Latest Recessions and depressions News

GOP lawmakers accuse Fed of being lax before bank failure

Mar. 29, 2023 12:11 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican lawmakers accused top bank regulators Wednesday of dawdling as Silicon Valley Bank hurtled toward the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history and questioned whether tougher regulations would have made a difference. Regulators closed the bank March...

Sri Lanka slashes fuel prices in welcome relief amid crisis

Mar. 29, 2023 05:46 AM EDT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s government on Wednesday announced significant cuts in fuel prices, providing welcome relief for many after a year of shortages and skyrocketing prices amid the country’s worst economic crisis. Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana...

Fed official: Bank rules under review in wake of SVB failure

Mar. 28, 2023 15:07 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s bank supervisors warned Silicon Valley Bank’s management as early as the fall of 2021 of risks stemming from its unusual business model, a top Fed official said Tuesday, but its managers failed to take the steps necessary to fix the problems. ...

Brazil has a new biggest favela, and not in Rio de Janeiro

Mar. 28, 2023 12:28 PM EDT

SOL NASCENTE, Brazil (AP) — The buzzing main avenue of this poor Brazilian neighborhood is filled with people popping off buses after work or grabbing a bite. Teens attend an open-air rap battle and gymnastics class. Hymns and prayers from tiny church services spill into the night. ...

US consumer confidence ticks up in March

Mar. 28, 2023 11:33 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer confidence inched up in March after two straight monthly declines, even as persistent inflation, bank collapses and anxiety over a possible recession weighed on American households. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index...

Asian shares mostly rise on relief over US bank strength

Mar. 28, 2023 00:04 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors got some relief from worries over troubled U.S. banks with a planned takeover of failed Silicon Valley Bank. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.1% to 27,456.98. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1% to...

Budget guru to New Mexico Legislature retires after 25 years

Mar. 27, 2023 23:08 PM EDT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The director of the budget and accountability office for the New Mexico Legislature is retiring from the agency he led for 25 years through a historic recession, a collapse in the oil economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and a new and unprecedented financial windfall. ...

Fed official: SVB itself was main cause of bank's failure

Mar. 27, 2023 17:16 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's top financial regulator is asserting that Silicon Valley Bank's own management was largely to blame for the bank's failure earlier this month and says the Federal Reserve will review whether a 2018 law that weakened stricter bank rules also contributed to its...

Deal to buy Silicon Valley Bank calms bank fears, for now

Mar. 27, 2023 15:39 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — First Citizens Bank is buying much of Silicon Valley Bank, the tech-focused financial institution whose failure this month set off a chain reaction that helped rattle faith in banks around the world. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and other regulators had...

Bank failures and rescue test Yellen's decades of experience

Mar. 25, 2023 16:29 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Working against the clock to stop a developing banking crisis, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had until sunset on Sunday, March 12, to come up with a plan to calm the U.S. economy. She quickly turned to someone who had been through the fire before, and on a much...