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1. Banks are banding together to stabilize the system.

2. Layoffs are still low.

3. Home construction picked back up in February.

S&P 500: 3,960.281Mo: -3% | 1Yr: -10% | 5Yr: +53%

The market marched higher today, back to where it was a week ago when the panic started, after banks banded together to restore investors' confidence in the financial system.

In a sign of support, a group of big banks collectively deposited $30B into First Republic, a regional bank everyone has been watching as the next most likely bank to fall. Panic started to spread after the collapse of three regional banks in less than a week. The rapid rise in interest rates has stressed smaller banks' business models. Fearful depositors then started pulling their money and straining the banks even more. If this move can calm the outflows, banks should be able to get through this alright.

The jobs market is still looking good. Layoffs are broadly low. The Labor Department reported weekly initial unemployment claims fell last week to 192,000, in line with pre-pandemic averages.

The housing market got a boost of momentum in February as new home construction picked up unexpectedly. Single-family home building permits jumped 7.6% after declining for 11 straight months. Overall new home construction rose to its highest level since September but is still down 18% from a year ago.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

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The acquiring company may take on debt to fund the deal, trade its stock, or use its cash reserves. The acquisition can be an all-cash deal, where shareholders receive cash in their brokerage accounts, or an all-stock deal, where your shares of Company X turn into some amount of shares of Company Y, or some mixed combination of the two.

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