Something is bound to break when the Federal Reserve is ratcheting up interest rates as quickly as it has been doing. Since early 2022, the US Federal Reserve has rapidly tightened monetary policy from a low of 0.25% to a smidgen below 5% today. By the end of this month, the Fed Fund rate could breach the psychologically-worrying five handle. Interest-rate hikes at lightning speed is almost certain to send tremors through the financial system. One of the first to crack was the UK pension industry. It fissured when pension funds were forced to sell Gilts to cover margin calls. Some of us didn’t even realise that pension companies could do something as risky as that. But we learn. The second has been the collapse of America’s 16th largest bank that primarily serviced start-ups in Silicon Valley. Its concentrated depositor base relied heavily on fresh funds being raised through IPOs, private equity, and venture capital investments. Meanwhile, these cash-hungry start-ups were munching...