WORD ON THE STREET 

• No Survivors – All five people who took a submersible to view the ruins of the Titanic have been killed after authorities said they found evidence showing the vehicle imploded. “This was a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” said a Coast Guard official. OceanGate Expeditions, which operated the vessel, said all those aboard have “sadly been lost.”

• Biden Backs Off From “Dictator” Comment – President Joe Biden sought to downplay the effects of his name-calling against Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I don’t think it’s hard any real consequence,” President Biden said about calling Jinping a “dictator.” President Biden admitted that his comment might have caused “some confusion, you might say,” but no more than that.

• New Capital Requirements Will Exempt Smaller Banks – Smaller banks will likely be exempted from strict new requirements that will force banks to keep more capital. “There’s a trade-off there,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in comments to Congress. “You’ve got to make a judgment about where you draw that line.” Chairman Powell estimated that banks with less than $100 billion in assets will be left off the hook.

• Fortress Investment Group Will Buy Vice Media – There’s a winner in the competition over Vice’s assets as the troubled news conglomerate seeks to emerge from bankruptcy. Fortress, leading a group of lenders, has won with a $35o million bid. Vice is expected to present the deal to bankruptcy court today, paving the way for the next step and eventual recovery.

HOT SPOTS: What’s Going on in Geopolitics

• Qatar To Buy Washington Wizards? – The Middle Eastern shopping spree continues. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has offered to buy a minority stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment. This is the parent company for the Washington Wizards NBA team. Foreign funds can buy up to 20% of an NBA team – Qatar’s fund is offering to buy about 5%.

• Facebook Ends News Access In Great White North – A Canadian law that would require Meta Platforms to pay news publishers is forcing Facebook to drop news access. Meta is picking up its toys and going home rather than coughing up the cash demanded. “Today, we are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act taking effect,” said Meta Platforms.

• Ukraine Strikes Key Bridge To Crimea – Long-range British missiles were used by Ukraine to strike a key bridge that links Russian-held Crimea with southern Ukraine. The Chonhar bridges were both damaged, most likely by British Storm Shadow missiles. Russia estimates it will take weeks to carry out repairs.

Bank collapses, corporate bankruptcies and more.

Silicon Valley is being gutted and completely reshaped.

Learn how one trigger could be the key to witnessing hundreds of triple digit wins in the aftermath of The Tech Reckoning

CUTTING EDGE: What‘s Happening In Tech

• Virgin Galactic Raising Cash – Virgin Galactic has raised $300 million via offering common stock, and more is on the way. The company is reportedly planning to raise $400 million more with a subsequent stock offering. As you might expect, investors weren’t happy – SPCE was down more than 6% during the trading day and more than 13% in after-hours.

• Robinhood Buys Credit Card Startup – The retail trading boom may be over, but Robinhood is still expanding. It is acquiring no-fee credit card startup X1 for $95 million. X1 has no late or transaction fees – the thinking seems to be that if we can eliminate fees with stock trades, why not with credit cards?

• Moderna Files For New COVID-19 Vaccine – Moderna has filed with the FDA for a new COVID-19 vaccine that targets the XBB.1.5. omicron subvariant. The subvariant has provenly stubbornly able to navigate around immune responses. The vaccines will be sold directly to private health care providers rather than the government.

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