Your Evening Briefing: International Criminal Court Calls for Putin’s Arrest

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin for war crimes related to the alleged abduction of children from Ukraine. Though predictably decried by the Kremlin, the call for the arrest of a head of state, let alone a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a nuclear superpower, resonated all over the world. It could also be the beginning of a series of charges against Putin, his adjutants and Russian forces over waging the war on Ukraine, as well as allegations of mass executions, torture and the targeting of residential homes and infrastructure. Next week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Moscow amid warnings from the US of unspecified consequences should Xi decide to send arms to Russia.

In a bit of an anticlimax to the crisis its bank triggered, Silicon Valley Bank’s former parent company filed for bankruptcy. Over at First Republic, it looks like $30 billion won’t necessarily do the trick. The California lender saw its shares tumble again on Friday, closing out their worst week ever, as sentiment around the lender remained fragile even after a massive cash injection. Shares of First Republic sank 33% to finish at their lowest level since October 2011. Here’s your markets wrap.