Economy
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Small U.S. banks lose 1.9% of their deposits after SVB failure
The numbers: Deposits at small U.S. banks fell by a steep $108 billion, or almost 2%, in the week after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the Federal Reserve reported. Business loans at both large and small banks rose in the week ended March 15, however. Wall Street is watching the Fed report closely to…
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More Americans are using ‘buy now, pay later’ services to pay for groceries. Here’s why that’s a worrying sign.
The concept of “buy now, pay later” has exploded in popularity in recent years. Americans have been using this form of lending — in which the cost of a purchase is typically divided into four payments over several weeks or months — to buy everything from clothes to Peloton bikes. But now there is a…
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Tempted to open a new credit card? It might get more difficult. Powell warns of ‘tighter credit conditions for households and businesses’
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week lent some credence to predictions that banks will start tightening credit standards. On Wednesday, Powell called the country’s banking sector “sound and resilient.”But he added a cautionary note: “Events in the banking system over the past two weeks are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households…
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Biden’s first veto holds. Ruling impacts your 401(k) and the U.S.’s climate-change fight.
President Joe Biden vetoed an attempt to limit how much retirement-fund managers, including for 401(k)s and pensions, consider climate change, corporate board diversity and other factors when picking the stocks and funds that many workers will rely on for retirement savings. Republicans on Thursday failed to mount the necessary two-thirds votes needed in the House…
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Fed’s Bullard wants to press ahead with higher interest rates, thinks financial stress will abate
The financial stress from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will abate and the Federal Reserve will need to push interest rates higher than previously expected given prospects for stronger economic growth and stickier inflation, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said, on Friday. In a speech and comments to reporters, Bullard said he raised…
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‘It feels like a lose-lose’: I have a $10 million net worth. My father-in-law has dementia. Am I responsible for my in-laws if they run out of money?
I’m happily married to my wife of 20 years. I am by no means a financial expert, but I do know more than the average investor. I do, however, worry about my in-laws. Unfortunately, my father-in-law has serious dementia and will probably need care soon. I’ve asked my mother-in-law to let me review their finances. They…
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U.S stocks end modestly higher in choppy trade as investors reassess bank stability, Fed rate path
U.S. stocks finished higher in volatile trading on Thursday, clawing back some of the Wednesday’s selloff as investors attempted to shake off concerns about banking-sector stability and the impact of an expected credit crunch. The Dow fell 530 points on Wednesday as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s remark that her department hadn’t discussed blanket protections for…
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2-year Treasury yield plunges to lowest level of year amid focus on banking fallout
Most yields on U.S. government debt plunged on Thursday as investors and analysts focused on the potential for wider fallout emanating from the banking sector. What happened The yield on the 2-year Treasury TMUBMUSD02Y, 3.783% fell 16.9 basis points to 3.808% from 3.977% on Wednesday. Thursday’s level is the lowest since Sept. 14, based on…
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‘We were in an extremely fragile state.’ Swiss National Bank President says Credit Suisse takeover averted a bigger financial crisis.
““We were in an extremely fragile environment where we had this banking crisis in the United States and enormous nervousness of financial markets in general.” ” — Thomas Jordan That was Swiss National Bank chair Thomas Jordan, defending the decision by the country’s authorities to push for a takeover of Credit Suisse AG CS, -4.71%…
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Gold futures settle at a more than 1-year high as Fed signals only one more rate hike to come
Gold futures settled Thursday at a more than one-year high, after touching a high above $2,000 an ounce, finding support from declines in U.S. Treasury yields and weakness in the dollar. Moves for the market followed the Federal Reserve’s 25 basis-point interest-rate hike announced Wednesday, as the central bank’s Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues…