Fed eyes new bank regulations, Apple expands ecosystem: Catalysts
On today's episode of Catalysts, Hosts Seana Smith and Brad Smith break down some of the biggest stories of the trading day, from new capital requirement regulations for banks to the Federal Reserve's rate cut path. The Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr outlined revised capital requirement regulations for banks in a speech on Tuesday morning. The policy, named Basel III Endgame, proposes easem*nts on banks' capital holdings while scaling back other requirements. Yahoo Finance senior reporter Jennifer Schonberger explains the Fed's new policy proposal and comments on Barr's speech. Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors Chris Whalen argues that the focus of this regulatory effort should have been on market risks rather than capital. He points out that since the Supreme Court overturned the "Chevron deference" doctrine, which previously gave regulatory agencies the benefit of the doubt when interpreting ambiguous laws, federal regulators are now more "vulnerable to losing in court" if banks choose to challenge their decisions legally. After last week's tech-heavy sell-off, many investors took the opportunity to buy the dip. Slatestone Wealth chief market strategist Kenny Polcari points to Nvidia (NVDA) as a buying opportunity as shares are down about 25% since its June high. He does not expect the stock to rally back up to its high, but rather, he sees it as "on sale" for long-term investors. "Now, if you're worried about further downside for the broader market and you think it's going to get dragged with it, well then just sit back a little bit and wait. I think, you know, for most of the clients, that's the conversation I'm having, just about being patient, because patience, in this case, could be a virtue," he explains. As Nvidia's (NVDA) stock tumbled in August after failing to meet investors' sky-high earnings expectations, many are now wondering if this is the end of the chip giant's reign over the S&P 500 (^GSPC). Yahoo Finance Markets Reporter Josh Schafer breaks down how the index's leadership may change moving forward and how investors can best navigate the market as the Federal Reserve begins its rate easing cycle. The Biden administration has invested nearly $34 billion in building out domestic semiconductor manufacturing sites in just two years since the CHIPS and Science Act was passed. Former White House CHIPS Coordinator and Duke University professor of business and public policy Aaron "Ronnie" Chatterji commends the government's efforts over the past two years, stating "the government's done a great job" in attracting investments from major players like Intel (INTC), Samsung (005930.KS), Micron (MU), SK Hynix (000660.KS), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM). After Apple (AAPL) held its "It's Glowtime" event on Monday, unveiling the new iPhone 16 along with next generation AirPod and Apple Watch devices, Bank of America senior IT hardware analyst Wamsi Mohan explains that the company is "broadening out the ecosystem," highlighting the health and fitness features on the new Apple Watch and AirPods. "The number of applications that you're seeing is starting to broaden out, which brings in new users into the ecosystem and that's not even including the phone," he adds. Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Tech Conference to discuss the Federal Reserve's rate cut path. Hatzius believes that a 25-basis-point interest rate cut will be the likely outcome at the September meeting, explaining, "I think that's more consistent with the data that we've seen since the weaker-than-expected jobs report a month ago." However, he wouldn't rule out a 50-basis-point cut, arguing that there is a "solid rationale" for the larger cut. He explains that the fed funds rate is "really high," the highest among the G10, despite the US making more progress on inflation than other countries in the group. "So you could certainly make the case that they should be bringing down that rate quickly," he explains. This post was written by Melanie Riehl
