- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and more than a dozen other central bank chiefs will need to make a call this week: whether the immediate threat is financial stability, or too-high inflation, BB
- Beleaguered First Republic Bank is refusing to be the fifth victim of the banking crisis, surging by a record and leading a rally in US lenders Tuesday. Behind the seeming turnaround were discussions aimed at offering further support to the regional bank, and a backup strategy should that fall through. The California lender’s stock jumped 30%, bouncing off the record-low level it closed at Monday, with fellow mid-size banks including Western Alliance and PacWest also staging double-digit moves higher. The KBW Regional Banking Index surged by 4.8% for its biggest gain since January 2021. —David E. Rovella BB???????
- Headline inflation in February 10.4%, up from 10.1% in January
- A day before the Bank of England announces its latest decision, it is faced with an unwelcome resurgence in UK core inflation. Core CPI is back up at 6.2% (from 5.8% in January), and more importantly shows that the surprise dip in services CPI last month was a temporary one. ING
- Canadian inflation slowed more rapidly than expected in February. With global banking woes adding to downside growth risks and the upcoming budget expected to exercise fiscal restraint, the next move in rates should be downward, with a rate cut possible before the end of the year.?
- Slower inflation boosts the case for a 4.5% peak in rates
