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☆ Everyone's freaking out about SVB because everyone else is freaking out about SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But the real star — or perhaps supernova — of Thursday was SVB Financial, which saw shares drop as much as 62%. As you can imagine, the past year has not been kind to SVB. SVB had to sell a $21 billion bond portfolio for a $1.8 billion loss (thanks a lot, interest rates!). It wasn't long before reports started rolling in about VCs instructing their founders to get their money out. Here's more on the tech founders trying to calm everyone down amid the chaos.

☆ The Fed wants higher unemployment because it would bring down inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Powell testified abou the Federal Reserve's semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress and the state of the economy Chip Somodevilla/Getty1. A reading of 200,000 or more jobs added in February means we're getting a bigger rate hike this month. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said this week that the trajectory of monetary policy doesn't hinge solely on today's jobs report, but markets are still bracing for impact. Remember, the Fed's stated goal is a 2% inflation rate. Meanwhile, Wharton's Jeremy Siegel said Thursday that the Fed is taking a flawed policy approach, and it shouldn't be so focused on jobs.

☆ The tech world is thrown into chaos as Silicon Valley loses faith in its go-to bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At the time of the email, Musk was battling a cave rescue diver who was suing him for defamation. Before grabbing some ice cream — I'll probably get cookies and cream — let's dive into today's tech. The tech world was thrown into chaos as Silicon Valley lost faith in its go-to bank, SVB Financial. If startups are worried the bank can't give them all their money back, then they might pull their accounts. Investors are sinking millions into startups like MARZ and Runway to bring AI tech to film and TV.

☆ Elemy is ditching autism care to sell healthcare software instead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At the time of the email, Musk was battling a cave rescue diver who was suing him for defamation. Before grabbing some ice cream — I'll probably get cookies and cream — let's dive into today's tech. The tech world was thrown into chaos as Silicon Valley lost faith in its go-to bank, SVB Financial. If startups are worried the bank can't give them all their money back, then they might pull their accounts. Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet @gamoid) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

☆ 'PayPal Mafia' member says Google and Meta intentionally overhired engineers to prevent them from working at other companies.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"PayPal Mafia" member says Google and Meta "do fake work." The companies over-hired thousands of employees to fulfill a "vanity metric," said investor Keith Rabois. He's part of the infamous PayPal cohort (pictured above — he's number nine) that went on to play influential roles at other major tech companies. Rabois estimates that Facebook parent company Meta and Google each have thousands of employees who don't do much. He even suspects that Google intentionally overhired engineers to prevent them from working at other companies.

☆ Some of Wall Street's top commentators fear a recession is at hand as rates set to go higher for longer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, Jerome Powell reiterated his warning that the Fed's more than ready to keep jacking up rates if necessary. Inflation hasn't gone away as easily as policymakers want, and Powell thinks that may just warrant a steeper policy path. That's not the most reassuring assessment of the situation as some of the biggest commentators in markets are saying a recession is right around the corner. The exec also broke down how to use the strategy in today's stock market to make extremely cheap bets that garner "through the roof" returns. Fannie Mae's Home Purchasing Sentiment Index dropped this week while mortgage rates moved higher.

☆ AI might revolutionize how we borrow money. But is that a good thing?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But a recent report by Credit Suisse on the use cases for both ChatGPT and AI in finance caught my eye. AI models are only as good as the data they receive, which leaves them susceptible to bias, just like humans. A top-performing hedge fund is looking to team up with one of the hottest tech tools. Izzy Englander's Millennium Management told clients that it'll expect to get paid regardless of whether the hedge fund actually makes money for its investors, according to Bloomberg. The billionaire hedge fund manager believes all signs are pointing towards a recession.

☆ Jerome Powell isn't winning any popularity contests among investors as markets booed his testimony on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

If you missed Jerome Powell's remarks from his first day on Capitol Hill yesterday, the TLDR is that more rate hikes are coming because the economy's still running hot. The market response to Powell's testimony was anything but muted. The idea is to eventually lower inflation — which most recently clocked in at 6.4% — but the more rate hikes we see, the greater the risk of a recession. So in short: stocks sold off, bond yields jumped, and traders eyed greater potential for a bigger rate hike this month. "If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes," Powell said.

☆ Here's why hawkish Powell testimony might not derail the stock market rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, all eyes will be on central bank chairman Jerome Powell as he begins two days of hearings on Capitol Hill. Chairman of the Federal Reserve nominee Jerome Powell testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee November 28, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Fed policy aside, the stock market has marched higher to start the year, with the S&P 500 gaining about 6% over the last nine weeks. US stock futures rise early Tuesday, as investors await the two-day testimony of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The bear market rally isn't over yet as stocks just survived a crucial test.

