies further slashed fees in a bid to make products more attractive to investors ahead of a regulator’s decision on their future.
Nvidia’s Stock Breakout Puts Amazon Within Sight

Just 10 days into the new year and a familiar stock is back near the top of the leaderboard: Nvidia Corp.
‘Magnificent Seven’ Warning, IPO Return Among BofA's 10 Surprises on Wall Street

Geopolitical risk lashes the Magnificent Seven. The IPO machine roars back. Japan emerges as the world’s best developed market.
The Bond Market Rally Is Overlooking a Soaring $2 Trillion Debt Problem

Right around the start of November, two words suddenly disappeared from the chatter in the bond market: debt supply.
Slow-and-Steady Waymo Is Winning the Self-Driving Race

Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving unit Waymo announced on Monday that it plans to unleash its cars onto the freeway in Phoenix “soon.”
Fewer Products Signal Increased Corporate Efficiency

The pandemic taught corporate America a valuable lesson: variety is not necessarily a good thing.
Bitcoin Hovers Under $47,000 as ETF Frenzy Continues

Bitcoin traded just below the $47,000 mark on Tuesday, as investors await a decision from regulators on whether to approve the US’s first exchange-traded fund tied directly to the token.
BlackRock Says Last Year’s Risk Rally Has Legs ‘Well Into 2024’

The monster run in equities and other risk assets that shaped the final stretch of 2023 has room to run well into the new year if inflation continues to ebb, according to strategists at BlackRock Inc.’s Investment Institute.
Investors Are Looking to Share Buybacks to Keep US Stock Market Afloat

Stocks started 2024 with a limp. But that could change this week as earnings season kicks off and companies start announcing their plans for share repurchases, something investors hope will help the market keep last year’s rally running.
Zero-Coupon Treasuries Set Record on Investor Rush to Lock In Yields

A record amount of zero-coupon bonds were created in December as investors scrambled to lock in US government bond yields that were retreating from multiyear highs.
It’s the Time of Year to Kick Yourself Over Online Shopping

Most of us probably spent the 2023 holiday season helping to break a record.
The Fed Won’t Do Slow and Steady If the Labor Market Wobbles

I wrote last week about how interest rate cuts in 2024 should boost cyclical areas of the economy that were already set to rebound, lifting economic growth.
Bitcoin ETF Hopefuls Eye This Week for Long-Awaited SEC Greenlight

A series of high-stakes deadlines this week will mark the culmination of a years-long push to launch exchange-traded funds backed by Bitcoin in the US.
S&P 500 Record-Profit Outlook Is Too Optimistic, Survey Shows

Investors anticipating blockbuster profits in 2024 will be disappointed, according to Bloomberg’s latest Markets Live Pulse survey.
Peconic Hedge Fund Boosts Shorts After Scoring 31% Gain in 2023

Bill Harnisch, whose $1.5 billion hedge fund delivered a market-beating 31% gain last year, is betting the recent bout of euphoric stock buying will peter out.
Bitcoin Edges Lower As Traders Await SEC Bitcoin ETF Move

Bitcoin stumbled on Friday as traders braced for an upcoming decision by the US Securities and Exchange Commission on whether to approve an exchange-traded fund tied directly to the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Apple’s 2024 Slump Puts Most-Valuable Stock Title at Risk

Apple Inc. is off to its weakest start to a year since 2019, putting its long-standing status as the world’s most valuable stock by market value in jeopardy.
Citi Strategists Say Buy Dips, Don’t Chase Stock Rallies in 2024

There’s no room for double-digit gains again. With less upside expected for global stocks this year than in 2023, Citigroup Inc. strategists say buy at times of weakness and don’t chase rallies.
Whiplashed Bond Traders Are Still Missing the Point

Dueling economic reports whiplashed bond markets on Friday — for all the wrong reasons.
M&A Bankers Confront a Fragile, Stop-Start Year

Investment bankers must at times bore themselves with their talk of “strong pipelines” and “active conversations,” the ever-present characteristics of even the worst markets.
America Spreads the Wealth — and Redistributes It, Too

I have news for you: The United States is becoming more redistributionist. Whether you like it or not.
Bitcoin Reverses Course Ahead of Eagerly Awaited ETF Decision

A slump in Bitcoin on Wednesday saw the cryptocurrency erase almost all gains it had made in the first days of this year, bucking a long-running upswing that outperformed a global malaise in traditional assets.
Fed Sees Rates Staying High for Some Time With Cuts Eyed in 2024

Federal Reserve policymakers agreed last month that it would be appropriate to maintain a restrictive stance “for some time,” while acknowledging they were probably at the peak rate and would begin cutting in 2024.
US Payrolls Pick Up, Wages Gain as Labor Market Stays Solid

US job growth picked up in December and wage gains exceeded expectations, diminishing prospects for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut in March.
AlphaSimplex Exits Short Bet Against US Bonds After ‘Epic’ Market Shift

AlphaSimplex Group’s Kathryn Kaminski says her firm closed out a more than two-year short bet against US bonds, with its model signaling that it’s starting to become a time to buy as the market emerges from its worst rout in decades.
If Only We Knew the Problems Facing America's Banks

The US has yet to fully address one of the greatest weaknesses revealed by last year’s failure of Silicon Valley Bank and other regional lenders: Supervisors saw the problems, but they failed to compel action before it was too late.
Warren Buffett Brought Japan Back. Will It Last in 2024?

Before 2023 began, few saw the rise of interest in investing in Japan, long considered the land that optimistic stock bets go to die.
Coming Rate Cuts Portend a 1980s-Style Economic Resurgence

The key economic question for 2024 is how to think about the interest rate cuts we’re likely to get from the Federal Reserve. Are they good news for the economy as borrowers catch a break, or a sign of impending recession as they were in 2001 and 2007?
Hedge Funds Cashed In on 2023 Rally That Retail Investors Missed, Bank of America Says

The US stock market had a great 2023 with the S&P 500 Index gaining 24% and the Nasdaq 100 Index having its best year since 1999, but mom-and-pop investors may have missed out on the excitement.
Markets See Fed’s Exit From Quantitative Tightening Nearing

The Federal Reserve is trying to find the right time to start deliberating about how it will extract itself from its balance sheet unwind, a signal that the end might be closer than previously expected.
Smarter Energy Use Is a New Green Bet for Big-Money Investors

A largely invisible driver of the green transition is rapidly gaining backers among some of the world’s largest investors, even as other climate initiatives falter.
Want to Be Wealthy? You Might Try Therapy

Economists are used to the idea that intervening in concrete ways — spending on development projects, for example, or on social services — can improve outcomes. But what about psychological interventions?
2024’s Economy Will Be Just as Unpredictable as 2023’s

Recessions are notoriously difficult to predict. At the end of 2019, for example, many pundits were forecasting a recession simply because the boom had gone on for so long.
Dollar Kicks Off 2024 With Best Day Since March on Fed Doubt

The dollar kicked off the new year with its biggest daily jump since March as traders pared back bets on the scale of the Federal Reserve’s 2024 interest-rate reductions.
Stock Skeptics Say $6 Trillion Cash Waiting on Sidelines Is a Mirage

One often-made argument in favor of stocks says investors should dive in before roughly $6 trillion of money-market cash gets redeployed into equity assets globally.
Stocks, Bonds Drop in Tandem for Worst Start to Year in Decades

Traders hoping that a pan-markets year-end rally would pick up where it left off got the opposite on 2024’s first trading day, a session that featured one of the worst-ever concerted drops in stocks and bonds to start a year.
2024 Will Mark the End of the Post-Pandemic Economy

Economists did not believe it was possible, but they’ve been wrong a lot lately, and in their defense it has only ever happened once (or maybe twice) before: We may be witnessing that rare achievement known as a soft landing.
The Fed Will Set the Pace for Markets More Than Ever This Year

The surge in consumer prices that drove inflation way past central banker’s targets in recent years triggered a wave of interest-rate hikes.
History Bodes Ill for Growth Stocks After Big 2023 Rally

One of the big surprises of 2023 was the resurgence of US growth stocks. The tech-heavy S&P 500 Growth Index outpaced its counterpart Value Index by 7.82 percentage points last year, including dividends, after trailing it badly in 2022.
Bitcoin Topped $45,000 for First Time in Nearly Two Years

Bitcoin surpassed $45,000 for the first time in nearly two years as anticipation of an approval of an exchange-traded fund investing directly in the biggest token intensified.
Top Wall Street Bull Says US Stocks to Pause Briefly After Run

US stocks are likely to take a breather from their rapid gains before a potential fresh catalyst arrives in the form of the next earnings season, according to Oppenheimer Asset Management.
The Dollar Is Set for Its Worst Year Since 2020

The dollar is poised for its worst year since the onset of the pandemic as Wall Street bets the Federal Reserve is set to lower interest rates after reining in prices.
Everything Wall Street Got Wrong in 2023

All across Wall Street, on equities desks and bond desks, at giant firms and niche outfits, the mood was glum. It was the end of 2022 and everyone, it seemed, was game-planning for the recession they were convinced was coming.
America's Top Stock Picker Finds the Beauty in Chips

Since the beginning of the century, when he started following the industry that makes silicon and germanium, whose units are measured in a billionth of a meter, or a nanometer, Adam Benjamin has helped investors profit from the smartest part of the world.
Cathie Wood Goes Big Into ProShares Bitcoin, Dumps Grayscale

One of Cathie Wood’s exchange-traded funds has executed a massive shake-up in its Bitcoin-related holdings as the cryptocurrency rounds out a blockbuster year.
We’re Finally Shaking Off Those ‘Vibecession’ Feelings

The “vibecession” that has confounded economists for the past two years is finally behind us.
New York Can Build More Homes and Save the World

Around the world, major cities are struggling with a severe crisis: Housing has become so expensive that it’s repelling skilled workers, undermining growth and even fomenting political extremism.
It Was a Tough Year for Almost Every Bank Not Named JPMorgan

After a year marred by the biggest US bank failures since the 2008 financial crisis, the nation’s largest lender is on familiar footing — scooping up a weakened rival, reeling in its clients and minting record profits along the way.
Magnificent Seven Loses Importance as Soft Landing Means Risk On

The soft-landing scenario that investors see for next year points to further gains in US stocks. But it also dims the prospect of another stretch of wild outperformance for the technology giants that dominated in 2023.
Wall Street Quants Warm Up to Zero-Day Options Amid Trading Boom

This year’s hottest options trade is catching on with Wall Street’s nerd contingent.
Crypto Hedge Funds Gear Up for ‘Token Mania’ After 2023 Rebound

Crypto hedge funds that survived a bruising 2022 are recovering, and many are thriving. Some are even expecting a banner 2024.
Three Myths About Investing for Retirement

Whatever you’ve been told about your retirement, odds are that it’s wrong. Saving enough for your retirement, and investing the right way, are truly among the hardest of all financial problems. In many ways, it’s more difficult than running a large endowment or hedge fund — and yet we all must do it.
Albert Edwards, Permabear, Sees More Trouble Ahead

Albert Edwards, Societe Generale SA's chief global strategist, hasn't been the top-ranked Extel survey macro analyst for the past 20 years because he's an optimist.
Fed Likely to End Bank Funding Program in March, Wrightson Says

The growing gap between the rate on the Federal Reserve’s nascent funding facility and what the central bank pays institutions parking reserves suggests officials will let the program expire in March, according to Wrightson ICAP.
Goldman’s Painful 2023 Lesson on China Forces Rethink of Emerging Markets

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s head of global currency, rates and emerging-markets strategy says he’s learned two main lessons from one of the biggest — and most-common — bad calls of 2023: the bet on post-pandemic China’s reopening boom.
The West Has a Bad Case of Temporal Whiplash

Something odd is happening to the world’s most valuable resource. Time is simultaneously speeding up and slowing down. We live in a world of instant communications and superfast internet. We also live in a world of infrastructure projects that crawl along for decades.
US Home Prices Extend Records, Rising for a Ninth Straight Month

Home prices in the US rose for a ninth straight month, reaching a fresh record as buyers battled for a stubbornly tight supply of listings.
How Were So Many Economists So Wrong About the Recession?

Last year at this time, 85% of economists in one poll predicted a recession this year — and that was an optimistic take compared to the 100% probability of a recession forecast two months earlier.
Big Banks Are Copying From Private Credit’s Playbook

On the surface, it was your run-of-the-mill private credit deal. A bunch of heavy hitters in the industry — Oak Hill Advisors, Antares Capital and Golub Capital — were providing half-a-billion dollars to fund the buyout of an engineering firm.
Do You Want Mark Zuckerberg Snooping in Your Closet?

Avi Schiffmann is an entrepreneur with a crazy idea that might become our new reality. Recently, he went on a podcast and then wondered afterwards about how he’d presented himself.
Cevian’s Hopes for UBS Are Probably a Bit Rich

Cevian Capital AB’s $1.3 billion bet on UBS Group AG is unusual in more ways than one. The Stockholm-based investment firm is typically a quiet activist, working behind the scenes to steer management thinking. This time it’s being very public about what looks like a straightforward value play.
Wall Street’s Economic Doomsayers See US Recession Around Corner

A small cadre of Wall Street economists who’ve been surprised by the economy’s resilience in 2023 are doubling down on expecting pain for American households and businesses in the new year.
US Housing Market Shows Signs of Life After Mortgage Rates Fall

Even before the Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates, the mere anticipation of such moves is already thawing the US housing market.
Citi Strategists Warn of US Stocks Pullback But Say Buy the Dip

The rally in US stocks is showing signs of fatigue, and investors should be ready to buy into any declines, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.
Fed and Markets Resume Their Unhealthy Co-Dependency

The Federal Reserve was supposed to leave center stage by the end of the year and let other factors play the leading role in determining asset prices in the advanced world and beyond. Instead, it has written itself an encore act that’s full of confusion.
Quixotic Activist Was Naive About Modern Capitalism

It sounded quixotic, and so it proved. Activist investor Jeff Ubben is winding down his social and environmental impact funds, a project that sought to harness capitalism for the simultaneous benefit of society and shareholders.
Private Credit Should Be Welcomed — and Watched

Since the financial crisis of 2008, policymakers have been cracking down on leverage at banks. As a result, banks cut back on any lending that didn’t seem profitable enough if it wasn’t juiced by leverage.
Vilified Zero-Day Options Blamed by Traders for S&P Decline

This year’s hottest derivatives trade, and perhaps also its most divisive, stole the limelight one final time for 2023 as market watchers cast zero-day options as the villains behind Wednesday’s rally-ending slump in US equities.
Treasuries Rally With Global Bonds as Traders Lift Rate-Cut Bets

Treasuries rallied along with global bonds, sending benchmark yields to multi-month lows, as traders bet the world is entering a new, disinflationary period by wagering on more interest-rate cuts next year.
What I Got Wrong About Remote Work

The end of one year and the start of another is always a good time to admit one’s mistakes. And I got something wrong — really wrong — about remote work.
Retailers Are Up Against the Grinch This Christmas

A profit warning in the week leading up to Christmas is never a good look. This year’s shock has been provided by Superdry Plc. With just a few shopping days to go until the holiday, investors should be braced for more bad news from other retailers.
Bitcoin Mania Is Relentless With ETF Upstart Touting Carbon Credits

An ETF startup is trying to launch a Bitcoin fund, but with what looks to be an environmentally friendly twist amid continued scrutiny the industry faces around its potentially harmful impacts.
The Hedge Fund Traders Dominating a Massive Bet on Bonds

Jonathan Hoffman, John Bonello and Jonathan Tipermas share more than just similar first names. They’re the driving force behind a gigantic wager on government debt that’s been giving regulators sleepless nights.
Developed-Market Stocks Eye Record as US Leads $11 Trillion Run

A stellar year on Wall Street is propelling the biggest rally since 2019 in the MSCI World Index of developed-market equities, pushing the gauge closer to its record high and leaving emerging-market peers trailing far behind.
Stock Splits Elusive Even After Scorching Chip Rally

This year’s run-up in technology stocks, and particularly chipmakers, has left many with price tags so lofty it may seem like now is the time for firms to split their shares.
Jerome Powell’s Pivot Is a Pretty Big Gamble

The US Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome Powell, are betting that they can have the best of both worlds — that they’ll be able to defeat excessive inflation without forcing the economy into recession.
Your Money May Not Survive a Quantum Heist

As your credit card is scanned one final time this holiday season, say thanks to prime numbers for keeping the checkout queues short and your money safe. Well, most of the time anyway.
AI Offers Banks New Ways to Repeat Old Mistakes

The extraordinary hype around artificial intelligence this year touched the finance industry, too, but most banks have been rightly cautious about jumping directly onto the bandwagon. In such a tightly regulated business, the costs of getting it wrong could be extreme.
BlackRock’s Rieder Says March Fed Rate Cut Hopes Are Premature

BlackRock’s Rick Rieder said that market expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates in March are likely too early.
World’s Biggest ETF Sees Record $21 Billion Flow on Stock Rally

An unprecedented amount of cash flowed into the world’s largest and oldest exchange-traded fund last week, as stocks rallied to near-record highs after the Federal Reserve indicated it could cut interest rates next year.
Volatility Quant Soars 64% as Fear Goes Missing on Wall Street

A New York money manager has netted a 64% gain from a strategy riding the big plunge in volatility across the stock market in this expectations-busting year on Wall Street.
Demise of Small Caps Haunts Wall Street in the Age of Big Tech

It’s a temptation many on Wall Street succumbed to recently when small-cap stocks notched two-decade lows versus the S&P 500 – only to rally sharply after the Federal Reserve’s dovish policy surprise last week.
The French Economy’s Secret Weapon: Bureaucrats

Sometimes the real action is in the dog that didn’t bark. What is striking about the European Union’s pending regulations on artificial intelligence is what’s missing: There is no ban on open-source AI.
About the Fed’s Great Monetary Pivot

Investors were pleased about the Federal Reserve’s latest policy announcement — perhaps a touch more so than Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues might wish.
The Fed Runs a Fool’s Errand on Bank Capital Rules

There are many ways a bank can lose money. Top of the list are credit and financial market losses but beneath, there’s a whole taxonomy of issues that industry insiders brand “operational risk.” These result from bad internal processes, people and systems or from external events.
Wall Street’s Profit Outlooks Haven’t Budged as World Changes

The financial world is moving fast, as the Federal Reserve prepares to start cutting interest rates and stock indexes are at or near all-time highs.
Goldman Strategists Lift S&P 500 Forecast a Month After Setting It

Just one month after setting a 2024 target for the S&P 500, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists increased their forecast as the year-end rally shows no signs of abating.
Long-Dated Treasuries Enter Bull Market as Fed Pivot Feeds Rally

A vehicle used to track longer-dated US government bonds surged into a bull market, as investors seek to end three years of pain on the Federal Reserve’s willingness to consider interest-rate cuts.
Wall Street Is Feeling Good. How About the Rest of Us?

