The unexpected American shopping spree seems to have cooled
Retail sales dipped 0.4% in February after a surprise start-of-the-year surge that appeared at odds with the Federal Reserve's goal of cooling down the economy.
Economy
Facebook's parent company Meta is laying off another 10,000 workers
NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks to Wall Street Journal reporter Sam Schechner about the layoffs which will cut about 12% of Meta's workforce. This round follows a previous cut of 11,000 jobs.
For 40 years, Silicon Valley Bank was a tech industry icon. It collapsed in just days
Silicon Valley Bank was not a household name. For four decades, SVB successfully competed with big name financial institutions only to come crumbling down in a matter of days.
How will 2 bank failures affect the Federal Reserve's approach to inflation?
The Fed was watching closely Tuesday when the new report card on inflation was released. The Fed's efforts to combat inflation have been complicated by recent stresses in the banking industry.
The Fed already had a tough inflation fight. Now, it must deal with banks collapsing
Consumer prices in February were 6% higher than a year ago, as inflation continues to ease. The data comes just days after the collapse of two regional lenders is roiling the banking system.
Two U.S. banks have collapsed since Friday. Should you be worried?
Two U.S. banks have collapsed since Friday. What does this mean for the average American? NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Jacob Goldstein about the future of the banking system in the U.S.
Meta announces another 10,000 layoffs after major layoffs last fall
Meta announced another round of layoffs on Tuesday, which means the company will be cutting a fifth of its total workforce in just a few months. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it's a new economic reality.
While the costs of some things are coming down, a lot of other prices are climbing
Inflation eased in February, but consumer prices are still up 6% from a year ago. The Fed is wrestling with how hard to crack down — a difficult calculation after the collapse of two regional banks.
Silicon Valley Bank had 3 big vulnerabilities
The 16th largest bank in the country failed. Then, the government said it was taking over another big bank. NPR takes a look at the financial institution that set this all off — Silicon Valley Bank.
The Collapse Of Silicon Valley Bank
A major bank in Silicon Valley experienced a bank run and failed. Fearing a cascading catastrophe in tech and banking, the government stepped in to prevent contagion.