Warren Buffett Wades Into Banking Crisis, Apple's Cost Cuts, Summers Discusses Fed And More: 5 Key Stories You May Have Missed From The Weekend

Weekends seem to keep central banks and government officials busy as they actively formulate policies and measures and stitch up deals to alleviate the liquidity crisis faced by the banking sector.

This weekend saw the announcement regarding coordinated action from five of the world’s biggest central banks and also a rescue act worked out by the Swiss National Bank.

Here's a recap of a few major headlines that hit the wire over the weekend:

• Buffett Looking At Bank Buys? Rumors of billionaire investor Warren Buffett being in touch with the U.S. government regarding lending support to the banks sent FinTwit into a tizzy. Stock picker and CNBC host Jim Cramer earlier last week mused aloud about the “Oracle of Omaha” stepping in to buy beaten-down banks. Bloomberg, however, said the conversations did not center around any broader advice or guidance on the recent turmoil.
• SNB Brokered Deal Saves Credit Suisse: Credit Suisse AG CS, which has been financially strained due to scandals, litigations and weakness in its bread-and-butter investment banking business, was rumored to be on the verge of collapsing. It was against the backdrop that Switzerland’s central bank stepped in and brought Credit Suisse’s peer UBS Group, Inc. UBS on board to buy the beleaguered financial services company.

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• Apple Banks On Efficiency To Trim Costs: Apple, Inc. AAPL is the only big tech that has not formally announced large-scale job cuts, according to Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman. He delved into how Cupertino avoided layoffs and listed several steps the company has embraced to avoid mass eliminations.
• Summers Bats For More Rate Hikes: Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, while speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, appreciated European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde for raising key interest rate by 50 basis points despite the banking crisis that is playing out. He said the policy of standing behind depositors should be handled separately from monetary policy and added that a 25 basis-point rake hike now seems appropriate.
• Putin Visits Invaded Ukraine Territory: Russian President Vladimir Putin created a stir over the weekend by paying a visit to the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which is part of the invaded territory during the ongoing war between the two countries. He was reportedly returning from a visit to Crimea and reached the city by helicopter.
• And What Else: Former President Donald Trump’s rant on Truth Social platform about his potential arrest over the Manhattan District Attorney’s office investigation into hush money dealing with adult film star Stormy Daniels also received some attention. His indictment would hand him a landslide win in the presidential poll, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said.
• President Joe Biden’s urging for imposing a minimum 25% tax on billionaires also set in motion conversations around the topic.

Next: Fed's Rate Hike Dilemma, Housing Market And Other Key Data: Benzinga's Weekly Main Street Monitor

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