News in Review: Saturday, March 11, 2023

What does the news landscape look like?

President Biden’s budget plan was the top story yesterday, followed by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Fox News has fallen to fourth place.

This is how the top stories were covered on each side of the media yesterday:

• Biden budget plan (7% more on the right)

• Silicon Valley Bank (23% more on the left)

• DeSantis / Trump / 2024 (5% more on the right)

Media bias ratings are from AllSides.

This is how articles from liberal and conservative outlets were distributed over the past five days among the top stories.

Liberal outlets used these words more than conservative outlets:

• career (74.4x)

• comeback (62.1x)

• nominations (25.1x)

Conservative outlets used these words more than liberal outlets:

• fentanyl (162.6x)

• cartels (16.8x)

• mexico (8.8x)

What is happening in the top stories?

Now for a deep dive into our top three stories, starting with…

Biden budget plan

Key people: President Biden, House Freedom Caucus, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith

Background:

• President Biden is proposing a budget for fiscal year 2024 that includes tax hikes targeting wealthier Americans to tackle the country’s deficits by trillions over the next decade.

• Biden is also proposing to extend the solvency of the Medicare national healthcare program by 25 years with an increased tax rate on high earners.

• Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid make up nearly half of the entire federal budget, with a total annual price tag of $2.7 trillion.

Latest developments:

• The House Freedom Caucus has responded to Biden’s budget proposal with a list of demands, including a near freeze on discretionary spending and an end to multiple programs, in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

• The hardline response from the House Freedom Caucus is just an early salvo in a budget negotiation that has higher-than-usual stakes because House Republicans have said they will not vote to lift the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling unless Biden agrees to spending cuts.

• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen clashed with House Republicans during a hearing over Biden’s proposed budget, with Republicans charging Democrats with “reckless spending” and needling Yellen over proposed funding for the IRS.

Silicon Valley Bank

Key people: SVB Financial Group CEO Greg Becker, Silvergate Capital Corp CEO Alan Lane, First Republic CEO James Herbert, Western Alliance CEO Ken Vecchione

Background:

• SVB Financial Group announced a $1.75 billion share sale on March 9, leading to a nearly 6% drop in the S&P 500 bank index and a more than 50% drop in SVB’s shares.

• Silvergate Capital Corp announced on March 8 that it planned to wind down operations and voluntarily liquidate after suffering losses from the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

• Silvergate’s decision to discontinue the Silvergate Exchange Network on March 6 led to a drop in shares of cryptocurrency-related companies, including Signature Bank and Coinbase Global.

Latest developments:

• SVB Financial Group was nationalized and is being run by the FDIC after a failed share sale triggered worries of a liquidity crisis.

• The closure of Silicon Valley Bank by banking regulators on March 10 marked the largest bank failure since the financial crisis and led to concerns about the health of U.S. banks.

• First Republic Bank and Western Alliance reassured investors on March 10 that their liquidity and deposits remained strong, aiming to calm worries of a spill-over of risks from SVB Financial Group’s troubles.

• Wall Street’s indexes fell on March 10 as investors stressed about the health of U.S. banks broadly after the closure of Silicon Valley Bank and the collapse of Silvergate Capital.

DeSantis / Trump / 2024

Key people: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Kim Reynolds

Background:

• The race for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election is expected to be a two-man contest between former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

• Polling suggests that Trump is likely to prevail in a crowded Republican primary field in a lower-turnout scenario, while DeSantis would fare better in a two-way contest with a higher turnout.

Latest developments:

• A fundraising group tied to DeSantis raised close to $10 million in February, pointing to it having about $80 million in the bank at the end of last month.

• DeSantis made his first trip to the early nominating state of Iowa on Friday as he tests the waters for a presidential bid, only days before Trump is slated to campaign there.

• DeSantis introduced himself to an eager audience of Iowa Republicans with a message that leaned into the antagonism toward the left that has made him a popular figure among conservatives.

• DeSantis’ visit to Iowa is an early test of his support and could be particularly crucial for him, as the state will hold the first Republican nominating contest early next year.