Banking stocks drove European markets lower on Monday as global investors weighed the consequences of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The US lender imploded last week and had its assets seized after a bank run caused its stock to plummet.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index dropped 2.56% at 13:00 GMT, with all major stocks trading in the red. Bank stocks slumped more than 6%, with Commerzbank, BAWAG Group, and Banco BPM among the biggest losers. Credit Suisse plunged 15% in early trading and UniCredit lost 9%, while Deutsche Bank and Raiffeisen Bank both declined by 7%.
The meltdown came despite the news that Britain’s HSBC, which is one of the world’s biggest banks and boasts $2.9 trillion in assets, has agreed to rescue the UK branch of SVB for a symbolic £1, vowing to protect client deposits as part of the deal. Following the announcement, HSBC saw its shares drop 3.5%.
“We’re seeing a liquidity withdrawal – the classic thing that you’d expect following a credit event like what’s happening at SVB. People get scared, reduce exposure to equities and move into government bonds,” Haig Bathgate, head of investments at Atomos, told Bloomberg.
https://www.rt.com/business/572907-us-banking-crisis-european-stocks/
The prices of some life-saving medicines have soared to levels that are unaffordable for ordinary people in Venezuela as the United States has ramped up military presence in the Caribbean off Venezuela's coast, alongside escalating sanctions, blockades and military threats against the oil-rich South American nation since late August.
https://www.presstv.ir/default/Embeded/761400
At a northeastern suburb in the capital city Caracas, locals can still purchase most of the commonly used medicines at a major supermarket, where some antibiotics have been sold out, and some first-aid medicines and supplies have become too costly for ordinary residents.
"I'm here mainly to buy antibiotics. I have problems with my lungs. But I can't get all I want, such as vancomycin," said a resident named Alfonso.
"Recent tensions have affected the supplies and prices of drugs. The prices of cancer drugs, insulin drugs and albumin are very high, and most patients here cannot afford them," said Giovanna Gonzalez a ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is prepared to use military force to achieve the goals of its special military operation if Ukraine continues to delay peace talks.
During an inspection of a Russian armed forces command post on Saturday, Putin stressed that Moscow will not allow Kiev’s obstruction to prevent progress.
“If the Kiev authorities do not want to resolve the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us in the course of the special military operation by military means,” he said.
The Russian leader noted that the Ukrainian authorities are not moving toward a peaceful resolution, adding, “We see that even today, unfortunately, the leaders of the Kiev regime are in no hurry to resolve this conflict peacefully. I spoke about this a year ago in a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Putin also received reports from Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and commanders of Russia’s “Centre” and “East” military groups.
Meanwhile, ...
