Week InReview
Friday | Mar 18, 2022
Powell believes U.S. economy is tough enough to cope.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell wants to get a grip on inflation without snuffing out the economic recovery from the pandemic. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin | Associated Press
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2018 and outlined a plan to hike six more times this year, sparking recession fears. Even so, it doesn't expect inflation to decelerate toward 2% for at least a couple of years. And remember all the bonds it's been buying during the downturn? It plans to reduce its balance sheet containing all those assets, but hasn't set a firm plan yet.
let's recap...
FT montage | Bloomberg
Some creditors have received payment, in dollars, of Russian bond coupons which fell due this week, two market sources said on Thursday, meaning that Russia for now may have averted what would have been its first external bond default in a century. (Reuters | Mar 17)

The top U.S. derivatives regulator is closely monitoring trading activity in the markets it oversees for any manipulative, inappropriate or disruptive practices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam said Wednesday. The CFTC is in contact with the Treasury Department and with exchanges regarding the recent economic sanctions that the U.S. and its allies have imposed on Russia. Behnam’s comments follow statements from other regulators, including the SEC, about heightened surveillance during periods of volatility. (Bloomberg Law | Mar 16)

Wild swings in asset prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine are prompting some investors to pare risk in their portfolios, fearing that the type of volatility seen in commodities in recent weeks could hit other markets. At issue is liquidity — or the ease at which investors can buy or sell an asset without affecting its price. While episodes of low liquidity have contributed to sharp gyrations across markets over the last decade, signs of stress have become more plentiful in the last few weeks, exacerbated by everything from sanctions against Russia to expected central bank tightening. (Reuters | Mar 15)

Regulators are carrying out a sweeping investigation of conflicts of interest at the nation’s largest accounting firms, asking whether consulting and other nonaudit services they sell undermine their ability to conduct independent reviews of public companies’ financials, according to people familiar with the matter. (The Wall Street Journal | Mar 15)

Next month’s Easter holiday in the U.S. is poised to create cash-flow headaches for the Federal Reserve and investors in Treasury debt. With U.S. markets slated to be closed on Friday, April 15, the Treasury Department opted to delay settlement of the notes and bonds to be auctioned earlier that week until Monday, April 18. But because it’s not a federal holiday the department will hand investors $69 billion in redemptions and interest payments on April 15 as scheduled, leaving recipients, who normally would roll the proceeds into the new issues, without a home for them. (Bloomberg Markets | Mar 14)
New Covid variant cases are rising
A commuter boards a BART train in San Francisco on March 4. Photo: David Paul Morris | Bloomberg
(Mar 16) — Covid cases have been falling in the U.S. and mask mandates are being repealed all over. Yet, more than one-third of the wastewater sample sites across the U.S. showed rising Covid-19 levels in the first 10 days of March. Americans have seen this film before, and it always ends badly. With the rise of the new, even-more-transmissible version of the omicron variant, should the U.S. prepare for yet another wave? White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci is warning of a potential infection rebound. 
the cyber cafe
Illustration: Elena Lacey | Getty Images
The workaday life of the world's most dangerous ransomware gang
The Conti ransomware gang was on top of the world. The sprawling network of cybercriminals extorted $180 million from its victims last year, eclipsing the earnings of all other ransomware gangs. Then it backed Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. And it all started falling apart.
— Wired

Firms must report hacks to DHS in 72 hours under new law
The $1.5 trillion government funding package that President Joe Biden signed Tuesday includes sweeping cybersecurity legislation that will require critical infrastructure operators to quickly report data breaches and ransomware payments. The new law mandates that companies report hacks to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours of discovery of the incident, and 24 hours if they make a ransomware payment.

Insurers nervous about cyber policies after judge rules wartime exclusions don’t apply
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has insurers rushing to plug a possible loophole that leaves them vulnerable after a judge in New Jerson poked a hole in the exclusion for acts of war aimed to protect insurers from claims tied to cyberattacks by governments, their militaries or groups that work for them.
binge reading disorder
A January 8, 1974, article in the Washington Post.
The U.S. tried permanent Daylight Savings Time in the '70s. People hated it.
The change would benefit Americans in the long run, predicted Steve Grossman of the Department of Transportation. Yes, accidents in the morning darkness may become more common, he said, but longer daylight hours could mean eliminating the hazards of evening commutes: “stress, anxiety, and many drivers have had a couple of drinks,” as he told the Post. Outside the capital, others vowed defiance: Robert Yost, the mayor of St. Francis, Kansas said his town’s council “felt it was time to put our foot down and stop this monkey business.”

Crypto startup that wants to scan everyone's eyeballs is having some trouble.
Worldcoin – the billion-dollar startup that wants to give cryptocurrency to every living human by imaging their eyes – has recently halted operations in at least seven countries due to a host of logistical hurdles that have prompted it to redraw its launch plans.

Ventilation, vaccination key to suppressing Covid-19 as people head back indoors
Forget temperature checks and deep-cleaning surfaces. The best way to protect people from Covid-19 as they return to offices and other indoor spaces is to bolster air quality and vaccination coverage, experts on the transmission of the virus say.
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