Is the world entering a 'lost decade'?

<p>Kia ora,</p><p>Welcome to Tuesday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.</p><p>I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.</p><p>And today we lead with news that American regulators have been active overnight.</p><p>First today, we should note that the regional First Citizen's Bank (assets: US$109 bln and #36) has <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2023/pr23023.html" target="_blank"><strong>taken over large parts of failed Silicon Valley Bank's business</strong></a> (assets US$72 bln being acquired). The takeover comes with SVB's balance sheet sanitised by regulators. The combination will make a bank that ranks #26 in asset size among all US banks. The remaining assets of SVB are being held by the FDIC for disposal.</p><p>Meanwhile, the closer the Fed regulators <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/testimony/barr20230328a.htm" target="_blank"><strong>looks under the hood at SVB</strong></a>, the worse it looks. Charges against SVB management seem likely.</p><p>None of this news encourages investors to step up and fund new business start-ups in the way SVB did; that sector is now <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/27/technology/silicon-valley-bank-start-ups.html" target="_blank"><strong>in the pits</strong></a>.</p><p>Secondly, regulator the <a href="https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8680-23" target="_blank"><strong>Commodity Futures Trading Commission is suing Binance</strong></a> over some alleged serious regulatory failures, and alleged dishonesty by its CEO. They are being charged with willful evasion in an action that comes as no surprise to crypto and money-laundering watchers. The bitcoin price fell.</p><p>Elsewhere in the US, the Dallas Fed's <a href="https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/2023-03/ku-2023-03-pm-geschaeftsklima-DT.pdf"><strong>factory survey for Texas</strong></a> was another poor one for their oil patch. It has now been consistently negative fo