• The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering softening proposed rules that would require companies to disclose climate-related risks to investors following pushback on the new rules from lawmakers, companies and investors, according to people close to the agency. The SEC is expected to issue the final rule later this year, and while the agency is likely to still require some climate-risk disclosures from companies, the resulting guidance would be less demanding and could raise the threshold for which companies must report, the people said. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, will step down from the role in mid-February, and while President Joe Biden has not yet named a successor, people familiar with the search process believe Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard and Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo are the top candidates. Deese, whose expected announcement had been in the works for some time as he has been commuting to Washington D.C. from New England, does not have a new position yet. (The New York Times)
• Point72 Asset Management and Citadel are among the Wall Street firms that the SEC have asked to review their employees’ personal mobile phones as part of the agency’s crackdown on the use of personal devices when messaging clients, according to people familiar with the matter. The SEC is also seeking information from brokerages, money managers and private equity firms. (Bloomberg)
• A group of 25 Republican attorneys general sued the Labor Department over new rules issued by the Biden administration last year that would allow retirement plan fiduciaries to consider environmental, social and governance factors when making investments. The suit claims that the new rules violate the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, on the grounds that plan fiduciaries have a duty to operate with the sole motive of promoting investors’ financial interests. (Roll Call)

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Prominent analyst tapped to oversee Fed balance sheet

Victoria Guida, Politico Pro

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday announced that Piper Sandler analyst Roberto Perli will become manager of the central bank’s balance sheet, overseeing the process of shrinking its more than $8 trillion in assets.

Bill introduced in Senate to help students finance college costs

Dave Kovaleski, Financial Regulation News

A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week designed to help students pay for college costs. The ISA Student Protection Act would support a student financing tool for postsecondary education called Income Share Agreements (ISAs). ISAs provide opportunities for students to design financial aid best suited to their needs based on their future income and job success.

Stock Buybacks Race to Record $132 Billion Start as Companies Snub All Warnings

Lu Wang, Bloomberg

President Joe Biden dislikes them. The taxman is coming after them. And Wall Street strategists warn the boom won’t last. Yet against all odds, Corporate America continues to splurge on its own shares — a force that has fueled the new year rally.

Supreme Court challenges to Biden student loan plan hinge on overreach, financial harm

Annie Nova, CNBC

Challenges to President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief plan are set to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Arguments against the plan hinge on claims the federal government is overstepping its authority and harming some people financially.

Adani made scheduled U.S. bond payments, to release credit report Friday -sources

Aditya Kalra and Davide Barbuscia, Reuters

Adani Group entities made scheduled coupon payments on outstanding U.S. dollar-denominated bonds on Thursday, a bondholder and a source with direct knowledge of the Indian conglomerate’s strategy told Reuters.

Jobs Report to Show Whether Labor Market Cooling Extended Into January

David Harrison, The Wall Street Journal

January’s employment report will offer clues about the state of the labor market and overall economy at the start of 2023. Recent figures paint a mixed picture of U.S. economic health.

Schumer: Biden unified with Democratic leaders against negotiating over debt limit 

Alexander Bolton, The Hill

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Thursday that there’s no daylight between himself and President Biden on the question of standing firm against negotiating with House Republicans on raising the debt limit until they manage to pass a package of cuts or fiscal reforms.

Social Security, Medicare Cuts Sidelined in Debt-Ceiling Talks

Lindsay Wise, The Wall Street Journal

Republicans are backing away from proposals to reduce spending on Social Security and Medicare as they enter talks with Democrats over raising the nation’s borrowing limit, sidelining for now a politically perilous fight over how to best firm up the finances of the popular benefit programs.

House GOP struggles over budget ideas 

Aris Folley and Mike Lillis, The Hill

House Republicans are struggling to unify as the party tries to hash out a cost-cutting budget strategy, creating headaches for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as he launches high-stakes talks with President Biden over raising the debt limit.

Debt limit: Social Security is a hot topic even as the GOP says it’s ‘off the table’

Ben Werschkul, Yahoo Finance

Coming out of Wednesday’s fiscal talks with President Biden, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) wouldn’t discuss details of the budget cuts he’ll seek in the months ahead except for one: when asked about Medicare and Social Security he said “no, we’re not talking about that.”

Top economist Mohamed El-Erian says U.S. ‘not in recession,’ expects 2 more rate hikes

Erin Arvedlund, Pensions & Investments

The U.S. economy is “not in a recession,” and the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates “one or two more times,” said fixed-income expert and economist Mohamed El-Erian in a Twitter Spaces interview Thursday.