Jerome Powell didn't exactly say "mission accomplished" last week, but that's largely what the markets heard on Wednesday.
The Fed’s Shrinking Balance Sheet Is Worrying a Key Corner of US Financial Markets

As markets staged a monster rally following the Federal Reserve’s shift toward loosening monetary policy, one corner of the financial system had reason to remain on edge.
BofA’s Hartnett Says Flurry of Rate Cut Bets Drive Broad Rally

A rally in this year’s laggards shows investors are now going “all-in” on expectations of a flurry of central bank rate cuts next year, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett.
Wall Street Is Skeptical That Shoppers Can Keep Spending in 2024

Analysts are growing increasingly doubtful that US consumer spending will hold up into next year, even as American shoppers continue to be surprisingly resilient despite lingering inflation and elevated borrowing costs.
Fidelity, JPMorgan Buck Market by Betting on Stronger Dollar

The dollar will surprise by getting stronger next year as the US economy outperforms, according to some of the world’s biggest money managers.
Gigacasting Will Change How You Buy, Sell and Crash a Car

A major change in automobile manufacturing could pave the way for a revolution in how cars are bought, fixed and resold. Gigacasting, which reduces the number of car panels, has the potential to lower prices but can complicate repairs and transfer costs to owners.
The Stock-Bond Party Is Running Out of Punch

Stronger signaling from the Federal Reserve that interest rate cuts are on the menu in 2024 understandably sent both stocks and bonds soaring on Wednesday.
BlackRock’s Rieder Launches Second ETF After $400 Million Debut

BlackRock Inc. bond chief Rick Rieder is expanding his footprint in the $7.8 trillion ETF industry with the launch of his second fund.
Yellen Says US to Examine AI’s Risks to Financial Stability

Top US regulators view artificial intelligence as a looming vulnerability for financial stability, underscoring Washington’s mounting concern over systemic dangers posed by the burgeoning technology.
Almost Entire $8 Trillion ETF Market Hinges on a Few Key Firms

In the past five years, US ETF market assets have more than doubled, over 1,000 new funds launched, and annual trading volumes jumped by around $11 trillion.
The Year in Industrials: Who Won, Who Lost and Who Improved

The broader industrial economy is set to enter 2024 on shaky footing as an inventory hangover from the supply-chain crisis starts to look more and more like a prelude to underlying demand weakness and the reality of the reshoring boom proves much more nebulous and in flux than the prevailing narrative.
Generation Z Is Getting a Bad Deal on Housing

Becoming a financially secure adult is hard. Establishing yourself in your career, securing a home, starting a family … it’s a struggle as old as the modern economy, maybe even civilization itself. As is the lament of every generation that they have it worse than their forebears.
US Retail Sales Unexpectedly Rise in Solid Start to Holidays

US retail sales unexpectedly picked up in November as lower gasoline prices allowed consumers to spend more to kick off the holiday shopping season.
Powell Ignites 2024 Stock, Bond Gains With Promises of Cuts

US stock and bond prices will see modest gains as the Federal Reserve pivots to cutting interest rates next year, though the easing may not be as aggressive as markets are now expecting.
Alphabet Needs to Show Path to AI Sales in Race with Microsoft

Alphabet Inc. just got a reminder of how important the perception of having a winning AI strategy is for investors.
Wall Street Traders Go All-In on Great Monetary Pivot of 2024

After clashing in recent years, Wall Street traders and the Federal Reserve are – for once – broadly in sync: The great monetary pivot is near as central bankers engineer a once-unthinkable soft landing in the world’s largest economy.
Private Equity Sees an Oligopoly Ripe for Disruption

When private equity firms push into an industry, you know there are decent returns to be made. Just consider their enthusiasm for the arcane business of insuring corporate pensions.
Here’s Why Americans Aren’t Loving the Economy

Experts have been puzzling over a seeming disconnect in America: By most measures the economy is doing well, but it's not giving people much satisfaction or confidence. Could it, they wonder, have something to do with social media, or the human propensity to share bad news first?
Investors Are Unprepared for Stock Shocks, Wells Fargo Strategist Warns

The stock market is getting ahead of itself on bets the Federal Reserve’s fiscal tightening is over, according to Wells Fargo’s Chris Harvey.
Blistering Treasuries Rally Silences Deficit-Obsessed Vigilantes

For most of the summer, the chatter in the bond market about swelling US deficits — and the depressing effect it was having on the price of Treasuries — was incessant.
Risky Exchange-Traded Notes in Spotlight With Arrival of ‘XXXX’

The arrival of a US investment strategy that offers amped-up stock leverage is putting a spotlight on an industry popular with retail traders, but prone to extreme volatility and frequent blow-ups.
Sell S&P 500 in ‘Every Scenario’ Looms as Rally Is Overheating

Even a slight pushback from the Federal Reserve on interest-rate cuts could unravel the relentless stock rally since late October.
Bond Market’s Big Rate-Cut Wager Faces a Reckoning From the Fed

The bond market’s bold bet on US interest-rate cuts is set for its biggest test yet.
US Consumer Prices Pick Up in Bumpy Path Down for Inflation

US consumer prices picked up in November, reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s resolve to keep interest rates elevated in the near term.
Desperate Retail Investors Drive India’s Options Craze

An uncontrolled popular urge to speculate in financial markets is giving regulators a headache everywhere. It is especially worrying in India, where trading in futures and options is now more than 400 times bigger than the underlying cash-market turnover.
Powell Should Let the Numbers Do the Talking on Fed Day

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faces a communications conundrum at the central bank’s policy meeting this week. Luckily for him, he could just let the Summary of Economic Projections do most of the talking — and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
Bitcoin Steadies Near $42,000 After Token’s Worst Stretch Since August

Bitcoin traded near $42,000 after a turbulent stretch that lopped almost 8% from the largest digital asset and stirred predictions of more volatility heading into year-end.
Young Investors’ Support for ESG Causes Declines in 2023 ‘Gut Check’

Support for ESG has plummeted among Millennial and Gen Z investors, typically the strongest backers of environmental, social and governance-related issues, as a more turbulent financial outlook tempers enthusiasm, according to a survey from Stanford University and the Hoover Institution.
World’s Largest EM Bond Fund Sees Cash Surge on US Soft Landing

Investors are pouring cash into the world’s largest exchange-traded fund tracking emerging-market debt as confidence mounts that the US Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its aggressive monetary tightening campaign.
Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Sees Drop in Near-Term Profit Views

US company earnings are likely to weaken in the fourth quarter before a rebound in 2024, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson.
Best Bond Forecasters of 2023 Say Rally Is Doomed to Fizzle

The most accurate US bond forecasters of 2023 say the strong year-end rally won’t stretch into 2024.
Low Taxes and High Spending Are a Rich Country Anomaly

Last year was a record one for personal income taxes in the US and close to a record for taxes overall.
Holding an Index Doesn't Mean Job Done on Investing

You’re young. You’ve got a little money to put away every month. You aren’t madly engaged with markets. But you want to invest for the long term in a low-cost, properly diversified manner. What do you do? Ask almost anyone and you will get the same answer.
Decisive Moment Arrives With $4 Trillion Stocks Rally at Stake

Investors are facing a pivotal week as a key measure of inflation that hits Tuesday and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision on Wednesday are expected to set the tone for the stock market and economy heading into 2024.
A Record High Is in the Cards for US Stocks in 2024

The S&P 500 Index will hit a record high in 2024 as the US avoids sinking into a recession, although a weaker consumer will mean the index gains less than this year’s 20% surge, according to Bloomberg’s latest Markets Live Pulse survey.
This Week Shows What Consumers Do for the US Economy and Vice Versa

Well, the strength of the US economy surprised everyone once again on Friday. We learned that the unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in November, average hourly earnings grew by 0.4%, and 199,000 more jobs were added when economists were expecting around 185,000.
Big Tech’s Ability to Deliver on AI Profits Looms Over S&P 500

The fate of the S&P 500 is increasingly resting on whether a handful of the biggest technology companies can parlay artificial intelligence investments into even higher profits.
China Stocks Rebound as ETF Volumes Suggest Buying by State Fund

Chinese stocks staged a sharp recovery in afternoon trading, with a spike in volumes for an exchange-traded fund tracking state-owned shares fueling speculation of government buying.
JPMorgan’s Kolanovic Says Opt for Cash or Bonds Over Stocks

It’s a lose-lose situation for US stock investors next year, according to Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief market strategist.
GMO’s $8 Billion Fund Beats S&P 500 Even Without Nvidia, Tesla

Jeremy Grantham is a famous bubble hunter, quick to point out speculative excess on Wall Street and beyond.
Voters Are Right to Complain About Inflation

Against the odds, the Federal Reserve’s effort to guide the US economy to a soft landing — reducing inflation without causing a recession — seems to be working.
Bitcoin Is Earning Its Place in a Balanced Portfolio

It should be no surprise that Bitcoin sold for over $44,000 this week, more than double its March 13 price. Going back to 2014, it has taken the cryptocurrency an average of nine months and 21 days to double; the milestone came 28 days early this time.
AI Is Likely to Create More Jobs Than It Kills

Artificial intelligence holds far-reaching consequences for modern economies. Many of the jobs we are asked to do will change; a lot of them might disappear altogether.
BofA’s Hartnett Says Bonds Rally May Drag on Stocks in Early ‘24

Stock markets will suffer in the first quarter of 2024 as a rally in bonds would signal sputtering economic growth, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett.
Bank Stocks Are Cheap But Credit Risks Keep Analysts Wary

A tough year for banks has left shares cheap, but Wall Street analysts are still hesitant to declare it’s all-clear for the sector as concerns over credit markets loom.
Bond Traders to Face a Reality Check With Friday’s Jobs Report

Bond traders who powered a ferocious rally in the $26 trillion US Treasury market are about to find out if they’ve gotten ahead of themselves.
Have the Fed’s Rate Increases Meant Nothing?

Early last year, critics — and there were many — said the Fed was woefully behind the curve on inflation, and that the only way it could win the battle was to push the economy into a damaging recession by raising interest rates very high, very fast.
Options Trading Is Rigged Against Average Investors

Would you gamble your life savings on a few hands of blackjack? Probably not.
Frustrated Homebuyers Are About to Catch a Break

Homebuyers have suffered some severe whiplash in recent months. After all, when mortgage rates hit 8% in late October, it was reasonable to think the housing market would stay on ice throughout the winter.
Global Bond Rally Stalls as BOJ Hike Bets Meets US Jobs Caution

The sizzling global bond rally stalled on Thursday ahead of a key US jobs report, with a slump in Japanese debt adding to the nerves of Treasury traders already fretting that yields had dropped too far.
Beaten-Down Stocks Get Some Revenge After Big Tech’s 2023 Rally

Stock investors are turning to roughed-up corners of the market from small caps to value shares as they seek out bargains with the S&P 500 Index riding a five-week winning streak and soaring almost 9% since the start of November.
Bond Gains Renew as Drumbeat to Friday’s Jobs Report Intensifies

The Treasuries market took another leg higher on Wednesday, as a slowdown in private-sector job creation further encouraged traders to bet on US interest-rate cuts ahead of broad labor-market data due Friday.
Constitutional or Not, Wealth Taxes Are Bad Economics

The US Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday over a dispute over a $14,279 tax bill — and the slightly more consequential question of what counts as income under the federal tax code, a definition the Biden administration would like to expand.
Bitcoin Hype Will Clash With the Rolex Recession

“BUY BTC.” The logo stamped on this week’s leaked version of the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer, depicting a faux glamorous world of speedboats, supercars and “shoot-em-ups,” was well timed.
The Murky Uses of India’s Private Credit Funds

There are plenty of high-performing private investment vehicles in India, but it’s the few that are being set up for dubious purposes that may bring harsher regulatory scrutiny to the country’s most rapidly expanding asset class.
Wall Street Quants Join Chatbot Boom as AI Gold Rush Intensifies

Jesse Livermore scanned trendlines. Warren Buffett sought a margin of safety. Peter Lynch bet on growth rates. In the long history of markets, trading systems and investment formulas hold an honored place.
Apollo CEO Says It’s Getting Harder to Beat Public Markets

Apollo Global Management Inc.’s Marc Rowan said it’s getting harder for active managers to beat indexes in public markets and that it is easier for investors to find alpha in private markets.
MetLife Downplays Concern Over Commercial Real Estate

MetLife Inc., the biggest US life insurer, downplayed concerns about the faltering commercial real estate market amid signs that occupancy is starting to recover.
Treasury Yields Resume Slide on Latest Sign Labor Market Cooling

Treasury yields resumed their downward slide — with the benchmark 10-year note’s falling to the lowest level since Sept. 1 — after the latest sign of labor-market cooling bolstered bets that a Federal Reserve shift to policy easing isn’t far off.
‘No Bears Left’ Is Worrying Refrain Coming From Wall Street

The message coming from Wall Street is that investor optimism is running dangerously high.
Taiwan’s Big China ETF Bust Shows Extent of Financial Decoupling

Taiwan’s economic and financial decoupling from China has deepened with the near-collapse of what was once the world’s largest Chinese bond exchange-traded fund market.
We’ll Soon See If New Fed Defenses Work Against Money Mayhem

Big central banks are going to keep shrinking their balance sheets next year, pulling money out of the financial system, even if the fight against inflation looks to be won and interest rate cuts begin.
Private Credit Titans Win the Incentive Fee Lottery

The $1.6 trillion private credit market is enjoying a “golden moment,” in the words of one Blackstone Inc. executive, as banks retreat from risky lending and investors flock to funds offering double-digit returns on corporate loans.
Home Prices Are Historically High Next to Rents. Don’t Panic.

