Economy

Dark clouds may not yet be on the horizon, but industry executives are sending the message to investors that they know a turn in the credit cycle is coming, and they are planning accordingly.

The legislation, which still needs Senate approval, would let the head of the Small Business Administration raise the program's cap in periods of heavy demand.

James Smith said his late enrollment in the state’s Republican Party meant he would be ineligible to be a candidate in its August primary and that he did not want to disrupt the nomination process.

James Smith said he would decide soon whether he’ll seek the Republican nomination for governor. He said he was inspired partly by his recent work on a commission tasked with recommending fixes to the state’s fiscal and economic problems.

Since stepping down as CEO of Webster Bank last month, James Smith has spent much of his time co-chairing a panel tasked with solving his home state’s fiscal and economic woes. Banks, and perhaps even fintechs, could be a part of its comeback story, he says.

Bank stocks recovered some of their lost value on Tuesday on extremely high levels of trading volume. The lone exception: Wells Fargo.

Bank stocks tumbled on Monday amid a wider sell-off as investors' concerns mounted that wage growth could lead to inflation, higher borrowing costs for businesses and changes in the Fed's rate-hike plans.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, whose term expires Saturday, will join the Brookings Institution on Monday, the Washington-based think tank said.

Some bankers spread the religion of this year's feel-good World Economic Forum, but others were more circumspect. The list of potential threats remains lengthy — including trade wars and the bursting of the bitcoin bubble — and all pose risks to banks and the economy.