First Republic Bank’s Shares Downgraded to Junk Status by S&P Global; Stock Slides More Than 25% Lower

After UBS acquired Credit Suisse and close to a dozen financial institutions injected $30 billion into First Republic Bank four days ago, S&P Global downgraded First Republic’s shares to junk status on Sunday. Investors are concerned that the cash infusion from 11 major financial institutions may not address the bank’s liquidity issues. First Republic’s shares … Read more

Several Major Central Banks Take Coordinated Action to Boost Liquidity Amidst Banking Crisis

On Sunday evening, March 19, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with several central banks including the Bank of England, Bank of Canada, Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank, announced a coordinated action to enhance the provision of liquidity via the standing U.S. dollar … Read more

Microsoft Is Testing an Ethereum Wallet in Its Edge Web Browser

Microsoft, the software conglomerate, has introduced an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency wallet in the testing version of its Edge web browser. The new feature, which software sleuth Albacore discovered, is named “Crypto Wallet” and would allow users to store and transact Ethereum and Ethereum-based tokens in a non-custodial way, acting like a Metamask clone. Microsoft Introduces Ethereum … Read more

Google Trends Data Reveals Searches for ‘Banking Crisis,’ ‘Bank Runs,’ Skyrocket

Interest in the U.S. banking crisis has risen greatly over the past two weeks, as shown by Google Trends data. There has been a sharp increase in queries related to search terms such as “banking crisis,” “bank collapse,” and “bank failure.” On March 13, 2023, the search term “banking crisis” reached the top Google Trends … Read more

Major Cryptocurrency ATM Manufacturer General Bytes Hacked, Over $1.5M in Bitcoin Stolen

General Bytes experienced a security incident on March 17 and 18 that enabled a hacker to remotely access the master service interface and send funds from hot wallets, according to the company and sources. The breach forced a majority of U.S.-based crypto automated teller machine (ATM) operators to temporarily shut down. The hacker was able … Read more

UBS Considers Acquiring Credit Suisse, Requests Government Backstop in Deal

After Credit Suisse Group AG announced it would borrow 50 billion Swiss francs from the Swiss National Bank, UBS Group AG is reportedly considering acquiring the banking giant. However, UBS is requesting that the government issue a backstop to protect against any losses if it purchases Credit Suisse. According to unnamed sources familiar with the … Read more

Analysts Suspect Banking Crisis Triggered ‘Resting Bull Market’ in Gold, Silver Could Print Much Higher Gains

At the start of the week, a troy ounce of .999 fine gold was trading at $1,813 per unit. Seven days later, gold rose 9.65% against the U.S. dollar to the current spot price of $1,988 per ounce. Gold’s rise comes at a time when confidence in the global banking system is at an all-time … Read more

FTX Debtors Reveal $6.8 Billion Hole in Balance Sheet Amidst Financial Discrepancies and Payments to Insiders

According to a presentation recently submitted by the FTX debtors on March 16, Sam Bankman-Fried’s companies had a $6.8 billion hole in their intercompany balance sheet when they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. FTX and its conglomerate of firms have debts of around $11.6 billion, including customer claims and various other liabilities. FTX’s $6.8 … Read more

‘Next Round of Bailouts Is Here’ — Bitcoin and Precious Metals Soar Amid Speculation of Fed Policy Change

At around 7:30 a.m. ET, the price of bitcoin skyrocketed past the $27,000 range to a high of $27,025 per unit. Precious metals, or PMs, like gold and silver, also rose between 1.98% and 2.12% against the U.S. dollar over the past day. While many market observers are wondering why specific assets like PMs and … Read more

SVB Financial Group Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection to ‘Preserve’ Firm’s Value

On March 17, 2023, SVB Financial Group, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York. The company stated that it is no longer associated with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) placed it into receivership last week. 3 … Read more

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