Why Bankers See Dollar Signs in Private Credit’s Meltdown

Alex Ossola (0:03)

A Republican proposal offers to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security, except for $5 billion for ICE. Plus, a new survey of CFOs has some good news for workers worried that AI will take their jobs.

Justin Lahart (0:16)

Over and over, every new technology, people say, oh, it's going to destroy jobs. And yet we have more and more jobs, like jobs have not disappeared. So why would AI be different than pretty much every other technology that ever happened?

Alex Ossola (0:29)

And the private credit meltdown is a big risk for big banks and also an opportunity. It's Tuesday, March 24th. I'm Alex Ossola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

Republican senators have proposed a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but without $5 billion for ICE. The offer moves lawmakers closer to a compromise to end the six-week-long funding lapse. The situation has deteriorated in recent days. Unpaid TSA agents skipping work has caused long security lines at airports. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats are preparing a counteroffer that includes demands for changes to immigration practices. So it's unclear whether relief for travelers is coming anytime soon. Sunday's collision between an Air Canada regional jet and an emergency truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport is the tragedy aviation authorities have sought to prevent. Federal data shows that between 2021 and 2025, there were 26 serious near misses on the runway. US aviation safety has long been viewed as the global gold standard. Jacob Passy, who covers travel for the journal, is here now with more. Jacob, why have regulators been more concerned about close calls lately?

Jacob Passy (1:48)

So, there's been a lot of attention paid to air traffic control staffing. US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said that wasn't actually a concern in this case with LaGuardia, that the facility there is adequately staffed. But nationwide, air traffic control staffing has been a concern. And as a result of that, you're seeing a lot more stress put on controllers who are in the workforce. They're working long hours and we just don't have the full workforce that we need. Technology is another consideration. The radar technology used at airports was outdated in many cases or just not in place. Air traffic controllers were having to visually identify planes on runways, rather than having a radar that would accurately tell them where all aircraft were located at a certain point in time.

Alex Ossola (2:35)

The National Transportation Safety Board said this afternoon that it was investigating several potential problems that could have caused the LaGuardia collision. The fire truck involved didn't have a transponder on it. That means an automatic runway warning system didn't work properly. And they're also interviewing the air traffic controllers who were working the midnight shift when the collision happened. That's a shift that's raised a lot of concerns about fatigue. Jacob, what else can you tell us about LaGuardia in particular?

Jacob Passy (3:00)

The investigation is still ongoing, so we don't really know exactly what was to blame for this particular incident. But the folks we spoke with also talked about how LaGuardia is a complicated airport to fly in and out of. It's on a really small piece of land, right along the East River, boxed in. There's no room to expand there. And it's in basically the busiest airspace in the country. So there's a lot of factors that go into flying in and out of LaGuardia and it's been an airport of concern for a while now.

Alex Ossola (3:34)

What are the kinds of changes that regulators are trying to make to reduce the likelihood of collisions or close calls?

Jacob Passy (3:40)

So they're implementing new technology at a lot of airports. They're installing surface radar technology that will allow air traffic controllers to have a sense of where all aircraft and other vehicles are located on the runways. We're also seeing a focus on staffing, trying to get more air traffic controllers into the workforce so that the folks who are in those jobs aren't overburdened and aren't having to do multiple jobs at once. But it takes a number of years to be certified. So it's not something that they can change overnight. So those are the main areas of focus.

Alex Ossola (4:16)

That was WSJ reporter Jacob Passy. In Washington, the Pentagon is planning to deploy about 3,000 soldiers from the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East to support operations against Iran. Officials caution that there's no decision yet on whether to put boots on the ground in Iran. Speaking this afternoon to reporters, President Trump said Iran would, quote, like to make a deal. Yesterday, Iran denied it was in talks with the US. And today hit Israel, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia with fresh attacks. Tehran officials worried that diplomatic attempts to secure a ceasefire could be a trap. And Energy Executive Alan Armstrong is the newest US. Senator. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt chose him to fill Markwayne Mullin's seat. Mullin, as you heard this morning, was just confirmed as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Armstrong's appointment keeps the Senate's Republican majority at 53 to 47 He'll hold the seat until an election in November. Coming up, big banks play both sides in the private credit meltdown, while CFOs say AI is only likely to take certain kinds of jobs. More after the break.