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SVB Collapse, Return to the Office, Unicorns Thin the Herd, and Howard's Anti-Portfolio

SVB Collapse, Return to the Office, Unicorns Thin the Herd, and Howard's Anti-Portfolio

Social Leverage Letter | Issue #80

Pete Weishaupt
March 12, 2023

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III. Silicon Valley Bank Closed by Regulators, FDIC Takes Control

Silicon Valley Bank, which catered to the tech industry, has collapsed in the second-biggest bank failure in US history after a run on deposits doomed the lender’s plans to raise fresh capital. The bank’s deposits have been transferred to a new entity created by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Insured depositors will have access to their funds by Monday morning, but depositors with funds exceeding insurance caps will get receivership certificates for their uninsured balances. The bank had a negative cash balance of nearly $1bn and couldn’t cover its outgoing payments at the Fed after customers tried to withdraw $42bn on Thursday alone. The bank’s parent company, SVB Financial Group, was racing to find a buyer after scrapping a planned $2.25bn share sale Friday morning.

Silicon Valley Bank Closed by Regulators, FDIC Takes Control

The tech-focused lender was seeking a buyer after scrapping a plan to shore up its finances through a capital raise.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/svb-financial-pulls-capital-raise-explores-alternatives-including-possible-sale-sources-say-11de7522?mod=breakingnews

II. The return to the office once seemed inevitable. A new study shows companies are already reversing course

A recent survey data from The Conference Board show that companies are not mandating a return to the office and are instead expanding their hybrid work policies. But the benefits and challenges of a hybrid workplace policy, including increased flexibility, productivity, and cost savings, as well as potential communication and collaboration issues still remain. Careful planning, advice, and training are necessary to successfully navigate the challenges of the new, hybrid workplace.

The return to the office once seemed inevitable. A new study shows companies are already reversing course

Return-to-office mandates are the exception, not the rule. It’s likely that 2023 will see more employees working remotely, not less.

https://fortune.com/2023/03/09/return-to-office-seemed-inevitable-new-study-shows-companies-already-reversing-course-careers-remote-work-gleb-tsipursky/

I. Layoffs hitting the unicorns

Even with U.S. unemployment rate being at a 53-year low, the tech sector has been hit hard by layoffs in recent months. Tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Facebook have cut staff, as have venture-backed startup unicorns. Layoffs have affected companies like Olive AI and Misfits Market, resulting in hundreds of job losses. Since the start of 2023, tech companies have already cut more than 100,000 jobs, and experts predict more mass layoffs to come in the tech sector this year.

LISTENING

II. Panic with Friends - My Anti-Portfolio...Honoring The Companies I Missed

Panic with Friends - My Anti-Portfolio...Honoring The Companies I Missed | Howie's List

Join my personal email list and get my daily take on life, markets and investing for profit and joy. And I might talk about my prostate, so what do you have to lose?

https://www.howardlindzon.com/p/panic-friends-antiportfoliohonoring-companies-missed

I. Going Remote: The Long-run Effects of Working From Home

Going Remote: The Long-run Effects of Working From Home

Listen to this episode from EconoFact Chats on Spotify. The rise of remote work has been among the more persistent labor-market changes engendered by COVID. Three years since the start of the pandemic, even as most social distancing mandates are lifted, many still work in virtual settings. What do we know about who continues to work from home, how much they work from home, and the kinds of jobs enabling this flexibility? What are the advantages and disadvantages for companies that allow remote work? And what does persistent work from home mean for urban commercial real estate? To discuss these issues, as well as his new book, Going Remote, EconoFact Chats welcomes back Matthew Kahn. Matt is the Provost Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3WmkxwJQTixWvDc2YpCxrT?si=ET0g0Yu1RB2Glqn_jZ95Yw

WATCHING

I. The 'AI Phenomenon' Could Lead to 'Another Fantastic Era'

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https://jobs.lever.co/logixboard/0c08164e-5fd9-4fbd-821a-b4b4f02e68d3?gh_src=Social+Leverage+job+board

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