Morning Brew February 21 2022

Good Morning,

Please remember that today is a US Market holiday.

Biden and Putin have agreed on a summit on Ukraine, raising hopes of a peaceful resolution, index futures gain, oil and precious metals retreat. The Dax Future is indicated 1% higher, the US Indexes as well. Emmanuel Macron had pitched  a summit to Biden and Putin on the  "security and strategic stability in Europe." The White House said in a statement that Biden had accepted the meeting "in principle" but only "if an invasion hasn't happened." (Reuters)

Gold and Silver fall to 1888 and 23.70, EURUSD rises to 1.1370 and GBPUSD to 1.3630. Bitcoin remains under pressure just below 40k.

Credit Suisse is under pressure after newspapers report illegal accounts at the bank. Currently shares are indicated app 2% lower.

Credit Suisse Analyst Zoltan Pozsar made Headlines with a note calling for the Fed to cause a crash of asset prices to halt inflation: Maybe the Fed should hike 50 bps in March, put an end to press conferences, and sell $50 billion of 10-year notes the next day… Maybe FOMC members talk too much. They don’t keep the market guessing. They suppress volatility… the capitalist market response to low interest rates and QE through sky-high equity valuations, house prices, and the rise of Bitcoin probably does the same: if the young feeling Bitcoin-rich are less inclined to work and the old feeling mass affluent are eager to retire early, labor force participation drops to the detriment of real growth prospects.

About almost 80% of the S&P 500 companies that have already reported this season have exceeded expectations.

It will be interesting what will drive the markets this week, if Ukraine fears tune down, Inflation and monetary policy should gain traction again, also reopenings from corona restrictions can be significant.

Key Events this Week:

Monday: International PMIs

Tuesday: German IFO, US PMI

Wednesday: EU HICP

Thursday: US GDP New Home Sales

Friday: German GDP, EU Consumer Confidence, Durable Goods Orders

Earnings:

Tuesday: HSBC, Home Depot

Wednesday: Rio Tinto, Iberdrola, Stellantis

Thursday: Safran,  Anheuser Bush Inbev, Axa, Deutsche Telekom, Royal Bank of Canada. Alibaba, Moderna, Newmont Mining

Friday: BASF

Saturday: Berkershire Hathaway.