Weekly Digest – March 29, 2023

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward.

Barr says US banking system is ‘sound and resilient’

Vice chair of the Federal Reserve Michael Barr said on CNBC this week that we have no need to worry about our banking system in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.

Crypto prices drop as CFTC sues Binance for violating trading rules

On Monday, the biggest crypto exchange in the world, Binance, was sued by the CFTC for violating trading rules, leading to a 3% drop in bitcoin and ether prices to $27,001.05 and $1,708.73 respectively.

Twitter source code posted on GitHub likely put there by ex-employee

Twitter is demanding that GitHub reveal the identity of the user who posted its source code on its platform and has filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice. The user with the username “FreeSpeechEnthusiast” posted the source code, which had been public for at least several months.

Disney to cut 7,000 jobs before summer

According to a memo sent by CEO Bob Iger, Disney plans to cut about 7,000 jobs in three rounds to reduce corporate spending and boost free cash flow. The move comes after Disney announced its plans to cut $5.5 billion in costs, including $3 billion in content spend, last month.

First Citizens Bank to buy $72bn of Silicon Valley Bank assets at a discount

First Citizens Bank will acquire $72 billion in assets from the recently collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, resulting in a 47% rise in First Citizens Bank shares. The deal includes 17 former Silicon Valley Bank branches, which opened their doors as First Citizens Bank branches on Monday.

For the best return on your savings, move to an online bank

The Federal Reserve’s decision to increase its key interest rate for the ninth time since March last year has brought welcome news for savers seeking higher yields on their money, with returns on savings accounts and CDs at their best in 15 years. The big banks are offering the lowest interest rates overall.

Link between commercial property and small banks could create “doom loop” for US banking system, warns Capital Economics

Commercial real estate is highly connected to small and mid-tier banks in the US, with smaller banks making up 70% of outstanding loans to the sector, according to Capital Economics. A pullback in lending could cause downward pressure on capital values.

IRS warns against shady tax preparers in annual ‘Dirty Dozen’ Campaign

The IRS warns taxpayers to be cautious of unscrupulous tax return preparers and provides tips to identify trustworthy professionals. The Dirty Dozen campaign lists 12 common scams and schemes that put taxpayers and the tax professional community at risk of losing money, personal information, and data.

Chipotle to pay $240k in settlement with workers over alleged labor law violations

Chipotle was ordered to pay workers between $5,800 and $21,000 each for labor law violations at its former location in Augusta, Georgia, which was closed after workers sought union recognition. The chain was also ordered to pay a worker who was blacklisted after seeking employment a location in another state.

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