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Banks gone wild: SVB, Signature and moral hazard
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Planet Money

Banks gone wild: SVB, Signature and moral hazard

by , , , ,

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continues to ripple across banking and tech. Today, three indicators on the fallout, including what's next for some startup CEOs and why you might be hearing the term, moral hazard. And we talk about the other bank failure that's been overshadowed by SVB, New York-based Signature Bank.

Banks gone wild: SVB, Signature and moral hazard

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Need workers? Why not charter a private jet?
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Planet Money

Need workers? Why not charter a private jet?

by , , ,

It's time for another edition of the Beigie Awards! Today, our winner comes through with one of the best anecdotes in Beigie history with a story about a Montana construction company that flew in workers via a private jet.

Need workers? Why not charter a private jet?

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Silicon Valley Bank's collapse and rescue
Noah Berger/AFP via Getty Images

Planet Money

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse and rescue

by , , ,

Silicon Valley Bank was the 16th largest bank in America, the bank of choice for tech startups and big-name venture capitalists. Then, in the span of just a few days, it collapsed. Whispers that SVB might be in trouble spread like wildfire through group texts and Twitter posts. Depositors raced to empty their accounts, withdrawing $42 billion in a single day. Last Friday, after regulators declared that SVB had failed, the FDIC seized the bank.

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse and rescue

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New drugs. Cheaper drugs. Why not both?

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 06: Activists hit a piñata carrying empty pill bottles during a protest against the price of prescription drug costs in front of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) building on October 06, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Planet Money

New drugs. Cheaper drugs. Why not both?

by , ,

Why are American consumers paying out the wazoo for drugs? Drug companies say it's because they need that money to fund the research and development that goes into making new life-saving drugs. Today we talk to a health economist who says you actually can have it all, lower prices and more innovation.

New drugs. Cheaper drugs. Why not both?

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The Fed's new dilemma: Protect banks or fight inflation?

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 07: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee March 7, 2023 in Washington, DC. Powell spoke on the state of the U.S. economy and suggested that interest rates will need to stay higher for longer than expected in order to curb inflation. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Planet Money

The Fed's new dilemma: Protect banks or fight inflation?

by , , ,

Prices are rising. A major bank has collapsed. And the Fed is left holding the hose trying to put out these fires. The question of whether to raise interest rates or not just got even more challenging.

The Fed's new dilemma: Protect banks or fight inflation?

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The Collapse Of Silicon Valley Bank

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 10: A worker (C) tells people that the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters is closed on March 10, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Newsletter

The Collapse Of Silicon Valley Bank

by , , Paddy Hirsch ,

A major bank in Silicon Valley experienced a bank run and failed. Fearing a cascading catastrophe in tech and banking, the government stepped in to prevent contagion.

Silicon Valley Bank's three fatal flaws
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Planet Money

Silicon Valley Bank's three fatal flaws

by , , Noah Glick ,

For decades, Silicon Valley Bank was the bank for thousands of startups and tech companies in the Bay Area. No longer. SVB's sudden failure last week has roiled the tech world. And it forced regulators to step in as concerns grew about the wider financial system. On today's episode, we look at what happened at SVB, and the three reasons that made the bank especially vulnerable to collapse.

Silicon Valley Bank's three fatal flaws

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Why platforms like HBO Max are removing streaming TV shows

Casey Bloys, President of Programming of HBO, speaks onstage at HBO Max WarnerMedia Investor Day Presentation at Warner Bros. Studios on October 29, 2019 in Burbank, California. Presley Ann/Getty Images for WarnerMedia hide caption

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Presley Ann/Getty Images for WarnerMedia

Planet Money

Why platforms like HBO Max are removing streaming TV shows

by , , ,

Over the past year, dozens of shows have been disappearing from streaming platforms like HBO Max and Showtime. Shows like Minx, Made for Love, FBoy Island, and even big budget hits like Westworld have been removed entirely.

Why platforms like HBO Max are removing streaming TV shows

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We found the 'missing workers'
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Planet Money

We found the 'missing workers'

by , , ,

Millions of people opted out of the labor force during the pandemic, and the Federal Reserve's most recent update on the economy explains why. Today, we hear from people who made that decision to leave the workforce.

We found the 'missing workers'

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How three letters reinvented the railroad business

A Canadian Pacific railway locomotive pulls train cars east along a rail line past Morant's Curve near Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada on November 26, 2021. Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Planet Money

How three letters reinvented the railroad business

by ,

After a series of train derailments, the railroad industry is under scrutiny from politicians, the public and rail workers themselves. Many workers blame a relatively new management philosophy called precision-scheduled railroading (PSR). What is PSR and how has it changed the industry?

