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Fitch Ratings late Wednesday downgraded First Republic Bank's FRC debt rating three notches, following a downgrade last week. Fitch downgraded the bank's issuer default rating to "B" from "BB." The downgrade comes after a group of banks injected $30 billion of liquidity into the bank. "While this injection created necessary headroom from a liquidity perspective, the bank's new funding profile is relatively costly and is viewed as the primary ratings constraint," Fitch said. "Fitch estimates that, due to the higher cost of funds, FRC is currently operating at a net loss that is not sustainable over the longer term absent a balance sheet restructuring," the ratings agency said. "Furthermore, to the extent that FRC is required to repay the $30 billion at the end of its term, it will have to raise liquidity by selling assets."
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Shares of Steelcase Inc. SCS rallied 12% in the extended session Wednesday after the office furniture maker reported adjusted quarterly earnings and sales above Wall Street expectations, saying that orders in its Americas region were stronger than it expected as workers were back at offices. Steelcase earned $15.7 million, or 13 cents a share, in the quarter, contrasting with a loss of $2.2 million, or 2 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Steelcase's revenue rose 6% to $801.7 million, from $753.1 million a year ago. FactSet consensus called for adjusted earnings of 11 cents a share on sales of $751 million. The stronger orders "drove revenue and earnings above our expectations," Chief Executive Sara Armbruster said in a statement. "Although our fourth-quarter orders were below the prior year, project business from large corporate customers improved sequentially from the third quarter." A "notable number" of large U.S. companies have announced "workplace strategies that emphasize the importance of an in-office presence," Armbruster said. Steelcase ended the regular trending day up 0.4%.
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday said her agency hasn't looked at expanding FDIC deposit insurance. Yellen is testifying in the Senate, where she was asked about reports that officials are studying ways to expand FDIC coverage to all deposits. "This not something we have looked at, it's not something that we're considering," she said.
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