💸 It's Getting Harder To Trade Stocks For...?

Good morning. US stock futures dipped in Thursday morning trading as traders awaited a major U.S. inflation report.

📊 US Senators strike deal to ban stock trading by Congress members

📝 Our report: A bipartisan group of senators has reignited efforts to keep members of Congress from playing the stock market. “Congress should not be here to make a buck,” Sen. Josh Hawley said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “There is no reason why members of Congress ought to be profiting off of the information that only they get.”

 🔑 Key points:

• The proposal is the latest chapter in a yearslong saga in Congress to pass regulations that limit lawmakers’ ability to buy and sell stocks, and the first one to get formal consideration by a Senate committee.

• Ethics experts say that legislators’ access to the kind of information they receive gives them the potential of having an unfair advantage to the investing public.

• If passed, the bill would also prohibit lawmakers’ spouses and dependent children from trading stocks, beginning March 2027. Also starting that year, the U.S. president, vice president and all members of Congress would have to divest from any covered investments.

💡 So what: The implications of U.S. Senators reaching a deal to ban stock trading by members of Congress are significant. It would increase transparency and trust in government, reduce potential conflicts of interest, and align lawmakers' financial interests more closely with those of the general public. This move could also deter insider trading and promote ethical behavior, reinforcing the integrity of the legislative process. Additionally, it might influence other sectors to adopt similar measures, contributing to a broader culture of accountability and fairness in public service.

Thursday - US Consumer Price Index

Friday - Consumer Sentiment (prelim)

📈 Cathie Wood shares these 7 investing tips!

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🏦 Major bank fined for charging customers extra fees

WHAT: Fifth Third Bank is facing a $20 million fine from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for forcing thousands of customers to buy unnecessary auto insurance policies, even though they already had coverage. “The CFPB has caught Fifth Third Bank illegally loading up auto loan bills with excessive charges, with almost 1,000 families losing their cars to repossession,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a press release.

WHY: In addition to issuing Fifth Third Bank $20 million in penalties, the CFPB also proposed banning the bank from setting sales goals for its employees “that incentivize the opening of unauthorized accounts.”

🛢️ Oil major signs deal to expand EV charging network

WHAT: BP's EV unit is teaming up with mall mogul Simon Property Group to juice up 75 sites across the U.S. with over 900 high-speed electric vehicle chargers, the companies announced in a joint statement. The deal, one of the largest in EV charging for the global oil giant, comes amid a broader slowdown in demand for EVs as high interest rates meant to control inflation have soured consumer sentiment for battery-powered vehicles, which are typically more expensive than gas-powered counterparts.

WHY: The oil major has been expanding its footprint through deals with other companies such as Hertz, and also acquired truck fueling provider TravelCenters of America last year to expand its retail and charging network.

🖥️ Microsoft settles lawsuit to fend off regulators

WHAT: Microsoft has bagged a 20-million-euro ($21.7 million) deal to settle an antitrust complaint over its cloud computing licensing, sidestepping a European Union investigation and a potential whopper of a fine. Cloud services organisation CISPE, whose members include Amazon and a score of small EU cloud providers, complained to the European Commission in late 2022 alleging that contractual terms imposed by Microsoft on Oct. 1 were harming Europe's cloud computing ecosystem.

WHY: Microsoft ranks behind market leader Amazon in the multibillion-dollar cloud computing sector but ahead of Alphabet's Google. The industry has drawn antitrust scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic.

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