The question everyone asked since last Thursday (3/9/23) has been “Why did Silicon Valley Bank go bust? And what does it mean for MY bank?” The best explanation is that Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB) was uniquely at risk because of its unusually low percent of individual depositors, and its unusually high portfolio of loans and securities backing up their deposits.
The Fed’s “preferred” inflation gauge (Personal Consumption Expenditures, or PCE) not only came in worse than expected, but the prior three months were all revised higher as well. “The whole thing throws a lot of cold water on the ‘disinflation’ hoopla,” observed Wolf Richter of wolfstreet.com.
The Fed has a tough challenge ahead of them with very few options. Most of the aggregate growth in the economy was financed by massive deficit spending, credit creation, and a reduction in consumer savings.
When it comes to getting the best ‘bang-for-your-buck’ when dining out, a recent survey by Stifel shows that most consumers feel they’re getting the best value from fast-food behemoths like McDonald’s and Taco Bell. At the other end of the scale, New York-based Shake Shack was rated the worst value.
Electric vehicles (EV) sales in California spiked by over 60% in 2022 to 285,199 new electric vehicles being sold, according to registration data. The overall market share of EVs nearly doubled to 17% of total new vehicle sales. Meanwhile, sales of traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles fell by 18% to 1.38 million—the lowest since 2011.
New data from the Census Bureau and the National Association of Realtors reveal which states have been the biggest winners (and which the biggest losers) as the nation’s population continues to shift.