Good morning. US stock futures slid in Thursday morning trading as investor fretted over a continued rise in interest rates.

"People would rather believe that they have been robbed than that they have been fools on the advice of fools"

Fred Schwed Jr.

Top News

US exploring "digital dollar"

• Under Secretary of the Treasury Nellie Liang announced that the US is exploring possibilities for adopting a central bank digital currency for either retail or wholesale purposes.

• "We are thinking about whether a US central bank digital currency, to the extent it has functionality that traditional forms of central bank money lack, could help to preserve the dollar's global role" Liang said in a recently delivered speech.

ESG rule blocked

• The US Senate voted 50-46 to nullify a Labor Department rule that facilitated fund managers to take into account ESG factors for investments and shareholder right decisions including proxy voting.

• In 2022, ESG funds were hit by a fallout from the Ukraine war, tumbling financial markets, and US political backlash against the industry.

IRS fixes tax refund issue

• The Internal Revenue Service has rectified an omission that may have hindered certain taxpayers from obtaining Covid-19 related tax refunds that were due in the past years.

• The agency said it resolved a timing issue between when taxpayers can claim credits and refunds from a previous tax year and the timeframe allowed to do that outlined by the IRS's "lookback" clause.

In Other News

Boardroom gender equality still many years away

• According to data provider MSCI, gender inequality in boardrooms is not likely to be resolved until 2038 if the current rate of improvement in female representation is maintained.

• In 2022, women held less than a quarter, or 24.5% of director seats across the global index versus the 22.6% held in 2021 MSCI said.

Insider trading charges leveled at health company exec

• US authorities charged the CEO of health care company Ontrak with insider trading, marking the first criminal case involving the use of a special trading plan designed to help shield executives from such charges.

• Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer sold more than $20 million of Ontrak stock between May and August 2021 while in possession of material non-public negative information related to the company's largest customer authorities said.

Gas stoves still on the front burner...

• The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is taking a significant step towards the regulation of gas stoves by inviting the public to offer feedback on the matter.

• The move to regulate gas stoves was prompted by concerns over potential safety hazards as the Commission maintains its effort to ensure consumer safety.

Key Economic Events

• Thursday - Eurozone CPI M-o-M

• Friday - Fed's Bostic Discusses Research

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