3. Another bad day for regional banks
A slew of regional banks, led by PacWest, had an awful Thursday as concerns grow in the wake of the three biggest bank failures since the 2008 financial crisis. California’s PacWest fell more than 50% after the company said it was actively talking with potential investors while considering all of its options. Tennessee-based First Horizon fell because its merger deal with TD Bank fell apart due to regulatory concerns. Western Alliance, Zions Bancorp and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF all fell too. Premarket trading Friday morning indicated they could all be due for a slight rebound when the market opens.
4. Minding their business
The Florida Chamber of Commerce has so far stayed out of the fight between Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis over the entertainment giant’s long-standing control over a special tax district that includes Walt Disney World. The state chamber has tight relationships with both sides. “The entire business and lobbying class are allies of both DeSantis and Disney,” David Jolly, a former GOP congressman from Florida, told CNBC’s Brian Schwartz. “The chamber’s political division is probably the premier ally of the state GOP in producing polling and research in low-dollar state House seats, and also mobilizes soft dollars around state legislative races.” The chamber, unsurprisingly, declined to comment to CNBC for the article.
5. Buffett, a gecko and Omaha
Insurer Geico is known for its spokes-gecko and its dryly funny commercials. But it’s also famous among market watchers and investors for being billionaire Warren Buffett’s “favorite child,” as he invested in it nearly 50 years ago. Geico is in a bit of a slump, though, even as the rest of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has been humming along. Berkshire investors, who will descend on Omaha this weekend for Berkshire’s big “Woodstock for Capitalists” shareholder event, will be curious to hear more about how the company plans to get Geico on track after it’s lost market share to rival Progressive. CNBC’s exclusive coverage of the Berkshire investor event will start at 10 a.m. ET Saturday.
— CNBC’s Mike Calia wrote this newsletter. Brian Evans, Kif Leswing, Steve Kovach, Jesse Pound, Brian Schwartz and Yun Li contributed.
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