Overview: Latest Reports from CNBCs ‘NetNet’

Here are the latest reports from CNBCs ‘NetNet’.

Companies are planning to spend $600 billion on this losing strategy
With the lack of sustained economic growth, companies have turned to buybacks and dividends to pick up the slack.

The biggest obstacle to breaking up the Wall St banks? CEO pay
Keeping big banks from being broken up is great for their CEOs, according to one analyst report.

Janet Yellen is not going to like what’s happening in Congress this week
The Federal Reserve Transparency Act will undergo markup in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Hard times on Wall Street as pay cuts, layoffs loom
Wall Street pay is trending lower amid weak earnings, a tough business environment and regulatory restraints.

It’s ‘a disgrace’: This is how much more CEOs make than workers
“The income inequality that exists in this country is a disgrace,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

Either Clinton or Trump will make this crisis even worse
Candidates may talk a good game when it comes to fiscal responsibility, but the reality is likely to be a lot messier.

Morgan Stanley CEO: Brexit ‘damaging’ for the UK
Wall Street bank CEOs are stepping up rhetoric against a Brexit.

The worst-case scenario for negative rates looms: The consumer pays
Wall Street got a first-quarter surprise, and it may throw a wrench into stress test plans.

The US just dropped the hammer on currency manipulation
The U.S. is sending a message to countries it believes are manipulating their currencies: We’re watching you.

Here’s the hottest new job to have on Wall Street
In a shocker, an MBA may not be the best way to get on board at a big bank any longer.

How Wall Street is making lemonade out of earnings lemons
In what has been an otherwise dismal earnings season, Wall Street is hanging onto hope that the worst may be over.

Apple has been ‘the biggest wealth destroyer’ for investors
Investors made it through April modestly ahead of the game, though returns were held back by one culprit: Apple.

Hedge funds are finding out that flat is the new up this year
Beset by market volatilitys and bogged down by huge piles of investment capital, hedge funds are struggling this year.

Hedge funder Larry Robbins advises investors: ‘Just hang on’
The hedge fund titan is in a business known for risks, but he has some uncharacteristically conservative advice.

Starboard’s Smith: We have this company in the cross-hairs
Starboard Value is making a move against a pharmaceutical company it says is mismanaged, CEO Jeff Smith said Wednesday.

Gundlach: These are the best bets in a slow-growth economy
Bond guru Jeff Gundlach is advising investors to bet against utilities and for real estate investment trusts.

This ‘widow-maker’ trade capitalizes on zero interest rates
The world of zero interest rates is making life tough for investors, particularly in the bond market.

David Einhorn just made two market-moving stock picks
David Einhorn is betting against one corporate stalwart and on another.

Goldman Sachs thinks the Street is wrong about April jobs
The April jobs picture could be better than current Wall Street expectations, according to Goldman Sachs economists.

Why ‘President Trump’ worries the dealmakers
Mergers and acquisitions pros are worried that Donald Trump may not be so great for the world of dealmaking.

The market saw this weak jobs report coming; Goldman didn’t
Not everyone got caught flat-footed at the anemic job creation. In fact, many appeared to be bracing for it.

Don’t look now, but a wave of regulation is coming for fintech
Fintech stocks have had a tough start to the year, the next leg down could come from regulators.

Online lenders are turning this fee into a cash cow
Processing fees to companies to originate loans have drawn regulators’ attention.

The worst may be over for Wall Street bond traders
Analysts say FICC’s poor performance has hit a low point and will bounce back.

Investors to Wall Street: We’re not buying your bull anymore
Corporate America may have overplayed its hand when it comes to the earnings game.

The top 5 hedge-fund managers pocketed more than $1B a piece last year
Consider 2015 to be the year the hedge-fund industry completed the crossover to the digital age.

Wall Street banks are about to get grilled on this issue
Wall Street banks are hearing growing calls to think about doing deals. Will they heed it?

Online lenders told to come clean on how they work
A Treasury Department report highlights opaque creditworthiness standards.

Puerto Rico debt crisis has fund managers running scared
Mutual fund managers have been busy trimming their sails to reduce exposure to the commonwealth’s crisis.

There’s pretty much no way the Fed is hiking anytime soon, and here’s why
If the Fed raises interest rates before December, it will be defying a quarter-century of policymaking history.

This issue is posing the biggest threat to online lending start-ups
The Lending Club saga underscores the web of relationships between Wall Street alums and marketplace loan buyers.

