Fed’s Balance Sheet Plunges by $230 Billion in 6 Weeks, Biggest such Plunge in 14 Years by Wolf Richter • May 4, 2023 • 103 Comments Massive gyrations on the balance sheet after FDIC’s take-down of First Republic, sale of its assets to JP Morgan, and FDIC’s loan to JPM.
Despite Banking Turmoil, ECB Accelerates QT plus Hikes by 25 Basis Points. Balance Sheet Plunged by €1.12 Trillion so Far by Wolf Richter • May 4, 2023 • 36 Comments “We’re not pausing, that’s very clear,” Lagarde said. “We know we have more ground to cover.”
Powell Swats Down Rate Cut in 2023, Purposefully Leaves in Doubt a “Pause” for June Meeting by Wolf Richter • May 3, 2023 • 132 Comments “We’re going to be looking at those factors to determine whether there is more to do.”
Fed Hikes by 25 Basis Points, to 5.25% Top of Range. Says, “Extent to which Additional Policy Firming May be Appropriate,” instead of “Pause.” QT Continues by Wolf Richter • May 3, 2023 • 183 Comments The rate is now where it last was during the 14-month-long pause from June 2006 to August 2007.
With Mortgage Rates Stuck at 6.5%, Spring Selling Season Turns into Dud by Wolf Richter • May 3, 2023 • 129 Comments But unlike homeowners, homebuilders know how to sell into a down-market: by cutting prices. So a shift to new home sales.
Companies Rebalance their Workforce after the Excesses: Still the Most Astonishing Labor Market by Wolf Richter • May 2, 2023 • 69 Comments Before the ink even dried on the layoff announcements, tech and social media companies are already hiring again?
Just in Time for ECB Rate-Hike Meeting: Eurozone Services Inflation Spikes to New Record. Overall Inflation Re-Accelerates by Wolf Richter • May 2, 2023 • 87 Comments These nasty surprises just keep coming when inflation is broadly entrenched in the economy.
Here’s the Great Deal JP Morgan Got on First Republic, according to JP Morgan’s Victory Lap in front of Investors by Wolf Richter • May 1, 2023 • 183 Comments A one-time “bargain purchase gain” of $2.6 billion, “over $500 million” in net income accretion, lots of other goodies amounting to an IRR of “over 20%.”
First Republic Zombie Bank Dismembered, Pieces Handed to JP Morgan, Uninsured Depositors Bailed Out. Stockholders, some Bondholders Bailed in. Cost to FDIC Fund: $13 Billion by Wolf Richter • May 1, 2023 • 135 Comments FDIC Board Member McKernan laments “our country’s bailout culture that privatizes gains while socializing losses.”
Remember the Lithium Shortage & Huge Price Spike? In the Four Months since, Lithium Collapsed 70% amid Talk of Lithium Glut by Wolf Richter • Apr 29, 2023 • 152 Comments Fits with Tesla’s big price cuts, aimed at internal-combustion-engine vehicles.
