Author: Press Room

Fears of instability in the U.S. banking system and poor liquidity were likely culprits of recent, extreme volatility in the world’s “safest bond market,” according to LPL Research. The historically docile $24 trillion Treasury bond market erupted in volatility in March after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, evidenced by weekly swings in its policy-sensitive 2-year Treasury yield TMUBMUSD02Y, 3.965% (see chart). The LPL Research team pegged daily moves in the 2-year yield as averaging about half a percentage point, or 50 basis points, between the highs and lows each day, during the most erratic trading days in March. They…

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies edged higher after the release of the U.S. jobs report for March. With stock markets closed for Good Friday, cryptos could have been a leading indicator of risk sentiment—but those hopes have so far fallen flat with muted moves. The price of Bitcoin has risen less than 1% over the past 24 hours to near $27,970, up from around $27,900 before the release of the labor market data. The largest digital asset was holding below the $28,000 level at which prices have recently hovered—around the highest level since the crypto crash accelerated last June, though below…

If you’re a loyal worker, you’re also likely to be an exploited worker.  That’s the key takeaway from a new study led by Matthew Stanley, a postdoctoral researcher at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Stanley’s findings appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology — and the title of the paper pretty much says it all: “Loyal Workers Are Selectively And Ironically Targeted For Exploitation.” Stanley’s research involved asking hundreds of managers to determine how much work to dole out among employees in fictional scenarios. In the experiments, the employee who was identified as “loyal”…

Eurozone inflation slowed to a 13-month low in March but underlying price pressures intensified, highlighting the dilemma for the European Central Bank over the pace and size of further interest-rate increases. The consumer price index–which measures what consumers pay for goods and services–increased 6.9% in March on year, easing from an 8.5% rise in February, preliminary data from the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat showed Friday. This marks the lowest inflation rate since February 2022. The reading is below the 7.1% consensus forecast from economists in a poll by The Wall Street Journal. Inflation eased in March due to falling…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicles are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai, China January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Tesla is recalling just over 400 Model 3 vehicles in the United States because front suspension lateral link fasteners may loosen. Tesla (NASDAQ:) will tighten or replace the lateral link fasteners to address the issue that could allow the lateral link to separate from the sub-frame on the recalled 2018 and 2019 model year vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a lateral link separation could shift…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday it is proposing tighter standards for mercury and other toxic emissions from coal plants for the first time in a decade, putting pressure on the country’s dirtiest power plants to clean up. The proposal would lower the emissions limit for filterable particulate matter, which includes mercury and other toxic metals, by 67%. Plants that burn lower-grade lignite coal, which had previously been subject to less stringent standards, would need to cut mercury emissions by 70%, EPA said. “By leveraging proven, emissions-reduction measures available at reasonable costs and encouraging new,…

By Yasin Ebrahim Investing.com – The dollar bears have been beating the Federal Reserve rate-cut drum, dragging the greenback lower but that tune may soon be out of rhythm should the economic impact from the banking crisis remain modest. The , which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.45% to 101.72. More evidence pointing to economic stress and tightening in lending conditions — following the banking crisis — is needed to justify pricing in further dollar weakness on expectations for a less hawkish Fed, Goldman Sachs said. “We think we are approaching the…

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s economy will grow by 2.2% in 2023, its central bank chief said on Friday, urging the country to stick to the path of reform and fiscal prudence as it enters a period of increased political uncertainty due to elections. Greece will hold a general election on May 21, weeks before the conservative government’s term ends. But the vote is unlikely to produce a clear winner, setting the stage for protracted political manoeuvring and a runoff vote. Athens needs to continue with credible policies to shield its economy from risks which include the impact of the energy…

Gold prices recently edged to within a hare’s whisker of the metals all-time high price of $2,069 a troy ounce which it reached in 2020. It recently cost $2,045. In general investors should view that as a worrying sign. People buy gold when they are worried about inflation, geopolitical tension, weakness in the U.S. dollar, and concerns over economic instability. At least those are usually some of the major reasons. It’s no different this time. “Gold smashed through $2,000 on Tuesday as the latest JOLTS data showed openings declining and significantly so, in one of the first signs of the…

Most of the panic from the mid-March bank runs seems to have dissipated. But, we caution, most of the real fallout lies ahead as banks move into restructure mode which will only serve to deepen the Recession. There are still some “Nervous Nellies” on the Street when it comes to the Regional Banks. On Wednesday, the stock price of one of the major Regionals (WAL) got trashed simply because in a press release by the bank, the deposit data wasn’t detailed enough. Nerves calmed later in the day when the bank updated its press release. We don’t expect a repeat,…