Wendy’s reveals that hundreds of franchisees were hit in hack attack
The burger chain admits in earnings that older sale terminals were targeted by malware.

Jamie Dimon trades jabs with banker he called a ‘jerk’
ICBA President Camden Fine and the JPMorgan Chase CEO trade blame for “bank-on-bank violence.”

This is what’s driving the fastest start for gold demand EVER
Gold demand surged 21 percent in the first quarter of 2016, according to the World Gold Council.

Fears are running high over identity theft
Banks struggle to earn consumers trust as U.S. mobile banking lags other nations.

Study shows more blue-collar manufacturing jobs leave families struggling
Low wages are the primary culprit for why manufacturing workers require public assistance, according to a study.

Wall Street may get a negative-rate ‘wild card’ from the Fed
Stress tests are getting tougher, and one analyst note cautions of a “new twist” this year.

Hedge funder David Einhorn scores with fracking bet
Einhorn took a bruising in the markets last year, but one of his apparent strategies is now paying off handsomely.

The Fed finds another mandate, and it’s got Wall Street fuming
In its quest to find the right time to raise rates, the Fed has discovered a third mandate: creating a perfect world.

These two words matter the most to the Fed
Next week’s Fed meeting likely will come down to two words, and “rates” won’t be one of them.

Bove: Goldman must change after ‘lost decade’
“Transformational change” could be the remedy for the bank after a “lost decade.”

Here’s one place big banks are catching a break
A trend that’s caused pain on Wall Street may finally be reversing itself.

This trend is ‘profoundly bullish’ for stocks: Bespoke
A year that had been looking pretty bleak for the stock market suddenly appears to be turning a corner.

Looks like the ‘Golden Cross’ isn’t so golden after all
In the land of Hindenburg Omens, January Barometers and Super Bowl Effects, few get investors’ toes tapping as much.

More and more bank business is heading to phones
Banks are falling behind in the fintech race as more consumers opt for apps, an industry survey says.

The slowdown in buybacks: What you need to know
If the market rally is to continue, investors may have to find another sugar daddy.

Wall St bank revenue is in free fall; here’s why
Wall Street banks had ugly quarters on FICC trading desks, which took a beating in a volatile market.

Wall Streeters facing pay cuts as profits fall
Investment banking and trading operations see double-digit drops, spurring cost cuts.

Wall Street KO: Inside look at a miserable quarter
Banks were hit hard in the first quarter as deals and IPOs plunge amid volatility.

What bubble? Unicorns are huge this year
Venture capital firms are having their biggest year in a decade, signaling a potentially robust climate for “unicorns.”

How a Brexit will rattle the banking industry
If the U.K. opts for the Brexit, the European banking system will feel the impact first.

JPMorgan beat still could be bad for Wall Street
Fallout from loans and sliding banking revenue could have disparate impact at other big banks.

Hedge funds post biggest gains in four years
The nearly $3 trillion industry posted, by one account, its best performance in more than four years in March.

The market just gave up on chance of Fed rate hike
The probability went to zero Thursday after two days’ worth of data showed that the economy is still well shy of the central bank’s inflation target.

Investors yank $1B from Tudor hedge fund: Report
Years of lackluster returns and executive departures lead to investor redemptions.

No hike? No problem! Consumers step up for Fed
Growing consumer deposits are helping banks offset the rate hikes that may not come in 2016.

Most Americans think economy is ‘getting worse’
Consumers have been the missing link in the recovery and are likely to remain so absent a major change in sentiment.

Biggest banks cutting their way to profitability
Heads rolled: Consumer banks slashed staff to get through a tough quarter.

The new way to beat the market: Go LGBT
Companies with more female or LGBT senior staff outperform those that do not.

Playing the long game? Tune out the Fed
A week full of Fed speak has brought little clarity about when the U.S. central bank will resume its rate-hiking cycle.

Wall Street CEOs keep repeating one word
CEOs are using the same word as they hope to calm jittery investors in advance of earnings.

US banks playing a waiting game with the Fed
U.S. consumer banks, no different than their investment banking counterparts, are in for a tough quarter.

JPMorgan Chase teaming up with Maserati
The Fiat-owned automaker teams with JPMorgan Chase to boost North American sales.

Trump’s debt plan is probably impossible: Report
The economy would have to grow beyond anything its seen since World War II to meet Trump’s goals, an analysis shows.

Here’s the one piece of good news for US banks
Performance weighs on stock as management teams try to temper expectations.

