Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Fighting for your money

US banks are being forced to do something they haven’t done for 15 years: fight for your money. After years of earning next to nothing, depositors are discovering a trove of higher-yielding options like Treasury bills and money market funds as the Federal Reserve ratchets up benchmark interest rates. The shift has been so pronounced that deposits at commercial banks fell last year for the first time since 1948, with net withdrawals hitting $278 billion. So in a bid to stem those outflows to better paying options, banks are grudgingly lifting their rates from rock-bottom levels, particularly when it comes to certificates of deposit. More than a dozen US lenders including Capital One are now offering an annual percentage yield of 5% on one-year CDs, a rate that would have been unspeakably high two years ago. Even the big banks are feeling the heat: At Wells Fargo, 11-month CDs now pay 4%.—Natasha Solo-Lyons

Cash is indeed king in 2023. That’s the verdict of the 404 professional and retail investors who took part in the latest MLIV Pulse survey. Two-thirds of respondents said the cash in their portfolios would bolster rather than drag down their performance in the year ahead.

Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson, known for being one of Wall Street’s most bearish strategists, said he’s expecting stocks to rally in the short term. Wilson pointed to the S&P 500’s resilience at the 200-day moving average last week, a widely-monitored technical indicator of an index’s momentum against its current price. 

Goldman Sachs is losing stock-trading rainmaker Joe Montesano, a key player in its ascent to the industry’s No. 1 rank in equities for two straight years. The 46-year-old recently informed the firm he is stepping down as head of equities trading for the Americas and leaving to take a break.

The European Union should halve the $60 price cap on Russian oil this month and further squeeze Moscow’s ability to fund the war in Ukraine, Estonia’s foreign minister said. More than a year after the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor, Estonia’s top diplomat said EU leaders should intensify sanctions on Russian banks and its nuclear power industry. Inside Ukraine, Kyiv now vows to defend Bakhmut against the relentless Russian onslaught there.

Ukrainian servicemen move through a trench system in Bakhmut on March 2. Photographer: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty

Covid-19 bivalent boosters’ protection against death and hospitalization in elderly people began waning as soon as two months after vaccination, according to a new study. The findings build on previous reports about the effectiveness of updated boosters from Moderna and Pfizer, which showed the shots sharply reduced risks of severe Covid in older adults, but didn’t assess how long that protection lasted. In the US, Covid-19 deaths are averaging around 400 per day. With the exception of a spike to near 600 per day following the December holidays, the death rate has remained relatively static since last summer.

Shoppers are cooling on luxury purchases, according to a survey by Saks Fifth Avenue. Sixty-two percent of respondents to the survey said they are planning to spend the same or more on luxury goods compared with the previous three months. That’s down from 68% in September. 

Tesla is slashing prices on its more expensive models again. The company lowered stickers on the higher-performance Plaid versions of each vehicle by 4.3% and 8.3%.

Bloomberg continues to track the global coronavirus pandemic. Click here for daily updates.

• Elon Musk’s big sale isn’t helping him with Wall Street, though.
• JetBlue-Spirit deal faces US antitrust lawsuit as soon as Tuesday.
• Canada’s higher interest rates are inflicting pain.
• American Dream mall owes New Jersey town $8 million, lawsuit says.
• Singapore top diplomat says the “peace dividend” is over.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Bed Bath & Beyond stock is on sale.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Less work is making people more unhappy.

The dining scene at the top of the French food chain is shrinking a bit. This year, there are 29 restaurants in France with three Michelin stars. Last year, there were 31. La Marine, a fish and seafood specialist located on Noirmoutier island off the west coast of France, was the only new fine dining spot awarded the top ranking in the publisher’s latest guide for the country. Michelin’s streamlining of the top echelons of French gastronomy was also marked by an increasing focus on regions outside of Paris. Of the 44 establishments newly awarded stars, 37 are located beyond the capital. Here are France’s best restaurants.

La Marine chef Alexandre Couillon during the Michelin Guide France 2023 ceremony in Paris, on March 6. Photographer: Nicolas Dietrich/Michelin Guides

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The Bloomberg Invest series returns to London on March 22, gathering leading thinkers in investing to identify the biggest risks and greatest opportunities facing those in the region. Join in London or online to hear from executives from Blackstone, QuantumLight, and Sotheby’s. Register here.