Merger and Acquisition took a break when the Federal Reserve and EU began aggressively raising interest rates from their zero and negative levels back in March and July 2022 respectively. Now, with The Street betting that the Fed will lower interest rates, the equation is simple: The lower interest rates go, the higher the M&A activity will rise.
Tag: U.S. economy
TOP TREND 2023, OFFICE BUILDING BUST: NEAR-RECORD NUMBER OF U.S. OFFICE LOANS TEETERING ON DEFAULT
More than $38 billion worth of loans against U.S. office properties are delinquent in their payments or facing foreclosure or default, according to data service MSCI.
CEO COMPENSATION RISING TWICE AS FAST AS OTHER WORKERS
Compensation packages for U.S. CEOs of S&P 500 companies grew 9.2 percent this year compared to last, while average worker pay is up 4.2 percent, proxy service ISS reported.
POWELL: RATE CUT THIS YEAR A GUESSING GAME
At a 30 April press briefing, U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell indicated a belief that inflation will continue to ebb this year, allowing the central bank to pare back its interest rates.
U.S. SERVICE SECTOR CONTRACTS IN APRIL
The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM’s) April Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the U.S. services sector dropped from expansion into contraction, falling from 51.4 in March to 49.4 last month.
U.S. PRODUCTIVITY NOT SHINING BRIGHT
U.S. workers’ productivity in this year’s first quarter grew by a scant 0.3 percent, compared to 3.5 percent in the quarter before.
LABOR MARKET COOLS OFF IN APRIL
The U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs last month, compared to March’s 300,000 and analysts’ forecast of 241,000, notching the lowest monthly gain since last October.
AI INVESTMENTS GET MIXED REVIEWS ON WALL STREET
Megatech companies have pledged to spend billions of dollars quarter after quarter to continue to develop and expand their lines of artificial intelligence (AI) products.
ECONOMIC UPDATE – MARKET OVERVIEW
While the Dow posted its longest winning streak since December, the plantation workers of Slavelandia—people that used to be called middle and lower class—are on a losing streak.
PLANTATION WORKERS OF SLAVELANDIA SUFFERING FROM INFLATION
Forty-one percent of Americans responding to an April Gallup poll said inflation or the high cost of living is their main economic concern. The number has risen for three years running, from 32 percent in 2022 to 35 percent in 2023.