What we’re reading (1/10)
“Oil And Gas Are Back And Booming” (Wall Street Journal). “Thanks to a mix of events, from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the U.S. economic recovery, fossil fuels are showing surprising resilience, despite President Biden’s push to transition to clean energy and the industry’s own history of boom-bust investing and heavy reliance on debt.”
“The Buy Now, Pay Later Bubble Is About To Burst” (The Atlantic). “As familiar as Americans are with the concept of credit, many of us, upon encountering a sandwich that can be financed in four easy payments of $3.49, might think: Yikes, we’re in trouble. Putting a banh mi on layaway—this is the world that buy-now, pay-later programs have wrought. In a few short years, financial-technology firms such as Affirm, Afterpay, and Klarna, which allow consumers to pay for purchases over several interest-free installments, have infiltrated nearly every corner of e-commerce.”
“Wells Fargo, Once The No. 1 Player In Mortgages, Is Stepping Back From The Housing Market” (CNBC). “Wells Fargo is stepping back from the multitrillion-dollar market for U.S. mortgages amid regulatory pressure and the impact of higher interest rates. Instead of its previous goal of reaching as many Americans as possible, the company will now focus on home loans for existing bank and wealth management customers and borrowers in minority communities, CNBC has learned.”
“Fed Chair Powell: Bringing Down Inflation Requires ‘Measures That Are Not Popular’” (CNN Business). “Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made his first public appearance of the year on Tuesday, stressing the importance of central bank independence and his commitment to bringing down inflation. The painful rate hikes the Fed is implementing to tackle high prices don’t make officials particularly popular, Powell said during a panel discussion at an event hosted by Sweden’s central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank.”
“FTX Bankruptcy Documents Show List Of Investors Set To Be Completely Wiped Out, Including Tom Brady And Robert Kraft” (Insider). “The spectacular implosion of FTX has led to big investment losses for the football star Tom Brady, the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and the fashion model Gisele Bündchen. As part of its bankruptcy process, FTX Monday released a list of its top equity holders, detailing just how many investors were set to be wiped out from the downfall of the crypto exchange.”
