It’s assumed that the Fed will hold interest rates steady for a 4th straight meeting and not give much clarity about future rate cuts, per Bloomberg. Anything else and expect a wild trading day. Investors are expecting a 40% chance at a March cut.
Per the FT, Google’s search revenues weren’t as high as hoped, and operating income was a miss on the headline, so the stock is down (and so goes the NASDAQ), per Bloomberg. But it was really a good quarter, so it is probably a “sell the news” situation.
MSFT revenues were above estimates, though, due to AI boosting Azure growth, per the FT. They beat across many levels.
Novo Nordisk (an EZ pharma) is enjoying a nice pop to a record high on the back of its weight-loss drug profits, per Bloomberg.
The former thinks private loan values will tank if rates don’t get cut fast and is ready to bully folks into even better deals, aka “creditor on creditor violence.” The latter think this is a great time for private credit. Get the butter out for the popcorn.
Byron Allen offered $14.3bn for outstanding shares of Paramount, sending the stock up over 10%. He wants to sell the film studio, real estate, and some IP and keep the TV plus streaming.
Lots of have’s and have not’s. AMD was below expected on rev, and folks are worried about its core biz, per Bloomberg. Samsung did not do well, with a softer profit level; mgmt. says chip recovery will be in 2024, per Reuters. PayPal is getting into the headcount chopping game, expected to cut 9% of its workforce, or around 2,500 people.
The ECB’s Lagarde said she wouldn’t define the timeline for rate cuts but said that wage data would be a key input in the decision, per Bloomberg. German unemployment unexpectedly decreased in Jan, on that note.
That’s what a Delaware judge basically said when striking down Elon Musk’s $55bn pay package at Tesla, after a shareholder challenged it as ridonculous, per Bloomberg.
Some are thinking that the BOJ may hike rates sooner, creating a “golden opportunity” to end negative rates before a Fed and ECB pivot. The yen rose, and JGBs were down.
NY Community Bancorp is down -45% after a dividend cut. Remember the regional lender that purchased deposits from Signature Bank? More loan loss provisions. A worse credit outlook. They have greater capital requirements post the deposit purchase last year, so now analysts are scrambling to figure out what happened.
BBG has a story about “young folks” buying luxury items like Birkin bags because they can’t afford a home, are worried about global warming, and just want to enjoy something in life and feel like an adult—even if they don’t have much money. They buy it because they can’t afford anything else, they say. It’s an interesting take to pay attention to, as I fit into the category of someone who would never plunk down that cash for such items…but realize that others have different views and objectives.