Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Three years of grief

Three years ago tomorrow, the World Health Organization declared the spread of what was then called the novel coronavirus to be a pandemic. Some 4,200 Covid-19 deaths had been confirmed at that point. Almost 7 million would follow, though the true number of lives lost is believed to be much higher. In March of 2020, the pathogen had already spread to more than 100 countries. Horrific waves would sweep across Europe and the US, which for much of the pandemic suffered the worst death toll of all. No part of the planet would be untouched, as India later suffered a crushing surge and, more recently, China after the sudden lifting of precautions. The constant wail of sirens that punctured the night in cities like New York—an initial epicenter of the global disaster—has receded. But with close to 1,000 confirmed Covid-19 deaths every day all over the world, the pandemic isn’t over. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg continues to track the global coronavirus pandemic. Click here for daily updates.

SVB’s Silicon Valley Bank became the biggest US lender to fail in more than a decade following a run by depositors. California state watchdogs took possession of the bank and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver. Here’s the latest. 

While SVB’s blowup blindsided most of the market, at least one corner of Wall Street spied trouble ahead. Bets against regional banks have been winners of late as concerns about balance sheets started rippling through the financial system. For weeks, short sellers pushed bearish interest in a regional bank exchange-traded fund higher, until it peaked at about 78% of shares outstanding—the highest level in at least a year.

For everyday folks, the SVB failure is stoking fear for their savings. People with money in commercial banks and retirement accounts may hear echoes of the financial crisis. Many are wondering if their money is safe. 

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned lawmakers that failure to pay US government bills, a move being threatened by Republicans, “will produce economic and financial collapse,” and that a GOP plan to prioritize some payments over others “is just default by another name.”

Janet Yellen, US Treasury secretary, center, departs following a House Ways and Means Committee hearing in Washington Friday.  Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

It’s one thing when crypto gets flattened or meme stocks face-plant. But when central bank policy starts biting into banks, investors know they have bigger problems. Fear of systemic risk ripped across markets this week, when investors who thought they’d survived the worst of Jerome Powell’s war against inflation suffered their biggest stretch of losses in five months. Bank shares, assumed to be redoubts of safety in a rising-rate world, led the plunge, posting their worst week since the Covid crash. Here’s your markets wrap.

The Biden administration is working to further tighten restrictions on the export of semiconductor manufacturing gear to China, escalating rules aimed at preventing the country from developing an advanced chip industry. The rules may as much as double the number of machines that require special licenses for export.

He may have effectively made himself leader for life, but as far as international investors are concerned, Xi Jinping is no longer a good bet.  The Chinese president’s efforts to regain their trust are falling flat, showing the urgency for Beijing to do more to reverse capital outflows. It’s only March and pundits are already calling time on the China reopening trade.

Xi Jinping at the National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 8. Photographer: Greg Baker/Getty Images

• SVB balance-sheet time bomb “sitting in plain sight,” short seller says.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Is Silicon Valley bank swoon a recession sign?
• Trump Jan. 6 probe pits special counsel against former colleague.
• Next mass firings may be in finance and health care, data show.
• Bloomberg Opinion: China hawks should oppose decoupling.
• Canned-tuna giant looks to bail on money-losing Red Lobster.
• NBA legend Patrick Ewing was fired by his alma mater.

Island vacations have staying power, as proved by the sustained demand over the past three years. But in 2023 these trips are getting major upgrades in the form of new hotels and notable reopenings in some of the world’s most beloved tropical locales. Here are seven of them.

Renderings of 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay on Kauai. Photographer: Avablu

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