Bank Runs & Wildlife Safaris 🐆
This Week in Review ☕️: The Largest Financial Crisis since 2008 | Hersheys launches Vegan Chocolate | Women not given equal opportunities in Tech | Kenya Tourism skyrockets as reserves get luxurious |
As we hit mid-March (already🙈 time flies doesn’t it?! ), we want to take a quick moment to say THANK YOU for supporting us! 🙌🏻
You helped make it an exceptional year for us and we are so grateful! But.. lets skip the small talk. Time to make 2023 exceptional for you.
Many of you have reached out for Potential Partnerships with Touristy. We’re flattered and have come up with a simple Partnership Form for you to get started. Click on the button below and someone from our team will get back to you ASAP👇🏻
Quick Bites:
Banking💰: Silicon Valley Bank collapsed last Friday and was taken over by federal regulators, marking the 2nd-largest bank failure in US history.
The darling of the US financial institution goes under. A good old-fashioned bank run. Umm.. 2008 anyone? 🤔
PS. If you work in tech, you were probably familiar with SVB. If you weren't, it's no surprise. The California-based bank had nearly half of US startups bank with them but is generally a little-known name outside the startup or venture capital world. Anyway, the point is you're here now- and Silicon Valley Bank isn't.
Here's how SVB collapsed right in front of us:
Background:
💡If you remember, startups had been raising money like crazy at the start of the pandemic
💡Due to a huge amounts of fundraising, deposits at SVB grew from $60bn in 2019 to $190bn in 2022
💡With all that cash coming in, SVB wanted to put that money to work
💡So, they decided to buy $80bn in mortgage-backed securities with an average yield of 1.5%
💡With interest rates at all-time lows, that yield was quite reasonable
💡BUT what they didn't foresee were the rate hikes (Thanks Biden😡)
💡As the Fed raised rates, the value of these securities dropped drastically because investors could get better returns from bonds directly from the Fed
💡SVB thought ‘We're having a bit of a liquidity crunch, so we're gonna sell some of those securities at a loss of $1.8bn’
💡They did this to rip off the bandaid- take the losses now and move them to high-yield securities
💡However, the sell-off scared the sh*t out of investors and the stock went into free fall
💡Since then, SVB has been taken over by regulators because it can no longer pay out its balances
💡On March 13, after a bidding process, HSBC stepped in to buy the UK arm of SVB for £1 in a rescue deal, at no cost to the taxpayer and with depositors fully protected
aka the bank run BEGINS 💰💰💰💰
Just got approved for a mortgage from SVB. It's very likely they go bankrupt and we don't have to pay it back.
Like Warren Buffet says: Be greedy when others are fearful 😎
Our Thoughts💡
💡Silicon Valley Bank's CEO, CFO and CMO sold more than $4.4mn in stock right before it collapsed
💡Sam Bankman-Fried claimed FTX was completely fine right before it imploded
💡Wells Fargo claims customer money "mysteriously disappeared"
But yeah...... We should keep giving these billionaires tax cuts
Also💡: Elon Musk tweeted last week that he is "open to the idea" of buying SVB and becoming a digital bank.
1. Umm he can't afford it
2. RIP to $TSLA (again)
Food🍫: Calling all vegans! Hersheys to launch vegan version of their iconic 'Reese's Peanut Butter cups'.
Umm it's candy.... it's not supposed to be healthy?! Also, doesn't chocolate and peanut butter already come from plants?
The chocolate will be made with oats instead of milk and cost $1 more. Hershey's charges a similar premium for their organic version.
However, ditching the dairy won't cut calories. The vegan version will have the same amount of calories as the original one- 210 kcal per packet.
We already know there will be woke comments by health freaks about this but in this household with 53267 dairy allergies, we are thankful for the milk-free version 🙏
ALSO guys, keep your life simple- calories don't count if you don't count em’ 💃🏻
Younger consumers, in particular, are shifting towards a more plant-based lifestyle.
In a 2022 survey, market-research firm Euromonitor found that 54% of Gen Z consumers were cutting down on animal-based products in their diets, compared with 34% of baby boomers.