☆ More pain for the crypto industry means a chance for startups to pivot
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

After an awful 2022 that saw one of the industry's high-profile figures implode, the crypto market is looking for a bounceback. McDermott laid out to Insider's Bianca Chan and Dakin Campbell how tough times for crypto startups mean more realistic valuations and, in some cases, a reevaluation of the business model. Once of the most common critiques I hear about crypto is "It's a solution looking for a problem." The most recent crypto winter could force startups to be a bit more pragmatic about the specific problem they are looking to address. "If you can solve fraud in crypto, you can solve fraud in basically any part of finance," Meier told Insider.

☆ Matthew McConaughey's Salesforce gig
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hallam Bullock here, reporting from London — and yes, Matthew McConaughey is on my mind. Salesforce has reportedly been paying McConaughey $10 million a year to act as a "creative adviser." Robyn Phelps/InsiderProgrammers are thrilled about AI tools like ChatGPT. Read why programmers are pumped about the rise of AI tools. Larry Lundstrom spends about 40 to 60 hours a week as a pastor, but on the side, he uses AI tools like ChatGPT to make pitch decks for businesses.

☆ Salesforce: A New Dawn. CEO Marc Benioff is pivoting the cloud company from family to profitability.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and I'm not just talking about the Selena/Hailey 'mean girls' saga — I'm fascinated by the Salesforce spectacle. CEO Marc Benioff recently oversaw the departure of two leading candidates to inherit the Salesforce throne. Now, under their careful watch, Benioff needs to guide the company through a cost-cutting period — something he's never done before. This is quite the turn, considering he was still emphasizing Ohana after laying off 10% of the company in January. CEO Marc Benioff announced on Wednesday that the company is starting a "new day."

☆ Bridgewater's new executive team is already making big changes. But was it all part of Ray Dalio's master plan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

On tap, we've got stories on the top VCs in Texas, more headaches for Blackstone's BREIT, and why boomers stink. Maybe it's just the fear of facing your own mortality and realizing that life, in fact, will go on without you. As Rebecca Ungarino reports, the world's largest hedge fund is making a slew of new changes less than six months after billionaire founder Ray Dalio stepped aside. Bridgewater, which was founded in 1975 from Dalio's two-bedroom apartment, is arguably just as well known for its culture as its size. Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet @jeffrey_cane) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) and Nathan Rennolds (tweet @ncrennolds) in London.

☆ FTX might not have been the only crypto exchange using customer money for other things
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As if the universe knew that I hadn't written a crypto newsletter in some time, here we go: Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has been under some scrutiny this week. The world's largest crypto exchange reportedly transferred nearly $1.8 billion in stablecoin collateral to hedge funds, the report said. Any move by Binance to shuffle customer money around isn't exactly illegal, but the risks are apparent in the wake of the FTX disaster, part of which involved the exchange using customer money for making big bets via its affiliated trading arm. That account, Reuters reported, was used to send $400 million to a trading firm managed by Zhao. In other news:Traders work on the main trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange March 21, 2007.

☆ The Fed's own economists are warning of a 19.5% housing correction and more rate hikes could set off a 'domino effect'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For more on that, I recommended reading my colleague Dan DeFrancesco's excellent 10 Things on Wall Street newsletter. And for today, let's see why the Fed's own economists are warning of a nearly 20% housing correction. They argued US home prices would have to tumble nearly 20% to bring the housing market back to fundamentals — and additional Fed rate hikes could lead to an even worse housing correction. Have you entered or exited the housing market in the last year? These four charts explain the troubling state of the housing market right now.

☆ Goldman Sachs' investor day led to more questions than answers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

David Solomon at Goldman Sachs' 2023 investor day. All eyes were on Goldman Sachs yesterday as the bank held its second-ever investor day. The biggest news of the day was Solomon, along with other key executives, acknowledging the bank was exploring "strategic alternatives" for its consumer business. Hinting at "strategic alternatives" was something people would want to hear more about. And click here to read more about Goldman exploring "strategic alternatives" for its consumer biz.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg is turning Facebook into Instagram as part of his self-declared “year of efficiency.”
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He chatted with a woman who was locked out of her Apple account minutes after her iPhone was stolen. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is structurally changing Facebook to mimic Instagram. The restructuring — which will likely include layoffs, as Insider reported — is part of Zuck's planned "year of efficiency." 8. iPhone users could soon send iMessages through PCs. These are the best MagSafe battery packs for iPhone users.

