Macro
Search catalysts, news stories, and pressures, or browse the trust-weighted news feed below.
month values ▾
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -0.14 | +0.10 | +0.15 | -0.30 | -0.05 | +0.00 | -0.40 | +0.05 | -0.33 | +0.10 | +0.10 | +0.15 |
Financial sector sentiment holds neutral this month despite high-profile regulatory and oversight developments. The enactment of sweeping financial reform under Obama weighs on industry outlook, signaling tighter operating constraints ahead, while EU stress tests clearing most banks have done little to bolster confidence, met instead with market skepticism over credibility. Together, the regulatory overhang and doubts about balance sheet transparency keep near-term sentiment in check, though not enough to shift the aggregate read from neutral.
How this mood is scored ▾
President Obama unveiled the Volcker Rule to ban deposit-taking banks from proprietary trading, targeting giants like JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America. The move, aimed at preventing future bailouts, sparked backlash from banks and raised tensions between the administration and financial industry, potentially impacting market stability and recovery efforts.
The SEC charged Goldman Sachs and one of its executives with failing to disclose that hedge fund Paulson & Co. helped structure and bet against a subprime mortgage CDO. This legal action, tied to the 2007 financial crisis, damaged Goldman's reputation, triggered a 13% stock drop, and may signal broader regulatory crackdowns on Wall Street practices.
President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act, creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and ending 'too big to fail' bailouts. The law enhances regulatory oversight, targets risky Wall Street practices, and aims to protect consumers, with significant implications for financial institutions and market transparency.
The Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision agreed to strengthen global bank capital standards, raising minimum common equity from 2% to 4.5% and introducing a 2.5% capital conservation buffer, effective through 2019. The reforms, aimed at enhancing financial stability, will require banks to hold more loss-absorbing capital, potentially constraining lending and dividends, especially for large institutions.