Market rents in the US are, depending on which measure you look at, either rising slowly or falling outright. Home purchase prices, after a slight dip last year, are climbing again.
Bill Gross Recession Bet Has Minted Millions From Bond Rally

One of the big winners from the sudden furious rally in the US bond market: Bill Gross.
McKinsey Sees AI Adding Up to $340 Billion to Wall Street Profit

Banks using generative artificial intelligence tools could boost their earnings by as much as $340 billion annually through increased productivity, according to consultants hoping to help the industry adapt in this fast-moving area.
India Boosts Emerging Market ETFs as US Yields Dip, Dollar Falls

India is once again leading flows into US exchange-traded funds tracking emerging markets, boosting one of the most popular trades in 2023 as declining US yields and a weakening dollar turn investors toward assets in the developing world.
Stifel Sees S&P 500 Delivering Little Returns Into Early 2030s

Don’t look to US stocks for big gains next year — or for at least the next decade. That’s the bold take from Stifel Nicolaus & Co.’s Barry Bannister, one of a few Wall Street strategists who predicted the rally in the first half of 2023.
Did Markets Go Too Far, Too Fast Is Debate to Dominate December

December’s whipsaw opening shows investors may be concerned November’s epic rallies went too far, too fast in anticipating a near-perfect soft landing for the economy.
Private Credit Won't Cause the Next Financial Crisis

The rapid rise of funds that make loans directly to buyout deals and other highly indebted companies — known as private credit — is among the hottest topics in finance.
OpenAI’s Q* Is Alarming for a Different Reason

When news stories emerged last week that OpenAI had been working on a new AI model called Q* (pronounced “q star”), some suggested this was a major step toward powerful, humanlike artificial intelligence that could one day go rogue.
Trading Corporate Bonds Is Still More Art Than Science

Two years ago, the Journal of Finance — the most prestigious journal in the field — retracted a published paper because of data errors, either the first or second withdrawal ever by a top-three finance journal.
Nvidia Insiders Unload Shares After 220% AI Rally

While corporate insiders are increasingly betting on shares of their own firms, bosses at the S&P 500’s best-performing company are cashing in.
Yield Hunt Is Finally Back On for Buyers in Emerging Markets

Across Wall Street, analysts and investors had cheered 2023 as the year of emerging markets, only to be burned by a relentless climb in US Treasury yields. Now, as the Federal Reserve looks set to end its most aggressive monetary tightening campaign in a generation, they’re at it again.
Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Says December to Be Rocky for Stocks

US stocks are headed for a rocky end to the year after rallying in November as bond yields fluctuate, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson.
Should You Buy Bitcoin? All You Need to Know After Token Hits $40,000

Bitcoin has jumped more than 140% this year to outstrip other investments like stocks and gold, and optimism for further gains is high.
Bond Market Euphoria Shifts to Debate Over How Low Fed Will Need to Go

A torrid bond market rally shows traders are convinced the Federal Reserve’s rate-rising cycle is over. The debate now turns to when central bankers start cutting, and by how much.
Regional-Bank Debt Is a Bargain to Buyers Betting Worst is Over

Money managers including Invesco Ltd. and Loop Capital Asset Management are bullish on regional-bank bonds, wagering that the debt will perform better than the broader market as fears about funding costs settle down.
Biggest Blowout in Bonds Since the 1980s Sparks Everything Rally

In a year in which little has gone right in the US bond market, November turned out to be a month for the record books.
Powell Brushes Off Rate-Cut Bets as Fed Moves Carefully

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against Wall Street’s growing expectations of interest-rate cuts in the first half of 2024, saying the committee will move cautiously with borrowing costs at a 22-year high but retain the option to hike further.
JPMorgan Sees Sky-High Rates Reviving Short-Term Muni Deals

Decades-high interest rates are poised to revive interest in a little-used corner of the municipal-bond market: variable rate deals.
Uncertainty Looms Over a November to Remember

November will be etched in the memories of investors as a remarkable month.
Blue-Chip Spreads Rally as Investors Bet Fed is Done Hiking

Risk premiums on US investment-grade corporate bonds have narrowed to the tightest level in nearly two years on expectations that the Federal Reserve has reached the peak of its monetary-tightening cycle.
Billionaire Heirs Have a How-to-Spend-It Problem

“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” F. Scott Fitzgerald could have added that they are also generationally different from each other.
Bond Traders Schooled on Central Banking 101

On Wall Street and in the financial media, many of us make our living by attempting to say “smart stuff” about the Federal Reserve. Unfortunately in some cases, that creates an incentive to make central banking out to be more complicated than it is.
Bandaged Up OpenAI Faces a Tougher Task Now

“I have never been more excited about the future,” wrote Sam Altman, the reinstated chief executive officer of OpenAI, to his subordinates on Wednesday, in a statement formally announcing his return and the rebuilding of the company’s fractured board.
Charlie Munger and the Fading Art of the Second Banana

Charlie Munger, the longtime vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., who died on Tuesday at the age of 99, will be exalted for many things in the coming days.
Citadel and Its Peers Are Piling Into the Same Trades. Regulators Are Taking Notice

Even Ken Griffin is a little worried. Multimanager funds like Griffin’s Citadel have come to dominate the hedge fund industry, riding a steady run of outperformance to oversee more than $1 trillion, including a healthy dose of leverage.
Munis Haven’t Rallied So Much in a Month Since Paul Volcker Ran the Fed

The last time the municipal bond market rallied so much, it was Paul Volcker — and not Jerome Powell — who was winning a war on inflation.
JPMorgan’s S&P 500 Outlook for 2024 Is Grimmest on Wall Street

As a rush of Wall Street strategists call for all-time highs in US stocks in the year ahead, JPMorgan Chase & Co. stands apart, releasing the gloomiest forecast so far among its peers.
The Charlie Munger Principles to Invest and Live By

Among his many contributions, Munger was a prolific armchair philosopher, whose speeches and interviews included hundreds — maybe thousands — of nuggets about how to invest and live well.
Unhappy American Consumers Will Welcome a Slower Economy

The unhappiness of American consumers despite rapid job and economic growth in the past few years is a hotly debated topic. Is it inflation? High borrowing costs for homes and automobiles? Crowded airports and packed airplanes?
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall on Hedge Funds

Now that inflation is finally decelerating, regulators are increasingly turning their focus to financial stability.
What If Lending to Your Own Buyout Gets Sticky?

The private equity industry’s push into credit is so well advanced that no one bats an eyelid when the same buyout firm is invested in the debt and equity of the same portfolio company.
Global Bonds Surge Toward Best Month Since 2008 Financial Crisis

Global bonds are soaring at the fastest pace since the 2008 financial crisis.
US Steps After SVB Likely Spurred Bond-Fund Outflows, Study Says

US regulators’ swift action in March to ring-fence the banking sector after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank might have had an unintended consequence of driving cash out of bond funds, by enhancing the appeal of deposits.
Bitcoin Retakes $38,000 While Rate Cut Expectations Increase

Bitcoin climbed back above $38,000 on Tuesday amid optimism the US central bank may be closer to lowering borrowing costs if inflation continues to decline.
The $7 Trillion ETF Boom Gets Blamed Again for Dumb Stock Moves

It’s the latest critique of the passive-investing boom: Fresh academic research claims that the relentless flood of index-chasing cash on Wall Street is distorting stock prices and causing extreme market moves.
Adyen-Led Fintech Comeback Faces Wall of Worries

The rebound in Adyen NV and its European fintech peers this month has been notable, but investors should brace for a bumpy road ahead.
Electric Vehicle Subsidy Junkies Can’t Get Higher

BMW AG Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse was incredulous when asked this month whether the German premium carmaker would respond to a brutal price war in electric vehicles by cutting production.
How Argentina Could Still Convert to the Dollar

Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina on the strength of a radical promise: that he would replace the highly inflationary Argentine peso with the stable US dollar.
China Is a Rich Country. It Can No Longer Cry Poor on Climate

At the time of the first major climate change conference, in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, China was one of the least developed nations. Its per capita income was below Haiti, Niger and Pakistan.
Economists May Have Been Flying Blind All Along

The pandemic upended many of the things we thought we knew about the economy. Even now, economists struggle to answer such fundamental questions as whether Americans are better off financially.
Virtual Cash Will Survive the Crypto Winter

When the crypto bubble was on the rise, it prompted governments to step up development of their own form of electronic cash, known as central bank digital currencies. Now that enthusiasm for crypto has waned, will CBDCs fade away, too?
Sharp US Stock Rally Is Running Out of Steam, Citi Strategists Say

The rally that led the S&P 500 to one of its best November gains in a century is now running out of steam, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.
BlackRock Unveils Path to Unleashing $4 Trillion Investment Boom

Researchers working inside a unit of BlackRock Inc. estimate that a reform of public financial institutions could free up as much as $4 trillion in additional investment to help emerging markets tackle the fallout of climate change.
Goldman Says Sharp Drop in Volatility Is Opportunity for Hedging

The recent sharp pullback in volatility as year-end approaches creates hedging opportunities given the cloudy outlook for equities, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists.
Meme-Stock ETF Shuts After Failing to Attract Day Traders

If investors needed another sign the heyday for meme stocks has passed, an exchange-traded fund designed to ride the pandemic-era rise of retail traders is shuttering after just two years.
Wall Street’s $300 Billion Middleman Rides Model-Portfolio Boom

Brooks Friederich is a little-known figure in the world of investment advisory, even among the Wall Street cognoscenti. Yet every year, the 39-year-old — and his Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based employer Envestnet — helps steer billions of dollars into tailor-made strategies for financial advisers, part of what’s known as the model-portfolio boom.
How to Fix a $2.2 Trillion FX Risk After 50 Years of Trying

It’s finally time to move on from a $2.2 trillion problem by burying Bankhaus Herstatt — a half-century after its collapse.
Is a Hedge Fund More Than Its Founder?

Is a hedge fund anything without its founder? Another batch of well-known hedge fund managers have sold out or moved to liquidate portfolios this month. Their legacies as entrepreneurs underscore the challenges of building a firm that outgrows the key risk-taker.
Private Equity's Bubble Vintage May Fizzle

Private equity firms that spent hundreds of billions of dollars on acquisitions at the top of the market risk a nasty hangover.
‘AI Blowback’ Angst Grips ESG Investors Who Bet Big on Tech

ESG fund managers who turned to big tech as a low-carbon, high-return bet are growing increasingly anxious over the sector’s experimentation with artificial intelligence.
Bond Market’s Dramatic Recovery Is Seen as Opening Act for Broader Revival

The world’s biggest bond market has clawed its way back after spending chunks of 2023 underwater. Now many US debt watchers see the pathway clearing for a real revival.
Billions Wiped Out as Stock-Safety Trade on Wall Street Misfires

Reeling from a bear market last year, beaten-up investors decided to send more than $60 billion to exchange-traded funds focusing on dividends.
Wall Street Throws Caution to the Wind to Keep Up With Stock Rally

It’s the major casualty of November’s sizzling stock rally: Investor caution.
Bond Traders Boost US Recession Bets as Growth Falters

Treasury investors are turning increasingly skeptical the Federal Reserve will deliver a soft landing for the US economy next year, elevating concern of a looming recession over the risks posed by inflation and a swelling budget deficit.
US Consumer Year-Ahead Inflation Expectations Rise Further

US short-term inflation expectations climbed to a seven-month high in November and longer-run price views remained at levels not seen since 2011.
Fed Minutes Show Unity on Cautious Approach to Future Rate Hikes

Federal Reserve policymakers at their most recent meeting united around a strategy to “proceed carefully” on future interest-rate moves and base any further tightening on progress toward their inflation goal.
Annuities Are Back in Fashion, But Are They Safe?

Every time interest rates go up there is a flurry of demand for a product that has been around at least since the Roman Empire — annuities. The insurance industry has already seen rapid growth in annuity sales since 2021 and if rates remain at or move above current levels, demand seems poised to explode.
Goldman Alums Set Up Matchmaking Platform for Private Credit

Two former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bankers want to take the $1.6 trillion private credit revolution from Wall Street to Main Street.
Cathie Wood’s Ark Pares Holdings of Top Pick Bitcoin Trust

While Cathie Wood has been touting her bullish stance on Bitcoin in recent months, her firm ARK Investment Management actually cut holdings in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
Struggling Cities Face More Pain From AI Boom

Artificial intelligence is likely to transform our world in many ways, but one that hasn’t received much attention is the technology’s looming impact on real estate. As AI becomes an essential component of both business and daily life, the value of places where those who work on AI want to live will rise, provided these locales have reasonable infrastructure.
Is a Hedge Fund-Style Investment Right for You?

Former Bridgewater Associates LP executive Bob Elliott’s plan for exchange-traded funds that employ hedge fund strategies has sharpened the debate about whether retail investors should have access to such approaches.
US Pensions to Gorge on Corporate Bonds as Funding Levels Soar

A quirk in retirement fund accounting is making corporate pensions look particularly flush now, giving them more incentive to cut risk by dumping equities and buying bonds.
Altman Returns as OpenAI CEO in Chaotic Win for Microsoft

Sam Altman will return to lead OpenAI less than five days after he was pushed out of one of the world’s most valuable startups, setting off a shock back-and-forth drama that transfixed Silicon Valley and the global AI industry.
Nvidia Fails to Satisfy Lofty Investor Expectations for AI Boom

Nvidia Corp. investors gave a cool reaction to its latest quarterly report, which blew past average analysts’ estimates but failed to satisfy the loftier expectations of shareholders who have bet heavily on an artificial intelligence boom.
Grayscale’s Bitcoin Win Is Still Only Half the Battle

News that a Washington DC Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Grayscale Investments LLC over the Securities and Exchange Commission has ignited hope that a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund will soon be available. Bitcoin prices jumped.
Who Needs a Bitcoin ETF? Actually, the SEC Does

Should the US Securities and Exchange Commission approve an exchange-traded fund focused on the spot market for Bitcoin? The question has yet again gained relevance, thanks to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which last week reversed the SEC’s decision to reject a Bitcoin ETF proposed by Grayscale Investments.
Inflation Could Come Back When You Least Expect It

The latest inflation report, showing that price increases slowed in October, suggests that the US just might get the “immaculate disinflation” that everyone is hoping for: Inflation will fall to its pre-pandemic levels and remain there, and the US will avoid a recession. Allow me to make the pessimist’s case that we are not out of the woods yet.
Wood’s Ark, 21Shares Unveil Fee on Pending Spot Bitcoin ETF

Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management and digital-asset firm 21Shares just became the first major applicant in the US spot Bitcoin ETF race to list a fee on their planned offering.
If You're in Cash, You Risk Missing Out, Bond Managers of $2.5 Trillion Say

For investors stashing record sums in cash, US bond managers overseeing a combined $2.5 trillion have a bit of advice: It’s time to put that money to work.
Li Ka-shing-Backed WeLab Launches Digital Bank in Indonesia

WeLab Ltd., backed by investors including billionaire Li Ka-shing and Astra International, a unit of Jardine Matheson, is launching a digital bank in Indonesia to tap the young and fast-growing economy.
Alibaba Shock Move Casts Fresh Pall Over China Tech

The shocking decision by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to cancel the spinoff of its cloud division is offering a fresh reason for investors to sell China tech stocks in an earnings season yielding mixed results.
Microsoft Ends Weekend of OpenAI Drama With Coup of Its Own

After three days of high drama at the world’s most closely watched startup, which many compared to a coup, Microsoft Corp. capped the weekend with one of its own: The software giant hired ousted OpenAI chief Sam Altman.
A Guide to the AI Safety Debate After Sam Altman’s Ouster

When it comes to artificial intelligence, one of the most commonly debated issues in the technology community is safety — so much so that it has helped lead to the ouster of OpenAI's co-founder Sam Altman, according to Bloomberg News.
Federal Reserve Officials Talk Too Much

There was a time, not so long ago when the Federal Reserve said very little about its policies; its leaders did their utmost to obfuscate rather than clarify. Those days are long gone.
Bonds’ Best Month Since March Faces ‘Sanity Check’ in Auction

The Treasury market’s nascent rally is facing its next big test: a bond auction that will help gauge whether investors are confident 2023’s selloff is over once and for all.
Lasting Recovery in Small Caps Still Elusive as Debt Costs Bite

The powerful rally in small-cap stocks looks like yet another false start rather than a lasting recovery.
Bitcoin ETF Hype Has Wall Street Eyeing $100 Billion Crypto Potential

It’s touted as crypto’s big breakthrough on Wall Street: The imminent arrival of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds that will kick open digital-currency investing to the institutional and retail masses.
Echoes of Bitcoin’s 2021 Record Run Emerge in the Derivatives Market

A burst of activity in Bitcoin derivatives has evoked memories of the period in late 2021 when the token surged to an all-time high.
Treasuries Suffer First Outflows Since 2021 in September Rout

The savage sell-off that hit Treasuries in prior months was driven by concerns a buyers’ strike had hit the $26 trillion bond market. It’s now confirmed: at least one set of investors headed for the exits back in September.
Dear Miami, Taking Wall Street From NYC Won’t Be Easy

For the past decade, South Florida’s politicians and development officials have fanned dreams — which long felt like delusions — of the region reinventing itself as some sort of “Wall Street South.”
US Treasury Market Is Resilient Despite ‘Shocks,’ Official Says

The Treasury Department’s top domestic finance official said the US government debt market has functioned well during a year of outsized interest-rate volatility, a regional banking crisis and the recent hack of the world’s largest bank.
BofA’s Hartnett Says Sell ‘Epic’ Stock Rally as Risks Linger

Investors should offload risky assets after recent gains as technical and macroeconomic headwinds are building, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett.
The Case for Two Fed Rate Cuts in Early 2024 Is Building

Now that there’s a growing consensus that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates — a shift I predicted last month — it’s time to ponder when policymakers will consider cutting rates and by how much.
‘Prime Is Fine’ in Real Estate. Except When It’s Not

A charismatic entrepreneur pulls in wealthy investors to amass a portfolio of some of the finest prime real estate. Banks and bondholders are persuaded to provide the leverage. What could possibly go wrong?
A $100 Billion ETF Flood Offers Little Solace to Active Managers

At first blush, a record $100 billion flood into actively managed exchange-traded funds this year raises a tantalizing prospect: A revival of stock picking even as only Big Tech names outperform the market. Yet, a look under the hood of popular ETFs shows the boom is almost entirely taking place in passive-looking trades.
New US Home Construction Increased Unexpectedly in October

