More banking turbulence, but this time make it European. 

Wednesday, March 15, 2023
BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA

- January 6 insurrectionist lawyer Carol Stewart ([link removed]) , talking about people who came in through the Capitol windows

In the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, things are feeling a little unstable around these parts!

* Global financial markets experienced more turbulence today after Credit Suisse announced it found “material weakness” in its financial reporting ([link removed]) , triggering a selloff of the company’s shares, which dropped over 20 percent in value almost immediately. European banking stocks more broadly also took a tumble, dragging down all of the major stock indexes.

* Swiss regulators said that Credit Suisse can access money from the central bank if needed, an emergency measure meant to assuage fears resulting from the disclosure. Swiss financial regulator FINMA and the Swiss central bank filed a joint statement ([link removed]) assuring that Credit Suisse “meets the capital and liquidity requirements imposed on systemically important banks.”

* Fears of broader weakness in the global financial system have been revived in the past week, but the risk of “contagion” from Credit Suisse to other European banks, at least for now, appears to be relatively low. Germany’s financial supervisory authority also stated that it sees no direct risk of the problem spreading ([link removed]) , and that the German banking system is robust and capable of weathering higher interest rates. Despite assurances from the banking world (which many people rightly take with a grain of salt!), concern remains…pretty fucking high!

The regulatory response to SVB and Credit Suisse have been prompt and at least temporarily stabilizing, but the confluence of current market conditions make this a vulnerable time.

* In times of global financial peril, we are reminded once again that capitalist economic policy and corporate governance, well, it can have some negative consequences! Silicon Valley Bank executives not only gave themselves bonuses as the company was going down in flames on Friday, but they also sold off tens of millions of dollars in company stock ([link removed]) over the past two years, raising (pretty obvious!!) questions about insider trading. SVB’s CEO Greg Becker sold almost $30 million of stock over the past two years, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) called on him to return the money to depositors. Yes I’m sure he will do the right thing!!

* The Securities Exchange Commission recently created new rules to increase disclosure, transparency, and timelines for scheduled stock sell-offs, in order to weed out this kind of impropriety. Under the new rules, Becker’s sales would not have been allowed. Cool cool cool!! SVB was the go-to bank for many startups, but it also housed a great deal of cryptocurrency money. So the federal government is now insuring investments over the $250,000 limit even for those who invested big in an unregulated currency. After a huge crash and months of poor performance, cryptocurrency rallied on monday after the lowercase-b bailout ([link removed]) . Seems bad to me!

Abuses in the financial sector are like guns: they’re ubiquitous in America, they cause catastrophic harm to millions of people, and the government refuses to regulate them.

Congratulations to Hysteria for being featured in Amazon Music’s Women in Podcasting ([link removed]) collection. Throughout Women’s History Month, this collection shines a light on the women doing the work to break barriers and recognizes the women in podcasting that have made an impact on society, history, entertainment and beyond.

Each week on Hysteria, Political commentator and comedy writer Erin Ryan and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco are joined by a bicoastal squad of funny, opinionated women to talk through everything from reproductive rights to rom-coms to the cultural stories that are affecting women’s lives.

Tune in every Thursday for new episodes on Amazon music or your favorite podcast platform, and subscribe to the Hysteria Youtube ([link removed]) channel for more.
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As the craven Trump-appointed Texas judge weighs whether or not to invalidate the FDA’s long-standing approval of mifepristone ([link removed]) , the most widely-used medication to terminate pregnancy, it’s clear that the worst of what we feared after the fall of Roe may be yet to come. Republicans in South Carolina are pushing legislation that would make any person who has an abortion subject to the state’s homicide laws, which are punishable by death ([link removed]) . The bill is called the “South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act” and describes anything from an embryo with a handful of cells up to a fully gestated baby as a “person.” South Carolina law hands down death penalty sentences or minimum sentences of 30 years in prison to people convicted of murder. The measure includes no
exceptions for rape or incest. Over a dozen Republican lawmakers have co-sponsored the bill. South Carolina hasn’t acted on the measure yet, but Republicans hold control of both houses of the state legislature and the governorship. Thank you once again to everyone who told women they were “exaggerating” about what Republicans would do in a post-Roe world!

Investigators in Fulton County, GA, reportedly have another audio recording of a phone call from disgraced former president Donald Trump—this one to the Georgia Speaker of the House ([link removed]) —in which he attempted to toss out Joe Biden’s victory in the state.


In other Trump criminal proceedings, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen wrapped up his second day of testimony before a New York grand jury regarding the “alleged” hush money payment Cohen made at Trump’s behest to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels met with Manhattan prosecutors today. ([link removed])


Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) revoked the Hyatt Regency Miami hotel’s liquor license because it hosted “A Drag Queen Christmas.” ([link removed])


Speaking of Meatball Ron, allies of disgraced former president Donald Trump have filed a complaint with the Florida Commision on Ethics accusing DeSantis of violating campaign-finance and ethics rules ([link removed]) as he continues his shadow run for the GOP presidential nomination without formally declaring his candidacy.


Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced a bill to mandate tracking systems on weather and research balloons ([link removed]) so the U.S. military can chill the hell out.


State officials in Texas announced a takeover of Houston’s public school district ([link removed]) , home to over 200,000 students, in a move Democrats say is a politically motivated exertion of control by the administration of Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) over the increasingly blue city.


Honda recalled 500,000 cars in the United States and Canada due to a problem with the front seat belts ([link removed]) . Elon Musk would never.


The Kremlin announced that it will try to recover the wreckage of the American drone it struck down yesterday ([link removed]) .

Something strange is happening on Pennsylvania Avenue, and it’s not Joe Biden ordering ice cream deliveries in the winter. A slew of real estate sales have occurred two blocks east of the Capitol building, and the properties have a common buyer: allies of disgraced former president Donald Trump. The Conservative Partnership Institute, a nonprofit (sure) led by Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, bought a total of $41 million in properties just steps from the Capitol ([link removed]) , and in the organization’s annual report, CPI announced that its aim is to transform that particular swath of real estate into a sort of MAGA campus it calls “Patriots’ Row.” Republicans are always going on about their disdain for DC and how it is run so it’s interesting that they are taking somewhat clandestine measures to buy up large swaths of it! It’s also borderline unprecedented for a nonprofit to purchase so many properties
(nine in the past year!) in such a close proximity (on one street) in such a short period of time. Pro-insurrectionists having headquarters right next to the Capitol doesn’t feel great! FBI, u up?
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President Biden announced today that the government will subject 27 drugs to inflation penalties ([link removed]) , aiming to reduce out-of-pocket costs for Medicare recipients and lower prescription drug prices more broadly.

A Nebraska lawmaker has been filibustering an anti-trans bill for…three weeks!!! ([link removed])

Medicaid expansion passed the North Carolina senate 43-2 ([link removed]) , inching one step closer to becoming law.
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