Virginia Tech experts available to discuss headlines in the news
The Virginia Tech media relations office has the following experts available for interviews this week surrounding issues in the news. To schedule an interview, please contact mediarelations@vt.edu.
Possible indictment of a former U.S. president
Virginia Tech political professor Karen Hult can discuss the historical and political implications of an indictment of former U.S. President Trump, should Trump’s claims of an impending Tuesday arrest prove true.
Economic outlook - Federal Reserve considers raising interest rates again
Virginia Tech economics expert David Bieri discusses whether the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates despite a concentration of high profile banks becoming unstable. “Markets are very nervous as are regulators,” Bieri says. “This was definitely witnessed Sunday with the Treasury and Fed emphasizing the importance of cross-border collaboration among regulating agencies.”
Silicon Valley Bank fallout continues with bankruptcy declaration
Once a leading financial institution, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed at shocking speed after a bank run on a scale unseen since the Great Recession. The repercussions of this second largest bank failure in U.S. history continue to be felt with SVB declaring bankruptcy and the FDIC seeking a buyer.
- Finance professor George Morgan explains what went wrong at SVB, how federal authorities have handled the crisis and whether worries of problems at other banks are justified. “The new wrinkle is adding the new emergency term loan facility for them and other banks,” he says. “Should the government be pumping money into the system at this point? Is the added layer of action going to create problems in the future, including emboldening banks and companies to take more risk?” Read more here.
- Economics professor Jadrian Wooten explains the mechanisms of, and history behind, bank runs. “When everyone else is rushing to the bank, the fear of being left out can be overwhelming, leading to a rush for the exit,” he says. “It’s very similar to what happened during the early weeks of the pandemic when people rushed to the store to buy toilet paper.” Read more here.
Congress sets the stage to ban TikTok, social media expert explains
Virginia Tech multimedia journalism professor Mike Horning can offer perspective on the concerns TikTok raises for federal authorities, as the Biden administration pressures Chinese owner ByteDance to divest and the Justice Department probes allegations of spying. “I think it's important to realize the degree to which the algorithms on TikTok are good at understanding what appeals to us,” Horning says. Read more about Horning’s analysis here.
If you are seeking an expert for a specific topic, please email mediarelations@vt.edu.