New US home construction unexpectedly picked up in October, indicating builders continue to benefit from a limited supply in the resale market.
Big Tech’s $2 Trillion Rally Saves Nasdaq From Correction

Investors were given plenty of opportunities to fret about the outlook for technology giants this earnings season. Instead, they doubled down on a strategy that has worked all year: piling into the biggest stocks
Rent Hikes of 2021 and 2022 to Boost CPI Into 2026

Inflation is edging back toward pre-pandemic rates in the US, but rent inflation still has a long way to go. To put it into numbers, the all-items consumer price index was just 3.2% higher in October than a year earlier, but the rent of primary residence index was up 7.2%.
Fintechs Push Mexico Interest Rates to 15% in Battle for Savers

Just a week after Brazil’s Nu Holdings Ltd announced a yield of 15% on its high-yield savings accounts in Mexico, Argentina’s Ualá is raising its own by three percentage points to 15%.
Bitcoin Flirts With $38,000 as Spot ETF Hopes Encourage Bull Run

Bitcoin was in sight of $38,000, a level last seen in May 2022, amid an ongoing rally spurred by expectations of fresh demand for the token from exchange-traded funds.
Goldman’s Kostin Latest on Wall Street to See 2024 Stock Gains

The S&P 500 Index will keep rallying next year and should come close to its record high hit in early 2022, say strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., becoming the latest Wall Street bank to come out with a bullish call.
America’s Top 1% Don’t Make as Much as You Might Think

Can a single self-published paper really refute decades of work by three famous economists? If the paper is the modestly titled “Income Inequality in the United States: Using Tax Data to Measure Long-Term Trends,” then the answer — with qualifications — is yes.
Ken Griffin’s Warning Looms Over Inflation Celebration

On Wall Street, there’s always a lot of excitement around the latest inflation report. Tuesday’s better-than-expected number was an extreme example — bond yields plummeted and stocks surged.
How America Can Get Its Debt Back Under Control

With its $33.7 trillion debt and trillion-dollar budget deficit, the US’s deteriorating fiscal situation is impossible to ignore. To simply balance the budget, a 29% across-the-board cut in spending would be necessary, even if the tax cuts enacted by the Trump administration are allowed to expire at the end of 2025.
Stocks and Bonds Rally as Traders Bet That Fed Hikes Are Done

Professional traders entered November wagering Jerome Powell’s campaign to tame inflation was a long way from being won. Now they’re being forced into risky bets that the battle is over.
Meta Has More Wall Street Fans Than Ever as Rally Nears 300%

For Meta Platforms Inc. bulls, the biggest one-day stock wipeout in history is a fading sight in the rear-view mirror.
Seismic Day for Treasuries Fuels Bets Fed to Slash Rates in 2024

A normal day for markets became something extraordinary after a hotly anticipated report on US inflation gave traders the greenlight to declare that the Federal Reserve’s most aggressive interest-rate hiking cycle in decades is over.
The Job Market Slowdown Is Getting Hard to Ignore

It’s important not to gloss over this reality because a number of signs point to a continuing deterioration so long as the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates at a level that restrains the economy.
Annuities Should Be Boring, Not a Systemic Threat

Every year, millions of Americans send their hard-earned money to life insurance companies, in return for a promise that it will grow and provide them with regular income in old age.
US Companies Opting to Refinance 2024 Debt Face Profit Hit as Higher Rates Bite

Some of the largest US companies face billions of dollars in additional interest costs and hits to their profit if they refinance their 2024 maturities at current rates, with a third of them lacking the cash to repay upcoming debt.
Yellen Says She Disagrees With Moody’s Negative Outlook on US

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she disagrees with Moody’s Investors Service’s shift to a negative outlook on the country’s Aaa credit rating, expressing confidence in the economy and in Treasuries as a safe asset.
‘Tidal Wave’ of AI Spending to Power Tech Bull Market, Wedbush Says

The promise of artificial intelligence to rewire large swaths of the American economy supercharged tech shares for most of the year before the fever broke this fall. But investors would be remiss in thinking AI’s power to juice returns is over.
Retirement Savers Are Getting Ripped Off

Where is the line between selling a financial product and providing investment advice? That question is at the heart of a debate over a new proposal that aims to protect Americans’ retirement savings.
Morgan Stanley Sees Bullish Opportunities for US Assets in 2024

Morgan Stanley’s strategists see US stocks and bonds outperforming their emerging markets peers next year, according to a note to clients.
A $20 Billion Week Marks Market Reopening for EM Bond Sales

Emerging-market borrowers are piling back into global bond markets, selling about $20 billion in dollar notes in just a few days, all too aware that the window of opportunity may snap shut as suddenly as it opened.
Buying Junk Bonds Is the Top Contrarian Trade for 2024

Worries about an economic downturn aren’t enough to dissuade market participants from being bullish on risky debt as their top contrarian trade, according to the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey.
Wall Street Warns of Risks in Push to Rein In Home-Loan Banks

A push by US regulators to rein in the Federal Home Loan Banks risks casting broad ripples through the US financial system, increasing costs to banks by pulling a major force from the nation’s funding markets.
Microsoft Record Leads $1.5 Trillion Nasdaq Surge

Wall Street’s so-called Magnificent Seven has been living up to its name again, but none more so than Microsoft Corp.
Individual Investors Pull Most Cash From US Stocks in Two Years

Individual investors who had been behind the stock market rally this year pulled more money from US equities in October than they have in any month over the past two years.
Nvidia Is Looking Cheap to Some as 220% Rally Stalls

Nvidia bulls are starting to throw around an adjective rarely used for a stock that’s more than tripled in less than a year: cheap.
S&P 500’s Busted Winning Streak Was a Mirage Anyway

The bond market giveth and the bond market taketh away. The S&P 500 Index closed in the red Thursday, blowing its widely-hyped chance at a nine-day winning streak, which would have been its best run since 2004.
What Is the Goal of the 60/40 Portfolio?

I am not a fan of one-size-fits-all financial strategies. Yes, I see the value of making investment as simple as possible, but the right balance of risk and reward is a personal decision, and the most common strategies are either arbitrary or agnostic about crucial details.
Universities Shouldn’t Be Punished for Betting on Private Equity

Moody’s Investors Service recently released a report bluntly entitled, “Private equity exposure increases credit risk for universities with limited wealth.”
El-Erian Says Credit Risk Will Replace Interest-Rate Risk as 2024’s ‘Big Fear’

Credit risk will replace interest-rate risk as the market’s “big fear” next year, according to Mohamed El-Erian.
Powell Says Fed to Be Careful, Won’t Hesitate to Hike If Needed

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank will continue to move carefully but won’t hesitate to tighten policy further if appropriate.
‘Dark Matter’ Bond Metric Mesmerizes Wall Street and Washington

It’s the buzz word on Wall Street and in the hallways of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department. It’s blamed for triggering bond selloffs, shifts in debt auctions and interest-rate policy.
Fed Needs to Forget About Inflation and Focus on Jobs

The inflation scare is barely behind us, and it is already time for the Federal Reserve to focus on recession risks. The recent trajectory of job growth means policymakers can no longer rule out unemployment snowballing in 2024, which should force a shift in how they think about managing their dual mandate.
Ex-Cantor Executives Start Lending Platform for Anticipated Spot Bitcoin ETFs

Several ex-Cantor Fitzgerald executives started a crypto lending platform with the expectation that it will serve operators of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds once they gain US regulatory approval.
Powell Urges Fed Economists to Be Flexible on Forecast Methods

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank must be willing to think beyond the complex mathematical simulations it traditionally uses to forecast the economy.
As Banking Goes Digital, Finance Apps Are Still Too Risky

For years, Americans have been giving their banking data to financial apps such as Venmo, YNAB and Rocket Mortgage. And for years, banks have been trying to figure out how to deal with the security risks. A new proposal from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests a better way.
Why My Recession Rule Could Go Wrong This Time

Alarm bells sounded Friday when we learned that the US unemployment rate rose to 3.9% for October, well above the 50-year low of 3.4% that it hit earlier in the year. The latest reading is still very low, so what’s with the doomsayers telling us a recession has arrived?
Buffett’s $157 Billion Cash Pile Isn’t an Ominous Sign

Everything in the world is relative, including Warren Buffett’s cash position.
US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Tumbles by Most in More Than a Year

The average 30-year mortgage rate plunged last week by the most in more than a year, helping generate the biggest advance in home purchase applications since early June.
Hoisington’s Hunt Says the Bond Rally Is Just Getting Started

Hoisington Investment Management Co. was pummeled by its bullish stance on US bonds in recent years, driving its Treasury fund to some of the industry’s biggest losses as the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes sent prices tumbling.
BlackRock’s $100 Billion Model Makers Are Betting on Megacaps

The team responsible for assembling BlackRock Inc.’s model portfolios is favoring the stock market’s largest companies, potentially unleashing a flood of billions of dollars into technology shares.
UBS Made a Fast Start in Butchering Credit Suisse

Sergio Ermotti promised ruthlessness in reshaping Credit Suisse Group AG, and the chief executive officer of UBS Group AG has been true to his word.
Druckenmiller Mistakes the US Treasury for a Hedge Fund

Billionaire Stan Druckenmiller isn’t letting up on his criticism of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Druckenmiller says Yellen committed an epic mistake by failing to meaningfully term out America’s debt when rates were ultra-low — a missed opportunity he’s characterized as “the biggest blunder in the history of the Treasury.”
PayPal Rival Fintech Adyen Faces Investor Confidence Test

For years, Dutch payments fintech Adyen NV’s founders and management ran things their own way, thanks to some blowout growth.
S&P 500 Nears Its Next Roadblock After the Best Week in a Year

The S&P 500 Index’s best week in a year has brought the broad equities benchmark to a decisive point where stocks can make a significant break higher or find their gains capped.
Record-Setting Push Into Both Ends of Yield Curve Set to Pay Off

A record flood of cash has poured into opposite ends of the US Treasury yield curve this year, seeking either to seize on the highest short-term interest payments in over two decades or profit from a long-bond rally once rates finally peaked.
Please Don’t Call Inflation Anxiety Delusional

Many commentators are struck by the disconnect between the US economy’s impressive performance of late and the dismal popular view of the very same economy.
The Price of Money Is Going Up, and It’s Not Only Because of the Fed

What’s the most important price in the global economy? The price of oil? The price of semiconductors? The price of a Big Mac? More important than any of these is the price of money. For more than three decades it was falling.
Bond Market Has Fighting Chance to Avoid Historic Losing Streak

A prospect that might have seemed unthinkable just a couple short weeks ago is coming into view for bond traders: The potential for US Treasuries to post an annual gain for the first time since 2020.
Winner-Take-All Rally Spurs Big Distortion Among S&P 500 Members

The S&P 500’s pitch is simple. Own it and get exposure to the biggest of the big among US firms. Lately, it’s gotten harder to maintain that point of distinction.
China Foreign Investment Gauge Turns Negative For First Time

A measure of foreign investment into China turned negative for the first time since records began in 1998, highlighting how foreign companies are pulling money out of the country due to geopolitical tensions and higher interest rates elsewhere.
US Jobs Data Show Broad Cooling After Run of Surprise Strength

US job growth slowed in October by more than expected and the unemployment rate rose to an almost two-year high of 3.9%, indicating that employers’ strong demand for workers is beginning to cool.
Cathie Wood Says Bitcoin Is ‘Digital Gold’ as Deflation Hedge

Cathie Wood says she would unambiguously wager on Bitcoin — rather than gold or cash — to safeguard against the possibility of deflation in the coming decade.
Fed Pause ‘Really Good Time’ to Buy Stocks, Capital Group Says

Capital Group is seeing an opportunity for investors to load up on global equities after the Federal Reserve held rates on Wednesday, signaling an end to its aggressive tightening cycle.
The Tech Gold Rush Is Over. Where’s the Next One?

I remember the exact moment in 2007 when I knew the financial industry was headed for a reckoning. There was no data point that tipped me off, no great insight about the housing market.
Bond Selloff Is Close to Over as Fed Nears End of Hiking Cycle

The selloff in US debt appears close to being over as the Federal Reserve nears winding up its most aggressive rate hikes in a generation.
Treasury Bond Bears Look Ready to Hibernate

Yields on 10-year Treasury notes plummeted 20 basis points on Wednesday, the most since the banking crisis in March. For all the macroeconomic news of the day, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what changed so meaningfully from one trading session to the next.
AI Hangover Weighs On Chipmaker Shares Even With Solid Results

Signs of recovery in smartphone and computer demand have yet to provide the next tailwind for chip stocks as they languish below the heights of this year’s artificial intelligence rally.
Investor Fears of 'Zombies' Create Bubble in Companies With High Cash Flow

Companies with healthy balance sheets are some of the best performing stocks this year, and their shares could keep rising, according to Piper Sandler & Co. strategists led by Michael Kantrowitz.
Sorry, Gen Z, But Economic Anxiety Isn’t Going Away

Less than a third of Gen Z feels financially secure while just more than half feels “very or extremely worried about not having enough money,” according to a recent study by consulting firm EY. “Welcome, the water’s warm!” says every American millennial.
The Federal Reserve’s Pause Could Go Terribly Wrong

The US Federal Reserve thinks it can take a break. As Fed officials see it, they need only sit back and wait while the monetary tightening they’ve already done gradually takes hold, slowing the economy and pushing inflation back down to the central bank’s 2% target.
Social Security Is Nearing A Crisis

Washington seems determined to ignore the country’s rapidly worsening fiscal picture, but sooner or later policymakers will be forced to pay attention. When they do, they’ll find that changes to Social Security are unavoidable.
Bitcoin Proxy MicroStrategy Questions Own ‘Premium’ With ETFs Looming

MicroStrategy Inc. Chairman Michael Saylor’s strategy of buying Bitcoin may be coming into question as the advent of exchange-traded funds holding the largest cryptocurrency appears imminent.
US Slows Pace of Increase in Quarterly Long-Term Debt Sales

The US Treasury increased its planned sales of longer-term securities by slightly less than most major dealers expected in its quarterly debt-issuance plan, in a move that signals officials may be concerned about the surge in yields over the past several months.
A Strong Safety Net Helps the Whole US Economy

The typical American is a lot richer now than they were just before the pandemic — and this improvement is at least partially due to government support for families and businesses in 2020 and 2021.
Goldman’s Oppenheimer Says US Stocks’ Outperformance Set to End

The significant outperformance of US stocks over the last decade is unlikely to repeat over the coming 10 years, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s chief global equity strategist.
Rising Small Business Bankruptcies Are a Red Herring

Small businesses account for close to half of US private sector employment, so there’s always considerable focus on their prospects, especially during periods of rising interest rates and contracting credit.
US Employment Costs Increase 1.1% on a Pickup in Wage Growth

US employment costs unexpectedly accelerated in the third quarter, heightening concerns that a strong labor market risks keeping inflation above the Federal Reserve’s target.
Credit Strength Is Baffling Fed Watchers Ahead of Rate Decision

To have a shot at taming inflation, the Federal Reserve is intent on tightening financial conditions across the economy. But they haven’t made much of a dent in corporate America yet.
US Cuts Quarterly Borrowing Target to $776 Billion, Still Record

The US Treasury reduced its estimate for federal borrowing for the current quarter thanks to stronger-than-expected revenues, offering some relief for investors concerned about the rapidly widening fiscal deficit.
Wall Street Cuts S&P 500 Expectations as Geopolitical Risk Rises

A Federal Reserve pause, seasonal tailwinds, an earnings-led rally. Many of the reasons that got Wall Street strategists increasingly bullish coming into the end of the year now look like wishful thinking.
A Two-Speed Electric Car Market Is Heading for a Crash

The world’s auto industry is accelerating in two directions at once. Unless those contradictions are resolved, carmakers risk running themselves off the road.
New Laws to Regulate AI Would Be Premature

All of a sudden there is a flurry of activity around artificial intelligence policy. President Joe Biden is scheduled to issue an executive order on the topic today. An AI safety summit is being held in the UK later this week. And last week, the US Senate held a closed-door forum on research and development in AI.
Quants With $23 Trillion See AI Takeover Even as They Hold Back

The financial world’s computer-loving crowd is preparing for the dawn of a new AI-powered era — but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to fully embrace the technology just yet.
Goldman Lifts US, Global Long-Term Growth Forecasts on AI Boost

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its long-term growth estimates for the US and many other major economies as generative artificial intelligence is set to boost productivity over the next decade.
Amazon’s New AI Will Make Its Junk Problem Even Worse

Of all the negative articles written about Amazon.com Inc. through the years, one piece in particular stung the company more than most. Claiming that Amazon’s aggressive pursuit of growth had come at the expense of a good shopping experience for its customers, New York magazine this January criticized what it called “The Junkification of Amazon.”
Are Stocks a Better Buy or Bonds With Treasuries at 5%?

