Mixed Inflation Report Drags Stocks (and Cryptos) Still Lower

Inflation slowed from a month earlier but still topped 8% in the U.S., according to latest CPI figures, an “uncomfortably rapid pace.” Though overall inflation was down, core inflation—“which excludes costs for groceries and gas”—actually increased by .6 percent, “faster than its .3 percent increase in March.” The mixed bag further confirmed that the Fed has “a long way to go to bring price increases down to more normal and stable levels” - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg

Stocks bounced around before closing lower as analysts digested the CPI report - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch

And the crypto plummet continues - Bloomberg and NYTimes and WSJ and MarketWatch

Families of the victims of the Surfside condo tower that collapsed last year and killed 98 have reached a nearly $1 billion settlement involving “insurance companies, developers of an adjacent building and other defendants in the extensive civil case” to “compensate them for their staggering losses of life and property” - NYTimes and WSJ and Law360

Even as he presses forward with plans to purchase Twitter, Elon Musk is facing an SEC probe over his “late disclosure last month of his sizable stake” in the company, “a lag that allowed him to buy more stock without alerting other shareholders to his ownership” - WSJ and Bloomberg and Mashable

While Musk was too mum about Twitter, he was baselessly loquacious in 2018 about possible Saudi investments that would help him take Tesla private—this, according to an April 1 California federal court order unsealed this week that “granted partial summary judgment to Tesla investors in a consolidated securities class action alleging CEO Musk inflated the electric-auto maker’s stock prices by posting false and misleading statements on Twitter, causing billions of damages.” Though Musk tweeted “that he had secured financing to take Tesla private,” in reality “there was no concrete funding in place at the time” of his tweets – Law360

Troubled e-truck maker Rivian, which has seen its stock lose 80% of value this year “as investors have grown nervous about its prospects,” announced on Wednesday that despite supply-chain problems that “hobbled it in the first quarter . . . it stood by its production forecast for this year” of 25,000 vehicles - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and TechCrunch

Some rare good news in a streaming environment dominated by harsh realities: Disney+ reported an additional 7.9 million subscribers in the first three months of 2022, a figure that exceeded analyst expectations. Overall, Big Mouse saw a boom in theme park performance and $19.2 billion in revenue. While that revenue was up 23% from a year ago, it fell short of predictions - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch

The Dallas Fed Board has named longtime NY Fed staffer Lorie Logan as its next President. Logan replaces Robert S. Kaplan, who resigned in October 2021 “amid fallout from a trading scandal” - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg

Drugmaker Moderna has ousted its CFO, Jorge Gomez, just days after he started his new gig, “citing a newly revealed internal investigation by Dentsply”—Gomez’s former employer—“into matters that include financial reporting” - WSJ

On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed President Biden’s nominee, Alvaro Bedoya, to an open spot on the Federal Trade Commission that’s been vacant for 6 months. The move gives FTC chair Lina Khan a 3-2 majority and may allow her to move more aggressively to “address corporate power” via FTC action and rulemaking in fields from antitrust to online privacy - NYTimes and Law360

Looking to drop some cash in exchange for what we’re assured is the “most important tool” for achieving a top-notch homemade cuppa joe? We’ve got you covered - NYTimes

Stay safe,

MDR

The Robins Kaplan Financial Daily Dose features top stories and latest news headlines in financial markets, banking, securities and technology topics.