☆ Tesla is losing its most loyal customers — and that’s bad news for Elon Musk.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Plus, it's even more gross, since this generation obsession appears to be a capitalism-fueled strategy to get our money. They stuck with Elon Musk along a bumpy ride: "production hell," multiple federal investigations, and other catastrophes. Meanwhile, the company keeps losing its edge elsewhere. Nora breaks down how Musk keeps Elon-ing, while Tesla keeps getting beat down. It's part of the multi-day Mobile World Congress — the largest mobile telecommunications event in the world — in Barcelona, Spain.

☆ The Fed's going to have to come down hard on consumer demand to tame inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But remember, a strong consumer means high demand, which helps inflation stick around. Higher-for-longer rate hikes don't bode well for the stock market. In JPMorgan's view, the stock market has yet to come to terms with that possibility. (It's worth noting that just a couple months ago, markets were expecting interest rate cuts by late 2023.) The stock market bubble has burst and those betting on a rebound are in denial, according to Richard Bernstein Advisors.

☆ Volkswagen sees no sign of forced labor at its plant in Xinjiang
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Volkswagen faced a barrage of criticism from campaigners Tuesday after the head of its Chinese business said he saw no sign of forced labor during a visit to the carmaker’s plant in Xinjiang. Activists and an international group of lawmakers said verifying labor standards in the region was impossible. Rights groups have documented human rights abuses in Xinjiang since the 2000s, including mass forced labor in detention camps which the United Nations said could constitute crimes against humanity. Brandstaetter said he saw no signs of forced labor and that workers’ comments matched the reports Volkswagen had received from SAIC about the plant. Reputational riskVolkswagen says it has never found evidence of forced labor among its Xinjiang workforce and its presence is positive for the local population.

☆ 3 big questions about the state of Goldman Sachs heading into its second-ever investor day
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

All eyes are on 200 West Street in lower Manhattan today, the global headquarters of Goldman Sachs and site of the bank's second-ever investor day. Goldman's first investor day, in 2020, included plenty of discussion about the importance of building out its consumer bank. Will new details emerge regarding the asset and wealth management division that show the business is heading in the right direction? Goldman's asset and wealth management division will likely get plenty of attention today. Speaking of David Solomon... Goldman's CEO appeared on a recent episode of the bank's podcast, "Exchanges at Goldman Sachs."

☆ Vanguard's head of rates reveals a 'good place to invest' right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailVanguard's head of rates reveals a 'good place to invest' right nowVanguard's Head of Rates Roger Hallam says bonds look attractive and names his preferred areas to invest in the current market environment.

☆ Goldman Sachs pitching wealth clients on investing in Stripe shows how Wall Street drums up exclusive deals for its richest customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

To that point, Insider's Hayley Cuccinello has a story on how Goldman Sachs offered its richest clients the opportunity to invest in the buzzy fintech Stripe. If I can take the startup client my investment bankers are working with and leverage my wealth clients to help them fundraise, that's a win-win. Even better if the cofounders and employees of said startup turn around and come back to me as wealth clients once I help them get rich. More broadly, this is also just another example of how banks are always finding ways to cater to their rich clients. Click here to read more about how Wall Street is leveraging clients in its investment bank for its wealth business*(OK, I couldn't help myself.

☆ The stock market and the economy are stuck on different pages - but the Fed's going to get the last word
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's one of my favorite books, and the idea is relevant today because "Catch-22" is a fitting characterization of what's facing stocks and economy right now. Good news isn't good news and bad news is good news. To be sure, inflation remains hot, as we saw in Friday's Personal Consumption Expenditure data — the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. Even as many top commentators are split on the outlook for the economy, markets appear stuck digesting a host of mixed signals, from strong economic data on the one hand, to fears of higher rates on the other. The billionaire Tesla chief has warned that the central bank could crush the value of the entire stock market.

☆ Googlers are begrudgingly testing Bard and making memes out of their new task.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Since it's a tough time in the tech industry right now, I hope this resonates with some of you, too. Thomas Maxwell/InsiderGooglers are begrudgingly testing their company's ChatGPT competitor. CEO Sundar Pichai asked every employee to spend multiple hours testing Google's new chatbot Bard. They were tasked with improving Bard by asking it questions and flagging bad answers, in addition to their normal responsibilities. Some made memes from the conversations they've had with Bard, continuing a trend of internally mocking the chatbot.

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