The yield on 10-year Treasuries went above 5% last week for the first time since July 2007, when the first Transformers movie was topping the box office and the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 14,000 for the first time in history.
Treasury Rout Lures M&G to Buy More as US Stocks Seen Too Risky

US stocks carry too much risk and buying Treasuries will pay off, according to M&G Plc as the $402 billion fund house navigates the brutal selloff in global markets.
Bitcoin Faces Reality Check if ETF Launches Spark ‘Sell-the-News’ Pivot

Bitcoin has jumped on bets that the first US exchange-traded funds investing directly in the token are set to be approved. The question now is whether an actual green light for the products would spur some profit-taking.
Amazon Strong Results Point Toward Boost for Cloud Business

Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy gave investors much of what they wanted this earnings season: robust sales and profit growth along with a hint that the cloud division earnings machine is regaining momentum.
How Low Can It Go? Getting to the Bottom of the Nasdaq Selloff

Momentum has turned in tech stocks and investors awakening from dreams of artificial-intelligence nirvana are back to a less grandiose concern: When will the selling stop?
Why No Recession Yet? Thank the US Consumer

US consumers have kept buying these things despite high inflation and the contractionary policy of the Federal Reserve, and they deserve thanks not only for the recession that still has not come, but for the fast pace of recent economic growth.
The US Needs More Housing. Americans Don’t Want to Build It.

You won’t find this term in any serious economics textbook, but the only clinical way to describe the US housing market is bananas. Affordability is at record lows and mortgage rates are the highest since 2000.
Morgan Stanley’s Ted Pick Says Investment Banking to Lead Next Cycle

Morgan Stanley’s incoming chief executive officer, Ted Pick, said investment banking will lead the next business cycle, and that hiring for that business will help the firm compete with rivals.
S&P 500 Teeters on Brink of Correction as Technicals Break Down

The rout in US stocks has brought the S&P 500 Index to a crucial inflection point. It’s teetering near a correction after breaching 4,200 for the first time since May — a key technical level that may point to a longer-term selloff.
With Yields Above 5%, Some Investors Say It's Safe to Start Buying Bonds Again

Embattled debt investors like the look of 5% Treasury yields as they weigh the risk-versus-reward scales for the world’s biggest bond market.
Bonds as Diversifiers Aren’t Dead — Just Dormant

Before we get carried away anew with declarations about how “the investing world is forever changing,” it’s worth remembering how fluid the relationship has proved over the past couple of years — and how another twist is always just around the corner.
US Economy Grew at a 4.9% Pace Last Quarter, Fastest Since 2021

The US economy grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years last quarter, fueled by a surge in consumer spending.
Banks Put Bond-Sale Spree on Pause as Market Volatility Ramps Up

Banks are taking a cautious approach in the investment-grade bond market amid some of the wildest swings in Treasuries in recent memory, waiting for pockets of calm to emerge as they seek to borrow before US officials can raise interest rates or tighten regulations further.
For Industrials, the Promised New Era Is On Hold

Maybe this time isn’t all that different for industrial companies. In a normal economic cycle, consumer-facing manufacturers feel the effects of a slowdown first, followed by industrial operations that can convert bookings into sales relatively quickly.
America Is Flirting With Fiscal Breakdown

In the fiscal year that just ended, the US government borrowed $1.7 trillion, more than 6% of gross domestic product. Bear in mind, that was with an economy running hot, with high inflation and more than full employment.
Muni-Bond Yields Have Finally Climbed Enough to Entice Buyers

Municipal-bond yields at the highest in more than a decade are spurring optimism on the part of investment managers, who have been dealing with persistent fund outflows this year as the market has struggled along with the rest of fixed income.
Bond Market’s ‘Vicious Cycle’ Risk Puts Spotlight on Fed’s QT

The worst selloff of longer-term Treasuries in more than four decades is putting a spotlight on the market’s biggest missing buyer: the Federal Reserve.
Stock Pickers Face Mixed Bag From First Big Tech Earnings

The lockstep moves that have gripped the US stock market this month look set to end — at least for a day. A slew of big tech earnings reports sent shares in heavyweights Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. careening in opposite directions.
What the Federal Funds Rate Isn’t Telling You

Lately, Federal Reserve officials have been paying greater attention to financial conditions – that is, to the influence that market phenomena such as stock prices, bond yields and housing prices have on economic activity, above and beyond the effect of the short-term interest rates that the central bank controls directly.
What Economists Got Wrong About the Great Recession

What do we know, and not know, about macroeconomics? My co-author and I are currently revising our economics textbook — one of our decisions is to emphasize the Great Recession and the pandemic over the Great Depression — so I might be expected to have an answer to this question.
The Charts Revealing Treasuries Switching to Headache From Haven

Wild swings in the “world’s safest asset” are once again acting as a driver for volatility across global markets.
A Major Driver of US Equities in the Past Decade Is Fading Fast

Corporate America’s spending on share buybacks, a driver of the US stock market rally for over a decade, is slowing in the face of higher-for-longer interest rates and an uncertain economic backdrop.
New Age for Treasuries Means 6% Yield Isn’t ‘Out of the Picture’

On Monday, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed over 5%, a 16-year high. It’s a level few would have predicted during the long run of rock-bottom interest rates that followed the Great Financial Crisis.
The Fed Pivot That Turbulent Treasuries Need

Greater stability in US Treasuries is needed for the smooth functioning of other segments of the financial market, housing and the economy more broadly, both in America and beyond.
Housing Prices Are High — and Potentially Illusory

Many aspects of the economy are still being buffeted by the ripples from the pandemic, which makes precedents hard to apply, and should make everyone cautious as to their judgments. Housing market data is also, inevitably, reported with a lag.
A Shrinking $1.3 Trillion Securities Market Is Bad News for the Economy

For a fleeting moment this month, investment bankers in leveraged finance — the lucrative lending that oils the wheels of M&A and feeds the $1.3 trillion market for collateralized loan obligations — had rare cause for cheer.
Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Says Profit Estimates Are Too High

The odds of a year-end rally in US stocks are fading as investors face a multitude of risks from elevated profit estimates to the Federal Reserve’s policy tightening, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson.
Bitcoin History Supports Bulls After 10% Weekly Jump on ETF Speculation

A Bitcoin rally fueled by optimism about fresh demand from exchange-traded funds may have further to run if history is any guide.
Nvidia Dip-Buyers Burned by US Chip Battle With China

Investors who snapped up shares of Nvidia Corp. at the bottom of last month’s swoon got a harsh reminder of the multiple forces pushing and pulling on the chipmaker’s business prospects.
Bitcoin Climbs Back Above $30,000 Before Latest Grayscale Ruling

Bitcoin topped $30,000 for the second time this week on growing expectations that another favorable court action raises the likelihood that an exchange-traded fund holding the cryptocurrency will finally be approved.
Tesla Valuation Looks Unsustainable to Wall Street Analysts

Tesla Inc.’s price cuts this year show customers are no longer willing to pay a premium for its vehicles. That raises a key question on Wall Street: Does its lofty stock-market valuation make sense anymore?
BofA Sees Near-Term Stock Rally as Signal Flashes Contrarian Buy

Investor positioning in stocks has become so bearish that it’s triggered a “contrarian buy signal” in a custom Bank of America Corp. indicator, setting up the asset class for a short-term rally, according to strategist Michael Hartnett.
How to Keep the Treasuries Market Functioning

The $25.8 trillion market for US Treasury debt is like the circulatory system for the world’s financial markets — everything else relies on it. In recent years blockages have occasionally formed, and central banks have had to step in to restore the money flow.
The US Housing Market Is Now Completely Broken

For the first time since the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates, every part of the housing market is now poised to worsen.
US Weighs Leaning on Banks to Curb Hedge Fund Leveraged Trading

Top US regulators are zeroing in on dangers posed by highly leveraged hedge fund trades, and considering options to rein in risks to the broader financial system.
New ETFs Riding Tesla’s Famous Volatility Arrive on Wall Street

Exchange-traded funds offering investors betting on or against Tesla Inc. two times the returns of the volatile stock launched Thursday, after what seemed like a long-shot bid at winning regulatory approval.
Treasury Loss? You’re Also Paid Back in Depreciating Dollars

Selloffs in Treasuries are compounded by the real loss in the purchasing power of the dollars they are denominated in.
The Tyranny of ESG Has Run Its Course

In 2021, almost two-thirds of respondents said they considered environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when investing. In 2022, that number was 60%, and this year it’s 53%, according to the annual ESG Attitudes Survey from the Association of Investment Companies.
JPMorgan Says 60/40 Portfolio Far From Dead, Set to Trounce Cash

The popular 60/40 portfolio isn’t dead, and in fact is a significantly more compelling investment than cash over the coming decade, according to JPMorgan Asset Management.
Bitcoin-ETF Watchers Circle Friday as Next Key Date in Approval Race

Those closely following the quest for an exchange-traded fund that would hold Bitcoin have Friday circled on their calendars.
The Fed Still Has a Lot of Quantitative Tightening to Do

The US Federal Reserve’s efforts to quell inflation have sent long-term interest rates to their highest level in a generation, putting a lot of stress on banks, companies and anyone looking to finance a new home.
Stop Worrying That AI Will Cause the Market to Crash

According to Gary Gensler, chair of the SEC, a market crash caused by artificial intelligence is “nearly unavoidable.” Like many other regulators, he has called for new regulations on AI to prevent such dire scenarios.
US Economic Data Keep Coming In Stronger and Defying Forecasts

US retail sales exceeded all forecasts and industrial production strengthened last month, fresh evidence of a resilient American consumer whose spending is helping stabilize manufacturing.
Wall Street Worries Over Swelling US Debt Put Fed in Tight Spot

The Federal Reserve faces potential policy pitfalls ahead as it wrestles with how to respond to investor angst about the US government’s $33.5 trillion mountain of debt.
Treasury Liquidity Mostly in Line With Volatility, Fed Economist Says

Treasury-market liquidity has mostly righted itself since the dislocations caused by the several regional bank failures in March, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York economist.
SEC’s New Hedge Fund Rules Lack an Accountant’s Precision

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced new rules for hedge funds to report on equity short positions. There’s nothing terrible in the rules, but they will impose pointless costs on investors, mainly because they were written by lawyers rather than accountants.
Marks or Ackman? Who You Gonna Trust?

Howard Marks, the legendary credit investor and Oaktree Capital Management co-founder, has historically taken a humble approach to investing: the macro future is essentially unknowable, so active investors should focus on the small-picture things where they can gain an informational advantage.
US Stocks Are Ripe for Earnings-Led Rally as Rates Angst Settles

A robust earnings season could be all it takes to fuel a year-end rally on Wall Street, eclipsing recent jitters from geopolitical tensions.
Bitcoin’s 10% Jump to $30,000 Hints at Trader ‘Playbook’ for ETF Launches

A brief 10% surge in Bitcoin gave traders a glimpse into the possible impact of a looming US Securities & Exchange Commission decision on whether to allow exchange-traded funds that invest directly in the cryptocurrency.
Goldman Traders Help Counter Real Estate Hits, Stagnant M&A

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reported trading revenue that beat analysts’ estimates while a second straight quarter of real estate write downs dragged profit lower.
JPMorgan and Citi Pass Pain to Hedge Fund Shorts

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon calls it “over-earning,” but his isn’t the only bank that still hasn’t felt much pain from loan losses or rising deposit costs
Wall Street Strategists Sound Alarm on Worsening Profit Outlook

The outlook for earnings is weakening and could remain subdued, according to strategists from Morgan Stanley to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
End of Corporate America’s Profit Recession Comes With Concerns

Investors are growing more confident that a year-long slump in profits for Corporate America is about to end. Yet a fragile economic outlook, wary consumers and the highest interest rates in 16 years mean any relief for stocks could be short-lived.
US Housing Affordability Worsens to New Record Low on High Rates

US housing affordability worsened to a fresh record low in August as Americans continue to bend under the weight of soaring mortgage rates and sticky prices.
Bank Stocks Need More Than Solid Earnings to Draw Wary Investors

When US banks kick off the third-quarter earnings season Friday, it will mark the first in a long line of hurdles the group needs to clear in order to assuage investor fears.
Amazon Prime Day Flashes Warning for Retailers

Amazon.com Inc. crowed over this week’s Prime Day sales, boasting that the two-day discount promotion “outpaced” last year’s event. Such a flashy description suggests the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season has set up the broader retail industry for a bright few months.
US Consumer Inflation Expectations Jump to a Five-Month High

US consumers’ year-ahead inflation expectations rose sharply in early October, driving a steep deterioration in Americans' views of their finances as well as sentiment.
The US Economy Is Dynamic Again, But Will It Last?

The pandemic changed many things about the economy — how we work, where we work and who we work with, for starters — but one of the most striking trends has been a big uptick in entrepreneurship.
US Mortgage Rates Rise for a Fifth Week, Topping 7.5%

Mortgage rates in the US rose for the fifth week in a row, topping 7.5% for the first time in more than two decades.
Options Are the Hottest Trade on Wall Street

Crypto may have grabbed headlines last year, but the talk on Wall Street these days is all about options.
Hurting From Rate Hikes? The Fed Looks as If It’s Finally Done

Market pricing, verbal cues from Federal Reserve members and the likely evolution of the economic data over the next couple of months all point in the same direction — the central bank is likely done raising interest rates.
How AI Will Remake the Rules of International Trade

When it comes to international trade and investment, AI will create some obvious winners and losers. It’s the second-order effects that may prove more interesting.
What Recession? It’s Looking Increasingly Unlikely

The few remaining signs that the US economy is headed for a recession are vanishing before our eyes.
Elite Wall Street Firms Are Surrendering to $7 Trillion ETF Boom

Getting John Beatson to pick stocks for you used to require a cool $25 million or thereabouts. Thanks to the newest trend in money management, these days it’s more like $25.
Amazon Strategy Could Unlock $100 Billion in Revenue

Amazon.com Inc.’s next big thing might be lurking in the expensive supply chain apparatus that’s helped transform its e-commerce business into a juggernaut.
It’s Easy to Get Mixed Up Over Mortgage Risks

Most voters aren’t going to get hot under the collar about battles in Washington, DC, over bank capital requirements, but they definitely relate to stories about home loans becoming more expensive or less available. That doesn’t mean debate is straightforward, especially once each side starts throwing numbers around.
Stock Market Can’t Ignore Impact of Rates on Earnings This Season

Stock markets that have refused to buckle under the highest yields since 2007 face a new test. Third-quarter results will shine a light on how much those rates are already hitting profits — and what they’ll do to lofty equity valuations.
Wall Street’s Paper Bond Losses Rear Head Again as Yields Rise

After investment losses tore through the US financial system this year, a fresh slump in bank stocks shows some investors fear the problem — which at its most extreme claimed a handful of lenders — hasn’t gone away.
Housing Groups, Mortgage Lenders Urge Powell to Halt Fed Hikes

Three major housing-industry lobby groups called on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to refrain from raising interest rates any further and to pledge against selling mortgage bonds unless real estate financing stabilizes.
Goldin Took Women’s Careers From Economic Sideshow to Mainstream

Economics is still a male-dominated profession. Among full professors, only 1 out of every 8 is a woman. Among assistant professors, women are a little less than 1 in 3, similar to their share of undergraduate economics majors.
Rout in 10-Year Treasury Notes Is No Wild Aberration

What everyone wants to know now is how much further the selloff will go and how long it will last. I can venture a few educated guesses based on history.
A Hot Options Trade Is Muting Wall Street’s Famous Fear Gauge

For two decades, Amy Wu Silverman has tracked fear and greed across Wall Street by keeping a close eye on the twists and turns in the Cboe Volatility Index.
Hedging Power of Treasuries Tested by Recent Bond Selloff

Even as stocks rallied back during the monetary panic last week, big disruptions in the world of Treasuries threaten fresh pain for a host of hedging strategies on Wall Street.
Musk May Face Someone Else Who’s Ready for a Cage Fight

Denied the dubious spectacle of a cage match between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, the world may yet be treated to a contest pitting the Tesla chief executive against an underdog from Indiana.
Lending Risk Is Growing Under the Radar

When Congress voted in 2018 to give regional banks a break from stiffer post-crisis capital rules, it created a two-tier banking system in the US.
Deepening Bond Rout Has BlackRock, Columbia Favoring Short End

Bond investors are coalescing around a segment of the Treasuries market that offers a measure of protection from this year’s brutal rout and also positions them for the recession that some still anticipate.
Yield Surge to Hit US Growth But Still No Recession, Goldman Says

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists said the surge in US Treasury yields to historically high levels over the last several weeks will crimp economic growth and sow financial risks, though the bank is still not calling for a recession.
Finance CEOs Who Have Stuck It Out for 11 Years Are Eyeing Exit

Executive search firms are anticipating an uptick in resignations as the average tenure of America’s top finance chiefs grows to the longest of any sector, and those who may have delayed leaving to provide stability through the Covid-19 pandemic look to exit.
US Hiring Surges, Bolstering Case for Another Fed Rate Hike

US employment unexpectedly surged in September by the most since the start of the year, illustrating a durable labor market and bolstering the case for another Federal Reserve interest-rate hike.
US Higher Education Needs a Revolution. What’s Holding It Back?

