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☆ Takeaways from America’s second-largest bank failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Silicon Valley Bank’s 48-hour collapse led to the second-largest failure of a financial institution in US history. Its stunning, and seemingly rapid, fall is the largest shutdown of a US bank since Washington Mutual in 2008. “That’s because its depositors were withdrawing their money so fast that the bank was insolvent, and an intraday closure was unavoidable due to a classic bank run.”High interest rates led to its demiseTo combat rampant inflation, the central bank has been aggressively raising interest rates since 2022. When interest rates were near historical lows, the banks bought up on long-dated, seemingly low-risk Treasuries. Faced with these higher interest rates, loss of IPOs and a funding drought, SVB’s clients began pulling money out of the bank.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank collapse sends tech industry into a panic
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Following the bank’s collapse on Friday, uncertainty in the startup community only grew. Founders Fund, an influential venture capital firm founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, reportedly advised its portfolio companies to pull money from the bank. “SVB is the most important capital provider to tech startups and the biggest supporter of the community,” he said in a tweet. “Now is the time to support them.”The rapidly unfolding fallout at Silicon Valley Bank comes at a challenging moment for the tech industry. Now, the bank’s collapse risks compounding the industry’s cash crunch and broader turbulence.

☆ The Second-Biggest Bank Failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Karl Russell | Christine Zhang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

A bar chart of U.S. bank failures since 2001, showing that Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse was the second-biggest in U.S. history in terms of assets. Before Silicon Valley Bank, the last firm to fail was in late 2020, as the coronavirus was ravaging the country. It’s unclear whether the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will spread to the broader industry. Silicon Valley Bank 209 17. Silicon Valley Bank 209 Fifth Third Bank 17.

☆ Bank run fear: SVB plunges again, leading to calls for a bailout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of SVB (SIVB) were halted Friday morning after falling more than 60% in premarket trading. SVB, a relatively unknown bank outside of Silicon Valley, lends to higher-risk tech startups that are struggling as interest rates rise and venture capital money dries up. Essentially dealing with a bank run, SVB told investors it had to sell a portfolio of US Treasuries and $1.75 billion in shares at a loss to cover rapidly declining customer deposits. Widespread contagion fears may have calmed slightly Friday: Although SVB brought down mainstream bank stocks right along with it Thursday, most other bank stocks stabilized. When interest rates were near zero, large banks scooped up Treasuries and bonds.

London CNN —The failure of Silicon Valley Bank is rattling markets and raising uncomfortable questions: Will it undermine the broader banking system and start a new meltdown? A crucial lender to US technology startups, the bank came under pressure as Silicon Valley funding dried up, the result of an economic slowdown and rapidly rising interest rates. Bank stocks rattledFounded in 1983, SVB provided financing for almost half of US venture-backed technology and health care companies. SVB put the bonds up for sale as customers, facing leaner times, pulled their money from the bank. Silicon Valley Bank had about $209 billion in total assets and $175 billion in total deposits as of the end of last year, according to the FDIC.

☆ In praise of American finance’s regulatory mess
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - There are many issues on which China and the United States are far apart. The People’s Republic this week proposed combining financial regulatory functions into a new super watchdog to govern its financial sector more effectively. China’s proposed new National Financial Regulatory Administration is roughly in this mold. Since 2008, officials in Beijing have criticized the United States’ financial excesses and its “warped conception” of financial discipline. The new National Financial Regulatory Administration would sit directly under the State Council, which serves as China’s cabinet.

☆ WTA roundup: Katie Volynets escapes 5-0, third-set hole
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 2 - Down 5-0 and a match point in the third set, the United States' Katie Volynets rallied to upset third-seeded Anastasia Potapova of Russia 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 on Wednesday in the second round of the ATX Open in Austin, Texas. Volynets heated up while winning the last seven games, as she lost just one point total in the final three games. Abierto GNP SegurosThird-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia needed just 80 minutes to rout the United States' Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-2 in the second round at Monterrey, Mexico. Fifth-seeded Lin Zhu of China registered a 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3 win over Canada's Rebecca Marino, and Belgium's Ysaline Bonaventure topped Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-3. In the last match of the night, Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova was scheduled to oppose the United States' Caroline Dolehide.

☆ Goldman Sachs executives to rally investors in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] A Goldman Sachs sign is seen above their booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, January 19, 2011. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoNEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (GS.N) Chief Executive David Solomon and top executives will give investors an update on their strategy on Tuesday. DAN DEES, CO-HEAD OF GLOBAL BANKING & MARKETS, 52Dan Dees is the co-head of Goldman's global banking and markets division. JULIAN SALISBURY, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER OF ASSET AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT, 51Julian Salisbury is chief investment officer of Goldman's asset and wealth management unit. KIM POSNETT, CO-HEAD OF ONE GOLDMAN SACHS, 45Kim Posnett is co-head of One Goldman Sachs, the company's program to unify its approach to clients across divisions.

