Bad news banks

Even those fabulous tech shares couldn’t rescue markets Friday as bank shares went south. New York Community Bancorp tumbled 8.3% on a weaker outlook, Goldman Sachs dropped 2.3% and JPMorgan lost 1.2%. A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacap tech stocks notched its best back-to-back jump since February, but it wasn’t enough. Also, shares of Capri Holdings nosedived following yesterday’s court ruling blocking its planned $8.5 billion acquisition by Tapestry, maker of Coach and Kate Spade handbags. Bitcoin slumped as well after a news report that federal investigators are probing cryptocurrency firm Tether. —David E. Rovella

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde affirmed that the continent’s slowdown in consumer prices hasn’t stalled, though she highlighted lingering risks from wage pressures. Disinflation “is well on track,” Lagarde said Friday at a meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee in Washington. Having recently cut interest rates for the third time this year, ECB officials are discussing whether an even bigger step might be needed when they next meet in December.

Millennium Management and Athos Capital are said to be among hedge funds that have lost money after the surprise collapse of a deal involving two of China’s drugmakers. Izzy Englander’s Millennium had a 5.1% stake in China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings, which plunged 35% this week after regulators didn’t approve a take-private offer from China National Pharmaceutical Group. Bets on the latest high-profile deal were popular with hedge funds specializing in corporate events at a time when lower interest rates are expected to make leveraged buyouts cheaper to finance.

Last fall, the chief executive of CrowdStrike Holdings gave investors a quarterly financial update that sent shares soaring. It included news of a $32 million deal to sell cybersecurity tools for use by the US government—specifically identity threat protection software for the Internal Revenue Service. The order arrived on the last day of CrowdStrike’s fiscal third quarter. But according to records reviewed by Bloomberg News and people with knowledge of the situation, the IRS never bought the software.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin said he won’t make concessions to end his war on Ukraine. “There will be no trades,” Putin said in an interview with state-controlled media. His comments may signal growing confidence as Russia—now reportedly with the assistance of North Korean forces—appears to be wearing down the Ukrainian military, though Kyiv still controls a small section of Russian territory. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began more than a decade ago when its forces entered Ukraine’s Donbas and Crimean regions. It was expanded to a full-scale assault in 2022. Kremlin forces have since leveled cities and towns, killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians and allegedly committed a wide range of war crimes. Putin, however, could be waiting for a friendly US administration led by Donald Trump, should the Republican win on Nov. 5. Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, assailed NATO and pledged to cut off military aid to Ukraine. Trump also has allegedly been in contact with Putin seven times since losing the 2020 election, according to Watergate journalist Bob Woodward. And a new report by the Wall Street Journal says Elon Musk, Trump’s wealthiest donor, has also had secret talks with Putin.

The US has signaled to Saudi Arabia that it’s ready to help defend the kingdom against an attack by Iran or its proxies as Gulf states grow wary of being embroiled in the standoff between the Islamic Republic and Israel. Tel Aviv has yet to retaliate for a recent Iranian missile attack, part of a series of tit-for-tat air attacks by Iran and assassinations and bombings by Israel. Meanwhile, Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, with health officials reporting more than 41,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and at least 2,000 Lebanese killed since the war began a year ago, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis. As the Biden administration presses for a ceasefire, the chances of one before the election are fading. An official of Hamas claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war to keep his right-wing governing coalition together. The Israeli leader has denied that and says it’s Hamas that has shown no real willingness to end the war. While most residents of the Gaza Strip have been displaced by the conflict, the Lebanese government said Friday one-fifth of its citizens have now been forced from their homes.

The International Monetary Fund raised its economic growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa next year to the highest since 2021, but it did so while warning that factors including social unrest create elevated uncertainty. Nations including Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana have seen waves of protests in recent months as their governments, facing a prolonged financial squeeze, wrestle with tough decisions including raising taxes and cutting spending.