When the revolution in higher education finally arrives, how will we know? I have a simple metric: When universities change how they measure faculty work time.
New Construction Torpedoed Austin Rents. Is Miami Next?

South Florida has a reputation as a leading indicator of housing market trouble, so the Cassandras are understandably watching the region closely these days.
Wild Week for Bond Market Spurs Record Trading Frenzy in ETFs

Bill Gross is right: bond ETF activity has been frenzied in the grip of Wall Street turmoil.
EM Rebound Fizzles as US Jobs Data Ruin What’s Left of Bull Case

Emerging-market currencies erased their Friday gains and were poised for a third week of declines as a stronger-than-expected US jobs report underscored global interest rates could remain higher for longer.
The 5% Bond Market Means Pain Is Heading Everyone’s Way

Not so long ago, families, businesses and governments were effectively living in a world of free money.
The US Economy Might Be Stuck in Purgatory for a While

Economists, policymakers and politicians are used to there being two variables that serve as a scorecard for how the public feels about the economy — unemployment and inflation. A year ago, when inflation was at 40-year highs, public unhappiness made sense.
Three Myths About the Bond Market

For the last 40 years, interest rates have gone pretty much one way: down. In the last 18 months, however, rates have crept up, and many are worried they will stay high.
Long Bonds’ Historic 46% Meltdown Rivals Burst of Dot-Com Bubble

Losses on longer-dated Treasuries are beginning to rival some of the most notorious market meltdowns in US history.
Bulls Bet Megacap Stocks Primed For Buyback Boost

Bulls hoping the Nasdaq 100’s best day since August is the start of a meaningful rebound may be about to get a boost from a long-standing ally: tech companies themselves.
Fed’s Bid to Avoid Recession Tested by Yields Nearing 20-Year Highs

The Federal Reserve may be putting its hoped-for soft landing of the economy at risk by tacitly accepting a run-up in long-term interest rates to the highest levels since 2007.
There’s No Such Thing as a Cautious Portfolio Anymore

If you go to a financial adviser to chat about investments, here’s how your first meeting will probably go: They will ask you about your attitude to risk. How much money are you prepared to lose?
Bond Vigilantes Risk Breaking the Markets

The queue of soothsayers warning of impending doom is lengthening; growing concern about US domestic politics as well as the global economic backdrop risks sparking a full-blown market rout.
Five Charts Showing How 5% US Yield Would Cause Turmoil in Markets

As global financial markets reel under the possibility of 5% benchmark Treasury yields, the question on investors’ minds: how much worse could it get?
Lina Khan Is Wrong About Amazon

Why exactly is Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan antagonizing Amazon.com Inc., of all companies?
Private Equity Indigestion Relief Is Meant to Hurt

Helping an investor cash out of a gummed-up buyout fund used to be a niche business. Now it’s mainstream. So-called secondary funds, which offer to buy unwanted private equity holdings, have become widely accepted.
UBS Executive Calls For a Retrofit Revolution in Real Estate

Real estate investors need to allocate considerably more resources to climate-proofing old buildings rather than erecting new structures, to keep up with net zero regulations and avoid being saddled with stranded assets.
Morgan Stanley Sees Rates Risk to Stocks. Bank of America Says Not So Much

A pair of Wall Street’s most prominent US equity strategists are at odds about whether stocks can extend this year’s rally against the reality that interest rates will remain higher for longer.
New ETF Boom Defies Saturation Warnings in $7 Trillion Industry

Money-management firms launched new exchange-traded funds at a rapid pace last month, shaking off fears that the $7 trillion industry is already overrun with low-cost investment vehicles.
Manhattan’s Offices Are Empty. Tokyo Is Adding New Space.

Offices in many of the world’s major cities are struggling to find workers to occupy them. The trend of remote working, triggered by the pandemic, is costing Manhattan “$12 billion a year,” “devastating America’s cities” and “killing London.”
Why Central Banks Will Soon Lend to Hedge Funds

Hedge funds are in regulators’ sights again. Their risk-taking with borrowed money must be better monitored and will sometimes have to be limited, the head of a global group of supervisors told the Financial Times last week.
Market Stress Rises Over Wild Week Ahead Even Without a Shutdown

Investors have shown few signs of panic during a stock market slump that’s pushed the S&P 500 Index into its first losing quarter in a year. But beneath the surface, signs of stress are emerging that go far beyond the just averted US government shutdown.
Severe Crash Is Coming for US Office Properties, Investors Say

Office prices in the US are due for a crash, and the commercial real estate market faces at least another nine months of declines, according to Bloomberg’s latest Markets Live Pulse survey.
The Bull Case for Emerging Markets in 2023 Is Finally Shattering

The third quarter was a story of dashed hopes in emerging markets, with the unraveling of some of the most profitable trades in the asset class.
Bitcoin Is Ending September With First Quarterly Loss This Year

As September comes to a close, Bitcoin is poised to end the quarter on a down note in its first quarterly decline this year.
Wall Street Echoes Fed’s View on Growth, Higher-for-Longer Rates

Wall Street economists are growing more upbeat about US economic growth while acknowledging that it may require interest rates to stay higher for longer, in line with recent projections by the Federal Reserve.
The Geography of Working From Home Begins to Shift Again

The Oakland Hills Public Use Microdata Area, or PUMA (a Census Bureau designation that I’ll explain in a moment), in Oakland, California, contains some of the most appealing urban neighborhoods in the US.
Millennials, Keep Your Avocado Toast and Ditch the Dream House

Avocado toast, hard seltzers, and Instagrammable vacations are not the reasons millennials and our Gen Z compatriots have failed to scrimp, save and budget our way into home ownership.
Megacap Slump Is Testing Apple’s Safe-Haven Status

The Fed-induced selloff in technology stocks has traders dusting off their turmoil playbooks. Trouble is, one of the most popular strategies isn’t working: hiding out in Apple Inc.
House Omits Ukraine Funding for Now in Measure to Avert Shutdown

Lawmakers in the US House omitted further aid to Ukraine from a proposal that would keep the government open, signaling that support for funding its fight against the Russian invasion is getting harder.
Make Student Loans Work for Students

Amid the debate over student loans — President Joe Biden’s administration tried and failed to forgive some of the debt, which starts accruing interest this month after a three-year pause — a crucial question has often been overlooked: Who benefits the most from student loans? It’s not necessarily the students.
Jamie Dimon’s 7% Rates May Come Even Without the Fed's Help

The Federal Reserve’s hawks have been back on the speaking circuit,and markets are abuzz that rates may have to move higher than previously expected. Someone apparently just took out a big short position premised on the chances that rates markets underestimate the odds of an increase in November.
Puerto Rico Is Being Far Too Generous With Rich Investors

Since 2012, Puerto Rico has offered investors — primarily mainland Americans — one of the most attractive deals in the world: move to the commonwealth and pay no taxes on interest, dividends or capital gains, all while living on a balmy and culturally vibrant Caribbean island without having to surrender US citizenship.
Powell Can’t Ignore the Elephant in the Room Forever

For all the importance of China’s subpar recovery, the country's woes are notably absent from the plethora of projections and commentary that flow from the Federal Reserve these days. Judging from recent remarks, there's either no problem or nothing sufficiently grave to prod Chair Jay Powell to hint at switching gears. Give it time.
Mark Zuckerberg Manages to Turn His Frown Upside Down

In what has been a hugely disruptive year for social media, Zuckerberg seems to be coming out on top — and enjoying it.
This Year’s Hottest Tech IPO May Be a Transportation Firm

Share debuts among technology companies haven’t inspired confidence this year, with two of the largest offerings sliding below their listing prices within the first week. The next big deal may reignite interest in IPOs because of a unique set of traits.
US Core PCE Prices Post Smallest Monthly Rise Since Late 2020

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying inflation rose at the slowest monthly pace since late 2020, helping to lay the groundwork for policymakers to forgo an interest-rate hike at their next meeting.
JPMorgan Manager Behind Biggest Active ETF Debuts Fund

The JPMorgan Asset Management money manager at the helm of the largest active exchange-traded fund in the $7.2 trillion industry is coming to market with another equity strategy geared toward investors bracing for a period of uncertainty.
Russia Plans Near Zero Diesel Exports Next Month After Ban

Russia plans to reduce diesel exports from its key western ports to almost nothing next month after the government banned overseas sales to tame surging prices at home.
Private Fund Investors Don’t Need the SEC’s Help

If a teacher, electrician or autoworker buys a stock or a share in a mutual fund, the Securities and Exchange Commission aims to ensure they’re investing on a level playing field.
Risks Are Growing of a Double-Dip ‘Vibecession’

The US may be heading back into a “vibecession” — a condition in which consumer confidence and other economic “vibes” decline so much that they threaten to become self-fulfilling prophecies and drag the economy down with them.
Goldman’s Rubner Sees Deeper Stock Losses in a ‘No Rules Market’

The two-month selloff in US stocks threatens to intensify as options dealers on Wall Street and fast-money traders both turn against the market.
Missing ‘Gold Standard’ Economic Data Will Test Alternatives in US Shutdown

The imminent US government shutdown that threatens to delay the publication of key economic data will test policymakers’ and investors’ trust in a range of less-regarded third-party indicators.
Bitcoin's Refuge Appeal Being Touted Again With Shutdown Prospects Rising

The increasing prospects of a US federal government shutdown has some Bitcoin advocates predicting a rally similar to one that happened in response to the regional bank crisis earlier this year.
S&P 500 Options Quirk Mints Billions, Stirring Manipulation Talk

The fate of stock options with a face value of trillions of dollars is being influenced by unusual trading activity in the S&P 500 outside regular market hours, new research has found.
Treasury ‘Term Premium’ Gauge Positive for First Time Since 2021

A key measure of how much bond investors are compensated for holding long-term debt turned positive for the first time since June 2021, reflecting steep increases in longer-maturity Treasury yields.
Transparency Is the Cure for High Hospital Prices

If you are tiring of the green energy revolution and can’t quite get on board with the mission to Mars, yet still would like to join a worthy cause with the potential to transform millions of lives, allow me to make a recommendation: transparent hospital pricing.
Use the Estate Tax to Finance Early Childhood Education

So, here’s an idea: Dedicate the revenue collected from the estate tax into a trust fund that finances early childhood education, spanning childcare to preschool.
Automakers, It Won’t Hurt to Share That Buyback Bounty

Stock buybacks are the perfect target for the United Auto Workers. The freest of free cash flow, they may as well be a billboard saying: “So many dollars, we don’t know what to do with them!”
US Government Shutdown’s Economic Risks Grow the Longer It Lasts

A US government shutdown would have a cascading economic effect, beginning mildly and deepening over time as millions of workers go without salary, private contractors aren’t paid and consumer uncertainty grows over Washington’s dysfunction.
Tech Stocks That Drove Market Rally Are Now Down 10%

This stock market rally in the first half of 2023 was built on the back of technology stocks, as investors bet on a resilient US consumer and hype surrounding artificial intelligence to keep the shares soaring.
Wall Street Bets on High-Yielding Cash Deals in Fresh Blow to Stocks

The stock market is buckling under the weight of a simple equation: cash earns more than equities.
Amazon Makes a Shrewd Move in the AI Arms Race

On Monday, Amazon.com Inc. made a move it hopes can turn around the perception it had fallen behind in the AI arms race.
US Government Needs a Youth Movement. A Shutdown Won’t Help.

One of the longer-term consequences of the looming government shutdown isn’t getting the attention it deserves: The youngest potential recruits are receiving yet another reminder of the challenges of public service, and at a time when they are desperately needed.
Gensler Reminds Hedge Funds He's Still Sheriff of Wall Street

The chair of the Securities and Exchanges Commission has asked staffers to pore over thousands of messages collected from investment firms as part of its probe into industry use of WhatsApp and other non-official messaging channels, according to Reuters.
Nvidia’s Worst Month in a Year Is a Gift For Bulls

Investors that missed out on this year’s dizzying rally in Nvidia Corp. have an attractive entry point this month.
Hedge Funds Cut Stock Leverage at Fastest Pace Since 2020 Crash

As the cross-asset sell-off engulfed Wall Street last week, hedge funds ramped up their bets against stocks while one measure of their market positioning plunged the most since the March 2020 crash.
Bond Traders Roiled by Fed See US Shutdown as Next Big Wild Card

To judge by recent history, a US government shutdown won’t be a huge event for the bond market. If anything, it could even provide a little short-term relief, since Treasuries usually rally when investors need somewhere to hide.
High-Frequency Traders Want Low-Frequency Radio Waves

A group of high-frequency traders, market makers and service providers calling themselves the Shortwave Modernization Coalition has asked the Federal Communications Commission for access to the shortwave band of the radio spectrum, seeking to shave crucial milliseconds off the transmission of data between major financial sectors.
Ackman Doubles Down on Bond Short That’s Still Flawed

Some seven weeks ago, hedge fund investor Bill Ackman laid out his rationale for shorting long-term US bonds, and I took exception.
Bond Market Faces Quandary After Fed Signals It’s Almost Done

Bond investors face the crucial decision of just how much risk to take in Treasuries with 10-year yields at the highest in more than a decade and the Federal Reserve signaling it’s almost done raising rates.
Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Sees Risks Rising for US Consumer Stocks

Consumer stocks, one of the brightest corners of the market this year, are about to lose their shine as risks build for the sector, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson.
Stocks Flash Recession Warning as Trouble Spreads to Industrials

US small-cap and industrial stocks are dropping, typically signals of a recession, but in a year where equities have already beaten expectations some investors are dismissing the moves as little more than noise — for now.
Fed’s Cook Sees Signs of AI Improving US Labor Productivity

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said the use of artificial intelligence in the economy presents many unanswered questions for policymakers though there is some evidence that it could improve labor productivity.
Wall Street Strategists Turn Ever Bullish Just as Stocks Slump

Call it another case of bad timing for Wall Street strategists. The group, historically known to have a bullish bent, spent most of this year saying US stocks would end lower in 2023. Instead, the S&P 500 Index rallied 16% in the first half.
Treasury Buyback Plan Will Boost Market Resilience, US Debt Official Says

The resilience of the world’s biggest bond market is top priority as US debt officials prepare to start buying back government debt, according to Josh Frost, the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for financial markets.
Another Yield High as US 10-Year Jumps Above Key 4.5% Level in Post-Fed Bond Rout

Treasury 10-year yields rose above 4.5% for the first time since 2007 as a more hawkish Federal Reserve adds to concern the bonds face a toxic mix of large US fiscal deficits and persistent inflation.
Did Powell Just Stamp Out Bankers’ Green Shoots?

