What we’re reading (3/20)
“Fed Meeting Recap: Everything Powell Said During Wednesday’s Market-Moving News Conference” (CNBC). “The Federal Reserve held steady on interest rates at the conclusion of its March meeting, and it’s sticking with its forecast for three interest rate cuts. During a news conference Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that a strong jobs market wouldn’t deter the central bank from cutting rates.”
“The Era Of No-Brainer 5% Returns On Cash Is Ending” (Wall Street Journal). “It’s getting more complicated to hold cash. Certificates of deposit, money-market funds and various other cashlike investments have offered healthy returns, in many cases over 5%, since the Federal Reserve started lifting interest rates two years ago. But the central bank signaled Wednesday it expects to cut rates three times before the end of the year. Some cashlike investments are staying strong while others have begun to decline in yield.”
“The Private Equity Market Has Stalled — And There’s No Easy Fix” (Institutional Investor). “With $3.2 trillion in assets waiting for an exit plan sitting in their portfolios, private equity funds are facing market woes unlike anything since the financial crisis of 2008, according to the 2024 global private equity report by consultant Bain & Co. But this time around, the industry may not have the Federal Reserve coming to its rescue. ‘The word for this market is stalled,’ Hugh MacArthur, chairman of Bain’s global private equity practice, said in the report. ‘The culprit was the sharp and rapid increase in central bank rates.’”
“Reddit Is Going Public. Will Its Unruly User Base Revolt?” (Vox). “Reddit, the launchpad for many meme stocks, could now become one: The social media giant makes its debut on Wall Street this week in one of the most highly anticipated initial public offerings of the year. The nearly 20-year-old company is seeking to raise up to $748 million in its IPO on March 21, putting its valuation at about $6.4 billion. It’s the first time that a major social media company has gone public since Snap (i.e., Snapchat) in 2017. It will sell approximately 22 million shares priced at $31 to $34 each under the ticker symbol ‘RDDT.’”
“Harvard Has Halted Its Long-Planned Atmospheric Geoengineering Experiment” (MIT Technology Review). “Proponents of solar geoengineering research argue we should investigate the concept because it may significantly reduce the dangers of climate change. Further research could help scientists better understand the potential benefits, risks and tradeoffs between various approaches. But critics argue that even studying the possibility of solar geoengineering eases the societal pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”