How three letters reinvented the railroad business

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Why some Indonesians worry about a $20 billion climate deal to get off coal

A truck loaded with coal at the Karya Citra Nusantara (KCN) Marunda port in Jakarta. Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Planet Money

Why some Indonesians worry about a $20 billion climate deal to get off coal

by , , ,

The U.S. is helping broker a $20 billion deal to transition Indonesia off coal. The hope is this climate financing plan could be a model to move other developing counties away from coal-fired electricity. But Indonesian energy experts and solar executives worry much of this deal may just be "omong kosong" — empty talk.

Why some Indonesians worry about a $20 billion climate deal to get off coal

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The value of good teeth
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Planet Money

The value of good teeth

by Reema Khrais , Megan Detrie , Hayley Hershman , Peter Balonon-Rosen , Tony Wagner , , Micaela Blei

As a kid, Ryanne Jones' friend accidentally hit her in the mouth with a hammer, knocking out her two front teeth. Her parents never had enough money for the dental care needed to fix them, so Ryanne lived much of her adult life with a chipped and crooked smile.

The value of good teeth

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Listener Questions: baby booms, sewing patterns and rural inflation
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Planet Money

Listener Questions: baby booms, sewing patterns and rural inflation

by , , , ,

It's another listener questions episode where we take on what you want to know! On today's show... We look at the U.S. birth rate. Are we booming or busting? Does the Consumer Price Index capture what's happening in rural America? And copyrighting knitting & sewing patterns, it's a tangled issue! If you have a question you'd like us to answer, email us at indicator@npr.org.

Listener Questions: baby booms, sewing patterns and rural inflation

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A trip to the Northern Ireland trade border

The Belfast to Dublin motorway crosses the border line between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as viewed from the northern side of the border. Charles McQuillan/Getty Images hide caption

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Planet Money

A trip to the Northern Ireland trade border

by Paddy Hirsch , , ,

The UK's withdrawal from the European Union in 2020 came with plenty of challenges. And now one of its biggest — how to deal with Northern Ireland — may finally be resolved. On today's episode, we hear from a small business owner whose land and operations are split by the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

A trip to the Northern Ireland trade border

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Is the government choosing winners and losers?

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21, 2022: U.S. President Joe Biden puts his arm on Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger. Gelsinger announced that Intel Corp would invest an initial $20 billion to develop a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Ohio. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Planet Money

Is the government choosing winners and losers?

by , , , ,

Washington is doubling down on the industries it wants to see grow. From semiconductor chips to lithium-ion batteries, we trace where the money is going and why. And which part's got the European Union all bent outta shape.

Is the government choosing winners and losers?

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Exploring Seinfeld through the lens of economics
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Planet Money

Exploring Seinfeld through the lens of economics

by , , ,

The 90s sit-com Seinfeld is often called "a show about nothing." Lauded for its observational humor, this quick-witted show focussed on four hapless New Yorkers navigating work, relationships...yada yada yada.

Exploring Seinfeld through the lens of economics

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Can India become the next high-tech hub?

Workers assemble mobile phones at an Indian Lava phone manufacturer factory in Noida on August 22, 2019. SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images

Planet Money

Can India become the next high-tech hub?

by ,

For more than a decade, China has been a leader in global manufacturing, producing everything from trinkets and toys to advanced electronics. But there's another country looking to challenge China for manufacturing dominance: India.

Can India become the next high-tech hub?

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How venture capital built Silicon Valley
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The Indicator

How venture capital built Silicon Valley

by , Audrey Dilling ,

In 1957, a group of scientists fed up with their boss set the modern venture capital model in motion. Today, the story of the unconventional investment idea behind Silicon Valley startup culture and so much of the technology we use today.

How venture capital built Silicon Valley

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CBOhhhh, that's what they do
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Planet Money

CBOhhhh, that's what they do

by , , , ,

If you are a congressperson or a senator and you have an idea for a new piece of legislation, at some point someone will have to tell you how much it costs. But, how do you put a price on something that doesn't exist yet?

CBOhhhh, that's what they do

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Is price gouging a problem?
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Planet Money

Is price gouging a problem?

by Paddy Hirsch , , ,

Consumers and politicians around the country are making a lot of noise about price gouging. But when do prices cross the line from simply high to something more painful? We talk to an economist to find out.

Is price gouging a problem?

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