2020 to today

1. 2020March 2020Wall Street & Banking

   The Federal Reserve hires BlackRock to run its corporate bond purchases

   The first time the Fed bought corporate debt. The purchases included ETFs managed by BlackRock and companies in which BlackRock is a major shareholder. The same firm had managed toxic assets for the Fed in 2008.

   Source: BlackRock: The Company that Owns the WorldRead the full story →
2. 2021September 27, 2021Wall Street & Banking

   Two Federal Reserve bank presidents announce their departures over 2020 trades

   Cleared of rule violations in 2024; appearance of a conflict found.

   Source: A timeline of the Federal Reserve's trading scandalRead the full story →
3. 2022February 28, 2022Wall Street & Banking

   Treasury immobilizes the Russian central bank's assets in the United States

   About 300 billion dollars frozen worldwide with the allies.

   Source: Treasury Prohibits Transactions with Central Bank of Russia and Imposes Sanctions on Key Sources of Russia's WealthRead the full story →
4. March 30, 2022Wall Street & Banking

   Federal Reserve balance sheet peaks at about $8.9 trillion

   From $4.2 trillion before the pandemic. Prices rose 9.1 percent in the year to June.

   Source: Federal Reserve Balance Sheet Developments, November 2022Read the full story →
5. 2023March 12, 2023Wall Street & Banking

   Every deposit at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature guaranteed

   $231.1 billion uninsured; $16.7 billion charged to 110 other banks.

   Source: Bank Failures: The FDIC's Systemic Risk Exception (IF12378)Read the full story →
6. April 28, 2023Wall Street & Banking

   Fed review: the 2018 rollback promoted a less assertive supervisory approach

   Supervisors saw the problems and did not act in time.

   Source: Review of the Federal Reserve's Supervision and Regulation of Silicon Valley Bank, Key TakeawaysRead the full story →
7. 2024January 18, 2024Wall Street & Banking

   Fed inspector general: the rules did not sufficiently support public confidence

   Kaplan and Rosengren: no violation, appearance of conflict.

   Source: Investigation closing memorandum: trading by Reserve Bank presidents (Kaplan and Rosengren)Read the full story →
8. April 24, 2024Wall Street & Banking

   REPO Act: the president may seize, confiscate, transfer, or vest Russian sovereign assets

   The first law authorizing the taking of another central bank's reserves.

   Source: U.S. Sanctions on Russia: Legal Authorities and Related ActionsRead the full story →
9. September 4, 2024Wall Street & Banking

   Atlanta Fed president broke two trading rules and two conduct policies

   He stayed in office.

   Source: Watchdog probe says Atlanta Fed president created 'appearance' of improprietyRead the full story →
10. 2025April 2, 2025Wall Street & Banking

    Tariffs on nearly every country by emergency proclamation

    Average rate reaches 17.9 percent by October, the highest since 1934.

    Source: State of U.S. Tariffs: October 30, 2025Read the full story →
11. April 15, 2025Wall Street & Banking

    Consumer bureau asks a judge to vacate its own $8 late fee cap

    Granted the same day.

    Source: Federal Judge voids CFPB credit card late fee ruleRead the full story →
12. 2026February 18, 2026Wall Street & Banking

    Union membership at 10.0 percent, 5.9 percent in the private sector

    20.1 percent in 1983.

    Source: Union Members, 2025Read the full story →
13. February 20, 2026Wall Street & Banking

    Supreme Court: the emergency law does not authorize tariffs

    6 to 3. At least $160 billion collected. Refunds unresolved.

    Source: Summary: Supreme Court Decision on IEEPA TariffsRead the full story →
14. March 25, 2026Wall Street & Banking

    France discloses it sold its last 129 tonnes of gold in New York and bought bars in Europe

    All 2,437 tonnes now in France; the governor says it was not political.

    Source: France Pulls All Gold Out of US Federal ReserveRead the full story →
15. Spring 2026Wall Street & Banking

    Private credit funds cap withdrawals at 5 percent

    Morgan Stanley, Apollo, BlackRock, Blue Owl.

    Source: Private Credit's Stress TestRead the full story →
16. May 7, 2026Wall Street & Banking

    Trade court strikes the 10 percent replacement tariff

    Relief for three importers; the tariff stays for everyone else.

    Source: US Trade Court Strikes Down Section 122 Tariffs, but Ruling's Relief Is NarrowRead the full story →
17. July 23, 2026Wall Street & Banking

    Replacement tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on 60 economies

    Under a third statute, as the second expires.

    Source: Trump Administration Implements Replacement Tariffs Covering Most ImportsRead the full story →
18. July 30, 2026Wall Street & Banking

    Productivity up 93.2 percent since 1979, pay up 33.7 percent

    The Economic Policy Institute's tracker, from government data.

