(April 16) : Bond investors will pay a lot more attention than usual to the latest US quarterly bank results as they assess the potential hit to economic growth from any slide in lending. Also on the radar is how smoothly markets absorb the usual post-earnings rush of bond sales from banks. Schwab’s outlook will be in focus when it releases results Monday, after deposits sank while unrealized losses swelled. Amid the uncertain outlook for growth and a potential credit crunch, traders have been actively staking out bets on both sides of a potential Fed hike in May via options even though pricing still strongly favors another quarter-point rise. The potential X-date for raising the debt ceiling is seen around mid-August, but that could shift based on tax receipts.