Investment bankers were finally starting to believe in the green shoots of capital-markets activity this month, but the Federal Reserve might now have crushed them under hawkish boots.
Stocks Sink Most in Six Months After Recent Runup in Treasury Yields

A bad week on Wall Street turned dismal Thursday after the relentless surge in Treasury yields sapped demand for risk assets. In the end, US stocks suffered the biggest drop in six months as investors recalibrate for a world where rates sit at levels not seen in a generation.
Nvidia CEO Touts India as Major AI Market in Bid to Hedge China Risks

During a five-day tour of India earlier this month, Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang visited four cities, dined with tech executives and researchers, took numerous selfies, and sat for a one-on-one conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the AI sector.
Cathie Wood’s Ark Buys Rize ETF in Big Bet on European Growth

Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management has acquired a fellow exchange-traded fund issuer in its biggest push yet into Europe’s nascent market for trend-driven investing.
More Labor Strife Is Coming to the US Economy

Labor strikes aren’t cheap. Equipment sits idle. Supply chains get gummed up. Workers lose wages, shareholders lose profits, governments lose tax revenue. All these effects can have an adverse impact on economic growth, employment and inflation.
Fed’s Debate About ‘Neutral’ Is Mostly an Exercise

The Federal Reserve’s internal debate about the “neutral” real rate of interest is heating up.
Bond Traders See Yields Marching Higher After September Fed Meeting

Bond traders are bracing for Treasury yields to keep pushing higher after the Federal Reserve signaled it’s likely to hold interest rates at lofty levels well into next year.
Amazon Debuts Generative AI Alexa, New Smart Glasses and TV Sticks

Amazon.com Inc. made a pitch to keep Alexa relevant in the age of generative artificial intelligence, promising a set of features that will make the software more conversational.
BlackRock, State Street Among Money Managers Closing ESG Funds

BlackRock Inc. and other money managers spent years rolling out sustainable funds, seeking to capitalize on surging interest in ESG investing. Now they’re abandoning an increasing number of those products in the US amid political backlash and investor scrutiny.
Barr’s Battle Over US Bank Capital Rules Looks Lonely

Banks are never fans of tougher regulation, but they really don’t like the overhaul of US capital rules proposed at the end of July by the Federal Reserve and other finance authorities. Lenders and their lobbyists have come out fighting.
Inflation or Recession? CEOs Will Decide Next Month

Consumers might still be benefiting from inflation pressures abating, but the same is no longer true for corporations.
Treasury Yields at Highest Levels Since 2007 on Price Concerns

US five- and 10-year yields rose to the highest levels since 2007 after hotter-than-anticipated inflation data in Canada and rising oil prices added to global concerns about resurgent price pressures.
Big Seven Face Test on How Far Rally Can Run

Investors have had a lot thrown at them this year: more Federal Reserve tightening, a regional banking crisis, and geopolitical turmoil. And yet US stock indexes are on track for a stellar year.
Only Fund Beating Nasdaq Long-Term Is Defying Stock-Picking Odds

For active managers, the math is stark. Out of thousands of mutual funds, literally only one beat the Nasdaq 100 over the last five, 10 and 15 years. It did so by boiling down stock picks to about two dozen companies and riding almost all of them to gains.
Bond Mountaineers Easily Scale the Maturity Wall

These days, high-yield US bonds yield just 378 basis points over Treasuries, more than 2 percentage points below the 2022 high and close to the narrowest gap since the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates last year.
Sub-50 Cent Price on Treasury Bond Underscores Investor Pain

Fifty cents on the dollar is a very low price in the world of bonds. In most cases, it signals that investors believe the seller of the debt is in such financial distress that it could default.
S&P 500 Marks 100 Days Without 1.5% Drop, First Time Since 2018

US stocks continued their slog through the end of summer, but the S&P 500 Index just notched a resiliency milestone not seen in five years.
The Most Popular Options Trade Turns a $1 Investment Into a $1,000 Stock Bet

There’s an invisible force driving the most popular options trade of the year — one that gives Wall Street pros and day traders alike the power to turn a $1 investment into a $1,000 stock bet.
Bidenomics Is Having an Unusual Effect on Deficits

Economists are playing a game of “can-you-top-this this,” seeing who can ramp up their US economic growth forecasts the most.
Dalio’s Shakespearean Turn Is a Sign of the Times

Playing Shakespeare’s King Lear is the crowning ambition for some actors, but in 2023 we’re seeing superstar hedge fund managers Daniel Och and Ray Dalio trying out for the role in real life.
Fed’s Higher-for-Longer Mantra Has Doubters in Bond Market

Amid signs the bond market has bought into the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates higher for longer, a cohort of investors is placing bets on the economy hitting a wall — and a sharp policy reversal in short order.
Wall Street Comes to Grips With How Wrong It’s Been in 2023

Stock-market strategists who were largely wrong about this year’s rally are finally starting to come to face their mistake, raising year-end targets for the S&P 500 Index.
Bond Market at Risk of Third Annual Loss Needs a Dot-Plot Rescue

Federal Reserve policymakers’ updated forecasts for their benchmark interest rate, due Wednesday, are looming as a key potential decider for a US Treasuries market at risk of a third straight year of losses.
Ray Dalio Says He Doesn’t Want to Hold Bonds, Cash ‘Is Good’

Bridgewater Associates LP founder Ray Dalio said he doesn’t want to own bonds and prefers cash, highlighting difficulties investors face as global central banks try to manage inflation.
BofA’s Hartnett Says Equity Inflows Surge on Soft Landing Hopes

Equity funds saw the biggest weekly inflow in 18 months amid growing investor confidence the US economy is headed for a soft landing, according to Bank of America Corp.
Cathie Wood, Boaz Weinstein Among Winners From Bitcoin Fund Bet

A host of Wall Street funds have minted profits riding the recent crypto fever after Grayscale Investments LLC snagged a big win over America’s top financial watchdog in its bid to create a US Bitcoin ETF.
Fed Is Likely to Shy Away From Calling Interest-Rate Peak Next Week

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues are likely to shy away from signaling that they’re done raising interest rates when they meet next week.
Tom Wolfe and the Birth of the Quant Revolution

Watching the new Tom Wolfe documentary, Radical Wolfe, I was reminded of the key role the author and journalist played in the development of quantitative finance.
Why Are Consumers Still So Gloomy? Blame Covid.

Americans are downbeat about the economy, even as inflation rates rapidly decline back toward more normal levels, the unemployment rate has held below 4% for the longest stretch since the late 1960s and economists race to raise their growth forecasts.
Fed Seen Signaling One More Hike and Pushing Out 2024 Rate Cuts

A resilient US economy will prompt the Federal Reserve to pencil in one more interest-rate hike this year and stay at the peak level next year for longer than previously expected, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
A $4 Trillion ‘Triple Witching’ Event Endangers Stock Market Calm

All week, stock traders have shrugged off everything from hot inflation data in the US to another recession-threatening hike in interest rates over in Europe.
Dow Industrials Paying Price for Leaving Out Amazon and Alphabet

For a lesson in the pitfalls of market timing, consider the Dow Jones Industrial Average, whose refusal of admission to Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. has gone from a blessing to a curse in the space of a year.
The Future of Unions Looks Very Different

The labor movement is having a moment. In a tight employment market, there is money to be had — or profits to be more generously shared — and workers have gotten some big wins recently. Even reality TV stars and NFL running backs are getting into it.
What Shifting Stock-Bond Correlations Mean for Your Money

A recent paper analyzing the correlation between stock and bond returns going back to 1875 suggests the relationship of the past quarter century is shifting in an uncertain inflationary environment. The results might stimulate some investors to rethink their portfolio allocations.
Emerging Markets Boosted by Interventions as Rate Fears Grow

Expectations of central-bank interventions are helping to steady emerging-market currencies, even as traders adjust to a higher-for-longer regime for developed market interest rates.
The Bond Market Has Never Sounded Recession Alarms for This Long

The US bond market hasn’t flashed recession warnings so consistently for so long in at least six decades.
Zero-Day Options Boom Is Spilling Into $7.4 Trillion ETF Market

This year’s hottest options trade has found its way into the $7.4 trillion ETF arena for the first time, in the latest push by the financial industry to tap booming demand for stock investments with an income stream.
A Huge Lithium Discovery That Economists Were Expecting

When I first read about the discovery of a vast new deposit of lithium in a volcanic crater along the Nevada-Oregon border, I can’t say that I was surprised.
Two Odes to Elon Musk’s Genius Need a Grain of Salt

This week saw the release of another ode to the genius of Elon Musk, gushingly accepting his pronouncements at face value. Also, Walter Isaacson published a book about him.
New CLO Managers Eye $1.3 Trillion Market, Betting on Return

A flurry of hedge funds, direct lenders and others are expecting a revival of the $1.3 trillion collateralized loan obligation market — and they want to be ready to reap the benefits when it happens.
US Core CPI Picks Up, Keeping Another Fed Hike in Play This Year

Underlying US inflation ran at a faster-than-expected monthly pace in August, leaving the door open for additional interest-rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
US Is Looking to Offload Nearly $13 Billion of MBS Seized From SVB and Signature

The US government has been looking at ways to offload nearly $13 billion of mortgage bonds it amassed from failed lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, according to people with knowledge of the transactions.
Worried About the American Consumer? Don’t Be.

Arguably, the biggest question about the US economy right now is whether consumers can maintain their pace of spending. Student loan payments resume in October.
Mergers Will Lead to a Better Banking Industry

For banks in 2023, one message is coming through clearly: Scale is good.
Treasury Bills Yielding 5% Are a Big Hit With Retail Investors

Everyone — from moms and pops to corporate treasurers and the mega asset managers — is piling in, won over by a unique opportunity: To lock in a 5% yield, and protect themselves from uncertainty over the US economy.
BofA Survey Shows ‘Dramatic Shift’ Toward High-Flying US Stocks

Concern over China’s sputtering economy has created a “dramatic shift” in investors’ equity allocation — a rush toward the US and an exodus from emerging markets, Bank of America’s latest global fund manager survey showed.
Bigger Financial Cushions Won’t Solve Banks’ Woes

US banking regulators are back to their old tricks. In the wake of a crisis — this time the March demise of a handful of regional banks — they want banks to fund themselves with more loss-absorbing equity capital.
Fed’s ‘Last Mile’ of Inflation Fight Will Be No Cakewalk

All eyes this week will be on the release of the US consumer price index for August on Wednesday, especially after the sharp reduction in inflation from 9.1% in June 2022 to just more than 3% in July.
Morgan Stanley ‘Last Bull Standing’ on Treasuries as Peers Shift

Morgan Stanley has pushed back against Treasury bears, saying investors should buy US sovereign debt as markets may be too optimistic over the prospect of a soft-landing for the economy.
ETF Investors Pour Cash Into EM’s Non-China Growth Engines

Traders in the $325 billion industry for emerging-market exchange-traded funds are shifting cash toward strategies that focus on brighter spots in the developing world as China’s economy stumbles.
Fear of Stock Market Dive Creeps Back as Hedging Costs Climb

The S&P 500 Index’s surprise 16% rally this year is rewarding traders who bought in early and punishing those who’ve remained skeptical. But fear of a downturn remains.
China Is Being Left Out by a Record Number of New EM Stock Funds

Launches of emerging-market equity funds that exclude China have already reached a record annual high in 2023, as investor concerns grow over weak returns as well as the risks of investing in the nation.
Apple Risks Getting Overtaken by Bigger AI Players, Needham Says

Apple Inc. is by far the world’s largest company, but the trend toward artificial intelligence is poised to upend the power rankings on Wall Street, according to Needham.
Blackstone Says Private Credit Is Coming for Asset-Based Debt

Private credit lenders are just getting started in the world of consumer and asset based finance, according to Rob Camacho, Blackstone Inc.’s co-head of asset based finance within the firm’s Structured Finance Group.
Dollar’s Relentless Rally Set for a Boost From Higher Oil Prices

Surging oil prices are set to power the next leg of the dollar rally, as the US economy benefits from its rise as an energy exporter.
Widening Wealth and Inequality Gaps Have Limits

A staff report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York titled “Capital Management and Wealth Inequality” comes to some remarkable Marxist conclusions.
Despite Political Pressure, the Fed Should Hold Firm

Two essential questions are facing the US economy right now: whether the Federal Reserve’s next change in its policy rate will be a cut or an increase, and whether the central bank’s inflation target of 2% needs to change.
BofA’s Hartnett Says Higher-for-Longer Rates Set to Hurt Stocks

The rising threat of interest rates staying higher for longer is likely to dent prospects of a soft landing for the US economy and drive a selloff in stocks over the next two months, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists.
Barclays Has Much at Stake in the Fintech Future

Barclays Plc is trying to work out how to make the best of its payments business in its quest to increase the appeal of its shares. One option is selling a stake in the unit that handles card transactions for shopkeepers and other businesses, Bloomberg News reports.
Cities Need People, People Need Homes. Both Must Wait.

There’s a growing consensus that we need more housing and less office space as cities move forward with plans to transform themselves in a post-pandemic world.
Traders Unfazed as Soft-Landing Calls Stoke Bets on Market Calm

As soft-landing calls engulf Wall Street, traders are betting that a market calm will endure across investing strategies — despite the latest selloff in US stocks and bonds.
Regional Banks May Need to Sell $63 Billion in Bonds Under Rule

US regional banks may need to raise significant amounts of additional debt to comply with new regulatory requirements, but the extra capital might not be enough to prevent future failures, according to research published Wednesday.
21Shares and Cathie Wood’s ARK File for First US Spot-Ether ETF

Crypto exchange-traded-products issuer 21Shares and Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management are seeking to offer the first US ETF that invests directly in Ether.
Fed Can’t Disregard Another Inflation Head Fake

Reported inflation has been improving for months, but Federal Reserve policymakers are still understandably worried that it’s a head fake — perhaps none more than Governor Christopher Waller, who has repeatedly referenced the risk of being hoodwinked by the data.
Who Needs a Bitcoin ETF? Actually the SEC Does.

Should the US Securities and Exchange Commission approve an exchange-traded fund focused on the spot market for Bitcoin? The question has yet again gained relevance, thanks to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which last week reversed the SEC’s decision to reject a Bitcoin ETF proposed by Grayscale Investments.
Crypto Market-Making Profit Margins Sink 30% in ‘Wake-Up Call’

Market making in digital tokens used to be a font of outsized profitability. The picture today is very different as costs jump and investors avoid a crypto sector scarred by a $2 trillion rout.
Quant Firm Man Numeric Aims to Go 100% Electronic for Credit Trades By 2025

An electronic trading revolution is finally coming to corporate bonds, years after reaching other financial markets.
Fed’s Debt Runoff Is ‘Painless’ at $1 Trillion Mark, With Bigger Test Ahead

The Federal Reserve has now offloaded about $1 trillion of its bond holdings since it began working down its bloated balance sheet last year, with no sign of the kinds of strains in financial markets that spooked policymakers the last time they oversaw such a program.
The AI Hype Has Subsided, But the Revolution Continues

We seem to be in what I can only call an “AI lull.” The initial excitement about ChatGPT, which started in January, has receded. Google searches for ChatGPT peaked in April and are now down significantly, as is customer engagement with ChatGPT.
Summer’s End Is Ushering In a Recessionary Chill

When future economic historians write of our times, the thrust will be that it was a time of transition.
Nvidia’s Rally Is Going to Show Traders What a Market Bubble Looks Like, Rob Arnott Says

For years now, stock traders have been getting so rich betting big companies will get even bigger that they’ve forgotten what a bubble looks like. They’re going to find out thanks to Nvidia Corp.
Fed’s Bostic Says US Faces a ‘Shaking Out’ on Refinanced Debts

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said the US economy faces a period of some disruption as debts are refinanced at significantly higher interest rates, putting some pressure on both financial institutions and the government.
US Payrolls Rise by More Than Forecast While Wage Growth Cools

US hiring picked up in August and wage growth slowed, offering a mixed picture of both resilience and moderation in the labor market.
Paging Dr. GPT? Tech Investors Bet AI Finally Poised to Transform Health Care

Top venture firms are betting that rapid advances in artificial intelligence and the public fascination with ChatGPT will help tech startups to transform healthcare after years of Silicon Valley struggling to move the needle in the industry.
Pimco Taps Battered Mortgage Bonds as Credit Gets Expensive

Investors looking for extra yield are driving corporate bonds to some of their tightest valuations of the year, pushing money managers including Pacific Investment Management Co. toward mortgage debt that looks much cheaper.
UBS’s Biggest Win? Escaping Credit Suisse’s Stigma

UBS Group AG faced two big questions about its emergency rescue of Credit Suisse Group AG: How much profit would it make on the bargain deal? And would the distractions or taint of taking over the failing bank hurt its own business?
Weird, Yes, But Housing Really Needs a Slower Economy

The hope for the US resale housing market a year ago was that inflation would peak, interest rates would fall, and lower mortgage rates would help unfreeze the buying and selling of existing homes. That hasn't happened.
The US, Allies See Opportunity and Risk in China’s Slowing Economy

In China’s current economic travails, US and other Group of Seven nations increasingly see evidence of deep-seated structural problems that ultimately will strengthen the West’s hand against a weakening geopolitical competitor.
Active ETFs Cash In on Corporate Reform in Japan

Actively managed exchange-trade funds are set to launch in Tokyo next week, with one asset manager focusing its strategy on corporate Japan’s effort to elevate shareholder returns.
SEC Defers Decisions on Fidelity, BlackRock Bitcoin ETFs

The US Securities and Exchange Commission delayed making a decision again on whether to approve the first US exchange-traded fund that invests directly in Bitcoin, disappointing advocates just days after a court ruling viewed by many as clearing a path for the long-awaited product.
Gutsy Tesla ETF Wants to Time Bets on Famously Volatile Shares

Shares of Tesla Inc. are famously among the most-volatile in the market, but one exchange-traded fund issuer reckons it can time its bets on the electric-vehicle maker to amplify gains and cushion declines.
IPO Drought Is Ending, But Don’t Expect a Deluge

The US market for initial public offerings is finally reopening after the sleepiest stretch in 32 years. Grocery delivery business Instacart, data automation provider Klaviyo and semiconductor designer Arm Holdings Ltd. all filed to go public last week.
A Mammoth Industry Hidden by Private-Label Chips

A global surge in demand and subsequent shortage of key industrial components has turned companies like Nvidia Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and ASML Holding NV into hugely influential names.
Wall Street Prepares for $15 Billion Spree of Risky Buyout Debt

A $15.4 billion wave of debt is set to sweep over leveraged finance markets in September as Wall Street banks rush to lure in yield-hungry investors.
The Ides of Goldman Sachs and the Fate of David Solomon

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine and The Economist have all piled on, questioning Solomon’s performance in his day job as chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Grayscale’s Bitcoin Win Is Still Only Half the Battle

News that a Washington DC Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Grayscale Investments LLC over the Securities and Exchange Commission has ignited hope that a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund will soon be available. Bitcoin prices jumped.
Sure, Consumers' Savings Are Down, But So Is Their Debt

Even with elevated consumer prices and high borrowing costs, Americans continue to spend at a solid clip, complicating the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tame inflation.
Most US College Grads Say Trade Skills Bring Better Job Security

With electricians, plumbers and other professionals in high demand, many Americans fresh out of university are questioning whether their expensive education was worth it.
Bitcoin ETF Deadlines Loom Again for SEC Ahead of Labor Day Weekend

The journey to a potential Bitcoin ETF has so far been long and arduous. But some key decisions in the race are likely coming this week as crypto faithful await to see how things play out this time.
Wall Street Reels From Painful August as Winning Trades Go Sour

The world’s most powerful central bankers have vowed in unison to keep interest rates higher for longer if necessary to tame inflation.
Fusion Research Shouldn’t Be a Nuclear Weapons Side Hustle

If humanity survives for thousands more years, our primary energy source could very likely be nuclear fusion. It’s clean, the fuel is inexhaustible and cheap, and there’s no risk of a meltdown.
Fed’s Job Would Be Easier With Smarter Fiscal Policy

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell briskly dispensed with the idea of raising the central bank’s inflation target in his speech at the Jackson Hole conference last week. But the idea isn’t going away.
Just How Unaffordable Is the US Housing Market?