    Source: The Productivity-Pay GapRead the full story →
19. August 7, 2026Wall Street & Banking

    Credit card rate on balances at 22.15 percent

    Household debt $18.8 trillion.

    Source: Consumer Credit, G.19, June 2026Read the full story →
20. August 12, 2026Wall Street & Banking

    What cost $1 in 1913 costs $33.73

    Consumer price index 333.918, up 3.4 percent in a year.

    Source: Consumer Price Index, July 2026Read the full story →
21. September 2, 2026Wall Street & Banking

    Dutch central bank moves 86 tonnes of gold out of New York and Ottawa to London

    In view of increasing geopolitical unrest, it says; New York's share cut from 31 to 18 percent.

    Source: DNB improves tradability of gold reservesRead the full story →

Stories (6)

• 1988 to 2021How the Federal Reserve Hired BlackRock to Run the 2008 and 2020 BailoutsIn 2008 the Federal Reserve Bank of New York gave BlackRock the contracts to manage the toxic assets of Bear Stearns, AIG, and Citigroup, without competitive bidding, while BlackRock was one of the largest shareholders in the banks being rescued. In 2020 the Fed hired the same firm to buy corporate bonds, including bonds of companies BlackRock owns large stakes in.Wall Street & Banking
• 2018 to 2026The 2023 Silicon Valley Bank Bailout and the $3 Trillion Unregulated Private Credit MarketIn March 2023 Silicon Valley Bank lost $40 billion of deposits in a day and expected $100 billion more the next morning. The government invoked an emergency exception to guarantee every deposit, including the $231 billion at two banks that the law did not insure, at a cost of $16.7 billion charged to 110 other banks. The Federal Reserve's own review found that the 2018 law rolling back the rules for banks of that size had reduced the standards, increased complexity, and promoted a less assertive supervisory approach. Since then the lending that used to be done by regulated banks has moved to private credit funds, now about $3 trillion, where two large borrowers collapsed in 2025 after hiding their debts and the funds began capping withdrawals.Wall Street & Banking
• 2020 to 2024Federal Reserve Bank Presidents Trading Millions in Stocks and Bonds During the 2020 BailoutsIn 2020 the Federal Reserve decided what the markets would do, and two of the twelve regional bank presidents who sat in on those decisions were trading in the markets. The president of the Dallas Fed traded stocks and options in positions worth millions. The president of the Boston Fed bought into mortgage funds in the months the Fed was buying mortgage bonds. Both announced their departures in September 2021. The Fed's inspector general found in January 2024 that neither had broken the rules in force, that the rules did not sufficiently support public confidence, and that both had created the appearance of a conflict of interest. In September 2024 he found the Atlanta Fed president had broken the trading rules and created the appearance of acting on confidential information. He stayed in office.Wall Street & Banking
• 1945 to 2024How BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Vote Your 401(k) SharesBlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street hold a stake in nearly every listed company, paid for with pension and 401(k) money. The people whose money it is sign away their votes, the asset managers almost always vote with management, and the managers decide for themselves whether they count as passive investors.Wall Street & Banking
• February 2025 to July 2026The 2025–2026 Emergency Tariffs: $160 Billion Collected Before the Supreme Court Struck Them DownIn 2025 the president imposed tariffs on nearly every country under a 1977 emergency law that does not mention tariffs. By October the average tariff rate on what Americans buy from abroad was 17.9 percent, the highest since 1934, and the Budget Lab at Yale put the cost at $1,800 a household. Customs duties paid at the border rose 153 percent to $195 billion in fiscal 2025. On February 20, 2026 the Supreme Court held 6 to 3 that the law gave the president no such power. About $160 billion had been collected by then. Four days later a 10 percent tariff on everyone went on under a different law; a trade court struck that one in May; when it expired in July it was replaced under a third law, at 10 to 12.5 percent, on 60 countries.Wall Street & Banking
• 2013 to 2026Why European Central Banks Are Pulling Their Gold Reserves Out of the New York FedOn September 2, 2026 the Dutch central bank said it had moved about 86 tonnes of its gold out of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank of Canada to London between March and August, in view of increasing geopolitical unrest, so that the gold could be sold quickly in a crisis. France's central bank had already sold the last 129 tonnes it kept in New York and bought replacement bars in Europe. Germany, which keeps 1,236 tonnes in New York, is being pressed by its own economists and politicians to bring it home. The New York vault held over 12,000 tonnes of other countries' gold in 1973 and 6,331 tonnes in 2024. The countries that kept their gold in Manhattan because they trusted the United States are, one by one, deciding they would rather have it somewhere else.Wall Street & Banking