Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said he believed that activity in mergers and public listings will find a comfortable level despite uncertainty that’s led to a slowdown in activity across investment banks.
“If the level of uncertainty grows from here, yes, you will not see the same amount of capital activity — but things will settle down,” Solomon said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua on Tuesday. “People need to transact, need to raise capital, need liquidity for their investments. Part of this is just a reset of expectations.”
The banking executive cautioned that the current level of policy certainty was unhealthy for public and private markets, in which his company has growing stakes. In the interview, conducted in Oslo before the annual investment conference of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Solomon warned that layoffs are likely to rise as corporate executives make expense management a key priority for the year.
“The policy actions to date have raised the level of uncertainty to a degree I do not think is healthy for investment and growth,” said Solomon. “As I am talking to CEOs, talking to our clients, they are holding back on investment and they are certainly tightening their belts.”
While deal activity has remained lower than expected so far this year, banks’ trading desks have profited from the uncertainty in public markets: Goldman’s stock traders posted a record quarter for the first three months of this year, mirroring a trend across Wall Street.
Read More: Goldman Wins Shareholder Vote on $80 Million Executive Bonuses
Solomon, who said he was encouraged by what he was hearing from the US Treasury on easing banking regulation there, also weighed in on regulation in Europe, where a major stimulus package in Germany has improved hopes for growth in the region as US markets lag behind.
The finance executive said he was hopeful that officials in Brussels would roll back regulation that’s prevented cohesive growth in capital markets and consolidation in the banking sector.
“I definitely take away a sense of resolve, of excitement, about actually moving forward, breaking down some of the regulatory barriers that have been inhibitions to growth here, and that would be quite constructive,” he said, referring to Europe. “More stimulative fiscal action here would also be good for growth.”
Stock Futures Tick Higher Before Busy Earnings Day: Markets Wrap
US equity futures posted modest gains before consumer giants including Coca-Cola Co. and Visa Inc. report earnings and give a read on the health of the American economy.
Contracts on the S&P 500 rose 0.2% as Treasury yields ticked higher and the dollar rose. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. shares ticked higher in premarket trading in response to plans by the Trump administration to ease the impact of auto tariffs by lifting some levies on foreign parts for cars and trucks made inside the US.
So far, just over a third of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results, and of those, 75% have beat estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. S&P 500-listed companies worth $20 trillion are set to deliver results this week in one of the heaviest for 2025 earnings seasons.
Beyond the plethora of earnings, investors will be tracking data for clues on economic resilience in the face of tariffs. Prospects for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts will be guided by Friday’s US non-farm payrolls figures.
“The US labor figures this week are very meaningful,” said Maya Bhandari, multi-asset strategies EMEA CIO at Neuberger Berman. “For the Fed to deliver more rate cuts you need meaningfully weaker labor market numbers. That’s what markets are going to be looking at.”
Relative calm has returned to markets after the extreme volatility spurred by the Trump administration’s April 2 tariff announcements. Sentiment was boosted by signs of easing trade tensions after a White House official said imported automobiles would be given a reprieve from separate tariffs on aluminum and steel.
In Canada, the Liberal Party is projected to win a fourth consecutive election, giving a mandate to former central banker Mark Carney.
Coca-Cola’s adjusted organic revenue growth may slow to 5.2%, less than half the prior quarter’s pace, as benefits from an increased pricing mix wane. Visa’s adjusted revenue is forecast to have grown 8-9% in line with guidance as resilient leisure and services spending offsets weaker travel spending, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. are due to report Wednesday.
In European earnings, Deutsche Bank AG shares gained after its trading unit hit a record. HSBC Holdings Plc was buoyed by news of a fresh share buyback. BP Plc slumped after cutting its buyback as profit missed estimates. Rheinmetall AG rose 6% after topping estimates.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 6:23 a.m. New York time
- Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4%
- The MSCI World Index was little changed
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
- The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1377
- The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3386
- The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 142.74 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 0.4% to $94,928.14
- Ether rose 2.7% to $1,835.35
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.23%
- Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.50%
- Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.48%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2% to $61.29 a barrel
- Spot gold fell 1% to $3,309.35 an ounce
China Says Willing to Cooperate With US After Boeing Spat (2)
China is willing to support normal cooperation with US companies, the country’s Ministry of Commerce said, just days after Chinese airlines rejected taking delivery of any new jets from US planemaker Boeing Co.
Officials in Beijing acknowledged that tariff hikes implemented by US President Donald Trump have disrupted the global air transport market, and both Chinese airlines and Boeing have been severely affected. As a result, China hopes the US can create a stable and predictable environment for normal trade and investment activities, according to Tuesday’s statement.
The move would seem to indicate an olive branch of sorts from China after officials earlier this month ordered airlines not to take any further deliveries of Boeing jets as part of the tit-for-tat trade war that’s seen Trump levy tariffs of as high as 145% on Chinese goods. The missive came after China unveiled retaliatory tariffs of 125% on American goods, levies that would have more than doubled the cost of US-made aircraft and parts, making it impractical for Chinese airlines to accept Boeing planes.
“Even though this statement doesn’t seem to indicate Beijing has reversed its previous decision, it does send a reconciliatory message that China is willing to be engaged in a negotiation,” John Gong, a former consultant to China’s commerce ministry who’s now a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said.
Being able to take delivery of Boeing jets again would certainly be a boon for Chinese airlines, many of whom had been relying on Boeing jets for their expansion plans. China is forecast to make up 20% of global aircraft demand over the next two decades.
“Given the fact the US has made so many exemptions in its tariffs against China, ostensibly to serve the interests of American consumers sensitive to inflation, we might see China make some exemptions for specific companies when it serves China’s interests to do so,” said Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of international relations at Shanghai’s East China Normal University.
Indeed, people familiar with the matter last week said that China’s government is considering suspending the 125% tariffs on some US imports such as medical equipment and industrial chemicals like ethane.
Officials are also discussing waiving levies for plane leases, the people said. Chinese carriers don’t own all of their aircraft and hence pay leasing fees to third-party companies to use some jets — payments that would have become financially ruinous with the additional tariffs.
Boeing Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg confirmed last Wednesday that China has stopped taking deliveries of any planes and said the planemaker is prepared to find alternative buyers for China-bound aircraft.
“We’re in close communication with our China customers and we’re actively assessing options for remarketing already built or in-process airplanes,” Ortberg said during Boeing’s earnings call.
The move has left in doubt the fate of about 50 jets that were slated to go to China this year. Boeing has since begun flying 737 Max jets that were refused by Chinese airline customers back to the US.
Read more: Boeing Begins Flying Back Planes Destined for Chinese Airlines
Among airlines that are willing recipients of the aircraft rejected by China is Air India Ltd. Through the end of last month, the Indian airline had accepted 41 737 Max jets originally built for Chinese airlines, and the carrier has signaled it’s eager to take more, Bloomberg has reported.
“The fact Boeing can move planes slated for China immediately to Indian buyers at the expense of Chinese carriers is a clear example where some sort of exemption needs to be made by Beijing, insomuch as the policy hurts the Chinese side more than it does Boeing,” Mahoney said.
Source: Bloomberg