Wall St is pretty certain who will be president
In polling places and on airwaves, there remains uncertainty about who will be president. Not on Wall Street.

The end of these two trends spells market trouble
Two key patterns, one near term and one long term, are weighing on investors.

This big fuel for the bull market is losing steam
Stock buybacks, which have helped power the 7-year-old bull, are showing their first signs of retreat in three years.

Energy woes crush banks’ lending pipeline
Banks and private equity firms are both facing a continued slowdown in high-yield issuance.

Unicorn stocks cool in slow IPO market
With the IPO window slammed shut, it’s not clear when investors will get returns on unicorn investments.

Why the Fed rate talk was ‘a bunch of nonsense’
The Fed was never hiking rates four times. Investors didn’t believe it, and now Yellen has all but acknowledged it.

Ex-Lehman CFO dishes on downfalls
Erin Callan Montella criticizes bosses and illustrates her struggles through the bank’s collapse.

US consumers whipping out the credit cards again
Consumer loans have jumped 11.2 percent so far in 2016, more than double last year’s growth of 5.4 percent.

Regulators find a new Wall Street target
As start-ups chip into banks’ businesses, regulators aim to make a more level playing field.

Low-paying jobs distorting the bigger picture
Job creation isn’t the most important part of the employment report anymore.

Ex-FDIC chair Sheila Bair takes fintech role
The fintech industry is adding seasoned government execs at a time when regulators may change industry rules.

The dirty word Wall St is using for this economy
A tightening labor market and inflation against a backdrop of stagnating growth are conjuring up this bad word.

Call grows to break up big Wall Street banks
It isn’t clear executives at banks trading below book value will want to cut deals at a discount.

Corporate profit ride turning into a train wreck
If the rally is going to continue, it will have to do so against an aggressively worsening profit backdrop.

Morgan Stanley faces fine for advisor fraud
Wealth advisors found guilty of elder exploitation, fraud in Florida case.

It’s not a bull or a bear market, it’s a ‘bunny’
What’s a bunny market? It’s certainly not like the Easter Bunny, who goes around handing out treats…

Markets getting ready for a Fed rate hike soon
As the policy debate heats up at the Fed, investors are getting more acclimated to the idea that a rate hike is coming.

Negative interest would test banks’ creativity
Stress tests forcing banks to prepare for negative interest rates will require clever responses.

Wall Street bonuses come under more pressure
Bank executive bonuses face stricter regulations from Washington.

This trend helps explain why the market is falling
The rally off the February lows has created an unusual condition that could be a concern over the next month.

Small banks looking to muscle in on fintech world
Small banks are partnering with start-ups and launching their own tech to maintain a digital edge.

Hamburger hack? Small biz faces the cyber perils
Wendy’s legacy systems hack highlights vulnerabilities many small business owners face today.

Student debt load growing, so are delinquencies
As student loan debt piles up, defaults rates are accelerating and posing a threat to future economic growth.

Wall Street giving billions to fintech start-ups
Investing in the sector hits a new high, as more corporates hedge against disruption.

Consumers nearly $1T in debt: This could end badly
Rising debt issuance usually points to a strong economy, but danger could be lurking.

No recession? Well, how about a rate hike instead?
Just weeks after Wall Street was preparing for the apocalypse comes talk that now would be a good time to raise rates.

This key area of Wall St is showing a big slowdown
Wall Street hopes for a rebound as CLO issuance is off to its poorest start since 2009.

Are central banks doing more harm than good?
What if aggressive monetary actions not only have run their course, but are actually causing damage?

Want a rate hike? Might as well bet on a 16 seed
Top banks stand to experience March Sadness if the Federal Reserve doesn’t raise interest rates.

Citigroup expected to add to Wall Street job cuts
Big banks are expected to trim head count in 2016, after several years of job growth on Wall Street.

Fed policy has cost $7.5 billion for savers: Study
The past 10 years have been very good for investors, but not so much for savers.

Market’s message to the Fed: We don’t believe you
The market still believes the Fed is overstating how many times it will raise rates this year.

Europe’s banks are showing some signs of life
Buoyed by the ECB, European banks are poised to cash in on the corporate bond rush.

Yes, jobs are growing, but paychecks aren’t
The rise of political outsiders traces its roots to details that can be found in each month’s payrolls release.

No chips: A slow go for new credit card technology
Less than half of businesses have adopted the credit card chip technology that was all the rage in the fall of 2015.