SEC OPENS PROBE INTO ARCHEGOES TRADES — Bloomberg’s Matt Robinson and Benjamin Bain: “The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened a preliminary investigation into Bill Hwang over his leveraged trades that have roiled Wall Street. "The SEC started the civil probe in recent days after Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management made a series of wrong-way wagers that prompted brokers to liquidate his positions, said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the inquiry isn’t public. The examination is in its early stages and is being led by the asset-management group in the SEC’s enforcement division.” BOND TRADERS GIRD FOR MORE PAIN AFTER BIGGEST LOSS SINCE 1980 — Bloomberg’s Daniela Sirtori-Cortina: “Everyone’s excited about the prospects for a sharp economic recovery as increasing numbers of Americans get their Covid-19 vaccinations. Well, almost everyone — holders of U.S. Treasuries have serious reasons for concern. "The debt is capping its worst quarter since 1980, when former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker was trying to break inflation by sending rates soaring. And with the economy returning to normal, investors are bracing for higher yields and even more losses to come.” PRESSURE FOR HEDGE FUND SCRUTINY BUILDS AS YELLEN LEADS FIRST FSOC MEETING — Reuters’ David Lawder: “U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is facing pressure from Democrats to revive tougher scrutiny of hedge funds and other large pools of capital as she heads her first meeting of the premier grouping of U.S. financial regulators on Wednesday. "The meltdown of leveraged hedge fund Archegos Capital Management this week, which inflicted losses on Credit Suisse, Nomura and other intermediaries, gives the Financial Stability Oversight Council fresh evidence to review.” The FSOC is also looking into vulnerabilities from the 2020 market meltdown BIDEN AIMS TO END CORPORATE TAX CUTS REWARDING INVESTORS — Bloomberg’s Laura Davison: “The corporate tax-cut party President Donald Trump kicked off will soon be over if his successor proves able to enact proposals to roll back half of the 2017 domestic income-tax reduction and to radically revamp levies on profits earned abroad. "President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure-centered plan, laid out by the White House Wednesday, relies on higher corporate levies to pay for it. The proposals would change tax benefits that were at the center of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed solely with Republican votes.” SPAC EXCITEMENT FADES — WSJ’s Amrith Ramkumar: “SPAC mania is taking a breather. Shares of new special-purpose acquisition companies are wobbling around their initial public offering price in March after surging earlier in 2021. The reversal highlights the broader challenge hurting popular speculative trades as government-bond yields climb and investors favor assets that stand to benefit from a brighter economic outlook. “Early in the year, investors piled into SPACs to get in early with hot companies in sectors like electric vehicles and space travel. March’s muted moves show that the excitement is waning as the first quarter draws to a close.” PRIVATE PAYROLLS POST BIGGEST GAIN IN SIX MONTHS — Reuters’ Lucia Mutikani: “U.S. private employers hired the most workers in six months in March as more Americans got vaccinated against COVID-19, pushing the economy towards a broader reopening, which is expected to unleash a strong wave of pent-up demand in the coming months. “Though the private payrolls gain shown in the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday was slightly below economists’ expectations, the jump in hiring aligned with a recent improvement in labor market conditions. The broad-based increase was led by the leisure and hospitality industry.” ON THE PODS — In the latest “Banking with Interest” pod, host Rob Blackwell interviewed Dominic Ng, the CEO and president of $52 billion-asset East West Bank in California. | 
