The Finimize Daily Brief
JPMorgan’s Clamping Down On Some Lending, And US Inflation Didn’t Budge
12 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey, I'm Lana with your Daily Brief for Thursday, March 12th. Coming up, J.P. Morgan's worried about the impact of AI on software companies, clamping down on some lending. And U.S. inflation didn't budge last month, but that was before the conflict in the Middle East. We'll also check in with Carl to get his answers to your burning questions.
More on the way, but first, a word from Guy at Finimize HQ. JP Morgan is tightening the reins on lending to private credit funds, rattled by their loans to potentially vulnerable software companies.
Chapter 2: What concerns does JPMorgan have about AI's impact on lending?
Private credit firms pool money from investors, lend it directly to companies, and profit from the interest earned on those loans. But many don't stop there, sometimes borrowing extra from banks to lend even more, juicing their returns. Now, banks typically cap how much they'll lend to a private credit firm based on the value of the loans it holds.
And JP Morgan has reportedly decided that some of those loans are shakier than it previously thought. So the big bank marked down their values on paper. That means JP Morgan will probably lend less to private credit firms or demand more collateral, which will squeeze the firm's ability to use cheap bank debt to boost their returns.
JP Morgan's specifically worried about private credit firms' loans to software companies. Makes sense. AI is already threatening to do a chunk of their jobs for them, putting future profit in danger. Markets have been twitchy about this for a while, sending software stocks down. But it looks like the private credit market is catching up. Loans are much more long-term than shares.
They take time to unwind, making the private credit market move more slowly. Markets can usually handle one big scare at a time, but several are hitting at once right now. There's the conflict in the Middle East pushing up oil prices, AI angst chipping away at the software sector, and now private credit is joining in.
When shocks pile up like this, markets can't rely on a policy response, like, say, central banks cutting interest rates, to fix things. Before we dive into the next story, it's time for our daily check-in with Carl. You've got questions. He's got answers. Carl, what have you got for us?
Yes, it's Chrissy in Dublin with our question of the day, and she asks why the same investing mistakes keep happening and whether markets ever truly learn. It's something that even the pros have all thought at least once. While history is well documented, memory fades over time.
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Chapter 3: How is JPMorgan changing its lending practices to private credit firms?
New participants enter markets without lived experience of past downturns, and long periods of stability breed confidence. As conditions change, old lessons often need to be relearned. Thanks, Carl. Next up. U.S. inflation held steady in February, but with oil shocks still off the books, investors just shrugged.
America's consumer prices rose 2.4% in February from last year, matching January's pace, which was the slowest in nearly five years. That's exactly what economists expected, if still a bit hotter than the Federal Reserve, Fed, would like. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy prices to look underneath the hood, was up 2.5%. Also bang in line with expectations.
Investors barely flinched at the report, and it's easy to see why. Like most economic data, inflation figures are a look in the rear view. This batch captures price movement in February, but not the fallout of turmoil in the Middle East since. Grocery and gasoline bills were already creeping up in the US before the conflict.
And now, with shipping clogged and oil supply pinched, they're likely to rise more. So folks are probably expecting March's inflation reading to bite. This is the last temperature check the Fed will get before next week's interest rate decision. And it's going to be a tough one. See, the US economy unexpectedly shed a ton of jobs in February, the third drop in five months.
That makes a case for the Fed to cut borrowing costs, encouraging businesses to spend and hire more. But inflation is proving stubborn, and this conflict could easily push it back up again. That could send the Fed in the opposite direction, toward raising rates to keep inflation in check. So the Fed's best move might be no move at all. Traders seem to agree.
They're betting the central bank will leave rates alone for the second time this year. That's it for today. I'm Lana. I'll see you tomorrow.
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