Western sanctions have hit Russian banks, wealthy individuals and technology imports. But after a year of far-reaching restrictions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine.
There's no mass unemployment, no plunging currency, no lines in front of failing banks. The assortment at the supermarket is little changed, with international brands still available or local substitutes taking their place.

The UK Treasury and the Bank of England have "facilitated the sale" of Silicon Valley Bank UK to HSBC, ensuring the security of 6.7 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) of deposits.
British officials worked throughout the weekend to find a buyer for the UK subsidiary of the California-based bank that failed last week.

President Joe Biden is set to meet with two of America's closest allies to announce that Australia will purchase U.S.-manufactured, nuclear-powered attack submarines to modernize its fleet, amid growing concerns about China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Biden is traveling Monday to San Diego, where he will meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for talks on the 18-month-old nuclear partnership known by the acronym AUKUS.

The U.S. government has taken extraordinary steps to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring all depositors at the failed institution that they could access all their money quickly, even as another major bank was shut down.
The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, California-based bank to fail could spread. Regulators had worked all weekend to try to find a buyer for the bank, which was the second-largest bank failure in history. Those efforts appeared to have failed Sunday.

Can Washington come to the rescue of the depositors of failed Silicon Valley Bank? Is it even politically possible?
That was one of the growing questions in Washington Sunday as policymakers tried to figure out whether the U.S. government — and its taxpayers — should bail out a failed bank that largely served Silicon Valley, with all its wealth and power.

The Observatoire Européen pour l'Integrité du Liban said Monday that French judge Aude Buresi will arrive in Lebanon in the upcoming hours to question Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh.
The interrogation will take place in the presence of First Investigative Judge of Beirut Charbel Abou Samra, the observatory said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the government would assess the effect of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse on Israeli companies and determine whether or not to assist them.
Israel is home to a vibrant high-tech industry, and local media said Sunday that hundreds of local firms could be exposed to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are set to unveil on Friday a plan that the White House hopes will help turn the page on the ongoing spat between the U.S. and European Union over electric vehicle tax credits.
Biden and von der Leyen are expected to agree to open negotiations between the U.S. and the EU on a deal that could boost the use of European minerals critical in the production of electric vehicle batteries that are eligible for U.S. tax credits through Biden's roughly $375 billion clean energy law that passed last year, according to administration officials. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of the leaders' meeting.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met Friday in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron in efforts to mend relations following post-Brexit tensions, as well as improving military and business ties and toughening efforts against Channel migrant crossings.
Both leaders shook hands and briefly posed for photographers, smiling, as Sunak arrived at the presidential palace.

The humble egg has become a star performer for all the wrong reasons as inflation has hit households across the European Union extremely hard over the year.
The EU's statistical agency Eurostat announced Friday that the average price of an egg — that important staple for poor families and gourmet cooks alike — had risen by 30% over the year to January 2023, becoming a symbol of how the cost of living has hit everyone in the 27-nation bloc.
