• Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said in an interview that taming the risks associated with hedge funds and other nonbank financial institutions is “more important than ever” following turmoil last month in U.S. government bonds after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Gensler, whose suggestion of increased SEC scrutiny of these funds could mean increased disclosures or more contact with institutions, said that he wants to better understand how highly leveraged bets by such institutions could spill out into the broader economy. (Financial Times)
• The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that people and businesses subjected to administrative proceedings at the Federal Trade Commission and the SEC can raise their arguments in U.S. District Courts, making it easier for subjects of scrutiny to go outside of those agencies’ in-house administrative courts. The decision could throw into question the existence of the administrative courts altogether, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing that the court should address in a future case the “serious constitutional issues” raised by granting these administrative tribunals too much authority. (The Wall Street Journal)
• A group of former leaders of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, including several Republicans, signed a letter urging Congress to confirm Jared Bernstein as director of the agency. Bernstein, who is scheduled to testify in a nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee tomorrow, was praised in the letter for his ability to work across party lines and for his role in creating the opportunity zones program that was part of the 2017 tax package passed under the Trump administration. (The New York Times)
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said banks are likely to become more cautious and pull back lending following the failures of three U.S. banks in March, but she does not see the environment of tightening credit becoming “dramatic enough or significant enough” to dampen her economic outlook of moderate growth, a continued strong labor market and lower inflation. (CNN)

Worth watching:

• House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will discuss the GOP’s debt ceiling strategy in a speech at the New York Stock Exchange.
  
• Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin will give remarks at a Richmond Association for Business Economics event.
  

Americans are struggling to pay off their car loans. Three charts explain why

CNN

New push on US-run free electronic tax-filing system for all

Fatima Hussein, The Associated Press

It’s that time of year when throngs of taxpayers are buckling down to file their income tax returns before Tuesday’s filing deadline. Many often pay to use software from private companies such as Intuit and H&R Block.

Climate Rules Expose Surprising Splits Among Businesses

Shane Shifflett and Jean Eaglesham, The Wall Street Journal

Regulators knew they were facing a political hornet’s nest when they launched a plan that would force businesses to disclose their carbon emissions and other climate data. The fight has been just as bitter among companies.

‘Manufactured’ debt ceiling crisis would damage U.S. economic rebound, key Treasury official says

Chelsey Cox, CNBC

A failure by Congress to raise the U.S. debt ceiling could spark a “manufactured” crisis that derails economic progress, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said Friday.

As McCarthy heads to NYSE for debt-limit speech, analysts say he wants to ‘rally financial players to pressure the administration’

Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

House speaker and fellow Republicans are calling for spending cuts in standoff with Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers

Chip Roy, Pivotal in House Speaker Talks, Braces for Fight on Debt Ceiling

Natalie Andrews, The Wall Street Journal

Texas Republican helps lead arch-conservative bloc seeking deep spending cuts in talks with Kevin McCarthy.

With as little as seven weeks left, GOP races to ready debt ceiling bill

Tony Romm and Leigh Ann Caldwell, The Washington Post

Lawmakers return to the Capitol on Monday facing a fast-approaching fiscal deadline, as Republicans continue to withhold their votes in pursuit of spending cuts — a demand that President Biden is resisting.

McCarthy’s pitch to shrink food aid drawing skepticism from fellow Republicans

Meredith Lee Hill, Politico

The House Speaker will propose new restrictions on the nutrition program formerly known as food stamps as part of House Republicans’ debt limit negotiations with the White House.

​​House Republicans in talks over one-year debt ceiling plan in push to challenge White House

Manu Raju, CNN

House Republican leaders are moving behind the scenes to get their conference behind a plan that would raise the debt ceiling for one year with a slew of cuts and revenue raisers, a move intended to strengthen their negotiating position with the White House in the high-stakes standoff.

European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde says U.S. default on debt “not possible” ahead of approaching deadline

Melissa Quinn, CBS News

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Sunday that it is “not possible” that the United States would default on its debt as Congress faces a fast-approaching deadline to address the debt ceiling.

Fed’s Waller: Not much progress on inflation, higher rates needed

Howard Schneider, Reuters

Despite a year of aggressive rate increases U.S. central bankers “haven’t made much progress” in returning inflation to their 2% target and need to move interest rates higher still, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Friday.

Fed’s Goolsbee says mild U.S. recession feasible

Reuters

A U.S. recession is certainly feasible as the Federal Reserve’s steep rate-hikes over the past year filters fully through the economy, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Friday, as he again urged the central bank to be prudent on policy.

Fed can ‘hit the mark and hold’ with one more rate hike, Bostic says

Howard Schneider, Reuters

One more quarter-percentage-point interest rate hike can allow the Federal Reserve to end its tightening cycle with some confidence inflation will steadily return to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said.

Weak retail sales, manufacturing output data point to slowing US economy

Lucia Mutikani, Reuters

U.S. retail sales fell more than expected in March as consumers cut back on purchases of motor vehicles and other big-ticket items, suggesting that the economy was losing steam at the end of the first quarter because of higher interest rates.

