Good morning. US stock futures moved higher in Monday morning trading as Wall Street looked to cap off the month on a high note.

"The broker said the stock was poised to move. Silly me, I thought he meant up"

Randy Thurman

Top News

Could the banking system trigger a recession?

WHAT: Remember when banking was supposed to be boring? Well it hasn't been lately and according to Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari recent turmoil in the banking system could bring the US closer to recession.

WHY: Kashkari, who was delivering comments on CBS' Face The Nation, said it remained too soon to gauge the size of the "imprint" bank stress will have on the economy, but noted that the Fed continues to monitor the banking system as it determines its next course of interest rate actions.

China picks up pace of government spending

WHAT: Looks like China's central government is on a borrowing spree that would put even a shopaholic to shame — the government sold over $40 billion in sovereign bonds in Q1, the highest level for the same period since 1997.

WHY: The government is borrowing to fund some much-need spending and to help out debt-ridden provinces.

US House Speaker won't be doing any TikTok dance challenges...

WHAT: Don't expect US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to be doing any lip-sync battles or dance challenges on TikTok anytime soon — he's set to move forward with legislation to address data and US national security issues allegedly posed by the short-form video app.

WHY: There has been a growing call to force TikTok to sell itself or for an outright ban on the app in the US over concerns that the Chinese government has access to data gathered by the app.

In Other News

Do we have a buyer?

 WHAT: Remember Silicon Valley Bank? You know, the bank that started the whole "the banking system might be collapsing" crisis? Well, it looks like they may finally have a buyer as First Citizens BancShares has agreed to acquire around $72 billion of the bank's assets.

WHY: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which now controls Silicon Valley Bank assets, has been trying to sell the bank over the last two week since it acted as a backstop for the failed bank.

Yea, it's worth $20 billion now...

WHAT: Elon Musk just offered current Twitter employees stock grants at a valuation of nearly $20 billion — a huge haircut to the $44 billion Musk paid last October to become "Chief Twit".

WHY: In prior statements Musk said Twitter was on a path to bankruptcy, but as recently as December noted that the company was now on track to be "roughly cashflow break-even in 2023" after advertisers cut spending on the social media platform after the acquisition.

Microsoft drops hammer on rivals

WHAT: Well, well, well, it seems like Microsoft has put on its tough-guy pants and is ready to play hardball — the company has threatened to cut off access to their internet search data which they license to their search engine rivals.

WHY: The software maker licenses its Bing search index — a map of the internet that can be quickly scanned in real time — to other companies that offer web search and has reportedly told two of its customers that using its Bing search index to feed their AI chat tools violates the terms of their contract.

Key Economic Events

• Monday - Fed Governor Jefferson Speaks

• Tuesday - Fed Governor Barr Testifies To Senate On Banks

• Wednesday - No Major Economic News

• Thursday - Fed President Collins Speaks

• Friday - Consumer Sentiment

Notable Briefs

• Here are a few alternative investments to consider

• Struggling to be more productive at work? Follow these 10 tips!

• Everything you need to understand about financial risk

• Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here.

• Want to advertise in Daily Market Briefs? Go here.