Banks Eye Cash Reserves for Profits
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
P2JW075000-6-A00100-17FFFF5178F ****** TUESDAY,MARCH 16,2021~VOL. CCLXXVII NO.61 WSJ.com HHHH $4.00 DJIA 32953.46 À 174.82 0.5% NASDAQ 13459.71 À 1.0% STOXX 600 423.08 unch 10-YR. TREAS. À 7/32 , yield 1.609% OIL $65.39 g $0.22 GOLD $1,728.90 À $9.40 EURO $1.1931 YEN 109.12 Worst Sandstorm in Decade Engulfs the Streets of Beijing Air Travel What’s News Showing Signs of Business&Finance Turning irlines executives said Athey arestarting to see a path out of the pandemic ACorner as morepassengersresume travel, afteraweekend when airport volumes hit their Airport screenings rise highest levels in a year. A1 and bookings improve Banks areexpected in coming months to free up with fewer Covid-19 tens of billions of dollarsiN cases, more vaccines reserves set aside forloan losses that haven’t materi- BY ALISON SIDER alized, boosting profits. A1 S China has asked Alibaba Airline executives said they to dispose of itsmedia as- PRES are starting to see a path out sets,asofficials grow more TED of thecoronavirus pandemic CIA concerned about the com- SO as more passengersresume pany’s sway over public AS travel, following aweekend opinion in the country. A1 when airport volumes hit their highest levels in a year. American financial giant HIEFELBEIN/ DeltaAir Lines Inc.book- Vanguardhas suspended SC ings began picking up five or plans to launch amutual- six weeks ago as people have fund businessinChina. B1 MARK COVERED: Beijing and a wide swath of China’s north were hit by the worst sandstorm in 10 years Monday, giving a tinted begun making plans forspring The S&P 500 and Dow haze to the sky and hurting air quality. Hundreds of flights out of the city’s two airports were canceled. A16 and summer,Chief Executive advanced 0.6% and 0.5%, Officer Ed Bastian said at an respectively,with both in- industry conference Monday. dexesclosing at records. “We’veseen some glimmers The Nasdaq gained 1%. B10 of hope over the last year,but they’ve been false hope,” Mr. Blackstone and Star- BanksEye Cash Reservesfor Profits Bastian said. “But this seems wood Capital agreed to ac- like it’s real.” quire hotel owner and op- Airline stocks climbed Mon- erator Extended Stay BY DAVID BENOIT Total loan-loss reserves at U.S. banks,quarterly 4Q 2020 ferencelast month. Citigroup, day. Shares of United Airlines America for $6 billion. B1 $236.6billion Mr.Mason said, likely will re- HoldingsInc.rose 8.3%, while Rogers agreed to buy U.S. banks aresitting on a duceits $27.6 billion pile of re- shares of American Airlines Shawfor about $16 billion, a pile of cash that could turn into $200billion serves in the firstquarter,po- GroupInc.climbed 7.7% and deal that would combine two billions of dollarsofprofits. tentially by morethan the $1.5 Delta shares rose 2.3%. of Canada’slargest commu- In the coming months,banks billion the bank freed up in the Thepandemic brought nications companies. B2 areexpected to free up tens of fourth quarter. travel to anear halt last billions of dollarsinreserves 100 Reservesare meant to spring.Travelrestrictions and Danone CEO and Chair- they setaside to coversoured coverexpected losses on fear of infection kept people at man Faber stepped down loans—losses that still haven’t loans.They subtract from a home and out of airportsfor from the yogurt maker af- materialized ayear intoapan- bank’sprofitwhen they are most of the year: U.S. airlines teraclash with investors. B1 demic that shut down swaths 0 put in placeand add to it carried 60% fewerpassengers VW said it would invest in of theU.S.economy. 2008 ’10 ’12 ’14 ’16 ’18 '20 when they are removed. in 2020 than in 2019,bringing six large battery factories and In 2020,banks rushed to Sources: FDIC Since the start of the year, passenger traffic to the lowest build out charging infrastruc- build up their stockpiles to analystshaveloweredtheir level since the mid-1980s, ac- turefor electric vehicles. B3 coverlosses on the assump- pandemic upended the econ- Consumersand businesses, loan-lossprojections and lifted cording to the Bureau of tion that consumersand busi- omy and sent unemployment they nowsay,likely have the combined 2021 profit fore- Transportation Statistics. Musk took on the newtitle nesses would default on their up sharply. dodged the pandemic’sworst- cast forJPMorganChase & Major U.S. airlines lost “Technoking of Tesla,” ac- loans aftergovernment stimu- Bankexecutives aren’t so case financial scenario. Co., BankofAmericaCorp., about $35 billion in 2020.But cording to an SEC filing. A1 lus ranout. U.S. banks had worried anymore. Theecon- “Thereare alot of positive Citigroupand Wells Fargo& on Monday, United and Delta $236.6 billion in totalreserves omyhas outperformed banks’ reasons to feel good about the Co., by 10%, or $7 billion, ac- said they could stop bleeding World-Wide in December,according to the internal forecasts. Vaccine dis- path to recovery,” Citigroup cording to FactSet. PleaseturntopageA2 Federal Deposit Insurance tribution is ramping up. And