Politixia
NEW YORK (AP) — The parent company of Silicon Valley Bank has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move comes a week after the tech-focused bank failed in a sudden collapse that set off fears of wider problems in the global banking system. The filing on Friday from SVB Financial Group was widely expected. Much of the company is now under the control of banking regulators. The bank was seized last week by the federal government. In other developments, the bank and two of its executives were targeted in a class action lawsuit that claims the company did not disclose the risks that future interest rate increases would have on its business.
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Biden calls for tougher penalties for execs of failed banks
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to allow regulators to impose tougher penalties on the executives of failed banks, including clawing back compensation and making it easier to bar them from working in the industry. Biden wants the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to be able to force the return of compensation paid to executives at a broader range of banks should they fail, and to lower the threshold for the regulator to impose fines and bar executives from working at another bank. He called on Congress to grant the FDIC those powers after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank sent shockwaves through the global banking industry.
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Near ‘cliff’s edge,’ Credit Suisse not seen as systemic risk
GENEVA (AP) — Longtime troubles at Credit Suisse have come to a head this week with a record stock plunge that spread fears of a banking crisis jumping from the U.S. to Europe. But the problems have been building for years at Switzerland’s second-largest bank, ranging from bad bets on hedge funds to a spying scandal involving rival bank UBS. Experts say the upheaval is largely a byproduct of Credit Suisse’s troubles in recent years — making it look relatively vulnerable — and investor worries about the health of Western banks in general following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States.
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Washington turns to Wall Street to help rescue dying bank
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a scene reminiscent of the last financial crisis, the federal government turned to Wall Street this week for help with a blossoming emergency in the banking sector. The anxiety centered on First Republic Bank in San Francisco, which was reeling after customers withdrew billions of dollars. The result was a swift agreement among the nation’s leading banks to lay aside competitive instincts to come to First Republic’s aid. With Washington greasing the wheels, a coalition of lenders put $30 billion in uninsured deposits into the California-based bank as a show of support. The money gives First Republic a lifeline while it reportedly seeks a buyer.
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Stocks fall to cap chaotic week driven by fears about banks
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s week of turmoil closed with drops for stocks. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% Friday, led by declines in First Republic and other banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite also pulled back. This week has been a whipsaw for global markets as concerns worsen about banks following the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history. The fear is that the trouble for banks caused by fast-rising interest rates could drag the economy into a recession. Treasury yields sank again Friday in part on such fears, along with easing inflation expectations and falling confidence among U.S. households.
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Elizabeth Holmes returns to court in bid to avoid prison
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has made what might be her final court appearance before beginning a 11-year prison sentence. That’s unless a federal judge grants her request to remain free while her lawyers appeal her conviction for masterminding a blood-testing hoax. The hearing came four months after Holmes’ last court hearing, when a judge sentenced her for duping investors in Theranos. The company was a startup Holmes founded 20 years ago and then rode to fleeting fame and fortune. The judge says he expects to issue a ruling in early April. If he rejects Holmes request, she is due to report to prison April 27.
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‘I’M BACK!’: Trump returns to Facebook after reinstatement
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has returned to Facebook after a more than two-year ban. “I’M BACK!” Trump posted on the site weeks after his personal account was reactivated. He also shared an old video clip in which he said: “Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business.” Facebook parent Meta had said in January that it would be restoring Trump ’s personal account in the coming weeks, ending the suspension it imposed in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection, when Trump’s supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in a bid to halt the peaceful transition of power. His access was restored to Facebook and Instagram on Feb. 9, the company confirmed.
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After last year’s stunning failure, bonds show up for safety
NEW YORK (AP) — Suddenly, bonds are again living up to their reputation as the safe part of an investor’s portfolio. As stocks sank worldwide over the last week on worries about the banking system, bonds shot up in price. That offered some protection to any investor with a mixed set of stocks and bonds in their portfolio, as most advisers suggest. It’s a sharp turnaround from last year. That’s when bonds plunged in tandem with stocks on fears about the highest inflation in generations and what the Federal Reserve was doing about it.
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The S&P 500 fell 43.64 points, or 1.1%, to 3,916.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 384.57 points, or 1.2%, to 31,861.98. The Nasdaq composite shed 86.76 points, or 0.7%, to 11,630.51. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies retreated 45.34 points, or 2.6%, to 1,725.90.
