The Lebanese pound sank to a historic low against the dollar on the parallel market Tuesday, foreign exchange dealers said, as banks in the crisis-hit country resumed an open-ended strike.

The Lebanese pound, officially pegged at 15,000 to the dollar, was trading at 100,000 against the greenback, dealers said -- a dizzying plunge from 1,507 before the economic crisis hit in 2019.

President Joe Biden on Monday told Americans the nation's financial systems were safe, seeking to project calm following the swift and stunning collapse of two banks that prompted fears of a broader upheaval.

"Your deposits will be there when you need them," he said.

The U.S. has begun an aggressive new push to inflict pain on Russia's economy and specifically its oligarchs with the intent of thwarting the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

From the Treasury Department to the Justice Department, U.S. officials will focus on efforts to legally liquidate the property of Russian oligarchs, expand financial penalties on those who facilitate the evasion of sanctions, and close loopholes in the law that allow oligarchs to use shell companies to move through the U.S. financial system.

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.