Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) defaulted on Friday. At $212 bn of assets, it is the largest failure since 2008, and probably one of the fastest – it went from rumor to belly-up in only two days.
Here is the explanation, and the first questions.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) defaulted on Friday. At $212 bn of assets, it is the largest failure since 2008, and probably one of the fastest – it went from rumor to belly-up in only two days.
Here is the explanation, and the first questions.
Putin’s blitzkrieg plans for a regime change have met an efficient defense. He lacks air superiority and his logistics are deficient. His panzers have stopped. Most cities are under Ukrainian control. Meanwhile, international sanctions are swifter and much heavier than expected. He has protesters at home.
Did he get into an expensive quagmire?
The party is still going, but the band’s tune has changed.
Regulators are investigating the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) industry.
The intervention orchestrated by the Turkish Central Bank to sustain the Lira has turned ineffective. The Lira fell further.
Erdogan has therefore replaced his finance minister with an even more loyal executive.
There have been some sudden movements in the global rates recently – rate rises, curves flattening, inflation threats.
The big and famous in the hedge fund world are raking significant losses.
The ARRC has recommended the CME’s methodology to calculate a term structure for SOFR. This is big news.
This article explains SOFR’s weaknesses, what a term structure is, why we need one and how the CME calculates its own.
LIBOR, the most important number in the world, had a good run for the last 50 years, but it is going away.
SOFR, its replacement, is not subject to manipulations but has a host of problems.
The transition is difficult.