1.Stocks Slip, Treasuries Cool After Fed Pushback: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks fell while Treasuries steadied after Wall Street slumped the most since September amid disappointing earnings reports and the Federal Reserve pushing back on interest rate cut expectations. Speaking after the January Fed decision, Chair Jerome Powell said he doesn’t think it’s likely the central bank will ease policy in March.
2. Fed Keeps Rates Steady While Powell Says March Cut Unlikely
(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for a fourth straight meeting and signalled an openness to cutting them, though Fed Chair Jerome Powell threw cold water on investors’ hopes that reductions would begin in March. The central bank’s policy-making Federal Open Market Committee showed it is in no rush to reduce rates, noting in a statement Wednesday that it “does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.”
3. NYCB Flashes a $560 Billion Real Estate Warning for Banks
(Bloomberg) — The US commercial real estate market has been in turmoil since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. But New York Community Bancorp delivered a reminder that some lenders are only just beginning to see the pain. The bank’s decisions to slash its dividend and stockpile reserves sent its stock down a record 38% and dragged the KBW Regional Banking Index to its worst day since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last March.
4. Fed’s Powell Cements Pivot but Pushes Back on Timing of Cuts
(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve officials cemented the end of their aggressive campaign to push up interest rates and sought to reset expectations for how soon and how fast they’ll cut this year as inflation pressures fade. While policymakers are shifting their focus to when to start easing policy amid a favorable pullback in inflation, it’s clear they’re in no rush to lower rates.
5. Ukraine Tells Allies Troops Are Outgunned Three-to-One by Russia
(Bloomberg) — Ukraine has warned its allies that it is facing a “critical” shortage of artillery shells with Russia deploying three times as much firepower on the frontlines each day. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov wrote to his European Union counterparts this week describing the massive numerical disadvantage his troops are facing as they try to fight off fresh Russian assaults.
6. Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Advance as Israel War with Hamas Grinds On
(Bloomberg) — Negotiations are advancing for an agreement to pause the Israel-Hamas war and free civilian hostages captured by Hamas, people familiar with the matter said, in a deal that those involved believe could be a crucial step toward ending the four-month conflict. The people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, said conversations are still in the early stages and a breakthrough isn’t expected in the coming days.
7. Disney Lawsuit Against DeSantis Dismissed by Federal Judge
(Bloomberg) — Walt Disney Co.’s lawsuit accusing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of politically retaliating against the company was dismissed by a federal judge. US District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee, Florida, on Wednesday granted DeSantis’ request to throw out the company’s suit, saying Disney lacked standing to sue the governor.
8. Paramount stock jumps on Byron Allen’s $14 billion buyout report
Paramount Global stock (PARA) jumped as much as 13.5% on Wednesday after Bloomberg reported media mogul Byron Allen made a $14.3 billion bid to buy all of Paramount’s outstanding shares. According to the report, Allen offered $28.58 each for the company’s voting shares, marking a 50% premium compared to recent trading levels, and $21.53 for non-voting shares. Including existing debt, the total value of the deal amounts to roughly $30 billion. It’s unclear how he would finance the takeover.
9. Boeing (BA) on Wednesday refrained from issuing financial guidance and outlined work on bolstering the quality of its 737 Max model plane following a safety emergency that the plane maker said “we caused” on an Alaska Airlines (ALK) flight earlier this month.
Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun began the company’s conference call Wednesday by “apologizing again” to Alaska Airlines and broadly to Boeing’s customers affected by the grounding of Max 9 planes. The jets are returning to service after the Federal Aviation Administration on Jan. 6 temporarily grounded the planes after a blowout of a cabin panel during an Alaska Air flight on Jan 5.
10. Mobile device chipmaker Qualcomm late Wednesday handily beat Wall Street’s targets for its fiscal first quarter and guided above views for the current period.
But QCOM stock fell in extended trading. The San Diego-based company earned an adjusted $2.75 a share on sales of $9.94 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 24. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Qualcomm earnings of $2.37 a share on sales of $9.51 billion. On a year-over-year basis, Qualcomm earnings increased 16% while sales climbed 5%. Qualcomm’s Q1 report marked a return to growth after four straight quarters of declining sales and earnings on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm was hindered by a downturn in smartphone sales last fiscal year. For the current quarter, Qualcomm predicted adjusted earnings of $2.30 a share on sales of $9.3 billion. That’s based on the midpoint of its guidance. Analysts had been looking for earnings of $2.25 a share on sales of $9.28 billion in the March quarter. In the year-earlier period, Qualcomm earned an adjusted $2.15 a share on sales of $9.27 billion.