Stocks and bonds slumped in 2022 after central banks raised interest rates at a rapid pace to try to rein in inflation. But Mr. Buffett retained his sense of optimism in his annual letter to investors Saturday, saying he continues to believe in the resilience of the U.S. economy.
Corporate Stock Buybacks Help Keep Market Afloat
U.S. stocks have received support from a key source during 2023's shaky market environment: companies repurchasing their own shares.
Stock buybacks by companies in the S&P 500 are projected to top $1 trillion in 2023 for the first time in a calendar year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Authorizations for repurchases are picking up pace: As of Feb. 17, they totaled more than $220 billion, a record for that point in the year, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis of S&P 500 and Russell 3000 companies.
Private-Equity Activity Could Rebound in Second Half of Year, Report Says
Private equity's recent challenges in fundraising, deal making and exits don't dim the long-term outlook for the asset class, a new report from Bain & Co. says.
While interest rates have risen and many investors are worried about the future, a long-expected recession hasn't arrived, and many private-equity deal makers are ready to get back to work, said Hugh MacArthur, chairman of private equity for the Boston-based consulting firm. "Fundamentally, nothing is broken in the global economy," he said.
BOJ Gov. Nominee Ueda Says Merits of Easing Outweigh Side Effects
Kazuo Ueda, the Japanese government's nominee for the Bank of Japan's next governor, said Monday that he believes the benefits of monetary easing are bigger than the costs, as inflation is expected to fall below the central bank's 2% target later this year.
"By continuing monetary easing and supporting overall demand, it is possible to achieve the 2% inflation target in a sustainable and stable manner along with wage growth," Mr. Ueda said in Parliament on Monday. "Merits of monetary easing outweigh the side effects."
Startups Have Headed Off Failure By Doing These Things
When the venture-capital financing market began to sputter last year, investors told their portfolio companies to make swift changes or risk going under. Roughly a year later, a picture is emerging of what type of belt-tightening occurred and what worked best.
Startups made a variety of cuts to survive, investors say. Some made traditional moves, such as trimming new product offerings. Others took more unconventional paths like preserving sales and marketing divisions, which have traditionally been among the first on the chopping block when the economic outlook worsens.
Investors Are Bracing for Surge in Market Volatility
Fear is creeping back into the stock market. To protect against a potential downturn, traders are scooping up hedges at the fastest clip since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
More call options betting that the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, will rise have changed hands on an average day in February than at any time since March 2020, Cboe data shows.
The Stock Market Doesn't Look Cheap-Any Way You Slice It
Stock indexes closed another losing week in a downbeat February, as investors continue to debate the path of the economy and monetary policy. It's a decidedly muddled outlook for the market from a fundamental perspective, with an equal amount of data on the bullish and bearish sides of the ledger.
Information can be interpreted as good news or bad news, depending on one's proclivities and time frame-a stronger economy now could just mean more Fed tightening and a harder fall into recession later, after all.
War in Ukraine Drives New Surge of U.S. Oil Exports to Europe
A year of war in Ukraine is revitalizing U.S. oil exports as a source of financial influence and geopolitical power.
As the West has shunned most Russian energy, unleashing a pressure campaign against the Kremlin's petroleum revenues, record U.S. crude exports have helped fill the gap in Europe with the oil needed to produce gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Frackers Increase Spending but See Limited Gains
Frackers are set to plow more cash into oil fields this year compared with last, but it isn't expected to unleash the flood of crude that past spending binges in the shale patch have.
EOG Resources Inc. said it would spend about $1.4 billion more than last year, but that its oil production would rise by only about 3% in 2023. Pioneer Natural Resources Co. said it would augment its budget by nearly $1 billion, but its production would increase by less than 7% from 2022. And Marathon Oil Corp. said that although its expenses would jump by up to 35%, its production would remain flat.
Falling Natural Gas Prices Put the Brakes on Deals
Plunging prices for natural gas have spoiled what looked like a promising period of deal making involving energy companies and private-equity firms in the sector.
Gas prices in U.S. futures markets have fallen by nearly two thirds since mid-December and this week reached the lowest level since early in the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 as a mild winter sapped demand and supply remains robust, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
U.S. Aluminum Producers Support Biden Tariffs on Russian Imports
U.S. aluminum companies said they supported the Biden administration's move to impose steep tariffs on imported Russian aluminum, as analysts and executives predicted the new duties would have a minor effect on domestic aluminum costs.
The White House on Friday imposed 200% tariffs on imported aluminum from Russia, as well as aluminum imports from elsewhere that include Russian aluminum, as part of a package of duties on Russian metals, minerals and chemicals worth about $2.8 billion. The tariff package coincided with the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, Energy Department Now Says
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Energy Department has concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak, according to a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress.
The shift by the Energy Department, which previously was undecided on how the virus emerged, is noted in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines's office.
CIA Chief Says China Has Doubts About Its Ability to Invade Taiwan
WASHINGTON-Russia's struggles to seize and keep territory in Ukraine over the past year has likely fueled doubts by Chinese leader Xi Jinping that China's military could successfully invade Taiwan later this decade, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns said.
"I think our judgment at least is that (Chinese) President Xi and his military leadership have doubts today about whether they could accomplish that invasion," Mr. Burns said Sunday on CBS. "As they've looked at Putin's experience in Ukraine, that's probably reinforced some of those doubts."
U.K. and EU Look To End Feud Over Northern Ireland
LONDON-U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Monday to attempt to seal a compromise agreement on the trading status of Northern Ireland, potentially ending a yearslong feud that has poisoned relations between the two sides and sparked concern in the Biden administration.
The deal, which officials say is likely to be announced Monday, is a gamble by Mr. Sunak that he can sell the modified version of the so-called Northern Ireland protocol to his restive Conservative Party and bring to an end the current political paralysis in Northern Ireland.
Mexicans Rally Nationwide Against President's Electoral Overhaul
MEXICO CITY-Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans rallied across the country for the second time in less than four months against President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's overhaul of the country's independent election agency, saying it will cripple its ability to organize next year's presidential election.
In one of the largest protests against Mr. López Obrador's administration, more than 150,000 demonstrators filled Mexico City's large Zócalo square and adjacent streets in the historic district of the country's capital, a senior police official said. Protesters waved flags, umbrellas and banners with the distinctive pink colors of the National Electoral Institute, also known as INE. Others wore pink caps and clothes.
DeSantis Hosts Weekend Retreat Miles From Trump's Resort
PALM BEACH, Fla.-Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a weekend gathering of Republican donors, supporters and elected officials, a display of strength made just miles from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort as Mr. DeSantis prepares to challenge the former president for the 2024 GOP nomination.
Between policy discussions, guests traded political gossip over cocktails and cigars at the Four Seasons, bubbling with talk of a Trump-DeSantis showdown in next year's presidential primary. Some attendees worked to keep a low profile, wary of upsetting Mr. Trump even as they nurture access to the party's rising star.
Joe Manchin Declines to Describe Himself as a Democrat
WASHINGTON-West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin declined to describe himself as a Democrat during a television interview on Sunday and didn't say if he is running for re-election, highlighting the challenges facing the party's thin majority in the Senate ahead of what is widely expected to be a tough mission to retain the chamber in 2024.
"I identify as an American," said Mr. Manchin when asked repeatedly during a Fox News appearance if he still considered himself a Democrat. "I'm an American through and through."
Supreme Court's Student-Loan Case Will Test Limits of Presidential Power
The Supreme Court will consider sharp curbs to the power of the executive branch in a case beginning Tuesday, potentially diluting the influence of future presidents for years to come.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
02-27-23 0629ET
