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The Senate has finally confirmed Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a second four-year term following delays surrounding other nominees the Biden administration had pitched for the central bank. In his first term, Powell has had to battle two major crises, including the COVID pandemic and 40-year high in inflation, recently turning to tighter monetary policy to combat the price pressures. "Chairman Powell presided as Fed chair during some of the most challenging moments in modern American history," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the bipartisan 80-19 vote.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire founder of crypto exchange FTX, just disclosed a 7.6% stake in Robinhood, sending the beaten-down shares of the popular retail brokerage up 20% in AH trading yesterday.  Whether he’ll be able to re-direct a business slated to lose $1.2bn on $1.4bn in revenue remains to be seen.

Soaring inflation and supply chain bottlenecks have begun to crack the $1.5tn US high yield bond market, as the lowest-quality borrowers show signs of stress. Junk bonds had largely escaped worries over the US economy as surging prices add costs for companies. Many bond issuers were flush with cash because they locked in low interest rates before the Federal Reserve started to tighten monetary policy.  Negative earnings surprises this week helped to drag the broader high-yield bond market to its worst level in 17 months.

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