STOCK MARKET NEWS: First Republic on watch, Yellen vows banking support, Tesla’s China sales

Magic Johnson has joined Josh Harris’ bid to buy the NFL’s Washington Commanders, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because details of the bid are not being publicized.

Johnson, a basketball Hall of Famer who has become a prominent executive, is already involved in sports ownership with stakes in Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles F.C. and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. He was also part of Harris’ unsuccessful bid to buy the Denver Broncos, who were instead sold to a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton for a record $4.65 billion.

The Commanders are expected to sell for more, which would be the highest price paid for a North American professional sports franchise. Forbes estimates the team is worth $5.6 billion.

Harris along with partner David Blitzer owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Washington-area billionaire Mitchell Rales is also reportedly part of Harris’ group.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is trying to project calm after regional bank failures, saying the U.S. banking system is “sound” but additional rescue arrangements “could be warranted” if any new failures at smaller institutions pose a risk to financial stability.

Yellen, in an excerpt of remarks prepared for delivery to the American Bankers Association on Tuesday, says that overall “the situation is stabilizing.”

“And the U.S. banking system remains sound,” Yellen says.

Yellen’s remarks come after a series of troubling bank developments this month.

Google
has suspended the Chinese shopping app Pinduoduo on its app store after malware was discovered in versions of the app from other sources.

Google said in a statement Tuesday that it suspended the Pinduoduo app on the Google Play app store out of “security concerns” and that it was investigating the matter.

The suspension of the Pinduoduo app — mainly used in China — comes amid heightened U.S.-China tensions over Chinese-owned apps such as TikTok, which some U.S. lawmakers say could be a national security threat. They allege that such apps could be used to spy on American users.

Pinduoduo is a popular e-commerce app in China which often offers discounts if users team up to buy multiples of an item. Many Chinese online shopping platforms offer downloads of the app. Google warned users Tuesday to uninstall any Pinduoduo app not downloaded from its own Play store.

The major U.S. benchmarks are up on Tuesday as commodities like oil and gold mix.

The Dow Jones Industrial, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are in the green as blue-chip shares like Nike, Boeing and American Express lift the Dow higher.

In commodities, oil is up approximately 1.27% to $68.50 a barrel as gold moves down roughly 0.72% to $1,968.60 an ounce.

Meanwhile, the price of silver is up around 0.02% to $22.65 an ounce. 

Tesla sales in China are coming in strong, according to Reuters, which cited the China Passenger Car Association estimate that February sales jumped 32% [sales + exports] vs. the same period a year-ago.

This month’s U.S. banking system turmoil and renewed recession worries have left global investor confidence at one of the lowest levels in the last 20 years, and that does not even account for this week’s demise of Credit Suisse.

A monthly survey carried out by investment bank BofA following the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, but before Sunday’s Credit Suisse takeover, showed the perception of risk levels worsening dramatically.

BofA’s self-compiled “Financial Market Risk Indicator” of investor worry levels jumped to 7.7, leaving it just off the extreme highs of last year amid the Ukraine war and above both its global financial crisis and COVID outbreak peaks.

With the Silicon Valley Bank turmoil fresh in minds, the U.S. “shadow banking” sector was cited as the most likely source of danger.

Bitcoin prices held steady, hovering around the $28,000 level, as the Federal Reserve begins its two day meeting. The recent gains in the crypto are closely tied to what policymakers may do on Wednesday.

Foot Locker is closing more than 400 low-performing stores in shopping malls by 2026 as it shifts its focus to new concept stores.

The company plans to transform its real estate footprint by opening new formats, shifting off-mall, and closing underperforming stores.

Foot Locker is also adjusting its business model in Asia by closing its stores and e-commerce in Hong Kong and Macau and converting its current owned and operated stores and e-commerce in Singapore and Malaysia to a license model.

JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, is trying to raise more capital for First Republic Bank, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Trading of First Republic stock was paused after losing 37% of its value on Monday, but trading resumed in the early afternoon Eastern time, with the stock down about 47% by the bell.

Currently, First Republic is trying to convert $30 billion in deposits from 11 different banks last week into a capital raise, said the WSJ report, which cited people familiar with the situation.

The WSJ also reported the banks may make an investment in First Republic as part of a capital injection.

Midsize banks have a message for regulators: back us up. The push comes as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen promises to support the industry reeling from uncertainty.