What we’re reading (2/14)
“Fed’s Bullard Says The Central Bank’s ‘Credibility Is On The Line,’ Needs To ‘Front-Load’ Rate Hikes” (CNBC). “Bullard rattled markets last week by saying he thinks the Fed should raise its benchmark short-term borrowing rate a full percentage point by July. The position, in a Bloomberg News interview, sent stocks on a volatile ride and caused futures markets to price in as many as seven quarter-percentage point hikes by the end of 2022.”
“Junkiest Debt Acts Like Treasuries As Fed Risk Stirs Up Markets” (Bloomberg). “It’s become tough to love bonds these days as investors face the harsh reality of a more hawkish Federal Reserve. Yet, the junkiest junk bonds are holding up relatively well -- a sign that, for all the angst in markets nowadays, investors aren’t very worried about the state of the economy.”
“Regulators Probe Block Trading At Morgan Stanley, Goldman, Other Wall Street Firms” (Wall Street Journal). “Federal investigators are probing the business of block trading on Wall Street, examining whether bankers might have improperly tipped hedge-fund clients in advance of large share sales, according to people familiar with the situation.”
“A Dark Moment For Goldman Sachs Goes To Trial” (DealBook). “Ng is said to have introduced Goldman colleagues to Jho Low, the businessman accused of masterminding what Ng’s own lawyers called ‘perhaps the single largest heist in the history of the world.’ According to prosecutors, Low, Ng and the onetime star banker Tim Leissner conspired to pay $1 billion in bribes to government officials, in order to win Goldman mandates for $6.5 billion in bond offerings for 1MDB. Money meant for the fund was then spent on a Beverly Hills hotel, a mega-yacht, a transparent grand piano, financing for ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and more.”
“The Downfall Of The SPAC: Why One CEO Called It Quits And More Will Follow” (Fortune). “With tech stocks performing poorly on the Nasdaq and interest rates on the rise, the number of IPO filings has, unsurprisingly, skidded to a halt.”
