April 09 (Saturday)

Latest Morning Briefing Executive Summary:  Fed’s Hawks, China’s New Priority & Europe’s Gas Seekers
The newly released minutes of the FOMC’s March meeting suggest that even the Committee’s long-time doves now are hawks. So expect upcoming rate hikes of 50bps, not 25bps. The Fed aims to tamp down inflation without igniting a recession; investors are skeptical, but we expect inflation will moderate later this year, bringing the doves back. … Also: Can China achieve its heady economic growth goals amid a Covid resurgence, strict lockdown policies, and all the economic disruptions caused by both? We doubt it. … And: A look at the odds arrayed against EU countries trying to wean themselves off Russian oil and gas.
(subscribers’ link)

YRI
Daily Markets Overview
See subscribers’ link below for today’s Morning Briefing.
Replay of Dr. Ed’s webinar on April 4.

Markets
S&P 500, Nasdaq Fall While Bonds Extend Selloff | W
Dow climbs 100 points Friday, stocks post weekly losses after Fed comments | C
Benchmark Treasury yield hits 3-yr high; dollar index reaches 100 | R
Oil prices settle up 2%, post weekly loss on stockpile releases | R
A Market Mystery: The ‘Wheat Whale’ That Came Out of Nowhere | N

Global
Ukraine War Drives Food Prices to Record High | W

Central banks
Here’s a look at inflation-fighting pros, cons of Fed raising rates | C

US
Interest-Rate Surge Ripples Through Economy, From Homes to Car Loans | W
As inflation bites, higher-income consumers are cutting back, too | C
Congress Punts on Funding Vaccines, Treatments as Covid-19 Hits Some Lawmakers | W
Biden Plan to Combat Inflation with U.S. Manufacturing Faces Skepticism | W
Americans Are Pushing Back on the Warehouse Construction Boom | W
Blue-Collar Workers Make the Leap to Tech Jobs, No College Degree Necessary | W

China
Shanghai’s Omicron Outbreak Corners Chinese Leader | W

Europe
France’s Macron makes last-minute appeal to voters as Le Pen reaches all-time high in poll | R
 
Geopolitics & trade
Russian Missile Attack Kills Dozens at Railway Station in Eastern Ukraine | W
U.S. curbs Russian access to foreign fertilizers and valves | R
The dawn of financial warfare | FT
Ukraine War: Switzerland, Norway Join U.S. Group Limiting Tech for Russia | B
Ukraine Belongs in ‘European Family,’ EU Chief Von der Leyen Says on Kyiv Trip | B

Industries & companies
Autos: Elon Musk: Telsa may have to get into mining, refining lithium directly | C
Autos: Inside Tesla’s ‘Cyber Rodeo’ Opening Party at Austin, Texas Factory (TSLA) | B
Energy: Chevron, union negotiators to meet over California oil refinery strike | R
Financials: Big banks’ earnings and a hot inflation report could sway markets in short holiday week | C
Financials: Morgan Stanley unveils family office unit, looking to serve richest of the rich | C
Restaurants: Starbucks Hires New Strategy Chief as More Baristas Unionize | W
 
Corporate finance
WarnerMedia, Discovery complete merger, become Warner Bros. Discovery | R

Beyond markets
Pinterest Will Remove Content Deemed Climate-Change Misinformation | W