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close video Silicon Valley Bank fall: Former Fed official says he would have pressed harder for a private sector solution

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles gives his take on the Fed’s reaction to collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank on ‘Kudlow.’

The Biden administration is gearing up to investigate the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which was the 16th-largest bank in the United States before it went under after a run on the bank last week.

The Justice Department is in the early stages of investigating SVB's failure, Fox News has confirmed. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said the Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating.

These inquiries may or may not lead to charges or allegations of wrongdoing and are typical of the government's response after a big company reports massive, unexpected losses.

SVB suffered $1.8 billion in losses last week as it faced a liquidity crisis caused by bad investments in bonds. The bank's share price fell 60% last week and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) stepped in Friday to take over the bank's operations as depositors panicked and rushed to withdraw their money. Ticker Security Last Change Change % SIVB SVB FINANCIAL GROUP 106.04 -161.79 -60.41%

The government probes will look into stock sales that SVB Financial's officers made days before the bank collapsed, according to the Journal. The Justice Department's investigation reportedly involves federal fraud prosecutors based in Washington and San Francisco. 

SVB COLLAPSE: MOODY'S FLAGS SIX OTHER BANKS WITH CONCERNING CREDIT RATINGS

An FDIC sign is posted on a window at a Silicon Valley Bank branch in Wellesley, Mass., on Saturday, March 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan / AP Newsroom)

A spokesperson for the SEC would not confirm the investigation but referred to SEC Chair Gary Gensler's Sunday statement, which said, "we at the SEC are particularly focused on monitoring for market stability and identifying and prosecuting any form of misconduct that might threaten investors, capital formation, or the markets more broadly. Without speaking to any individual entity or person, we will investigate and bring enforcement actions if we find violations of the federal securities laws."

SVB's collapse was the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history and the largest since Washington Mutual went under in 2008. As of last year, the bank held $209 billion in assets and $175.4 billion in deposits, according to the FDIC. 

SILICON VALLEY BANK COMMITTED ‘ONE OF THE MOST ELEMENTARY ERRORS IN BANKING,' LARRY SUMMERS SAYS

The Justice Department, led by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, is reportedly investigating Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse. ((Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) / Getty Images)

Prior to its failure, SVB mainly serviced tech startups and their investors. As the tech industry grew, so too did SVB's deposits, increasing 86% in 2021 to $189 billion.

But concerns over the bank's health prompted a run on deposits last week. On Thursday, customers attempted to withdraw $42 billion — nearly a quarter of the bank's total deposits — which the bank simply did not have available. SVB had tied up most of its funds in treasury bonds and other long-term investments, which have declined in value as the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates to combat inflation in the past year.

SILICON VALLEY BANK COLLAPSE: HERE'S WHO BENEFITTED FROM THEIR EXECUTIVE, PAC DONATIONS

Igor Fayermark, right, from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), exits Silicon Valley Bank’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California, on Monday, March 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy / AP Images)

Securities filings show that SVB CEO Greg Becker and CFO Daniel Beck each sold shares in their bank the week before it collapsed. The Journal reported that Becker exercised options on 12.451 shares on Feb. 27 and sold them for $2.3 million.

Beck sold a little more than $575,000 worth of shares on Feb. 17, which was roughly one-third of his total stake in the company.

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However, both sales were scheduled 30 days in advance under 10b5-1 plans, which allow insiders to schedule share sales to allay suspicion of illegal trading. "The SEC recently tightened rules for the plans, which include a 90-day waiting period before sales can be executed. The new rules went into effect on Feb. 27, the same day the executives sold," the Journal reported. 

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Is this the most powerful Trump’s been?

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Is this the most powerful Trump's been?

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ has passed and he’s due to sign it into law on Independence Day. Mark Stone and David Blevins discuss how the bill will supercharge his presidency, despite its critics.

They also chat Gaza and Ukraine, as Donald Trump meets with freed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander and talks to Vladimir Putin.

If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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UK

Diogo Jota: Liverpool players join mourners as Premier League star and his brother Andre Silva buried in Portugal

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Diogo Jota: Liverpool players join mourners as Premier League star and his brother Andre Silva buried in Portugal

Liverpool players past and present have joined the family and friends of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva for their funeral in Portugal.

A service was held in the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar church in their hometown of Gondomar near Porto in northern Portugal on Saturday morning.

Mourners lined the streets and some in the crowd clapped as the brothers’ coffins were carried into the church.

