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☆ Why hundreds of U.S. banks may be at risk of failure
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Andrea Miller | In Dreajmiller | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Hundreds of small and regional banks across the U.S. are feeling stressed. "You could see some banks either fail or at least, you know, dip below their minimum capital requirements," Christopher Wolfe, managing director and head of North American banks at Fitch Ratings, told CNBC. Consulting firm Klaros Group analyzed about 4,000 U.S. banks and found 282 banks face the dual threat of commercial real estate loans and potential losses tied to higher interest rates. "That means there'll be fewer bank failures. For individuals, the consequences of small bank failures are more indirect.

Persons: Christopher Wolfe, They're, Brian Graham, Graham, Sheila Bair Organizations: Fitch, CNBC, Consulting, Klaros, U.S . Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, FDIC Locations: U.S

Data points help tell the story of the people who live in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, and what their life was like before the current war. Large shares of the population in both Gaza and the West Bank are Palestinian refugees. Meanwhile, people born in Gaza today can expect to live for 75.7 years, and in the West Bank, 76.6 years. Religion and EthnicityThe vast majority of people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are Muslims who predominantly practice Sunni Islam, though hundreds of thousands of Jewish Israelis have settled in the West Bank. Twice as many primary school-aged children were not in school in the West Bank and Gaza compared with Israel in 2021.

Persons: –, Israel –, Egypt –, Gazans, Israel, Trump Organizations: Hamas, West Bank, Israel, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, U.S . Gross, Bank, United, Health, Education, U.S Locations: Israel, Gaza, America’s, Egypt, United States, U.S, Palestinian

Alabama, Florida and Tennessee each have been the site of three mass killings, with a total of at least 12 victims in each state. Six more states – including Maine and North Carolina – have had two mass-killing incidents this year, while eight states have had one. Since 2006, nearly 3,000 victims have died in mass killings in the U.S., and approximately 2,000 more have been injured. The analysis accompanying the database also notes that fatal public shootings typically make up a smaller portion of mass killings overall, and that victims of mass killings most often are family members or acquaintances of the killers. Among 42 mass killings in 2022, for example, fatal public shootings – unrelated to other criminal activity – accounted for seven incidents, while mass killings involving family accounted for 17.

Persons: Sampson County , North Carolina –, North Carolina – Organizations: USA Today, The Associated Press, Northeastern University, USA Locations: Lewiston , Maine, U.S, America, Sampson County , North Carolina, California, Texas, . Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Maine, North Carolina

The recent attacks on Israel by Hamas have reignited one of the most intractable conflicts in the Middle East. The surprise assault by the group's militant wing on Oct. 7 left nearly 1,300 dead, mostly Israeli civilians. Within Israel lies the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory controlled by the militant group Hamas. On Oct. 8, a day following the Hamas attack, Hezbollah exchanged rocket fire across the Lebanese border with Israel. In the days that followed, Israeli forces drove Hamas back into the Gaza Strip, regaining control of the infiltrated towns, though Hamas took hostages with them.

Persons: It’s, Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan, Jerusalem’s, Israel Organizations: Hamas, Israel, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, State Department, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Egypt, Sinai, ”, Lebanon, Iran, Lebanese, Jordan, Aqsa, Syria, Damascus, Aleppo, London, New York City, Wadi, Rafah, U.S

For nearly three decades – from fiscal years 1974 to 2002 – Israel was the top recipient of U.S. aid, the longest-standing duration for a top aid recipient dating back to 1946, according to figures from ForeignAssistance.gov. While 2003 to 2020 saw the most aid going to either Iraq or Afghanistan, Israel nevertheless remained a top three aid recipient throughout that time. In 2021, U.S. obligations to Israel amounted to $3.31 billion, a figure that saw Israel returning to the top spot among aid recipients that year. Almost all U.S. aid to Israel recently has been military aid rather than economic aid, in the form of Foreign Military Financing grants – U.S. grants and loans to Israel for acquiring U.S. military equipment and services. Israel saw that rate peak at 30.5% in 1975, but it has slowly been descending since.

