5 things you may have missed in investing this week

It’s safe I think to make these four assumptions after a long, grueling week in the markets.

First, you thoroughly understand the blowup of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB for short) by reading this in-depth feature out of Yahoo Finance editor Dan Fitzpatrick. This look at the fallout from the VC side by Natasha Mascarenhas at Yahoo Finance sister publication TechCrunch is also super helpful.

Hence, this hot take from veteran strategist Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank shouldn’t knock you off the chair.

“Considering the client outflows are also likely driven by higher interest rates, it is not a stretch to say that this episode is emblematic of the higher-for-longer rate regime we appear to be at the start of, as well as inverted curves, and a tech venture capital industry that’s been seeing much tougher times of late. The perfect storm of all the things we’ve been worrying about in this cycle,” Reid opined.

Silicon Valley Bank has now been taken over by the FDIC. Chatter is that the FDIC is looking to find buyers for the stricten bank’s assets by Monday to prevent any contagion.

Next is a heavy dose of Fed chief Jerome Powell over two days of testimony to lawmakers. Powell was hammered by lawmakers as usual, and the market freaked out by suggesting the only direction for interest rates this year would be up, up, up to fight the ongoing war against inflation.

Powell then walked back some of his tough talk, points out Yahoo Finance Fed correspondent Jennifer Schonberger.

This seemingly hawkish Powell commentary is especially relevant in light of another hot jobs report on Friday — 311,000 increase on the headlines, above Wall Street estimates for 225,000.

And finally on the topic of walk backs, Tesla CEO Elon Musk apologized after criticizing a disabled employee laid off Twitter. Tesla shares still fell about 13% on the week as investors punished Musk for the latest distractions.

This downgrade on Tesla by Berenberg analyst Adrian Yanoshik also didn’t brighten the mood on Tesla shares, either.

Story continues

Without further ado, here are several things you may have missed.

1. Barbie turns 64 years young: Mattel celebrated Barbie’s big day by signing off on CEO Ynon Kreiz appearing in a Yahoo Finance Live exclusive interview. Kreiz tells us the year has started off well and the glut of oversold toys from the holidays will be worked through by mid-year. Happy BirthdayBarbies!

2. So long, Mr. Labor Secretary: After 27 Yahoo Finance Live appearances in recent years (Friday being the last one), Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is set to become the executive director of the NHL Players’ Association notes Yahoo Finance Washington correspondent Ben Werschkul. Walsh ends on the high note of another month of strong job creation. Enjoy your Dunkin’ Mr. secretary.

3. The Bob Iger chest pounds: After winning an ugly public battle against activist investor Nelson Peltz in early February, Disney CEO Bob Iger is back on the investment banking scene with a pit stop this week at a Morgan Stanley conference. Iger hinted at a few Marvel movies (good). Yahoo Finance media reporter Alexandra Canal picked up on Iger saying he is “open-minded” on the future of ESPN amid long-time sale chatter. Next thing to watch for from Disney: its April 3 annual shareholder’s meeting.

4. Gap down: Shares of long-time struggling retailer Gap were pounded on Friday after a small holiday quarter. The company looks truly rudderless, sacking its chief growth and people officers in another cost-cutting move. Yours truly serves up a blunt take on Gap’s future (if there is one) here.

5. The sights and sounds of a busy week:

   1. Sevens Report Research Founder Tom Essaye: “Bottom line, I appreciate the bad memories that the Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank headlines stirred up, and I appreciate the ‘sell now ask questions later response.’ But this is not 2007. The crypto industry is not the national housing market, and bank capital rules and reporting requirements are far different than they were in the mid-2000s.”

   2. A rare double downgrade, this time on Etsy (due to valuation) by Jefferies John Colantuoni

   3. Goldman Sachs analyst Jordan Alliger rolling the dice on FedEx with a buy rating into March 16 earnings: “To us, we think February quarter risk around peak is generally well-known, and the possibility for some FY4Q upside could be more of a driver looking ahead.”

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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