Wall Street strategists expect a robust increase in the Treasury’s coffers this week as Americans pay their taxes, potentially putting pressure on relatively calm US funding markets. While the short-term markets that underpin the nation’s financial system have been quiet this year amid the Treasury’s seasonal reduction in bill issuance and official maneuvers to boost liquidity, the status quo stan...
Wall Street strategists expect a robust increase in the Treasury’s coffers this week as Americans pay their taxes, potentially putting pressure on relatively calm US funding markets. While the short-term markets that underpin the nation’s financial system have been quiet this year amid the Treasury’s seasonal reduction in bill issuance and official maneuvers to boost liquidity, the status quo stands to be jolted by individuals and companies pulling cash from banks and money markets in order to meet tax obligations. Strategists estimate that tax payments due April 15 will bolster the Treasury’s cash balance to more than $1 trillion this month, the most since October. That would mark a sharp inflow from $703 billion on April 10, the latest government data show. All that cash must come from somewhere, and the removal of liquidity often drives up funding costs. The rate on overnight general collateral repurchase agreements for Wednesday’s session traded around 3.75%, up from less than 3.7% for much of the year, according to Wrightson ICAP. Still, alongside less bill supply, liquidity has also gotten support from the Federal Reserve’s reserve‑management purchases going into this period. The Fed in December began buying about $40 billion of Treasury bills monthly, with Chair Jerome Powell saying at the time the Fed was “front-loading” its purchases to ensure there were enough reserves through the April tax season. Since then, bank reserves have grown to $3.18 trillion, the largest since Aug. 27, according to the latest Fed data. The Fed this week announced it will now buy about $25 billion of bills each month, marking a faster wind-down than anticipated and signaling reserves are at a level where funding markets can withstand extreme moves. “We think that the April tax season can be managed,” said John Velis , foreign‑exchange and macro strategist at BNY Melon. He pointed to New York Fed’s Roberto Perli’s observation that recent heavy usage of the Fed’s standing repo faci...
Fintech, or financial technology, has become a market buzzword as tech-driven upstarts have changed the landscape in the broader financial sector. Nearly everyone engages with it in some capacity, through mobile payments, online banking, and chip-based credit cards. While every financial company has introduced new technology into their systems, including financial giants like Visa and Bank of Amer...
Fintech, or financial technology, has become a market buzzword as tech-driven upstarts have changed the landscape in the broader financial sector. Nearly everyone engages with it in some capacity, through mobile payments, online banking, and chip-based credit cards. While every financial company has introduced new technology into their systems, including financial giants like Visa and Bank of America , many young companies offer investors the chance for high growth. Consider Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU) and SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) . Both of these banks are small, all digital, and growing at fast rates. Which one is the better fintech buy right now? Continue reading
ASML Holding’s earnings will offer a read on AI-driven chip demand, memory spending, and China exposure as investors look for the next leg of semiconductor growth.
ASML Holding’s earnings will offer a read on AI-driven chip demand, memory spending, and China exposure as investors look for the next leg of semiconductor growth.
designer491/iStock via Getty Images By Erica Furfaro and Margaret Vitrano Stabilizing Growth Setup Through Volatility Market Overview The outbreak of war in the Middle East accelerated a selloff among growth stocks that started with software weakness and resulted in wide losses for the first quarter. The S&P 500 Index declined 4.3% while large cap growth stocks were the worst-performing segment of...
designer491/iStock via Getty Images By Erica Furfaro and Margaret Vitrano Stabilizing Growth Setup Through Volatility Market Overview The outbreak of war in the Middle East accelerated a selloff among growth stocks that started with software weakness and resulted in wide losses for the first quarter. The S&P 500 Index declined 4.3% while large cap growth stocks were the worst-performing segment of the market, with the benchmark Russell 1000 Growth Index falling 9.8% compared to a gain of 2.1% for the Russell 1000 Value Index. Growth stocks were pressured as investors more pointedly questioned the return on investment from massive capital spending on AI buildouts as well as the viability of application software business models amid new generative AI tools introduced during the quarter. Rising bond yields resulting from the inflationary pressures of higher oil prices due to the U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran also weighed on higher-multiple growth stocks. Against this volatile backdrop, the ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy outperformed its benchmark as we saw increased market dispersion away from the technology sector and momentum stocks that led the market in 2025. Materials was the largest contributor to relative performance in the quarter as industrial gases provider Linde ( LIN ) and paint and coatings maker Sherwin-Williams were solid performers in an environment that has begun to reward companies with quality fundamentals. The Strategy also saw contributions from a diversified mix of industrials names, led by Eaton ( ETN ), a key provider of equipment to enable electrical connectivity; W.W. Grainger ( GWW ), a distributor of industrial supplies; and RTX ( RTX ), a defense contractor. We were also encouraged by the rebound in Netflix ( NFLX ) after the streaming provider withdrew from a bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery ( WBD ); we believe the fundamental setup for its business remains robust. These holdings helped offset weakness among the portfoli...
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has floated a possible combination with American Airlines, according to people familiar with the conversations, an audacious proposition that would face intense scrutiny even under the business-friendly Trump administration. Sri Taylor has more. (Source: Bloomberg)
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has floated a possible combination with American Airlines, according to people familiar with the conversations, an audacious proposition that would face intense scrutiny even under the business-friendly Trump administration. Sri Taylor has more. (Source: Bloomberg)
scanrail/iStock via Getty Images GrafTech International ( EAF ) down 0.7% in Tuesday's trading as J.P. Morgan downgraded the manufacturer of graphite electrodes and petroleum coke to Underweight from Neutral, viewing FY 2027 as a critical make-or-break year for the company amid a ~$100M/year free cash flow burn and a limited liquidity runway to service its debt load. JPM analyst Bill Peterson said...
scanrail/iStock via Getty Images GrafTech International ( EAF ) down 0.7% in Tuesday's trading as J.P. Morgan downgraded the manufacturer of graphite electrodes and petroleum coke to Underweight from Neutral, viewing FY 2027 as a critical make-or-break year for the company amid a ~$100M/year free cash flow burn and a limited liquidity runway to service its debt load. JPM analyst Bill Peterson said evolving U.S. trade policy could provide a much-needed impetus for non-sustainable pricing to finally inflect directionally higher, but this would depend largely on FY 2027 U.S. customer commitments, with negotiations not starting until later this year. In the meantime, Peterson sees outsized risk to costs relative to steel mills, which are already benefitting from structurally higher steel pricing and displaced imports amid S232 tariffs, Peterson said, adding that if LDGE pricing does not inflect higher, then GrafTech ( EAF ) could face tough decisions such as curtailing further capacity or diluting shareholders to extend its liquidity runway; consolidation in the U.S. market could help, but prior precedent implies potential antitrust risks given only 2-3 domestic suppliers. While commending GrafTech ( EAF ) management's efforts in eliminating fixed costs and navigating a structurally oversupplied market, Peterson said he prefers exposure to cash-generating steel mills until gaining further confidence in improving FY 2027 fundamentals, which could still be at least a few quarters away. More on GrafTech International GrafTech: The Situation Becomes Dire GrafTech International Q4 2025 Earnings Call Presentation Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on GrafTech International