You can’t keep a good...er…CRYPTOCURRENCY down?
That’s what the markets are asking today, as Bitcoin continues to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. It was recently flirting with $25,000, extending year-to-date gains to around 50% and leaving it at six-month highs. Other cryptos came along for the ride.
Meanwhile, equities were doing okay in the early going...but got smacked when hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation figures were released. The same goes for Treasuries. But gold, silver, and crude oil were all still hovering around the unchanged line along with the dollar.
As for news, traditional banks are stepping back from the crypto industry despite the recent resurgence in crypto prices. They’re worried about pressure from regulators who have already warned they have “safety and soundness concerns” about institutions with crypto-sector clients, according to the Wall Street Journal.
China fired back at the U.S., slapping trade sanctions on Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Raytheon Technologies (RTX) over their sale of arms to Taiwan. But the move is more symbolic than substantive because U.S. defense companies can’t sell weapons to China anyway.
Companies are seeking Wall Street’s help dealing with a massive “maturity wall” of corporate debt -- $6.3 trillion of bonds that come due through year-end 2025, per Bloomberg. Given the rise in interest rates, refinancing that debt is going to be mighty expensive.
Speaking of rates, futures markets are now pricing in a peak federal funds rate of 5.2% by this summer. That’s up from the high-4s only a few weeks ago. Translation: The Federal Reserve’s message about rats being “higher for longer” is really sinking in.
