Matt Grossman

Regional-bank shares are jumping after Western Alliance—a lender investors have worried about—gave a positive update on deposit growth. Shares of Western Alliance were recently up some 10%. Several other regional lenders were among the S&P 500's top gainers, including Comerica, Zions and Fifth Thir

Gains for bank shares and a positive debt-ceiling update from President Biden helped push indexes higher.

Regional-bank shares closed sharply higher after Western Alliance—a lender that has been under intense scrutiny—gave a positive update on deposit growth. Shares of Western Alliance closed more than 10% higher. The KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index rose about 7%, its largest one-day percentage gain since January 2021.

The stalled discussions fueled worries that failure to reach a deal could spark an unprecedented financial crisis as soon as early June.

Some traders are sheltering in debt from Microsoft and J&J.

Investors' growing anxiety about the debt-ceiling standoff is further warping short-term debt markets as the June 1 deal-deadline approaches: Yields on

The debt-ceiling standoff is creating a rare situation in bond markets: investors are putting more faith in the ability of some of America’s top companies to repay debt than the U.S. government’

A credit-rating firm is warning that the U.S. debt-ceiling standoff could have negative implications not only for America's sovereign debt but also for its credit assessment of other U.S. borrowers. DBRS Morningstar, which alongside S&P, Moody's and Fitch grades debt quality, said Thursday that the

Just days or weeks before the government faces a possible funding shortfall, investors are shunning U.S. Treasury bills that will mature over the next several months while paying a premium to buy debt issued by Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson two of the highest-rated U.S. companies. The anxiety has spread across Wall Street, on Tuesday sending the S&P 500 down by more than 1% and further warping trading in almost-due Treasury securities. Yields on Treasury bills maturing on June 6 have climbed to more than 6%, by far the highest level since the bills were issued and well above the Federal Reserve’s target interest rate of 5% to 5.25%, which usually sets the tone for short-term Treasury yields.

Surging inflation caught many traders off guard over the past two years. Now Wall Street's projections on rising prices appear to be more on the mark. March and April marked the first time over the last two years when the actual inflation rate was lower than what traders expected it to be 12 months