Welcome back,

One rival is calling it a “merger”, and the other maintains it’s an “acquisition”. That was the buyout of Credit Suisse by UBS in a nutshell this weekend.

Let’s keep it concise.

Market Headlines 👀

• UBS (UBS) to buy Credit Suisse (CS) in $3.3B deal to end crisis (more below).

• FDIC moves toward breakup plan for Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB).

• New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) is pursuing a deal to acquire failed Signature Bank (SBNY).

• Amazon (AMZN) to cut 9,000 more jobs, including at AWS and Twitch.

• ChatGPT (MSFT-backed) policies are being drafted at nearly half of firms.

  • OpenAI plans to instantly transcribe patient notes during doctor visits.

• Mercedes (MBGYY) is set to invest billions in EV plants.

• President Biden vetoes bill for first time to block anti-ESG measure.

• Gold flirts with record highs after topping $2,000 an ounce.

• Fed and global central banks move to boost dollar funding.

• Warren Buffett (BRK.B) discussed the banking crisis with Biden officials on Saturday.

• Senator Warren favors increasing FDIC’s deposit insurance cap.

• Evergrande (EGRNF), the Chinese Developer, nears a landmark restructuring deal.

• HSBC (HSBC) slumps in Hong Kong as AT1 debt selloff weighs on banks.

• China’s Xi meets with Russian leader Putin in Moscow.

Earnings 💸

• Foot Locker (FL)

  • EPS: $0.97 beats (exp. $0.51)

  • Revenue: $2.33 beats (exp. $2.14B)

• PDD Holdings (PDD)

  • EPS: ¥8.34 beats (exp. ¥7.55)

  • Revenue: ¥39.82B misses (exp. ¥41.95B)

• Niu Technologies (NIU)

  • EPS: ¥-0.24 misses (exp. ¥1.01)

  • Revenue: ¥612.27M misses (exp. ¥1.38B)

Recap Around the Street 🧠

UBS (UBS) is set to buy Credit Suisse (CS) in a government-brokered rescue plan. UBS is paying 3 billion francs ($3.3B) for its rival in an all-share deal that includes “extensive government guarantees and liquidity provisions.”

The deal is aimed at containing a crisis of confidence that had started to spread across global financial markets. Results of the “acquisition” (as UBS’ PR statement called it) or the “merger” (as CS’ PR statement called it) include:

• Credit Suisse’s $17B of risky bonds are now worthless.

• The price per share marked a 99% decline from Credit Suisse’s peak in 2007.

• UBS will pay more than $2B in stock.

• The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is said to have offered UBS about $100B of liquidity as part of the deal.

Food prices in the US continue to rise, despite the overall inflation rate slowly receding. Prices for food at home increased by 11.3% in January compared to the previous year, according to the Labor Department. This rise in grocery inflation is hitting seniors and low-income households particularly hard, who generally spend a greater proportion of their earnings on food.

A number of factors are contributing to high grocery costs, including supply chain issues, climate issues and the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the impending expiration of pandemic relief programs is set to exacerbate the situation, with about 30M people in 32 states losing enhanced food-stamp benefits this month.

There’s still time to tune into a preview of Wednesday’s FOMC, which just kicked off at 4:30PM EST over on Twitter Spaces.

Market Preview 🎞️

• Tuesday: US existing home sales; UK Chancellor Hunt speaks; Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian leader Putin; ECB President Lagarde and Villeroy speak

• Tuesday earnings: Nike (NKE), GameStop (GME) and Tencent Music (TME)

• Wednesday: FOMC rate decision, UK CPI, ECB Chairs speak; US Treasury Secretary Yellen to appear at a Senate subcommittee hearing focused on 2024 budget; EIA crude oil inventory report

• Wednesday earnings: Chewy (CHWY), Hyzon Motors (HYZN), Cassava Sciences (SAVA) and Petco (WOOF)

• Thursday: US new home sales; initial jobless claims; BOE rate decision; Eurozone consumer confidence; EU leaders meet in Brussels for a two-day summit; US Treasury Secretary Yellen testifies on the budget to a House Appropriations subcommittee

• Thursday earnings: General Mills (GIS), Accenture (ACN), Darden Restaurants (DRI), FactSet Research (FDS), Gambling.com Group (GAMB) and Equinor SA (EQNR)

• Friday: US durable goods; European Flash PMIs; Japan CPI & PMI; BOE’s Mann speaks

• Friday earnings: Express (EXPR)

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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