Get out those “S&P 4,000” hats...again. The index punched through that level yesterday and equities are set for more gains at the open.
Treasuries are flat, the dollar is a bit lower, and gold and silver are having a nice pop. The latter metal is close to an 11-month high.
On the news front...
In the latest chapter of the “Too Big to Fail” saga, money is flowing from smaller community banks to bigger behemoths. Federal Reserve data shows the top 25 U.S. banks saw $120 billion in deposits flood into their coffers after Silicon Valley Bank failed. The remainder of the banking sector LOST $108 billion in that same week.
It’s easy to see why. Customers know that the government is likely to bail out larger, systemically important banks that run into trouble, even as they will allow smaller and mid-sized competitors to fail. Fair? No. Reality? Yes.
The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) has shown the door to Isaac Perlmutter, the head of its Marvel Entertainment consumer products division. Macy’s (M) also said Jeff Gennette, the retailer’s CEO for the last six years, is retiring.
Finally, in the “Times are getting tough” department, Wall Street’s aggregate bonus pool plunged 26% to $33.7 billion last year, according to New York officials. The typical securities industry participant took home $176,700, the least since 2019. The figures are estimates that don’t include certain types of compensation. But the decline isn’t much of a surprise given lousy performance last year in a wide range of assets.
