Markets globally and U.S. futures are down as investors digest the news out of D.C. overnight - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and Marketplace
Jobs Report Friday again. Here’s what we’re watching for in the numbers - MarketWatch and Bloomberg and NYTimes and WSJ
Northern District of California Federal Judge Jeffrey White has temporarily blocked “further implementation” of a broad White House order suspending “new visas for hundreds of thousands of workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.” The ruling allows the thousands of companies bringing workers to the U.S. “on a wide array of visas, including the H-1B for high-skilled workers, seasonal employees on guest-worker visas and others” to resume their hiring abroad (to the extent those companies are represented by the plaintiffs in the suit—the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation and TechNet)- NYTimes and WSJ and Law360
Despite collecting upwards of $13 billion in fees, according to a Times analysis, most U.S. banks that participated in the $525 billion Paycheck Protection Program are now suggesting that the high costs of making the slapdash program work (“including all-nighters and rushed technology projects during four frenzied months of lockdowns and business closures”) will leave them with very little in the way of profits at all associated with the PPP - NYTimes
While Congress remains stalemated over further pandemic stimulus relief, this week’s continuing rounds of corporate layoffs from a wide range of sectors highlights the ongoing headwinds buffeting the U.S. economic recovery - NYTimes
Case in point, the entirety of the domestic airline industry - NYTimes
And falling U.S. household incomes certainly won’t help the cause either - WSJ
In today’s installment of “this looks familiar,” Cerberus Capital is “selling debt that packages commercial mortgage-backed securities rated at the cusp of speculative-grade into top-rated securities, a practice employed by collateralized debt obligations that contributed to the global financial crisis.” I mean, what could possibly go wrong - Bloomberg
Notable take from the Treasury Department this week on the increasing ransomware scourge, with the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control declaring that “paying such ransoms could violate U.S. law if victims are found to have paid someone on a growing list of cybercriminal suspects that authorities have barred U.S. companies or individuals from doing business with” – Law360
In not entirely unrelated news, Federal authorities have levied criminal charges against owners of BitMEX, “one of the worlds’ biggest cyptocurrency trading exchanges,” over accused facilitation of money laundering and other illegal transactions across its platform - NYTimes and Law360 and WSJ
Credit-card newcomer Goldman Sachs beat out Barclays in the bidding war for General Motors Co.’s plastic business, dropping $2.5 billion on the outfit in “a deal that furthers the Wall Street giant’s push into Main Street lending” - WSJ
Mortgage-lender Caliber Home Loans is finalizing plans for an IPO that could value the company, “one of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders, at more than $2 billion” - WSJ
Never been a gamer myself, but there’s no denying Mario’s place in the cultural conversation. So, with only a little reluctance, here you go—an appreciation of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros., 35 years on - NYTimes
Stay safe and have a good weekend,
MDR
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