JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, asked about fierce competition across the financial industry, said he’s starting to see parallels to the era before the 2008 financial crisis, when a rush to make loans ended disastrously.

“Unfortunately, we did see this in ’05, ’06 and ’07, almost the same thing — the rising tide was lifting all boats, everyone was making a lot of money,” Dimon told investors on Monday. While JPMorgan isn’t willing to make riskier loans to boost net interest income, he said, “I see a couple people doing some dumb things. They’re just doing dumb things to create NII.”

(Continue Reading – BBG)

The Trump administration is considering new national security tariffs on a half-dozen industries in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last week that invalidated many of the president’s second-term levies.

The new tariffs being considered could cover industries such as large-scale batteries, cast iron and iron fittings, plastic piping, industrial chemicals and power grid and telecom equipment, according to people familiar with the plans. They would be issued under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the president broad powers to impose tariffs based on national security risks.

(Continue Reading – WSJ)

The business climate in France deteriorated again in February, falling by two points to 97, a level below its long‑term average. This decline affects all sectors except construction, where the indicator remained stable. The deterioration is particularly worrying in services: all sub‑indices fell over the month and, at 95, the business climate is now clearly below its long‑term average. Opinions regarding future activity and demand have weakened sharply. The decline in confidence is visible across all service sub‑sectors. Moreover, firms in the sector are anticipating weaker hiring momentum, which is weighing significantly on the employment climate in France. The latter fell by a further point and has reached its lowest level since March 2021.

In industry, the business climate also declined, although it remains above its long‑term average. The deterioration is especially pronounced in chemicals and metallurgy, while conditions remain very favourable in the production of transport equipment (excluding automobiles). For industry as a whole, however, the weakening of order books and production prospects nevertheless constitutes a negative signal for the months ahead.

(Continue Reading – Think.Ing)

Corporate bond sales in Swiss francs could top 25 billion this year, far beyond the market’s normal volumes if the haven currency’s low interest rates spur more international borrowers to follow Google parent Alphabet Inc. in to the market.

US technology giant Alphabet raised almost $32 billion in a one-day debt frenzy earlier this month that spanned dollar, Swiss franc and sterling debt, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The sales in the latter two currencies were the biggest-ever in those markets and the five-tranche, 3.055 billion Swiss franc ($3.95 billion) transaction has pushed year-to-date sales in the currency to the highest in at least a decade, the data show.

(Continue Reading – BBG)