Economy stumbled after banking crisis, stirring renewed recession fears

David J. Lynch, The Washington Post

The U.S. economy wobbled in the weeks following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, as consumers spent less, factories slowed their assembly lines and the nation’s bankers grew more cautious in making loans.

In Morgan Stanley CEO Race, Wealth Boss Emerges as One to Watch

Sridhar Natarajan, Bloomberg

The firm’s wealth-management juggernaut has lifted Andy Saperstein from a long-shot candidate to a serious contender to replace James Gorman.

Federal Reserve green lights UBS-Credit Suisse deal in US

Hannah Lang et al., Reuters

The Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors on Friday said it has approved UBS Group AG’s acquisition of the U.S. subsidiaries of Credit Suisse, clearing another major hurdle for the completion of the Swiss-brokered rescue deal.

Global regulators consider wider net to catch smaller US banks

Laura Noonan, Financial Times

Demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature fuels concerns that existing focus on largest lenders is outdated.

Smaller lenders lose deposits to their bigger peers

Gina Heeb, The Wall Street Journal

Depositors fled to the perceived safety of the titans of finance following a pair of bank failures last month. A raft of earnings this week will show just how costly the run was for everyone else.

U.S. needs ‘a viable pipeline for the creation of new banks,’ says Fed’s Bowman

Kyle Campbell, American Banker

The onerous process of getting a new charter is hurting competition in banking and pushing activity outside the regulatory perimeter, Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman said in a speech Friday afternoon.

Wells Fargo’s caution on office loans is an ominous sign for smaller banks

Polo Rocha, American Banker

Wells Fargo is offering some cautions about the health of office loans, a potentially worrying sign for smaller banks with larger exposures to a segment that’s been hit by changing work habits.

PNC’s Trimmed Revenue Forecast Isn’t a Good Sign for Regional Banks

Max Reyes, Bloomberg

As the first major regional bank to report earnings following a crisis among smaller lenders, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. was always going to be closely watched for signs of spreading pain.

Many workers have only their retirement savings for emergencies

Ella Vincent, Yahoo Finance

When an emergency strikes, many Americans plan to raid their retirement savings. That’s the takeaway from a recent private Voya survey of 1,005 Americans.

Tax loss harvesting, quantified

Felix Salmon, Axios

Tax loss harvesting (TLH) is a controversial investment strategy that allows investors to take tax losses on losing positions without meaningfully changing the total exposure of their portfolio. Now, for the first time, it’s possible to see just how profitable it can be.

74% say they can’t count on Social Security when planning for retirement. Here’s what not to do

Lorie Konish, CNBC

Negative headlines about Social Security’s future may be affecting how prepared people feel when it comes to their own retirement. Almost three-quarters, 74%, of people say they cannot count on Social Security benefits when it comes to the money they will have in retirement, according to a new survey from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

Money market funds caught up in US debt ceiling stand-off

Harriet Clarfelt and Kate Duguid, Financial Times

Rising concerns over government borrowing could disrupt portfolios flush with deposits after banking crisis

Goldman Sachs just upgraded an AI-powered tool that’s part of its plan to simplify options trading for its clients

Bianca Chan, Insider Premium

Goldman Sachs is expanding on a tool aimed at simplifying the complex world of derivatives trading for its institutional clients.

‘Trapped’: How federally backed financing is making mobile homes less affordable

Shannon Pettypiece, NBC News

Low-interest loans supported by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have fueled a spree of acquisitions of mobile home parks where new owners drive up costs for longtime residents.

Home buyers often unaware of assistance programs, fair value price

Spencer Lee, National Mortgage News

A knowledge gap about the home buying process among many consumers contributed to more than half of them feeling unsure they had paid fair value, according to a new poll released this week. Limited awareness of down payment assistance and other programs that would provide greater affordability also seemed to leave almost one-third out of cost-saving opportunities, KeyBank’s report on the state of fair housing said.

Tennessee is one of the most difficult states to get a mortgage in, data shows

Ben Popken, WREG Memphis

The Southeast is one of the toughest areas of the country to get a mortgage. Mortgage denial rates ranged from 3.59 to 4.57 per capita for the top five states, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida, according to a new Stacker analysis of 2021 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act home purchase data collected through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A Black family says they ‘whitewashed’ their home to get a higher appraisal. They’re not the only ones

Nicquel Terry Ellis, The Philadelphia Tribune

Erica and Aaron Parker first had their Loveland, Ohio, home appraised in 2020. It was a competitive selling market, they had made several renovations to the home, and houses in the neighborhood were generally selling above the asking price.

U.S. House Committee Publishes Draft Stablecoin Bill

Nikhilesh De, CoinDesk

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee published a draft version of a potential landmark stablecoin bill, with proposals including a moratorium on stablecoins backed by other cryptocurrencies and a request to study a central bank digital currency (CBDC)

Shaquille O’Neal Finally Served FTX Lawsuit: Lawyers

Amitoj Singh, CoinDesk

Lawyers claimed the superstar was “hiding and driving away from our process servers for the past three months.”