Futures Up Ahead Of Tomorrow's Interest Rate Decision

The FDIC is looking into insuring deposits of more than $250k. Senator Elizabeth Warren says up to $10 million should be insured.

Should we just make all deposits FDIC-insured to stop bank runs?

Prices as of 4 pm EST, 3/20/23

On his first trip abroad since securing another term this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Vladimir Putin for four hours yesterday to discuss ways to ease war tensions. Xi’s next visit will be to Ukraine to speak with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, though it’s likely Zelenksiy rejects Xi’s proposals as biased toward Russia.
One look at First Republic’s stock chart and you’d never guess they received a $30 billion deposit injection last week. Now, Jamie Dimon is leading discussions with other big bank CEOs for another round of investment in the flailing bank which places the option of a sale on the table.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department is exploring ways to expand the FDIC’s deposit coverage beyond the current $250,000 threshold. The move is being pushed by a group of midsized banks who argue the new measures are necessary to prevent another financial crisis.
With the first veto of his presidency, Joe Biden rejected a bill that would have overturned regulation allowing retirement-plan managers to consider climate change (i.e., ESG guidelines) in their investment decisions. With a narrowly divided Congress, the veto is not expected to be overridden.

Fresh off a headcount reduction of roughly 18,000 in November, Amazon has announced another round of job cuts expected to affect some 9,000 employees. The layoffs will mostly affect Amazon Web Services, human resources, advertising, and Twitch's live streaming service group.
Longtime leader and Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz has handed over the reins to Laxman Narasimhan. The move comes just as the company prepares to address shareholders over controversial issues like governance and management, as well as a push to unionize amongst its baristas.
After its $3.2 billion takeover of Credit Suisse, UBS was downgraded by S&P Global. This morning, in a note pointing to significant challenges ahead for the Swiss bank, Moody’s followed suit with a downgrade of its own

With oil prices hanging out around a 15-month low, OPEC+ is set for its next meeting on April 3. While the cartel agreed in October to cut production to 2 million barrels per day through 2023, a further slide in prices could prompt another reduction in output plans.
The US Department of State is leading an initiative to set up a new carbon credit system framework. The proposal builds off a blueprint announced at COP27 and aims to bring structure to a largely unregulated $2 billion market.

Nickel: JPMorgan may be the leading bank in the metals market, but this week it was revealed it owned $1.3 million bags of stones (not nickel, as it was led to believe).
Hollywood: Business in Tinsel Town could come to a screeching halt as screenwriters hold a potential strike over the heads of the industry’s movie studios.
Retail: Foot Locker may have breezed past earnings estimates yesterday but the sneaker retailer is forecasting a 30% drop in profits and a 3.5-5.5% decline in sales over the next year.
Write-downs: Among the largest holders of Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds (see yesterday’s update for more info) are Pimco and Invesco, who hold ~$807 million and ~$370 million of the failed bank’s riskiest notes.
Fink: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is on the prowl for a big deal that could involve an acquisition of Credit Suisse’s wealth management unit.

Prices as of 4 pm EST, 3/20/23

Flows: Digital asset investment products saw their 6th consecutive week of outflows last week totaling $95 million.
FTX: FTX is suing liquidators of its Bahamas entity, FTX Digital Markets, which claims to own the exchange.
Signature: New York Community Bank is buying Signature Bank sans crypto holdings.
DeSantis: Citing the possibility of financial surveillance and an expansion of government control, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed a bill that would ban central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Crypto VCs: After falling 91% YoY in January, venture capital deals are back with investors pouring nearly $7 billion into the industry so far this month.

BAM: Brookfield Asset Management will acquire KKR’s stake in Spanish solar power developer X-ELIO for nearly $2 billion.
Bottoms up: Pernod Ricard–which owns Chivas Regal and Absolut vodka–is buying a majority stake in American whiskey maker Skrewball.
Scramble: Virgin Orbit is rushing to secure funding to avoid a bankruptcy filing which could come as soon as this week.
Spin out: Vivani Medical is spinning out its visual prosthetics developer, Cortigent, in an IPO that seeks to raise up to $17 million.
Ammonia: The world’s top ammonia producer, CF Industries, is buying Incitec Pivot’s US manufacturing facility for $1.68 billion.