And things keep getting better for the SNP…
Silicon Valley Bank – collapsed
Signature Bank – collapsed
First Republic Bank – collapsing
Credit Suisse 
– collapsing
That last one is a biggie, one of the ‘systemically important’, “too big to fail” banks, failing.
Which bank is next? I don’t think this crisis is over just yet…
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Freetrade? Would that count?
If the trend means what I think it means, I think we’re gonna lose a fintech or several.
One of the German/Italian ones perhaps.
It’s going to be interesting - I suspect a number of small fry banks will go bump over the next few months, mainly US based.
Be interesting to see which of the UK banks first falls foul to the challenges around rising interest rates.
What’s most curious is the reverse of 2008. Then, a short term set of actions (mainly driven by greed) caused a sizemic collapse of banks.
Now, the longer term actions of banks over many years (in the case of Credit Suisse - bad mergers, decisions, etc) are finally playing catchup.
So, whoever hasn’t been keeping on top of “admin” is probably next
well lets see who brought Hold to Maturity bonds in the US, suspect that’s where the pain will be
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I see a few more smaller US one’s going.
So far this looks pretty good for the larger U.K., EU and US banks though, getting to buy up their smaller competitors for bargain prices and seeing deposits moved into their accounts.
It does pose a big challenge to central bank’s plans to stem inflation though. Who knew that years of printing money and near zero interest would be painful to reverse?
UK bank shares have plummeted again this morning, despite the Swiss bail-out. I personally see it as an opportunity to buy more shares in them while the price is low.
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It’s no suprise shares are plummeting. Part of the resolution process involves share swaps or bond swaps, often making the shares and bonds in the bank worthless. Any increase in the risk of that happening will lower share prices.
Important to note share price is different to banking performance. Still, it’s not a great vote of confidence in the system.
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Really nice of the IPCC to say there’s ‘still a chance’ of avoiding the disasterous predictions in the rest of their report.
Of course no one will do anything about it, so there isn’t really a ‘chance’ at this point. But I appreciate the vague attempts at positivity.
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Humans are awful that way. Not even deliberately so; is just the way or brains are built when it comes to assessing risk/reward. It’s why people die from alcohol and drugs and smoking even when they know the risks, and why they’re bad at saving and investing money for the future.
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Kroo with some luck 
I’m kidding, I never want to see a bank or anyone fail
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I think there are so many reason; but the biggest barrier to very immediate action in my view is that it will come up against so many power structures that heavily benefit from carbon production. Fossil fuels are deep rooted and almost unimaginable amounts of money is tied to them.
I don’t necessarily mean some evil group plotting somewhere to stop climate change, but more just the general nature of how things work and have been built around these things. That sort of wealth / money doesn’t just happen, it needs a whole structure - from Oxbridge economists trained to tout the favourable narrative to media investments and political donations to ensure a favourable environment continues.
All that won’t change in the next 50 years without extremely radical action of the sort we aren’t ready for (or can even imagine happening) at this point.
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Happy cake day!
Even if individuals wanted to do something, there’s often a lot of bureaucracy getting in the way. The real action (the sort that will make a difference) needs to be implemented at least on the local authority level.
I’ve been trying to get some poop bag stations with project harmless poop bags (not plastic or biodegradable bags which won’t degrade in the landfill environment they end up in) deployed at my own cost on a few of the popular walk routes I frequent. We have a bit of a problem with owners not picking up their dog’s poop lately. I’ve been told by the local authorities. If I do, they’ll be taken down, destroyed and I’ll get sanctioned. But I’m allowed to put one on the edge of my property.
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Honestly the reality is action at this level makes naff all difference really.
We need wholesale changes to industry to make the impact that needs to happen. We basically need to decarbonise the economy.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not discouraging more environmental choices, but individual action just isn’t an answer to the problem.
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Absolutely.
I just can’t fathom as to why no one is doing anything. Or at least lighting the fuse? The responsibility for it must fall somewhere. Who do I need to lobby, or which career path do I need to pivot into to just get it done?
A few companies are doing a bit to progress change, but their influence alone won’t be enough to sway the planet, and they don’t have the authority to drive the sort of change we need.
Individual action is similar, albeit on a much small scale. It can’t just be the few, or even the many. It needs to be all of us, or it doesn’t work.
Our council are rolling out a new thing, and I hope they’re as strict as they claim they will be an actually enforce it.
Right now, we have 4 bins:
- Blue — mixed recycling, this gets sorted and recycled locally, but if contaminated goes to landfill.
- Grey 1 — compostables, this gets composted locally on the island, but if contaminated ends up in a landfill.
- Grey 2 — the landfill bin. For anything that isn’t glass, can’t be composted, or can’t be recycled.
- green — glass.
Currently the two greys get collected every 2 weeks. None of it is checked and all gets thrown together so I don’t know why they’re distinct. It goes to a landfill despite the bin labels. But this will change soon. They’ll move to a 3 week cycle, and will be inspected. They won’t be emptied if they’re contaminated, so the compost one will now be composted. They’ll also be giving everyone a kitchen caddy specifically for food waste to go into the compostable bin as opposed to the landfil one.
The blue and green are currently on a 4 week cycle, but the blue will soon move to a 3 week cycle, and again won’t be emptied if contaminated.
I think schemes like this could have a really positive impact if executed well. Our waste is a significant part of the problem. We need to be producing less waste, yes, but dealing with the waste we do produce properly is potentially a big impact.
I don’t know if I’m just old and boring now, but I’ve been quite excited about this change and have been looking forward to it since it was announced last year. There’s some net positive here, even if it’s only a small one. But a step is a step, so I applaud it.
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Probably the one thing you or anyone can do is to cast their vote in favour of parties that will do something about climate change. If any such parties truly exist. Although the vast majority won’t because they’ll be distracted by other issues (or worse; they are somewhere they don’t even get a vote).
Again don’t get me wrong, I’m not against an ‘every little helps’ approach. I do think though it can be a bit distracting from the real causes. I don’t have a good way to explain it, so I’ve made a meme:
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Because it costs money and or political standing sadly.
I think there are that countries could absolutely do, right now, to help. But they won’t because the moment they do it would likely make them unvotable.
Why? well I think we’re a little past the whole “drive a little less please”. I think it’s going to take more of the lines of France banning domestic flight, heavy taxes on long travelled goods.
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I hadn’t even noticed 
Thank you!
I agree entirely with both of you. Perhaps my examples misled slightly, but I very much meant to include the humans behind the power structures and bureaucracy as well as the humans making choices on an individual level.
F- David Cameron for rolling back spending on green reforms, and f- Boris Johnson for making a complete hash by not putting enough post-pandemic revitalisation funding into the green sector. (And in America, Trump). We could’ve made progress towards this already had it not been for people at the top level making choices not to do so.
Then again, not exactly a new thing; Carter put solar panels on top of the White House! Then Reagan got in and ripped them out 
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Nothing shows this more than the current government really. The IPCC report says we would need to end fossil fuel production by 2030, our government has spent the last year debating how many new fossil fuel sources to tap in the next ten years. They receive millions from fossil fuel lobbies and hugely subsidise new gas projects in the North Sea in return.
It’d take a complete about turn on their practical policies to end fossil fuel production in the U.K. by 2100, let alone 7 years time.
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