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Joe Biden runs for president again, First Republic and UBS results send mixed signals, and China’s charm offensive falters. — Kristine Aquin [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Joe Biden runs for president again, First Republic and UBS results send mixed signals, and China’s charm offensive falters. — [Kristine Aquino]( Biden bid It's official: [Biden running for president again next year](. In a video released Tuesday, Biden, 80, implored voters to let him “finish this job” he began when he took office. He added that there is still work to do to give Americans a “fair shot” and beat back “extremists” in the Republican Party who want to cut government spending and curb abortion rights. “The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom,” he said. “I know what I want the answer to be and I think you do too. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.” First Republic, UBS First Republic Bank reported a worse-than-expected drop in deposits]( in first-quarter results, drawing a sharp contrast from other banks’ earnings that had broadly reassured markets. “First Republic is an idiosyncratic situation in terms of the magnitude of the stress that it’s under,” said David Chiaverini, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, who predicts the firm will face operating losses over the next couple of years. UBS, on the other hand, struck an optimistic note. The Swiss lender [expects to close the acquisition of Credit Suisse in May]( and said it will post a significant accounting-related gain in the process. It also said it [attracted $28 billion from wealthy clients]( in the months running up to its takeover of Credit Suisse. China’s charm China’s Xi Jinping had been on a winning streak — that is, until [an envoy in France questioned the independence of ex-Soviet Union states](during an interview with a local broadcaster. In a statement Monday night, the Chinese embassy in Paris said that Ambassador Lu Shaye gave “an expression of personal points of view” that shouldn’t be “over-interpreted.” Yet the remarks effectively echoed Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s view of Ukraine, undermining Xi’s efforts to portray China as a neutral party to help end war in the former Soviet nation. Cautious markets S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell about 0.5% as of 5:26 a.m. in New York. The dollar recovered from earlier lows, pressuring most Group of 10 currencies. Treasury yields fell across the curve, mirroring moves in Europe and the UK. Gold was little changed, outperforming most metals. Oil fell after two days of gains, while Bitcoin slid for a third straight day. Coming up… At 9 a.m., we’ll get US housing data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency and S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. An hour later, figures on new home sales and consumer confidence, as well as the latest reading of the Richmond Fed index will be published. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will speak on Biden’s economic agenda at 9:30 a.m. Our latest [MLIV Pulse survey]( focuses on Warren Buffett. Do you think Berkshire Hathaway will beat the S&P 500 over the next five years? What do you appreciate the most about the Oracle of Omaha? Click here to [participate anonymously](. What we’ve been reading Here’s what caught our eye over the past 24 hours: - [Tucker Carlson’s exit from Fox News]( leaves door open for other networks - [The future of AI](relies on a high school teacher’s free database - [Charlie Javice moved millions to Signature Bank]( before it collapsed - [BRICS group draws membership bids]( from 19 nations before summit - [Pre-owned Rolex Daytona prices outperform]( other in-demand rivals - [Inflation bites for cost-conscious Brits](, pressuring the pound and stocks - [TikTok strugles to curb cottage industry]( of Chinese scammers And finally, here’s what Joe’s interested in this morning Yesterday [in here](, I wrote about Proctor & Gamble earnings, and how the company is still demonstrating the ability to improve the top line by pushing through price increases, even if it means stagnant or declining volumes. Since consumer price inflation is such a salient macro issue in the US (as well as in much of the rest of the world) it's interesting to see what companies are saying on this front. [Coca-Cola came out with earnings yesterday,]( and for the quarter it was kind of the same story. Pricing across the board was way up vs. a year go while volume was basically flat or down. That being said, if you read through the earnings conference call ([transcript here](), there are some glimmers of good news in there for both consumers and central bankers. Management uses the words "moderate" or "moderating" 13 times throughout the conversation. Here's CEO James Quincey answering a question about the company's sparkling water and juice business: "As we look out, as I said, we see pricing moderating, which means in the context of markets like the US or Europe, is a reduction in the level of off-cycle price increases. We may, as we go forward, see slightly more promotions as we look for those consumers that are under pressure to offer them slightly better affordability options, but we'll be balancing that with investments in premiumization options, whether that be categories or packaging." Here's CFO John Murphy from the prepared remarks: "There are some considerations to keep in mind as it pertains to our guidance. We expect price/mix to moderate through the year as we cycle our pricing initiatives from the prior year." Murphy also noted that the company's own cost pressures are moderating or are expected to. And here's Quincey again in the prepared remarks, talking about a return to more "normal" pricing: "Look, overall, first quarter was strong. It was certainly within the bounds of our expectations and our plans. We talked very much in February about how we expected to be able to focus on having volume, growth continuing to build the franchise of our beverages across the whole year, but expecting to see pricing moderate from what was similar levels to Q4, which is what we see in Q1 back down to sort of more normal levels by the end of the year." It's a similar story in Europe, per Quincey: "Secondly, of course, there's some carryover pricing from the inflationary burst that happened in kind of the European Union, throughout the UK last year, and that will moderate as we go over 2023 as is likely to be the Turkish inflation." Of course none of this is binding or guaranteed. And Coca-Cola is just one company. But it's a company that (at least in many categories) has a lot of brand loyalty. So it's worth noting some of these comments as more possibly good news that inflationary pressures are petering out, or that companies may be reaching some end of a period of unusually aggressive price increases. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter [@TheStalwart](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things to Start Your Day: Americas Edition newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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