The funeral – in pictures


Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk arrives on the day of the funeral ceremony of Liverpool's Portuguese soccer player Diogo Jota and his b
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Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk. Pic: Reuters

Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo (right) arrive at the funeral of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva
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Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo (right) arrive at the funeral of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. Pic: PA

Jota, 28, leaves behind his wife of only 11 days, Rute Cardoso, and three young children.

His younger brother, 25, was an attacking midfielder for Penafiel in the second tier of Portuguese football.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot, captain Virgil Van Dijk and teammates including Andy Robertson, Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez were seen at the service.

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Former teammates Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho were also there.

Van Dijk carried a red wreath with Jota’s number 20, while Robertson had a wreath featuring number 30, Silva’s number at Penafiel.

Diogo Jota funeral
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Manchester United and Portugal player Bruno Fernandes. Pic: PA


Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool's player Andrew Robertson arrive on the day of the funeral ceremony of Liverpool's Portug
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Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool’s player Andrew Robertson. Pic: Reuters

Some of Jota’s teammates in the Portuguese national side also attended, including Bruno Fernandes, of Manchester United, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva, of Manchester City, Joao Felix and Renato Veiga, of Chelsea, Nelson Semedo, from Wolves, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio.

Ruben Neves was one of the pallbearers after flying in from Florida where he played for Al Hilal in the Club World Cup quarter-final on Friday night.

‘More than a friend’

In a post published on Instagram before the service, he told Jota he had been “more than a friend, we’re family, and we won’t stop being that way just because you’ve decided to sign a contract a little further away from us!”

Jota’s fellow Liverpool midfielder, Alexis Mac Allister, said on Instagram: “I can’t believe it. I’ll always remember your smiles, your anger, your intelligence, your camaraderie, and everything that made you a person. It hurts so much; we’ll miss you. Rest in peace, dear Diogo.”

Porto FC president Andre Villas-Boas and Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez were also in attendance.

‘With us forever’

Speaking after the ceremony, Martinez said the period since their deaths had been “really, really sad days, as you can imagine, but today we showed we are a large, close family.

“Their spirit will be with us forever.”

The service was private, but the words spoken by the Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, were broadcast to those standing outside the church.

He told Jota’s children, who were not at the service, that he was praying for them specifically, as well as their mother and grandparents.

“There are no words, but there are feelings,” he said, adding: “We also suffer a lot and we are with you emotionally.”

The brothers died after a Lamborghini they were travelling in burst into flames following a suspected tyre blowout in the early hours of Thursday morning.

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No other vehicles are said to have been involved in the incident.

Liverpool have delayed the return of their players for pre-season following Jota’s death and players past and present paid tribute to him and his brother on social media.

Flowers have been left outside Anfield, where flags have been lowered to half-mast and all club shops, museums and tours have been closed until Monday.

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Technology

Inside a Utah desert facility preparing humans for life on Mars

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Inside a Utah desert facility preparing humans for life on Mars

Hidden among the majestic canyons of the Utah desert, about 7 miles from the nearest town, is a small research facility meant to prepare humans for life on Mars.

The Mars Society, a nonprofit organization that runs the Mars Desert Research Station, or MDRS, invited CNBC to shadow one of its analog crews on a recent mission.

MDRS is the best analog astronaut environment,” said Urban Koi, who served as health and safety officer for Crew 315. “The terrain is extremely similar to the Mars terrain and the protocols, research, science and engineering that occurs here is very similar to what we would do if we were to travel to Mars.”

SpaceX CEO and Mars advocate Elon Musk has said his company can get humans to Mars as early as 2029.

The 5-person Crew 315 spent two weeks living at the research station following the same procedures that they would on Mars.

David Laude, who served as the crew’s commander, described a typical day.

“So we all gather around by 7 a.m. around a common table in the upper deck and we have breakfast,” he said. “Around 8:00 we have our first meeting of the day where we plan out the day. And then in the morning, we usually have an EVA of two or three people and usually another one in the afternoon.”

An EVA refers to extravehicular activity. In NASA speak, EVAs refer to spacewalks, when astronauts leave the pressurized space station and must wear spacesuits to survive in space.

“I think the most challenging thing about these analog missions is just getting into a rhythm. … Although here the risk is lower, on Mars performing those daily tasks are what keeps us alive,” said Michael Andrews, the engineer for Crew 315.

Watch the video to find out more.

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