Silicon Valley Bank Collapsed, 2nd Biggest Bank Failure in History

MARKET MOVERS

• Silicon Valley Bank Shut Down by Regulators. The bank has been closed by regulators, which have taken control of the bank’s deposits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced Friday. SVB faced widespread customer withdrawals. Some venture-capital investors previously advised startups to pull their money out* of the bank to avoid losses prior to its collapse.

• GM Offers Buyouts to ‘Majority’ of U.S. Salaried Workers. The company will offer voluntary buyouts to a “majority” of its U.S. white-collar employees, according to a letter sent to workers from CEO Mary Barra. GM expects to take a pretax charge of up to $1.5 billion related to the buyouts, according to a public filing.

• Gap Announces Big Loss. Gap fell short of Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom line. The retailer, which includes its namesake brand, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta, also announced a series of executive changes. The company cleared out some of its inflated inventories, which are down 21% year-over-year.

• Payrolls Rose 311,000 in February, More Than Expected. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 311,000 in February, above the 225,000 Dow Jones estimate. The unemployment rate increased to 3.6%, above expectations. Average hourly earnings climbed 4.6% from a year ago, less than expected, in a positive sign for inflation.

• Shopify Just Forecasted Its Slowest Growth Ever. Shopify's revenue was only up 21% year over year in 2022, a big drop from its 57% growth in 2021. Moreover, management only expects growth in "the high-teen percentages" for the first quarter of 2023 -- potentially its slowest quarterly growth rate as a public company. Therefore, the Motley Fool thinks Shopify is an expensive stock.

WHAT TO WATCH

• Meta Explores Possible Twitter Competitor. Meta is exploring a decentralized, text-based social network that could compete with Elon Musk’s Twitter. The move could help Meta attract some of the Twitter users who are looking for alternatives after Musk took over and changed some of the site’s rules. The project is being led by Instagram head Adam Mosseri.

• Morrison in Talks to Acquire Elliott’s $3 Billion Data Center Firm. The New Zealand-based infrastructure investor is among the final bidders seeking to acquire Ark*, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. At least one other suitor is also competing for the business, which is controlled by Elliott Investment.

• Elon Musk Is Planning a Texas Utopia. Elon Musk is planning to build his own town on part of thousands of acres of newly purchased pasture and farmland* outside the Texas capital, according to deeds and other land records and people familiar with the project. Mr. Musk and employees of his companies have described his vision as a sort of Texas utopia along the Colorado River, where his employees could live and work.

• Google Loses Bid to Move DOJ’s Antitrust Suit to NY From Virginia. DOJ sued Google in Virginia over conduct in the digital ad market.* A judge said there are “just enough” differences between the antitrust case by the government and a similar ongoing case in New York to justify keeping the case in Virginia.

• Big Retailers Are Betting Big on China’s Reopening. The Chinese government’s decision to roll back Covid-19 restrictions renewed hope on Wall Street that the Year of the Rabbit could bring some much-needed luck back to retailers that depend on the Chinese market,* a list that includes Nike, Skechers, Starbucks, Estée Lauder, and others.

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