Persons: Biden, Gerald R, Ford, Israel, – Israel, Christine Wormuth, Kevin McCarthy’s, Israel’s Rafael, – Organizations: United, Foreign Military Financing, U.S, Congressional Research Service, CRS, Israel Defense Forces, Defense Systems, Raytheon, Raytheon Rafael, Protection Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Boeing, Israel, World Bank, Russia, USAID . Missile Locations: Israel, U.S, United States, Egypt, ForeignAssistance.gov, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, – Israel

The annual Best Countries rankings from U.S. News may inspire hopeful chants of "USA!" The Best Countries survey gathered perceptions about 87 nations across 73 descriptive attributes, and Americans did view the U.S. as No. For instance, the world viewed the U.S. as No. A lower self-image was observed in several dozen other attributes as well, with the U.S. falling in rank when assessed by its residents compared with the full set of global respondents. Agreement elsewhere was more polarized, however, including on statements that assessed whether some of the most powerful countries are threats to the world.

Persons: – Organizations: U.S ., United States, U.S Locations: United, U.S, United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Switzerland, Myanmar, Ukraine, Bahrain, Jordan, Russia, China

☆ Inside the scramble to evacuate a US embassy surrounded by the chaos of street fighting, gunfire, and explosions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

US forces evacuated the American embassy in Sudan days after violence erupted in its capital. As the situation deteriorated, the Pentagon dispatched Special Operations Forces to evacuate US diplomatic staff in a dramatic helicopter operation. Foreign governments began efforts to pull out their diplomatic staff and, in some cases, also moved to evacuate their civilians. People walk by a house hit in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. US Marine Corps courtesy photoWith the embassy staff gone, questions remained over whether Washington would move to evacuate US citizens, as some other Western nations had been doing.

The latest case in point: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) chose JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) as the winning bidder in an auction to buy collapsed lender First Republic Bank on Monday. FDIC officials, however, say would-be buyers risk losing out if they allow the value of an acquisition target to deteriorate over time while waiting for an FDIC receivership. SWEETENERSU.S. bank mergers were already sluggish as interest rates rose and recession loomed, analysts at Raymond James wrote in an Apr. The first quarter was the quietest opening to a year for bank deals in a generation, they said. Market volatility stops bank buyers from pulling together enough money to cover writedowns on struggling assets, which would be triggered by a traditional acquisition, said David Sandler, co-head of financial services investment banking at Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR.N).

☆ First Republic's strategic options "very challenging" - Fitch
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Saeed Azhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - First Republic Bank's (FRC.N) strategic options are "very challenging" because any potential sale is unlikely without the lender taking big writedowns on its mortgage loan book and securities portfolio, analysts at Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday. "The options are very challenging and probably very costly, especially for shareholders. The bank said it was "pursuing strategic options" to strengthen the bank, without providing details. "There are still more downside risks until some clarity emerges on what their strategic options can be," Wolfe said. First Republic's total investment securities stood at $34.8 billion at the end of March, rising 9.8% from the fourth quarter, it said on Monday.

☆ Banks ‘aren’t out of the woods’ after the collapse of SVB and Signature
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A month ago, code blue sirens went off at banks across the globe after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. For now, looking at banks’ deposits may lead you to believe that banks are in better shape than they are, but they “are not out of the woods just yet,” said Ana Arsov, managing director at Moody’s. After the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank, record levels of deposits poured into Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank from mid-size and regional banks. A sign is posted on the exterior of a First Republic Bank office on March 16, 2023 in San Francisco. And the Fed’s likely rate hikes at its upcoming meetings will lead to more deposit outflows, said Wolfe.

First Republic reported a more than $100 billion plunge in deposits in the quarter in the aftermath of the biggest turmoil to hit the banking sector since 2008. Regional bank PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) fell 9%, Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL.N) 6%, Zions Bancorp (ZION.O) 5% and brokerage Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW.N) was down 4%. First Republic said on Monday it was "pursuing strategic options" to quickly strengthen the bank, without providing details. Options include an asset sale of up to $100 billion, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. "So it's tough to even describe it as good asset and bad asset," Chiaverini said.

☆ Risky feedback loops are accelerating climate change, scientists warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Risky feedback loops that are accelerating global climate change may not be fully accounted for in current climate models, according to a recent study published in the scientific journal One Earth. A group of international scientists from institutions like Oregon State University, Exeter University and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, identified 41 climate feedback loops in what they called "the most extensive list available of climate feedback loops." Of these, they discovered 27 amplifying feedback loops that are accelerating global warming and only seven that are slowing it. An amplifying, or positive, feedback loop is the process in which an initial change that prompts temperature rise triggers another change that causes even more temperature rise. These positive feedback loops, which can be large and difficult to quantify, threaten to cause a permanent shift away from Earth's current global climate, researchers warned.

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