Parents pay at least one monthly bill for 40 percent of millennials

Daniel de Visé, The Hill

In a new survey, two-fifths of millennials say their parents still pick up one or more of their monthly bills.

Where inflation is hitting hardest

Kelly Tyko, Axios

How much you’re getting squeezed by inflation may depend entirely on your zip code. The Miami, Phoenix, Seattle and Atlanta metro areas had the highest annual inflation rate increases as of December 2022, according to the latest Consumer Price Index.

Wells Fargo Hoped Fed Sanction Would Be Brief. Today It Turns 5

Hannah Levitt, Bloomberg

When regulators hit Wells Fargo & Co. with an unprecedented cap on growth, executives atop the bank expressed confidence they could get it lifted in a year or so. Today marks its fifth birthday.

Meet the new banking lawmakers

Claire Williams, American Banker

Both the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee have officially named their members, including several big names from the past election cycle, among them a few with deep financial industry experience.

Deutsche Bank CEO won’t rule out job cuts

Tom Sims and Marta Orosz, Reuters

Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing on Thursday refused to rule out job cuts as the bank strives to lower costs, in a sign of the uncertainty facing the global financial industry as economic growth slows. Sewing, who heads Germany’s top lender that reaches from New York to Sydney, said the bank was looking to reduce expenses and may cut here and there.

Short on Cash, More Americans Tap 401(k) Savings for Emergencies

Anne Tergesen, The Wall Street Journal

A rise in hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts is driven by financial strain and looser regulations, plan providers say

The Market Tanked, but Americans Kept Piling Money Into Their 401(k)s

Anne Tergesen, The Wall Street Journal

Americans largely stifled the urge to reduce their savings rates and sell stocks in their retirement accounts last year, even as the market declined and inflation soared. About 90% of investors in the 401(k)-style retirement plans administered by Vanguard Group maintained or increased their savings rate in 2022.

I Bond Sales Topped $4.2 Billion for Best January on Record

Claire Ballentine, Bloomberg

The new year brought another surge of cash into Series I savings bonds. Americans bought $4.26 billion worth of the securities last month for the best January on record, according to the US Treasury Department.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management Adds $500 Million of Southern Timberland

Ryan Dezember, The Wall Street Journal

The deal is Wall Street’s latest wager that forests will be valued for more than wood products.

Carlyle courts ex-Goldman executive Harvey Schwartz for CEO

Antoine Gara and Joshua Franklin, Financial Times

Private equity group in talks with experienced Wall Street leader after long search.

Mortgage rates fall below 6 percent for first time since September

Sylvan Lane, The Hill

The average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate dropped to 5.99 percent Thursday, falling below 6 percent for the first time since September, according to a key gauge of home loan borrowing costs.

Wells Fargo cuts 140 positions from correspondent lending team

Maria Volkova, National Mortgage News

Wells Fargo handed 140 pink slips to employees in its Springfield, Illinois office in mid- January, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed with the state.

Some Residents Can Get Home Loans in This Area, but Native Hawaiians Say They Can’t. Officials Want to Know Why.

Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser for ProPublica

The U.S. government backed home loans for the public in an area where there may be unexploded bombs, but some Native Hawaiians say they were denied financing in the same place. Now, elected officials are raising questions about safety and fairness.

Silvergate Faces US Fraud Probe Over FTX and Alameda Dealings

Tom Schoenberg, Bloomberg

US prosecutors in the Justice Department’s fraud unit are looking into Silvergate Capital Corp.’s dealings with fallen crypto giants FTX and Alameda Research, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trader Is Charged in Alleged $110 Million Crypto Manipulation Scheme

Mengqi Sun, The Wall Street Journal

Avraham Eisenberg faces fraud charges in connection with what prosecutors said was manipulation of the decentralized exchange Mango Markets. The SEC and CFTC leveled civil charges last month.

Tether boosts lobbying presence amid stablecoin push

Sam Sutton, Politico Pro

Embattled stablecoin company Tether bolstered its lobbying presence in Washington over the last week as House lawmakers prepare legislation to beef up rules for dollar-pegged digital tokens.

FASB to release cryptocurrency draft in March

Chris Gaetano, Accounting Today

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, in its Feb. 1 meeting, voted to advance its first standard on cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The exposure draft is set to be released in late March and stakeholders will have 75 days to comment.

Sam Bankman-Fried in talks to resolve bail dispute, lawyer says

Luc Cohen, Reuters

Sam Bankman-Fried is in talks with U.S. prosecutors to resolve a dispute over the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder’s bail conditions, his lawyer said on Thursday.