☆ U.S. World Bank pick comes with green finance cred
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated Ajay Banga to be the World Bank’s next president, replacing David Malpass, who announced last week he would step down a year ahead of schedule. It’s a strong signal that the United States wants to help developing countries switch to greener forms of energy. Both Banga and Malpass spent time at big banks, but that’s where the similarities end. As the World Bank’s biggest donor, the United States has traditionally installed government careerists who used the post to promote Cold War-era priorities. By choosing a banker who cares about the planet, Washington is signalling that green finance is a political priority.

☆ World Bank pick Ajay Banga comes with green finance cred
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

☆ Exclusive: World Bank's Malpass on surprise exit: Four years is a long time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - World Bank President David Malpass on Thursday told Reuters he decided to leave before his five-year contract ended because he felt work was well underway on reforms aimed at expanding the bank's lending. Malpass, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, said the end of the bank's fiscal year was a good time for a transition. Malpass will leave the bank by the end of June. Asked about suggestions he had been urged to leave, Malpass said he was leaving on his own terms and it made sense for him at this time. Malpass would not comment on whether it was time to end a longstanding tradition of having the bank's leader come from the United States.

☆ Explainer: What is driving the violence in eastern Congo?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Sonia Rolley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Djaffar SabitiGOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan. 31 (Reuters) - A focus of Pope Francis' visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo is a meeting on Wednesday with around 60 victims of the decades of violence in the east of the country who have made the cross-country journey to see him. Millions have been killed, and millions more have been displaced by the violence in the east since the 1990s. WHAT IS DRIVING THE VIOLENCE IN EASTERN CONGOThe conflict in Congo goes back decades, making it difficult to isolate a few causes, said Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Research Group. The name refers to the March 23 date of a 2009 accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt in eastern Congo. Rwanda has accused Congo of using the FDLR a proxy, while Congo has accuse Rwanda of backing the M23.

☆ Breakingviews: Sam Bankman-Fried lacks cover of systemic risk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MELBOURNE, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sam Bankman-Fried couldn’t be blamed for mulling over past financial scandals with a degree of envy. The former boss of bankrupt crypto exchange-cum-hedge-fund FTX was arrested on Monday in the Bahamas at the request of U.S. prosecutors. No senior executives ended up facing criminal charges, or were hauled off in handcuffs even, though several Libor traders went to jail. loadingCONTEXT NEWSSam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of now-bankrupt crypto firm FTX, was arrested in the Bahamas on Dec. 12. The attorney general’s office for the Caribbean state said it took Bankman-Fried into custody after receiving formal confirmation of criminal charges from U.S. prosecutors.

BOSTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A co-owner of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy whose mold-tainted drugs sparked a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012 was sentenced on Thursday to one year in prison for deceiving regulators to avoid federal oversight before the tragedy. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Strachan said his lies to regulators in the decade beforehand ensured NECC remained open, allowing the tragedy to unfold. A jury in 2018 found Conigliaro guilty, but Stearns threw out his conviction, saying it was legally impossible for Conigliaro to have impeded the FDA's functions. In addition to prison, Conigliaro must pay a $40,000 fine. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crypto startup MoonPay hires Time president to lead its enterprise business
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In this article LTH Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTKeith Grossman, Time president TIMEPieces Artist Jeremy CowartTime president Keith Grossman is leaving the legacy publisher to take on a new role as the president of enterprise at crypto startup MoonPay, effective December 31. Before his three-plus years at Time, Grossman had held leadership posts at major publishers including Bloomberg and Condé Nast-owned Wired. "I think it's important to separate a bad actor from an industry," Grossman said of the FTX fallout. Crypto's confidence crisisIn the 12 months since bitcoin topped out at over $68,000, the crypto industry, once valued at roughly $3 trillion, has fallen to around $900 billion. Enterprise adoption has been fueling this belief, with companies including Nike , McDonald's , Adidas and Starbucks launching their own NFT collections.

☆ 3 major predictions for real estate in 2023, according to a 17-year Wall Street veteran who also lists 10 cities that could see the most and least price corrections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

T here will be disparity in price corrections for homes listed above and below median home prices. in price corrections for homes listed above and below median home prices. Rising mortgage rates will increase demand for affordable homes and reduce their supply, he said. On Monday, 30-year fixed mortgage rates were at 7.08% in the US, more than double where they were a year ago. Rising mortgage rates will increase demand for more affordable properties and reduce their supply, he said.

Also: Put your money in a high-yield savings account — you can earn around 3% interest right now. We just experienced the longest bull market in economic history, with the stock market increasing in value for 11 years straight. Consolidate your debt into fixed interest rate loansIf any of your debt has variable interest rates, consider moving that debt into a loan that has a fixed interest rate so your interest rate won't change. For instance, if you have credit card debt, chances are the interest rates have gone up. When you move your money into high-yield savings, consider also increasing your savings amount by 10%.

