WORD ON THE STREET 

Federal Reserve Screens Banks, Stocks Bounce Back, TWTR Wants Deal

• Russia Launches Expected Offensive – Even pro-Ukrainian media outlets are portraying a grim picture as the Russian army and its allies launch a furious attack against Severodonetsk. Ukraine Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Mailiar said Russia may be looking to take the whole region by the end of the week. However, the strategy doesn’t come without risk for Russia. It’s all or nothing, as Russia continues to suffer manpower problems.

• Twitter Board Wants Musk’s Deal – Twitter’s board of directors unanimously backed Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover bid. This doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing… but it shows Twitter wants to hold Elon to his word.

• Stocks Bounce Back – The Dow gained an astonishing 641 points as it roared back from catastrophic losses over the last few weeks. However, some analysts, among them Jim Cramer, warn this complicates the Fed’s efforts to get inflation under control. “Right now, the best outcome would be for the averages to come down quickly, so [Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell] can get it over with,” he said.

• Clean Bill Of Health? – One of the reforms passed after the 2007-2008 financial crisis was a “stress test” for large banks to ensure they won’t collapse in the event of a market downturn. Most analysts are expecting banks to pass easily. However, the Biden Administration is expected to strengthen the requirements regardless, potentially posing new challenges for banks eager to free up some liquidity for investors.

HOT SPOTS: What’s Going on in Geopolitics

• Russian Spy Turned Out To Be Mexican Scientist – An American court sentenced Hector Cabrera Fuentes to four years in jail for acting on behalf of a foreign government. Essentially, he was serving as a spy. The convict expressed “deep regrets and remorse for my actions and I apologize to the United States.

• Navy Will Host Climate Change Wargame – Well, if sea levels rise, the battlefield will certainly expand. The United States Navy, along with defense contractors, think tanks, professors and others will host a war game on June 29 exploring how climate change could affect naval combat. Every military branch has a “sustainability officer” to consider climate change as per Biden Administration policy.

• Chinese Warplanes Challenge Taiwanese Defenses Again – China is looking to pick a fight. A mix of fighters, intelligence aircraft, and other warplanes entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, leading the island to scramble its own defenses. This is the second major challenge in less than a month. It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that China is probing Taiwan’s defenses.

CUTTING EDGE: What‘s Happening In Tech

• Vitamins A Waste Of Money For Most – I still remember Hulk Hogan telling me to take my vitamins. Alas, that may have been a lie, like so many other childhood illusions. Researchers from Northwestern University recently concluded multivitamins usually don’t accomplish anything for patients… and may even do more harm than good. The vitamin and supplement industry is worth about $50 billion annually… just in this country.

• New Omicron Variant Infecting People A THIRD Time – Vaccinated, boosted, do whatever you want – but new variants may dodge existing protections. The new BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are spreading in California, even infecting Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters. The bad news is that as the virus mutates, it dodges the antibodies provided by previous vaccination. The good news is that the virus tends to become “milder” as it mutates.

• New Omicron Variant Infecting People A THIRD Time – Vaccinated, boosted, do whatever you want – but new variants may dodge existing protections. The new BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are spreading in California, even infecting Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters. The bad news is that as the virus mutates, it dodges the antibodies provided by previous vaccination. The good news is that the virus tends to become “milder” as it mutates.