Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - China fallout

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said China’s economic slowdown risks having ripple effects across the global economy, though she added she doesn’t expect a downturn in the US to result. “Many countries do depend on strong Chinese growth to promote growth in their own economies, particularly countries in Asia—and slow growth in China can have some negative spillovers for the US,” Yellen said Monday after a raft of Chinese economic data came in weaker than expected. In the US, “growth has slowed, but our labor market continues to be quite strong,” Yellen said. The economy is on a “good path” to bring inflation down without a major weakening in the labor market, she said. —Natasha Solo-Lyons

Russia ended the Ukraine grain-export deal almost a year into the agreement, heightening uncertainty over global food supplies. The pact, previously extended in May, will cease to be effective on Tuesday, the Kremlin said. Russia had repeatedly threatened to leave the deal, which marked a rare example of cooperation during its ongoing war on Ukraine. The corridor’s shutdown will hit key buyers like China, Spain and Egypt.

Wall Street’s top regulator says the proliferation of artificial intelligence means governments will probably have to overhaul regulations to maintain global financial stability. Enforcement agencies must grapple with challenges posed by the burgeoning technology, according to US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler. He noted his agency’s staff is weighing whether new rules were needed.

Gary Gensler Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

US stocks resumed a rally as investors weighed bets the Federal Reserve is approaching the end of its interest-rate hikes against the knock-on effects of a China slowdown. The S&P 500 gained 0.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%, adding to last week’s historic gains. Here’s your markets wrap. 

A small Pennsylvania bank has emerged as one of the biggest partners for the crypto industry—albeit a somewhat reluctant one. Customers Bancorp is said to partner with hundreds of digital-asset firms, including major exchanges, market-makers and stablecoin issuers. It attracted new clients after crypto-friendly lenders Silvergate Capital and Signature Bank collapsed in the US regional bank bloodletting a few months back.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are edging closer to completing one of the biggest deals of all time. Over the weekend, Microsoft struck an accord with Sony Group, arguably the staunchest opponent to the $69 billion takeover, to ensure Activision’s popular Call of Duty franchise remains on the PlayStation platform for a decade. 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s team sought to reassure donors to his stalled presidential campaign bid by summoning them to Tallahassee for a briefing. Just seven weeks after the far-right Republican’sglitchy announcement of his intent to seek the GOP nomination, his campaign is already hitting the reset button.

Ron DeSantis Photographer: Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg

Loews is just a middling stock nowadays, eking out gains that are dwarfed by the market’s high-flyers. Much of this can be chalked up to run-of-the-mill stuff—weakness in one business, soaring costs in another. But there’s also this: the company is the lone stock in the S&P 500 index that doesn’t have a single analyst rating from a major bank or research firm.

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While prudent diversification and hedging one’s bets are always good ways to make sure you’re not taking on more risk than you can handle, running away from risk entirely means missed opportunities. Let these four investment experts point you to areas where they see the right mix of risk and reward. 

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