Stories we're watching:
The corporate tax debate... The tax filing deadline was extended to May 17 (eyy). But for corporations, the headache is just starting. The Biden admin plans fund its $2.3T infrastructure proposal by raising corporate taxes. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the hikes would bring home ~$2T in overseas profits. To keep the US attractive to corporations, Yellen has been pushing for a global minimum corporate tax rate. It's working: now the G-20 aims to agree on a global minimum by mid-2021.
The rise of digital currency... China became the first major economy to launch an e-currency: the digital yuan (#digi-yuan). Unlike crypto, digi-yuan is state-backed. Unlike cash, it's fully traceable. The wildest part: Beijing is testing digi-yuan expiration dates to encourage people to spend, and could use it to automatically fine people for rule-breaking. Beyond China, digi-yuan threatens the global dominance of the US dollar. Now the US is more seriously exploring its own digital currency. So are 60+ other countries.
What's dropping:
Banks kick off earnings season... Wall Street's finest, including JP Morgan Chase, Citi, and Goldman Sachs, all report this week. Banks' performance will be compared to a year ago (aka: the quarter ended April 2020). Back then, banks added billions to their reserves to prepare for pandemic loan losses (like mortgage defaults). By April, Chase had set aside $8.3B. Banks are expected to release more reserves as the economy recovers. That could lift their results.
Coinbase goes public... The largest crypto exchange in the US plans to go public on Wednesday via direct listing. It'll be the first crypto exchange to go public in the US, at a time when investors have been pouring into crypto. Coinbase thrived last quarter, estimating $1.8B in revenue from January to March — more than it made in all of 2020, and 9X more than the year-ago quarter. Coinbase's huge growth highlights the "seasonal" nature of its biz.
Delta reports earnings... Since mid-March, pandemic travel has been notching record highs, with 1M+ people taking off their watches for TSA each day. Delta's Thursday earnings will give us a window seat into how airlines fared over the last quarter — and whether people are really "revenge spending" on travel during the vax rollout.