Week InReview
Friday | Mar 25, 2022
|
|
President Biden called for Russia’s removal from the G20 group of major economies. |
|
WHITE HOUSE officials are increasingly worried that Russian President Vladimir Putin may lash out as Russian troops find themselves bogged down in Ukraine and sanctions begin to bite. Senior officials said Putin’s tendency when boxed in is to escalate rather than back down. Their view is that the Russian leader’s choices could include the blanket bombing of Ukrainian cities, or the use of chemical or even tactical nuclear weapons. In other news, Biden called for Russia’s removal from the G20; Europe rejected Putin’s demand for natural gas payments in rubles; and NATO called on China not to send military aid to Russia.
|
|
The Federal Reserve hinted that it is prepared to act more aggressively if necessary to keep a lid on price rises. Photo: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg |
|
Whipsawing commodity prices and eye-watering margin calls are forcing traders to reduce their activity, driving liquidity out of markets and exacerbating price swings, according to some of the world’s biggest trading houses. “We’re seeing clearly that liquidity in terms of being able to find buyers and sellers in distressed or highly volatile markets is becoming less,” Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners Chair and Chief Executive Officer Huw Jenkins said at the FT Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland. (Bloomberg Markets | Mar 24)
Global bond markets have suffered their deepest downturn since at least 1990 as investors brace themselves for rapid rises in interest rates from central banks that are battling the highest inflation in decades. The Bloomberg global aggregate index, a broad gauge of government and corporate debt, has fallen by more than 11 percent since its peak in January 2021, eclipsing a 10.8 percent decline during the financial crisis in 2008 and marking the heaviest pullback in the history of the index running back to 1990. (Financial Times | Mar 23)
A standoff between the FBI and a lawyer was the climax to a citizen sting operation that took place in a rented private jet. (The Wall Street Journal | Mar 23)
At the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Summit Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell outlined four qualities a hypothetical digital currency in the U.S. must have while adding that no final decision has been made on whether to proceed with creating one. Powell said a central bank digital currency would need to ensure user privacy, it would need to be “identity verifiable,” it would need to be “intermediated,” and serve as a widely accepted means of payment. The Fed chair warned that crypto assets “have been used to facilitate illicit activity,” and this needs to be prevented. He said some also present financial stability concerns. (Bloomberg Markets - Crypto | Mar 23)
Yields on shorter-term and longer-term U.S. government bonds have been converging rapidly, stirring fears – along with skepticism – that the bond market is close to signaling a looming recession. (The Wall Street Journal | Mar 22) see also The yield curve might be wrong, and we better hope so (Financial Times - opinion | Mar 22)
|
|
Global stocks rise as world's bond rout deepens |
|
Powell says the Fed will take the “necessary steps” to ensure a return to price stability. Photo: Bloomberg |
|
(Mar 22) — Global stocks rallied and the selloff in world bond markets deepened Tuesday, a day after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled the central bank will take more aggressive measures to tame inflation. Short-dated Treasuries are on track for their worst quarterly performance in nearly four decades, and derivatives are pricing in about 7.5 rate hikes of a quarter point this year. There are only six remaining Fed meetings in 2022, implying more than one of the increases will be a half point.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, the most hawkish among the FOMC members and a voter this year, said U.S. monetary policy needs to be tightened quickly to rein in inflation that is already too high, reiterating his call for interest rates to rise above 3% this year. Yields on German and U.K. 10-year notes rose to the highest since October 2018. Gold and the dollar fell.
Stocks rallied, at least in part on short covering, and after the Richmond Fed’s March manufacturing survey was better-than-forecast amid increases in new orders, backlogs and shipments. West Texas Intermediate crude oil halted three days of gains in choppy trading.
Source: Alyce Andres | Bloomberg Government
|
|
The New York Stock Exchange in January 2022 in the Financial District in New York. U.S. authorities have flagged the U.S. financial system, a central pillar in the U.S. sanctions regime, as an attractive target of possible cyberattacks. Photo: Mary Altaffer | Associated Press |
|
AI experts warn of potential cyberwar facing banking sector
U.S. authorities have cautioned banks about possible cyberattacks following Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, but experts say financial institutions also face particular risks in a more murky area of their business — the now ubiquitous artificial-intelligence models that handle everything from lending to trading.
Boards of directors are ready to embrace cybersecurity: Here's what they need to know
After years of devastating and costly data breaches, ransomware attacks and other security incidents, the alarm should have been sounding a long time ago. Now, more than a year after the incident involving SolarWinds, the aftermath has hit home for boards as they learn that they may be held liable.
Why small cybersecurity decisions can expose companies to cyberattacks
News stories about cyberattacks usually focus on “what” happened and "how" it happened, but they rarely explore "why" it happened — that is, what decisions left the door open for such an attack. That reveals a huge and costly blind spot: Unless organizations study the “why,” the circumstances that made the cyberattack possible won’t be addressed.
|
|
Buildings and skyscrapers of the International Business Center on the skyline in Moscow. Photo: Bloomberg |
|
Inside Wall Street's hasty retreat from Moscow
For decades, global finance firms eagerly catered to Russian firms, billionaires and the government. Then tanks started rolling into Ukraine. Today, major firms are heading for the exit, with some financiers relocating to other hubs such as Dubai. They’re being followed by lawyers and other professionals.
What if working in sweatpants unleashed your superpowers?
What do we wear while working remotely? Whatever we want. Even as we are called back to the office, we might take some of our new sartorial selves with us. Forget the black pants. Nix the blazers. At home, we wear what we want — and research suggests that our work benefits.
5G drains your iPhone's battery. Here's what you can do about it.
5G is fast – when you can find it – but it’s a power hog, and there are no killer apps requiring the high data speeds just yet. You can minimize the power consumption.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
