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First Commonwealth Financial Corp. on Tuesday reported second-quarter net income of $44.6 million. The Indiana, Pennsylvania-based bank said it had earnings of 44 cents per share.
The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 42 cents per share. The financial holding company posted revenue of $186.3 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $139.4 million, also surpassing Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $137.2 million.
Fed Chair faces pressure to combat inflation
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged when it meets Wednesday, but chair Kevin Warsh is under increasing pressure to hike rates soon, a move that could provoke ire from President Donald Trump, who appointed him.
The Iran war has reignited, pushing oil and gas prices higher -- a trend that will worsen inflation in the coming months. Soaring investment in the artificial intelligence buildout is raising the cost of laptops, smart phones and electricity, and price hikes from tariffs could be in the pipeline. All those trends might lead to only temporary price increases. Yet inflation, according to the Fed's preferred measure, has topped its 2% target for more than five years.
Wall Street flip to less-loved stocks accelerates
Most U.S. stocks rose after Coca-Cola and other companies reported stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. But more drops for chip stocks and other AI winners kept Wall Street's gains in check Tuesday, and the S&P 500 rose a relatively modest 0.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1%, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%. The slides for AI stocks were worse elsewhere in the world, and South Korea's Kospi index tumbled nearly 11%. Oil prices continued to ease, which helped to pull Treasury yields lower in the bond market. Brent crude fell toward $82 per barrel.
Elon Musk launches invite-only X Money
Elon Musk's social media company X, previously Twitter, has launched X Money, a bank account-like service for users to send money to each other. X Money isn't a new bank; it uses Cross River Bank's technology and services. Currently, it's invite-only and available to X's paying members.
Users receive an X-branded Visa debit card for ATM use and can send money in real-time. To attract customers, X Money offers a 6% yield on deposits and 3% cashback on eligible purchases. Musk aims to turn X into an "everything app," entering a market dominated by services like Venmo and Cash App.
'60 minutes' announces new correspondents
CBS's "60 Minutes" has announced a slate of new correspondents and contributors for its 59th season. The show's executive producer, Nick Bilton, shared the news Tuesday. Ross Douthat, an opinion columnist from The New York Times, and Norah O'Donnell, former anchor of 'CBS Evening News,' will join as correspondents.
Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni and Trevor Phillips join as contributors. The moves come two months after a major shakeup at the news magazine, led by new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, which installed Bilton as executive producer and let to departures of three correspondents: Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley.