Fed Chairman Powell, interest rate cuts are not far off.

1) Powell, ‘I’m not too far from sure to cut it.’
Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggests he is nearing the confidence needed to start cutting rates. “We are waiting for more confidence that inflation is moving sustainably at the 2% level,” he said. “That confidence is not far off, and once we have confidence, it would be appropriate to start rewinding the monetary policy constraint level.” Traders responded by raising their bets on June cuts, and the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield fell nearly 5 basis points at one point

2) ECB Lagarde hints at June cut; lowers prices and growth outlook
The European Central Bank (ECB) kept interest rates unchanged for a fourth consecutive session as market expected, but lowered its outlook for inflation and economic growth, raising expectations for a rate cut in June. It cut its inflation forecast for this year to 2.3%, while its growth forecast fell to 0.6% from 0.8% previously. “We’ll know more in April, but we’ll know a lot more in June,” ECB President Lagarde told a news conference, suggesting the ECB may be in a position to cut rates by June

3) Powell ‘U.S. banking system can withstand CRE threat’
Fed Chairman Powell agrees that the increase in bad loans in commercial real estate (CRE) is likely to cause some banks to fail, but it does not threaten the entire banking system. Powell said he is talking to lenders at the central bank level so that they can identify and handle potential losses. Powell said, “It distinguished banks with high concentration of commercial real estate, especially those with big hits such as offices and retail,” adding, “I am confident that this is a matter that needs to be worked harder for years to come. There will be bank failures, but it will not be a large bank.”

4) Diversification of NYCB Business
Joseph Otting, the former head of the U.S. Monetary Supervisory Service, who has newly led the New York Community Bank (NYCB), emphasized that he would like to overhaul his portfolio focused on commercial real estate (CRE) and take it similar to other regional banks. “An organization’s desirable balance sheet is in the form of a consumer-related business, a commercial bank-type business, and a third of the real estate sector,” he said. “We will see business diversification systematically go in that direction because we think it works well to weather economic fluctuations.” It will also take some time, but we promise to get NYCB executives to present their vision for the future

5) China to survey regional bank bond investment
Amid concerns that Chinas regional banks are speculating on their bonds rather than seeking to shore up the economy, the authorities are investigating the state of the banks bond investments. Regulators are tightening their supervision on bond investments, judging that the bond market is overheating, as interest rates on long-term government bonds are approaching record lows. Falling interest rates on government bonds are partly beneficial to the government, but banks` negligence in lending could backfire on economic growth. Moreover, if the overheating suddenly cools, banks could be exposed to losses