Daily Pulse: Marissa Mayer Wants In, Obama Kicks Off SXSW, Did Oil Hit Rock Bottom?

Don't jinx it: The International Energy Agency thinks oil prices have bottomed out. Prices have already bounced back 50% from January's nadir, because of market forces and reduced output from higher-cost producers. Although we likely have a ways to go, the IEA says "there may be light at the end of what has been a long, dark tunnel." Whew. 

Can Mayer keep her seat at the table? Marissa Mayer told Charlie Rose that she hopes to stay at Yahoo, even if the company changes hands. “I certainly hope the strategic alternative has a place for me,” she told Rose. “But that said, we’ll obviously honor our commitments to our shareholders.” She's also bracing for battle: activist shareholder Starboard Value is gearing up for a proxy fight, and Mayer just added two new directors to its board. They both have experience selling companies. "The new directors, added without any involvement from Starboard, may indicate Yahoo intends to fend off any outside attempt to seize the board," explains the WSJ. 

In her interview with Rose, Mayer also cites a new plan for the company's future: "For those who just joined the show," Re/code recaps, "That is a new three-year strategic plan, after the first three-year strategic plan she created did not work."

SXSPOTUS: President Obama kicks off Austin's SXSW conference today, with a keynote at 2:30pm Central. He's the first sitting president to participate in the 30-year-old event. The conversation with Texas Tribune chief editor-in-chief Evan Smith, which will focus on civic engagement in the 21st century, is only open to Interactive badge holders, but the rest of us can catch a live stream.

Barack isn't the only SX speaker traveling from the White House: First Lady Michelle Obama will give a keynote on Wednesday to start the Music section of the conference. Her speech on the 16th will focus on women in the economy and her 'Let Girls Learn' initiative.

We're great on paper: At the end of 2015, US households saw their highest level of home equity in a decade. The net worth of households and nonprofits, according to the Fed's quarterly national accounts update, hit a new record of $86.8 trillion during Q4. "The report underscores the extent to which the housing crisis is fading into the rearview mirror," explains the WSJ, although Quartz notes that the report doesn't give us much information about how that $86 trillion is divvied up. "What we do know is that ownership of financial assets—paper investments such as stocks and bonds—tends to be heavily concentrated among the wealthiest sliver of Americans. And for what it’s worth, French economist Thomas Piketty’s work suggests that the richest 1% of Americans owned about one-third of the country’s wealth in 2010."

#Chart

"How 'bout that euro?" The euro was a little bananas yesterday. It's levelled out a bit today, sticking to $1.1110 after yesterday's jump from $1.0820 to $1.1217.

Oh, Canada: For the first time on record, Canada is now a US creditor—i.e., US assets held by Canadians in Q4 2015 exceeded Canadian assets held by Americans, for the first time since at least 1990. (It's aboot time.) "Easy credit, strong balance sheets, and lack of investing opportunities at home have been the main factors driving Canadian money managers and companies on a shopping spree south of the border," explains Bloomberg. Thanks, Canada!

Catch-up time for Silicon Valley: Silicon Valley Bank reports that 79% of more than 900 startups in China have at least one woman in the c-suite—compared to 54% of US startups. Technology is one of the industries in China with the highest representation of female leaders. Another interesting distinction: in the US, 56% of startups cite acquisition as a long-term goal, compared to 5% in China. 62% of Chinese startups hope to IPO.

*****

What you may have missed — and really should read:

• How lean manufacturing helped Charles Duhigg eat dinner with his kids (really).
• "Young people don't only need jobs, they deserve hope and a glimpse of their future." Seattle Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung talks about getting his career start—at Subway. 
• Must-watch: our interview with economic wizard Mohamed El-Erian.
• Education reform is tough. Antwan Wilson may have the answer.
• Refinery29 co-founder on what she's learned working at her dream job.

***

Missed the last update? Catch up: Apple Scorched by Prosecutors, Credit Card Debt Soars, Twitter Ups the Ante

We're also on Twitter and Facebook. Follow us.