You hear a lot these days how unaffordable housing has become in the US. One way to think about affordability is to look at home prices relative to household incomes.
Student Loan Payments Restart Will Dent US Housing Market, Survey Finds

The resumption of US student-loan payments in the coming weeks will deal a significant and lasting blow to the housing market, according to a new survey of real estate professionals.
Bitcoin’s Dirty History Offers a Lesson for AI’s Future

Surging interest in artificial intelligence systems will add further strain to global electricity grids with the potential to rival the massive energy consumption of Bitcoin. Thankfully, the premier cryptocurrency has shown us a way to mitigate the impact.
Banks Need More Capital, Not a New Rulebook

At 1,087 pages, a recent proposal to change capital rules would surely make life more complicated for big US banks. But will it make them safer?
Traders Have S&P 500 Comebacks Fading at Historic Pace

Surprised that the S&P 500 swung into the green Friday? Don’t worry. Just wait. It’ll fall again after the next opening bell.
Powell Signals Fed Will Raise Rates If Needed, Keep Them High

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank is prepared to raise interest rates further if needed and intends to keep borrowing costs high until inflation is on a convincing path toward the Fed’s 2% target.
Bond Market Losses Are Finally Over, Unless Yields Blow Past 6%

As brutal as it’s been for US bond investors, the math is finally turning in their favor.
AI Won’t Save Tech Stocks From Trouble, BofA’s Hartnett Says

Technology stocks are in trouble, with the buzz around artificial intelligence set to be overshadowed by the effects of higher-for-longer interest rates, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists.
Powell Signals Further Hikes Will Come If Needed

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled the US central bank is prepared to raise interest rates further if needed and keep borrowing costs high until inflation is on a convincing path toward the Fed’s 2% target.
Nvidia Market Reaction Shows US Rally Is Over, Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Says

The drop in US stocks on Thursday despite a bumper report from Nvidia Corp. shows the rally this year is “exhausted” and portends more declines to come, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson.
The Dollar Is the Fortress China Struggles to Breach

If this is what a bad year for the dollar looks like, I'll take it. Widespread predictions of a significant retreat after a bumper 2022 haven't come to pass.
Stock Funds Can Be Difficult to Compare. Try This.

The holy grail of stock investing is buying great companies on the cheap. Stock picker Peter Lynch plied a variation of that strategy to fame and fortune in the 1980s using his so-called PEG ratio.
Vanguard Wannabe Faces SEC Battle to Mimic Tax-Slashing Funds

Vanguard Group’s best-of-both-worlds stranglehold over the money-management industry is facing a new kind of challenger.
Bond Traders Are Obsessing Over This Gauge Before Jackson Hole

An abstract interest-rate metric is dominating discussions across trading desks ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium, with investors wondering if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will weigh in, and bracing for further declines in US Treasuries if he does.
Retail Traders Are Driving Up to 40% of Zero-Day Options Boom

Day traders are far more active in the booming world of zero-day stock options than Wall Street realizes, according to the exchange at the center of the frenzy.
Powell Has Already Hinted at Where He Stands on ‘Neutral’

Central bankers generally believe in an abstract phenomenon known as the neutral real rate of interest, or r-star. It’s the inflation-adjusted rate that should prevail when the economy is balanced with price increases subdued and the labor market healthy.
The Secret to Earning $1 Billion by Doing Nothing

Until recently, I thought rising interest rates were — on balance — bad for businesses. In fact, many big companies are benefiting from the fastest rate-hiking cycle in decades, at least in purely financial terms.
Bank of America Disputes Goldman Logic on Zero-Day Option Threat to Stocks

The heated debate on the threat posed by the boom in stock derivatives that expire within 24 hours is pitting two of Wall Street’s biggest banks against each other.
Can Oxford and Cambridge Save Harvard From ChatGPT?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is capable not just of disrupting higher education but of blowing it apart. The march of the smart machines is already well advanced. AI can easily pass standardized tests such as the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) and the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) required by graduate schools.
Fanuc’s Road to Redemption Runs Through India (and the Fed)

The Japanese factory automation and robot maker last month lowered its full-year operating income forecast by 24% because of a sharp slowdown in China and high inventories that could linger into next year. Its shares were quickly dumped and have continued to slide.
Nvidia Earnings Are High-Stakes Event for AI-Crazed Markets

Big Tech’s earnings season is wrapping up with a bang: Nvidia Corp., at the center of the artificial intelligence frenzy, is reporting results that could set the tone for global stock markets for the rest of the year.
Vanguard’s Tax-Busting Fund Design Is Getting Its Latest Revamp

Vanguard Group has famously stood apart in the money-management world with its popular mutual funds offering the liquid ETF wrapper.
Investors Say They’ll Stick With Gold as Fed Cycle Nears End

Gold isn’t losing its allure, according to a dozen money managers who all told Bloomberg News they expect to maintain or raise their exposure to the precious metal in the coming 12 months.
Treasury Yields Hit Highest Since 2007 on Elevated Rate Fears

The US bond-market selloff resumed Monday, driving 10-year yields to a 16-year high, as the persistently resilient economy has investors positioning for interest rates to remain elevated even after the Federal Reserve winds up its hikes.
Market Digests $1 Trillion Jump in T-Bill Supply Without Hiccup

The government has issued an eye-watering $1 trillion in Treasury bills since the debt ceiling was suspended in early June. So far, the market hasn’t batted an eye.
A BRICS Common Currency Is Still a Pipe Dream

Paul O’Neill, a former US Treasury secretary, said that if America ever dropped the strong-dollar policy, he would hire a brass band at Yankee Stadium to mark the proclamation.
Kashkari Saw Higher Bond Yields Coming. So Why the Hysteria?

Yields on 10-year Treasury notes have spent 18 sessions trading above 4% this year, but some doomsayers are ready to declare a permanent shift to a higher-yield regime. They attribute it to factors such as demographics, the looming clean-energy transition and large government deficits. And sure, that could be.
Goodbye to the Bull Market for US Treasury Bonds

Who knew that the subject of US Treasury bond yields could inspire such passion? When, in late June, I argued that they were likely to move considerably higher than the then-prevailing 3.75%, I attracted some vehement pushback.
Fed Can’t Celebrate Yet as Investors Expect Rates, Inflation to Remain Elevated

If they’d been offered today’s economy a year ago – with inflation downgraded from emergency to mere headache, still-low unemployment, and growth that’s slowed without stalling – the world’s top central bankers would’ve taken it like a shot.
Americans Say Government Can Do More to Ease Student-Loan Crisis

A pair of polls suggest that student debt will be a key issue for millions of Americans this fall, when monthly bills resume and borrowers can’t lean on President Joe Biden’s forgiveness plan after the nation’s top court tossed it out.
Bruised Stocks Face Week Full of Tests, From Nvidia to Powell

Equity traders reeling from the market’s worst stretch since February face some pivotal events in the days ahead, and a closely watched speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may not even be the biggest test of all.
The US Economy Can't Sustain Its Red-Hot Pace, Right?

Halfway through the third quarter, the economy is looking surprisingly strong. A tracker from the Atlanta branch of the Federal Reserve has real gross domestic product growth, based on the limited data we've gotten so far, tracking at 5.8%, which would be the fastest for a non-pandemic quarter in 20 years.
Is a Hedge Fund-Style Investment Right for You?

Former Bridgewater Associates LP executive Bob Elliott’s plan for exchange-traded funds that employ hedge fund strategies has sharpened the debate about whether retail investors should have access to such approaches.
Argentina’s Future Is With the Dollar

Argentina’s leading presidential candidate, Javier Milei, has some unorthodox ideas about policy (he wants to abolish central banks), politics (he is libertarian) and pets (he has five cloned dogs). One of his proposals, however, is simple common sense: dollarizing Argentina’s economy.
European Banks Aren't Helping Your Savings

European banks are rightly being criticized for failing to pass on interest-rate increases to customers. But is it any wonder they’re so unafraid of losing business? Compared to their US counterparts, European financial institutions often face less competition from alternative cash-like investments.
BofA’s Warning of a ‘5% World’ Sinks in With Yields Pushing Higher

All around the world, bond traders are finally coming to the realization that the rock-bottom yields of recent history might be gone for good.
Options Are All the Rage in Stocks With $2 Trillion Deadline Looming

The fresh boom in stock options that expire within 24 hours has grabbed all the attention on Wall Street trading desks — spurring a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warning that the activity is fueling the recent market selloff.
Crypto Enthusiasts Stoked by Bitcoin-ETF Hype Shrug Off Ether-Fund Push

Ether-futures ETFs could be coming to the US soon, but the cryptocurrency market doesn’t seem to care.
Wealthy Americans Are Anxious About the Economy, Too

It’s curious: Even as America’s economic trends are improving, Americans’ economic anxieties are worsening — including those of many who have no apparent reason to be worried. Not only are there are polls and statistics that illustrate the point, but there are also anecdotes, lots of anecdotes.
UPS Drivers Deliver a Message to the Federal Reserve

Signs of slowing price pressures and wage growth have generated a lot of excitement about a soft landing for the US economy, where inflation glides back toward 2% without a painful recession.
Fed Saw ‘Significant’ Inflation Risk That May Merit More Hikes

Federal Reserve officials at their policy meeting in July largely remained concerned that inflation would fail to recede and that further interest-rate increases would be needed. At the same time, cracks in that consensus were also becoming more apparent.
Goldman Sachs Blames Zero-Day Options for Fueling S&P 500 Selloff

Look closely at the contours of Tuesday’s tumble in the S&P 500 and fingerprints of a new market force come into focus.
Ex-Bridgewater Executive to Launch Eight Hedge-Fund Style ETFs

Former Bridgewater Associates LP executive Bob Elliott is expanding his firm’s ETF lineup with a variety of hedge fund-like strategies.
The China Surprise We Should Have Seen Coming

In a year of unpleasant surprises from China's economy, here's a development we should have foreseen: The central bank lowered interest rates. With growth disappointing and prices declining, Tuesday's easing from the People's Bank of China ought to have been a no-brainer.
AI Won’t Supercharge the US Economy

It is a radical suggestion, no doubt, but some analysts predict that AI might enable the US economy to achieve an annual growth rate of 30%.
Investors Least Bearish on Stocks Since Pre-Fed Hikes, BofA Says

Investors are the least pessimistic on stocks since February of last year, before the Federal Reserve began one of the most aggressive tightening cycles in decades, according to Bank of America Corp.’s latest global survey of fund managers.
JPMorgan, Western AM See Treasury Gains Even as Bonds Swoon

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Western Asset Management are among those saying this month’s jump in bond yields represents a buying opportunity, given central banks are getting close to the end of their rate-hike cycles.
Quant-Momentum ETF Is Getting Crushed Even as Stocks Shoot Up

The largest exchange-traded fund focused on high-flying stocks has been losing its edge.
Biggest Treasury ETF Sees Largest Exodus Since 2020 Meltdown

Investors are bailing out of the biggest exchange-traded fund devoted to Treasuries at the fastest pace since markets were hammered during the early months of the pandemic.
Companies That Offer Unlimited Vacations Will Outperform S&P 500, Investors Say

Is unlimited paid time off good for a company's stock price? Most investors think so, according to the latest Markets Live Pulse survey.
Zero-Day Options Cement Presence in Reversal-Ridden Stock Market

The craze for fast-expiring options is ramping to unprecedented heights in a stock market that has lately been given to severe intraday moves. It’s probably not a coincidence.
How Prosperous Is America? Ask UPS Drivers

By the end of the five-year deal that the United Parcel Service and its drivers just agreed to, full-time drivers will make about $170,000 a year, counting healthcare coverage and other benefits. That’s up from $145,000 currently.
Corporate Failure Is a Valuable Asset That’s Hard to Protect

The fraction of enterprise value of large US companies represented by tangible assets — things like real estate and inventory — has fallen from 50% to 20% over the past 15 years.
Beating Inflation Might Still Need Higher Rates

Unpacking the details of last week’s consumer price index report, the news was good: Inflationary pressure continues to slowly subside, while an economic “soft landing” — in which the Federal Reserve is able to stabilize prices without causing a recession — is starting to look more realistic.
No, Small Banks Aren’t Holding the Bag on Half-Empty Towers

One of the scarier financial factoids making the rounds this year is that local and regional banks hold 70% of US commercial real estate debt.
How the Fed Got Drawn Into the Shadows

Bankers are warning that tougher capital rules being proposed by the Federal Reserve and other US regulators will push more risks out of well-regulated lenders and into markets.
Emerging Bonds Disrupt Playbook by Rallying as Treasuries Swoon

The old playbook of selling emerging-market bonds when Treasury yields spike is being upended by the positive dynamics favoring developing-nation debt.
Bond Market Sees No End to Tumult as Fed Casts a Hawkish Shadow

Across Wall Street, there’s growing relief that the Federal Reserve — at long last — may be done raising interest rates. But that doesn’t mean turbulence in the bond market will soon become a thing of the past.
More Bitcoin ETF Decisions Are Already Looming After SEC Declines to Rule

Bitcoin ETF candidates got another dose of disappointment when US regulators on Friday punted on making a decision on such a product. But the next time they hear from them might be just a few weeks away.
To Bring Back the Office, Bring Back Lunch

It has been nearly two years since corporate America reopened, and employers are still struggling to get people back into the office. Just ask Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, who has been pushing for in-office work, yet 30% of his workers remain hybrid and he continues to face pushback.
Market Is Mispricing Impact of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, Goldman Says

Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. say that a number of key green sectors remain meaningfully underpriced.
Emerging Markets Cap Week of Selling Everything With China Link

Investors hammered Chinese assets and those of developing nations relying on its sustained growth a day after US President Joe Biden described the country’s economic woes as a “ticking time bomb.”
Good News on Inflation Comes With an Asterisk

With that, the economy would avoid a recession, interest rates would fall in an orderly fashion, stocks would build on their already impressive gains, and highly levered corporate exposures would be normalized methodically.
Housing Is Fed's Secret Weapon in Battle Against Inflation

The consumer price index report for July showed the smallest back-to-back monthly increase in two years. This is welcome news in the battle to tame inflation but the even better news was buried deep in the report.
Fed Seen Pausing in September After Tame Core-Inflation Report

Federal Reserve policymakers are increasingly likely to leave interest rates unchanged at their next meeting in September after fresh data showed further signs of cooling inflation.
A Week of 1% Moves on the S&P 500 Could Trigger Forced Selling

It could take just a 1% move in the S&P 500 — up or down — every day for a week for the rally in US stocks to come under significant pressure.
Hedge Fund Alum George Noble Shutters New ETF After 59% Plunge

Hedge-fund veteran George Noble’s foray into the exchange-traded fund industry has come to a quick, and painful, end.
Income Ladder Is Difficult to Climb for US Metro Areas

In 1949, the list of the country’s most affluent metropolitan areas was dominated by Midwestern industrial cities.
RIP, Recession. Is It Time to Worry About Inflation Again?

In the spring of 2022, the US economy went through an abrupt shift as consumer spending moved from goods to services. Travel boomed. Retailers slumped. Warehouses overflowed with inventory no one wanted to buy, and factories and the freight industry went through a recessionary adjustment.
Rising Productivity Will Finally Tame Inflation

The latest monthly US jobs report showed a moderation in employment growth, bolstering hopes that the Federal Reserve can stop raising interest rates. Not so fast, say the monetary policy hawks such as former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
Treasury Yields Bump Up Risks for Asia Stocks as AI Rally Cools

Inflation concerns are threatening to keep US Treasury yields higher for longer, worsening a slide in Asia stocks as investors sell chip shares after their recent rally.
Wall Street Falls Hard for Once-Unloved 20-Year Treasury Bonds

Bond investors who have repeatedly gotten burned buying 20-year Treasuries since the US government reintroduced them in 2020 appear willing to conclude that this time will be different.