a Inc. Chief Financial Officer Analystsnow expect the Corp., nearly double their level $1.9 trillion stimulus package Mark Mason said at the Credit four banks to earn $77 billion Heardonthe Street: Loyalty Germany, Italy, France from beforethe coronavirus wassigned intolaw last week. Suisse financial-services con- PleaseturntopageA2 programs pointskyward..... B11 and Spain joined the ranks of European countries that have temporarily halted INSIDE use of the Covid-19 vaccine China Presses Alibaba Big European Nations made by AstraZeneca over blood-clot concerns. A1 To Shed Media Assets TheBiden administration Halt AstraZenecaShot is opening new emergency S BY JING YANG the companytocome up with shelterstohandle the rising number of young immigrants a plan to substantially curtail PRES BY JENNY STRASBURG Netherlands and Iceland have China’sgovernment has itsmedia holdings, the people TED AND BOJAN PANCEVSKI also said they would wait for illegally crossing the border asked Alibaba Group Holding said. Thegovernment didn’t CIA Europe’s bloc-wide medicines without their parents. A3 SO Ltd. to dispose of itsmedia as- specifywhich assetswould AS Germany, Italy, France and regulator to investigatea Prosecutors charged sets, as officials grow more need to be unloaded. Spain joined the ranks of Eu- small number of serious two men with assaulting concerned about the technology Alibaba, founded by billion- ropean countries that have blood-clotting issues among Capitol PoliceOfficer Brian giant’ssway over public opin- aireJack Ma, has through the /NETFLIX/ temporarily halted use of the people who had received the Sicknick with achemical ion in the country, according to yearsassembled aformidable EIKIS Covid-19 shot made by Astra- AstraZeneca shot. during the Jan. 6riot. A3 people familiar with the matter. portfolio of media assetsthat LOV ZenecaPLC over blood-clot That regulator,the European Discussions over the matter span print, broadcast, digital, concerns,dealing another Medicines Agency, is expected TheSenate confirmed OLAI have been held sinceearly this social mediaand advertising. blowtothe continent’sslug- by Thursdaytogiveits verdict Haaland as interior secre- NIK year after Chinese regulators Notable holdingsinclude stakes gish vaccination rollout and on safety and potential risks tary in a51-40 vote that for reviewedalist of media assets in the Twitter-like Weibo plat- PERSONAL JOURNAL threatening the credibility of from areview of the reported the firsttime will makea owned by the Hangzhou-based form and several popular Chi- the vaccine itself. cases.The agencyrepeated on NativeAmerican aWhite ‘Mank’leads in Oscar company, whose mainstay nese digital and print news Acascade of cautionary Mondayanadvisory from last House cabinet secretary. A4 nods in ayearwhen business is online retail. Offi- PleaseturntopageA6 pauses that started last week week that fornow it is recom- TheBiden administration cials were appalled at howex- audiences largely picked up on Monday. Den- mending countries keep using has reached out to North Ko- pansiveAlibaba’smedia inter- Republicans push for a more watchedathome. A10 mark wasthe firsttosuspend the vaccine,saying the benefits reatolaunch adialogue on estshavebecome and asked aggressive China stance..... A4 the shots. Ireland, Norway,the PleaseturntopageA7 Pyongyang’snuclear-arms and missile programs but has yet to receivearesponse. A16 Tesla Crowns The Vatican forbade This Housing Boom blessings of same-sex rela- tionships,contradicting Its New calls forthe practiceby Is Different progressivebishops in Ger- ‘Technoking’ manyand elsewhere. A16 iii Myanmar declared martial Mortgages arestricter,downpayments are Plans change. lawinpartsofYangon after Elon Musk claims scores were killed and fires higher,and atightsupply is supporting prices tore through several Chinese- toptitle,names PowerStore owned garment factories. A6 BY NICOLE FRIEDMAN had just helped them buy. Theman who blewupan ‘MasterofCoin’ Now, he said, housing de- RV in Nashville on Christmas The residential real-estate mand in the Boston suburbs BY MATT GROSSMAN market is on its biggest tear is stronger than he has ever adapts. acted alone and the bombing since 2006, just before the seen. Lamacchia Realty wasn’t an act of terrorism, ac- Some businessstars strive housing bubble burst and set reached $1 billion in sales cording to an FBI report. A3 forthe chief executiveofficer off a global recession. Yet in last year for the first time. Storage that’salwaysin Died: Stephen D. Bechtel Jr., seat. Othersshoot forthe nearly every meaningful way, Buyers have higher credit sync with the needs of 95, led construction giant throne. today’s market is the inverse ratings these days. They are Bechtel forthree decades. B3 Elon Musk,the Tesla Inc.co- of the previous boom. flusher and are putting down your business. founder and CEO,onMonday Anthony Lamacchia, a more cash up front. CONTENTS Opinion.............. A13-15 took on anew title not yet broker and owner of a real- “On $1 million purchases, Arts in Review...