☆ From $32 billion to criminal investigations: How Sam Bankman-Fried's empire vanished overnight
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

Alameda's success spurred the launch of crypto exchange FTX in the spring of 2019. A Twitter fight with the CEO of rival exchange Binance pulled the mask off the scheme. Alameda, FTX and a host of subsidiaries Bankman-Fried founded have filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware. On Nov. 2, CoinDesk reported a leaked balance sheet showing that a significant amount of Alameda's assets were held in FTX's illiquid FTT token. On Nov. 6, according to Bankman-Fried, the exchange had roughly $5 billion of withdrawals, "the largest by a huge margin."

☆ Crypto CEO warns his industry faces 2008-style crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The reeling crypto industry faces a 2008-style crisis that will lead to a much-needed regulatory crackdown, crypto CEO Changpeng Zhao warned on Friday. We’ve been set back a few years,” Zhao, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said during a conference in Indonesia. “Regulators, rightfully, will scrutinize this industry much, much harder, which is probably a good thing to be honest,” Zhao said. The Binance CEO accused FTX of “misappropriating” user funds. Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old crypto wunderkind behind FTX, said on Friday he’s “really sorry” about what happened at his firm.

☆ Crypto's Lehman moment: Here's how Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX compares to the biggest collapse of the Global Financial Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Experts have drawn comparisons between the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Here's how the two events compare and what FTX's fall means for the broader financial system. In the years leading up to the Great Financial Crisis, Lehman loaded its balance sheet with vast amounts of subprime mortgage debt. When the "bank run" began this week, FTX didn't have the funds to meet withdrawal requests. But compared to 14 years ago, it probably won't be FTX's downfall that sparks a broader financial crisis, Allen said.

☆ Oppenheimer says Coinbase can still surge 90% even after FTX's 'Lehman Brothers moment'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

There's still lots of upside in Coinbase shares despite the recent volatility within the broader crypto market, according to Oppenheimer. Bitcoin hit a low not seen since 2020 as the crypto market responded to the chaotic moves. "The crypto industry has been going through a calamitous hurricane from the fallout of FTX," Lau said in a note to clients. "It has turned from a Bear Stearns moment when Binance signed a non-binding LOI, to a Lehman Brothers moment when Binance walked away from the deal one day after." Lau said Coinbase has said it has "very little exposure" to FTX, which is considered to be on the brink of collapse.

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Meta, Alphabet, GM, Walmart, Coinbase & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Here are Thursday's biggest calls on Wall Street: JPMorgan downgrades Roblox to neutral from overweight JPMorgan downgraded the stock after Roblox's earnings report, noting it now sees "modest" sales growth. Bank of America downgrades Silvergate to neutral from buy Bank of America said that Silvergate is losing it's first mover advantage. Bank of America downgrades Upstart to underperform from neutral Bank of America downgraded the consumer lending company and cited a tough macro environment. JPMorgan downgrades Vacasa to neutral from overweight JPMorgan said in its downgrade of the vacation booking company that trends appear soft. Bank of America reiterates Meta as neutral Bank of America said it's encouraged by the new "cost focus" at Meta as the company cuts jobs.

☆ Interest rate delusion may be biggest error of all
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The false idea exposed by the current bear market is that interest rates would remain low indefinitely. The belief that interest rates would remain at permanently low levels could prove the most costly error of all. The lowest-ever interest rates gave us the “Everything Bubble”. Now that interest rates are rising, everything is at risk. The pension funds faced margin calls on their loans, and the bond market seized up as they scrambled to raise cash.

☆ Housing is slumping, but this real estate CEO explains why it’s not 2008 all over again
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Mortgage rates are soaring. And for many prospective home buyers, especially first-time purchasers, the combination of rising home loan costs and still sky-high real estate prices make the idea of purchasing a home prohibitively expensive…if not impossible. But don’t tell that to the CEO of real estate developer Howard Hughes Corp. In an interview with CNN Business, David O’Reilly said that he’s not too worried about another housing market crash and explains why. apartment buildings) but that they are “running away from retail, offices and hotels.”Weakness in commercial real estate is probably one of the main reasons why Howard Hughes (HHC), like the stocks of other real estate companies, has plunged this year.

☆ Emergency savings account startup SecureSave has partnered with the likes of the San Antonio Spurs and Truist. See the fintech's 20-slide seed fundraising deck.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SecureSave, a fintech launched in 2020, works with employers to offer emergency savings accounts. The origins of SecureSave — a Kirkland, Washington-based fintech that works with companies to offer emergency savings accounts, or ESAs, to employees — began with a single email to a Seattle-based venture studio and investor. In some ways, emergency savings accounts resemble health savings accounts, through which workers can set aside pre-tax earnings to save for medical care. In the US, health savings accounts have grown over time into a nearly $100 billion industry, by assets under management, according to the HSA industry group Devenir. But according to Miller, employers are recognizing that ESAs can pay for themselves — through employee retention and as a competitive advantage when hiring.

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