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- 🏦 Is THIS Bank About To Collapse?
🏦 Is THIS Bank About To Collapse?
Daily Market Briefs
May 04, 2023
Good morning. US stock futures fell in Thursday morning trading as investors digested the latest move from the Federal Reserve and weighed additional bank contagion risks.
| S&P 500 | Dow | Nasdaq |
|---|---|---|
| -0.27% | -0.27% | -0.08% |
"In the markets, just about everything works sometimes. Hardly anything works all the time"
Ed Seykota
Top News
Another Fed hike
WHAT: The US Federal Reserve just raised interest rates to the highest level in 16 years. The Fed increased its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, marking the 10th rate hike in 14 months as the central bank tries to grapple with historically high US inflation.
WHY: In a press conference after the rate announcement, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed was "getting close or maybe even there" when it came to pausing its rate hike campaign, but was prepared to do more if warranted.
Let's talk AI!
WHAT: The bigwigs in Washington are getting ready to talk shop with tech's biggest movers and shakers. US Vice President Kamala Harris and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo are scheduled to discuss the future of tech and all things artificial intelligence with the CEO's of Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.
WHY: The meeting comes as the explosive growth of platforms like ChatGPT has tech leaders and Washington policymakers debating how heavy a hand Washington should have in the emerging technology in the years ahead.
PacWest Bank to explore "strategic options"
WHAT: Looks like PacWest Bancorp is in a bit of a pickle. According to sources familiar with the situation, the Los Angeles-based lender is exploring all their options include an outright sale or a capital raise.
WHY: Major banks and private equity firms have balked at offering capital infusions to regional lenders without a government backstop because of concerns about the quality of loans and investments on the bank's balance sheets.
In Other News
FTC goes after Meta...again
WHAT: Another day, another attempt by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to make Meta Platforms existence as uncomfortable as possible. This time, they're threatening to block Meta from monetizing user data that it collects on minors, and even stop them from launching any new products and services.
WHY: According to the FTC, Meta's most recent infractions include misleading parents about their ability to control who their children contact in Facebook's Messenger Kids app, and misrepresenting how much access it gives third party app developers to private user data.
TikTok targets premium creators with new ad product
WHAT: TikTok just keeps finding ways to get even more sticky. The company announced they're launching a new product that lets advertisers put their ads right next to content made by top-notch publishers. But here's the kicker: 50% of the ad revenue goes straight into the publishers pockets!
WHY: The move by the short-video sharing app, which has focused largely on independent creators, comes at a time of tighter ad spending by brands hurt by curbed consumer spending.
Big Tech fights back against Canadian news bill
WHAT: Google and Meta are getting a little feisty with Canada. Apparently they've threatened to cut off access to news articles if legislation mandating internet companies to pay news publishers is passed.
WHY: Canada's proposed legislation would force platforms like Meta and Google parent Alphabet to negotiate commercial deals and pay Canadian news publishers for their content, part of a broader global trend to make tech firms pay for news.
Key Economic Events
Thursday - ECB President Lagarde Press Conference
Friday - US Unemployment Rate, Fed's Bullard Discusses The Economic Outlook
Notable Briefs
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