Nestle has sold its KitKat V in Europe since 2021, while Cadbury sells a vegan chocolate bar in the UK.
But so far, US vegan chocolate options have generally been limited to premium brands, like Lindt, or organic chocolatiers like Hu Kitchen, The Guardian.
Hershey said consumers want choice and are looking for products they consider healthier or with fewer ingredients, including reduced sugar and plant-based options, The Guardian.
Work💻: In the tech industry's sweeping layoffs, women are more affected than men.
While women make up just over one-third of the European tech workforce, they represent over 40% of layoffs since October 2022, data shows.
So much diversity-related branding by big companies, yet women hit hardest 😩
Women make up only 27% of the workforce in the technology industry. Half of them are likely to quit before the age of 35, and 56% are likely to quit by midcareer.”
In seeking answers to this, the most obvious reason is the severe gender pay gap.
Women do not receive the same opportunities as men; for example, only 18% of the Chief Information Officers/ Chief Technology Officers are women.
In addition, research found that womens’ negative experiences range from harassment, sexism, discrimination and misogyny to sometimes, even explicit death threats, Fortune Magazine reports.
There is also this toxic "tech bro" culture which has further normalized abuse towards women.
In recent years, high-profile leaders in software businesses have been exposed for their abusive behavior, Fortune Magazine.
Our Thoughts💡: As the world celebrated International Women's Day last week, it's high time large corporations actually support women.
Simply marketing a purple-colored female gender symbol every March has started to come across as increasingly shallow🤔
Experts say the excess of International Women's Day posts on social media has further created a facade of commitment towards women' achievements.
This is the time brands prove they have real skin in the game by actually practicing the inclusivity they preach. Starting today. Enough waiting.
Real support is a year-long commitment to action, ladies. Don't let capitalism fool y'all
Speaking of women..🏆 : Michelle Yeoh made history with 'Best Actress' win, becoming the 1st woman of Asian descent to win an Oscar.
The 60-year old Yoeh said “Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you’re ever past your prime.”
Yeoh, who won for outstanding performance in "Everything Everywhere All at Once" dedicated the trophy to her mother and "all the moms in the world."
On another note💡: Attention all high school students! Yoeh's speech will inspire even more Asian-Americans to journey to Hollywood, which should totally free up a few slots at some Ivy League colleges ✍️
The movie also took home seven Academy awards making it a memorable night for the entire cast and crew:
💡Best Picture
💡Best Director
💡Best Original Screenplay
💡Best Actress
💡Best Supporting Actor
💡Best Supporting Actress
💡Best Film Editing
Everything Everywhere All at Once is now the most-awarded movie in history.
With 158 accolades to date, it beats out Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" which has received 101 major accolades since its release 20 years ago
Travel✈️: Kenya expected to see a record $3.4bn in tourism earnings this year.
Earnings are expected to increase by almost 60% as the number of visitors are expected to rise to 2.3 million arrivals, according to the government's Tourism Research Institute.
Amazing considering how awful their national airline is
Kenya is known for being the World's Best Safari Destination, with 50 national parks and reserves, that are home to diverse wildlife including the 'Big Five': Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Rhinos and Buffalo.
From Nairobi to Masai Mara, Kenya offers beach holidays along its Indian Ocean coastline and scenic landscapes given its natural beauty.
According to Reuters, the Unites States was the main source of tourism in 2022 followed by Uganda, Britain and Tanzania.
However, Kenyan authorities will now focus their marketing efforts on emerging markets like Rwanda, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
Quicker Bites:
President Biden emphasizes the US banking system is 'safe' after Silicon Valley Bank collapse.
Rolex accelerates Swiss production boost to meet rising demand.
Mediterranean diet linked with reduced risk of developing dementia, CNN.
Next mass layoffs may in finance and healthcare, data shows.
Biden, in a challenge to China, announces major submarine deal.
Powerful storms to batter East and West coasts as California faces risk of flash flooding and snow.
Women across Iran are refusing to wear headscarves, in open defiance of the regime.