U.S. stocks climbed as Janet Yellen endorsed higher coronavirus relief spending and some of the country’s biggest banks beat expectations for fourth-quarter earnings.2
The Wall Street firm’s revenue rose 18% above 2019’s fourth-quarter level as it benefited from a relatively small loan book and heavy exposure to underwriting and trading securities.1
Heard on the Street
Things may improve for banks, but without loan demand, revenue growth will still be hard to come by.
Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Treasury secretary, urged lawmakers in her confirmation hearing to “act big” to avert a protracted economic downturn and put aside concerns about the mounting national debt.
Hopes for an economic rebound and a slowdown in borrowing have powered U.S. corporate bonds to a strong start in 2021.
The London Metal Exchange is proposing closing its open-outcry ring, where traders have swapped metals like copper and lead using shouts and hand signals for 144 years, in a bid to attract more financial players to its marketplace.
Millions of individual investors in China withdrew more than $3 billion from five mutual funds that previously touted access to Ant Group’s blockbuster IPO, drastically shrinking the funds just two months after the financial-technology giant’s listing was called off.
