Reality check = what market participants gagging for rate cuts need.

Rain check = what the Fed will take on cutting rates in March.

Stimulus check = the reason we’re in this mess in the first place.

The lowdown

• 🤠 Musk says Tesla shareholders will vote on moving its incorporation to Texas.

• 🔪 Deutsche Bank says it’ll cut 3,500 jobs and buy back shares as profit falls.

• 🐚 Shell announces a $3.5 billion share buyback after beating full-year profit estimates.

Flex your finance muscle 💪

Bank earnings metrics

Europe is knee deep in earnings season. This week we’ve heard from lenders including Deutsche Bank and Santander.

The difficult thing about analysing earnings figures is knowing what the most important metrics are. Here are some of the key ones for the banking industry:

• Net interest income. The difference between the interest a bank earns on money it lends and the interest it pays out on deposits. A higher figure indicates that the bank is more profitable.

• Return on equity. A bank’s net income divided by shareholder equity. The higher the figure, the more efficient it is at generating profits.

• Non-performing assets. The percentage of loans that aren’t being paid back. The more bad debt a bank has, the more trouble it’s in.

• Capital ratio. The amount of capital a bank has relative to its assets. The higher the capital ratio, the better its ability to absorb losses.

Featured story

Powell says a March Fed cut is unlikely

A rate cut next month probably isn’t going to happen, according to Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Speaking at a news conference after the Fed’s January meeting, Powell said it was unlikely “the committee will reach a level of confidence” before the March meeting to loosen monetary policy.

However, Powell did say rate cuts would likely begin at some point this year, but wouldn’t commit to a series of reductions, saying it would “depend on the data”.

The next decision is on March 20, with one release of the PCE reading – the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation – before that. The next data flashpoint will be the jobs number, which is due out on Friday.

The content we're consuming today

• Garbage Day: Taylor Swift vs the manosphere

• Insider: We’re about to enter ‘burrito season’, but what the hell is it?

• WSJ: The companies calling workers back to the office five days a week ($)

Off-balance sheet items

• Planning on spending your bonus on an Apple Vision Pro? Here’s what you need to know first.

The bottom line