Free Republic

Financial regulators are discussing two different facilities to manage the fallout from the closure of Silicon Valley Bank if no buyer materializes, according to a source close to the situation. One way that the regulators would step in would be to create a backstop for uninsured deposits at Silicon Valley Bank, using an authority from the Federal Deposit Insurance Act -snip- Another option would be a “general banking facility” from the Federal Reserve that would support other financials with exposure to SVB.

The High Court of Northern Ireland has ruled that a no-deal Brexit would not breach the Good Friday Agreement, which supports the peace process in the British province. Northern Ireland, known colloquially as Ulster, was for decades wracked with violence perpetrated by terrorists claiming to be fighting on behalf of the minority of the population which supports leaving the United Kingdom and uniting with the Republic of Ireland, and to a lesser extent by loyalist paramilitaries. This conflict, known as The Troubles, was significantly wound down by the Good Friday Agreement, or Belfast Agreement, signed in the 1990s... Campaigners seeking...

The longest sea bridge in the world at 20.2 miles long is the Donghai bridge that links Shanghai to Yangshan in China. A bridge from either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland would have to be even longer than that. In 2007, a 21-mile rail bridge was proposed between Galloway, Scotland, to Belfast, Northern Ireland. The idea would have trains running from Dublin, through Belfast, over the sea to Scotland, and then down railways into London... "Four main routes have been proposed. Two run from Scotland to Northern Ireland - Campbeltown to County Antrim, or Stranraer to Belfast. Two...

A group of opposition and rebel MPs have published a bill to extend Article 50 and stop the UK from leaving the EU without a deal. Tonight, MPs will debate and vote on whether the bill should be heard on Wednesday - what has been called 'taking control of the order paper'. If the motion to allow the debate on the rebel bill passes on Tuesday night, Boris Johnson will be one step closer to calling a General Election, which he is expected to do if the legislation passes.

Johnson, since taking office on Wednesday, has repeatedly said that if the EU continues to refuse to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement agreed by his predecessor Theresa May, then he will take Britain out on Oct. 31 without a deal. His biggest demand is that the most hotly-contested element of the Brexit divorce agreement, the Irish border backstop, be struck out of the Withdrawal Agreement, a demand that has angered Ireland and perturbed other EU capitals. Speaking before a Stephenson’s Rocket, a 19th century steam locomotive, in the northern England city of Manchester, Johnson dedicated most of his speech to improving...

Tory leadership hopeful Sajid Javid has said the Government should pay “hundreds of millions of euros” to solve the Irish border issue and break the Brexit deadlock. The Home Secretary told the Mail On Sunday he believes a technological solution to the problem can be found and Britain has a “moral and economic duty” to cover the cost. Preventing a hard border on the island of Ireland has long been a major stumbling block in the Brexit negotiations, with the EU proposing the controversial backstop to avoid such a scenario. The backstop is an insurance mechanism in the Withdrawal Agreement...