Welcome back,

Yellen will set economic priorities regarding US-China relationship in her speech tomorrow, TikTok US legislation update, and Tesla cuts prices again ahead of their earnings release today.

Let’s keep it concise.

Market Headlines 👀

• Walt Disney (DIS) is set to cut about 15% of its workforce next week.

• Yellen is set to lay out economic priorities regarding China ahead of a speech she’ll deliver Thursday at John Hopkins.

• Alphabet (GOOGL) rush to release their AI program Bard is believed to have ethical lapses per some employees.

• US tech companies are looking to help narrow the legislation intended for TikTok.

• Facebook (META) could cut up to 4,000 jobs in another round of layoffs.

• Moodys (MCO) says it is pushing more highly indebted companies into its junk rating category as debt defaults are on the rise.

• Corporate bonds are being cut to junk ratings at the fastest pace since 2020.

• US 30y mortgage rate hits 6.43% marking a 2 month high.

• UK CPI for March comes in at 10.1% vs est of 9.8%.

• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) is seeking up to $15b in subsidies from the US.

• US Speaker McCarthy proposes a bill that would raise our debt ceiling by $1.5t and avoid default through March 2024.

• Salesforce (CRM) is working a pair of new generative AI workflow related tools.

• Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) renews bankruptcy conversations.

• US Treasury cash balance jumped $108b following tax day.

• Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) of Japan becomes the first global bank to sell AT1 bonds since Credit Suisse fallout.

• Tesla (TSLA) cuts prices for its vehicles again ahead of their earnings today.

  • Updated pricing:

    

    Source: Bloomberg

Earnings 💸

• Morgan Stanley (MS)

  • EPS: $1.70 beats (exp. $1.67)

  • Revenue: $14.51b beats (exp. $14.07b)

• Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

  • EPS: $1.03 beats (exp. $0.98)

  • Revenue: $9.75b beats (exp. $9.64b)

• Asml Holding (ASML)

  • EPS: 4.95 beats (exp. 4.16) (euro)

  • Revenue: 6.75b misses (exp. 6.34b) (euro)

• Tesla (TSLA)

  • EPS: $0.85 misses (exp. $0.86)

  • Revenue: $23.33b misses (exp. $23.37b)

Recap Around the Street 🧠

Is a recession still on the cards? Interesting data below showing S&P 500 typically does not bottom before a recession begins, but are we out of the woods?

Hard to say with certainty, but forced mechanical buying along with the major big tech names have held up the markets through the first few months.

Some banks have reported their earnings, here is a table showing change in flows to liquidity after the recent SVB and Credit Suisse banking fallout we saw.

Market Preview 🎞️

• Thursday, April 20: Weekly jobless claims; Philadelphia Fed business outlook, and Existing home sales

• Thursday earnings: American Express (AXP), Blackstone (BX), and AT&T (T)

• Friday, April 21: Bloomberg April US economic survey, S&P Global Manufacturing, services and composite PMIs, OPEX

That’s all for today, folks! We’ll be back around the same time tomorrow with a curated list of important news, economic data and market highlights. 

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