Silicon Valley Bank was closed by financial regulators on Friday after the bank could not raise capital. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) said it took control of the bank through a new entity it created called the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara. The FDIC noted insured depositors would have access to their funds by Monday. The FDIC covers up to $250,000 per account. More: - SVB shares fell more than 65% in premarket trading on Friday after declining more than 60% on Thursday.
- Trading in SVB was suspended shortly after 8:30 a.m. ET Friday.
- Signs of trouble started on Wednesday when SVB said it would book a $1.8B post-tax loss on the sales of some securities.
- The bank wanted to raise $2.25B between common equity and convertible preferred shares.
- The announcement raised concerns across the banking sector, with the four largest U.S. banks losing $52B in market value on Thursday.
- Some VCs, including Founders Fund co-founder Peter Thiel, advised their portfolio companies to pull their money from SVB amid rising concerns about the bank’s financial health.
- Early Friday morning, it was reported SVB was in talks to sell itself after attempts to raise capital failed.
- Late Friday morning, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed SVB and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
- As of Dec. 31, SVB had roughly $209B in total assets and $175.4B in total deposits.
- The FDIC said SVB’s main office and 17 branches in California and Massachusetts would reopen on Monday.
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The U.S. economy added 311,000 jobs in February, way above the 225,000 Dow Jones estimate but significantly fewer than the revised 504,000 increase in January. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.6% in February from 3.4% reported in January. The labor force participation rate rose to 62.5%, its highest level since March 2020. More: - The Leisure and Hospitality sector led job growth, adding 105,000 jobs in February.
- Retail added 50,000, and Government roles rose by 46,000.
- Professional and Business Services gained 45,000 jobs, and Healthcare added 44,000 jobs in February.
- Women in the workforce grew to 77.8 million in February, and their labor participation rate returned to pre-pandemic levels a year after the men.
- February’s jobs report was one of the economic indicators Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said officials would review when deciding how much to rate interest rates at their March 21-22 meeting.
- U.S. stocks closed lower, with the Dow losing 345.22 points or 1.07%, the S&P 500 lost 1.45%, and the Nasdaq lost 1.76%.
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Meta Platforms is considering building a new standalone decentralized, text-based social network that could compete with Twitter. The project, codenamed P92, would allow users to log in using their Instagram credentials and will support ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol powering Mastodon. More: - Decentralized social platforms rely on individual servers that use a uniform protocol, avoiding centralized content control and possible censorship.
- Instagram head Adam Mosseri is leading Project P92.
- According to sources, the project is still a work in progress.
- On Friday, Meta confirmed it is exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates.
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Gautam Adani is looking to sell a stake in his cement business Ambuja Cement to reduce debt and help restore investor confidence in his conglomerate Adani Group. According to sources, Adani, who owns 63% of Ambuja Cement, made a formal request to international lenders to sell 4% to 5% of the company. More: - The move comes weeks after short-seller Hindenburg Research released a report accusing Adani’s companies of fraud and market manipulation.
- Adani Group’s listed companies have lost about $145B in market value since the report was released on Jan. 24.
- Adani Group has denied the allegations, calling Hindenburg Research’s report unresearched and maliciously mischievous.
- Ambuja shares closed at Rs384.3 (~$4.70) on Thursday, which would make a 5% stake in the company worth roughly $465M.
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The U.K. and France agreed to deploy more resources to curb cross-Channel migration. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the first Franco-British summit in five years. The U.K. promised to pay France €541M (~£478M, $576M) over three years to control cross-Channel migration. More: - The funds would support police patrols, a new detention center, and expanded drone surveillance of beaches around Dunkirk and Calais.
- In a previous agreement signed in November, the U.K. agreed to pay France €70M ($74.5M) annually.
- Sunak and Macron agreed to cooperate on defense and energy initiatives and expand nuclear and renewables to help fight climate change.
- Sunak noted the relationship between France and the U.K. has had its challenges in recent years and proclaimed a new chapter for both countries.
- About 46,000 people crossed the English Channel in 2022, up 60% from a year ago.
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The FAA has cleared Boeing to resume deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners as early as next week. Deliveries of the aircraft were halted on Feb. 23 after a data-analysis error was detected related to the aircraft’s forward pressure bulkhead. More: - The FAA said Boeing addressed its concerns, and the agency “may resume issuing airworthiness certificates next week.”
- Boeing said it has completed the necessary analysis confirming that the airplane meets all relevant requirements and does not require production or fleet action.
- Boeing 787 Dreamliner customers include American Airlines, Air France-KLM Group, British Airways, China Southern Airlines, and Qatar Airways.
- Boeing shares closed at $203.07 on Friday, up ~1% for the day; the aircraft manufacturer is up ~4% YTD.
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- Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by China, ending seven years of estrangement. Both nations have agreed to reopen embassies in the other’s country.
- Chinese leader Xi Jinping was elected unanimously for an unprecedented third term as president of China on Friday during a parliamentary session. Xi extends his tenure for another five years. He was initially elected on March 14, 2013.
- German states Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia are rethinking how their police forces use software made by Palantir over privacy concerns.
- General Motors is exploring using ChatGPT in vehicles. The U.S. automaker is working on a virtual personal assistant that uses AI models behind ChatGPT.
- Elon Musk plans to build a town outside Austin, Texas, for Tesla, Boring, and SpaceX employees.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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