Debt Agreement Passes House
The deal to set the debt ceiling is one step closer to being completed after it was passed briskly by the House of Representatives last night, and the prospect of a U.S. debt default is dwindling further. Investors showed relief as global markets and US stock futures rose this morning.
The bill will now face a final vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate. A vote in the House has always been seen as risky, but passing a bill through the Senate is far from dangerous. Fait accompli. A single legislator can hoax a bill — just look at what Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul wants: greater spending savings, Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, also said he would. vote against the agreement.But Senate leadership wants to get the bill to President Biden’s desk by this weekendand Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said he would back “without delay.”
Chairman Kevin McCarthy came on in good form. Yes, he needed Democrats to cross the line and pass legislation. And some fiscal hardliners within the party see the deal as a betrayal. (According to an analysis by The Times, the deal would lead to a $1 trillion deficit cut. Republicans had originally called for $4.8 trillion in cuts.)
But McCarthy held firm to the support of Conservatives, including Ohio MP Jim Jordan.
President Biden also drew praise for reaching a deal, which commentators called “problematic.” win for him and another example of his “Ability to close deals”.
Time is still tight. As of Tuesday, the Treasury’s cash balance had dwindled to $37.4 billion. Lowest level in 6 years. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen estimates the government will run out of money by Monday if no deal is passed by then.
Despite all the drama in Washington, the market was fairly quiet. The S&P 500 ended slightly higher in May, suggesting investors never priced in an apocalyptic scenario of default. This is a stark departure from the whirlwind deals that rocked the market during the last major debt ceiling row in 2011. when stocks and dollars fall.
Here are the other big winners and losers from last month.
Tech stocks led by investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. The FANG+ index includes AI-related stocks such as: Nvidia, Meta and Google were up nearly 15%. Meanwhile, commodity prices fell on fears that the global economy, especially China, was headed for recession. The prices of West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude have each fallen over the past five months.
Also boosting investor sentiment this morning was the news that two Fed voting members said on Wednesday: supported the idea The central bank’s moratorium rate will be raised this month.
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Amazon plans to settle for violating children’s privacy rules. The tech giant will pay $25 million to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the FTC and Department of Justice that it stored sensitive information collected from children via Alexa-enabled devices for years. Meanwhile, about 2,000 Amazon employees I quit my job On Wednesday, they held a rally to protest issues such as the company’s return-to-office mandate and recent job cuts.
Opinions are reportedly split within the Biden administration over rules on artificial intelligence. some officials take stronger measures According to Bloomberg, while it is regulating ChatGPT and others like European countries, there are also voices concerned that the regulation may adversely affect innovation in the United States. This split lack of consensus at a meeting of transatlantic technology policymakers in Sweden on Wednesday.
Inflation in the Eurozone is falling faster than expected. Last month, prices in the 20 countries increased by an annualized rate of 6.1%, down from 7% in April, to a double-digit increase. But food and service prices continue to rise, making it more likely that the European Central Bank will continue to raise interest rates.
Sean Combs sued Diageo, alleging racism. A beverage company owned by a music mogul has sued Diageo. Ignore Deleon’s Tequila Brand He said the beverage giant labeled Deleon as “urban” and “black.” Mr. Combs’ company argued that Diageo instead favored other brands, such as Casamigos, co-founded by George Clooney. Diageo has denied this claim.
Dimon Avoids Responsibility for JPMorgan-Epstein Relationship
As JPMorgan Chase faces accusations of ignoring red flags about Jeffrey Epstein, executives including Jamie Dimon, the bank’s top executive, said in sworn testimony that they had been convicted of sexual misconduct. He said he knew very little about criminals.
Dimon and senior lieutenant Mary Erdoes’ depositions gave the impression that executives weren’t talking to each other about one of the bank’s most notorious clients.
Dimon said he had barely heard of Epstein before taking office. arrest on federal sex trafficking allegations. (This was despite Epstein’s frequent appearances in the tabloids.) Dimon insisted that JP Morgan was not responsible for the financier’s crimes, but insisted that Epstein’s victims ” I don’t mind apologizing personally.”
Erdeez, JPMorgan’s wealth management chief, also claimed that he had only met with Epstein twice, the second time he was dismissed as a client in 2013.
Both executives tried to blame others for JPMorgan’s longstanding relationship with Epstein. Erdeeez said it became easier to end ties with Jess Staley, the former head of private banking, after he left the company in early 2013. He was Mr. Epstein’s lawyer within the bank,” he said, adding that in his absence, “I broke up with Mr. Epstein.”
Dimon said the final authority to remove Epstein as a client was I slept with Steve Cutler, Former General Counsel of JP Morgan. Dimon added that he believes Cutler and Erdeyes were “both trying to do the right thing.”
Staley’s deposition is next, which could take place as early as next week. Staley claims in his legal documents: I spoke with Mr. Dimon The Wall Street Journal reports that JPMorgan denies this and has repeatedly mentioned keeping Mr. Epstein as a client.
Climate change proposal flops at oil giants conference
Investors in Chevron and ExxonMobil on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected of Numerous Shareholder Proposals It was intended to force oil producers to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and disclose more climate-related data.
The dismal results underscore how efforts to make the fossil fuel industry greener are losing momentum, with climate shareholder activists telling the dealbook that their Emphasizes an existential anxiety about how little ground movement gains.
Almost every proposal failed to get more than 20% support. This reflects widespread backlash against efforts to force Chevron and Exxon to decarbonize and publish emissions targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. (Some measures fell through, despite support from big investors such as Norway’s $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund and British asset manager Legal & General.)
Big investors have downplayed their support for ESG, An investment movement focused on environmental, social and corporate governance issues amid pressure from conservative lawmakers across the country. (It’s not clear how asset managers such as BlackRock and Vanguard, who have publicly promoted ESG stances in recent years, voted for the latest proposal.)
Meanwhile, U.S. oil companies are ramping up fossil fuel production, citing increased demand from the Ukraine war and rising inflation. Chevron has agreed to buy shale producer PDC Energy for $6.3 billion, further doubling its use of conventional fuels.
Activists were furious about the results, It was a sharp reversal of the movement’s fortunes after hedge fund Engine Number 1 won three seats on Exxon’s board in 2021. “It is incomprehensible that most investors are still accepting the 10-year refusal to cut emissions by the big US giants,” said Mark van Baar. The founder of environmental advocacy group Follow This said after the meeting:
“We never had any systemic problems with harassment … but what we really did was a very aggressive labor movement working hard to destabilize the company.”
— Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. He defended the video game maker’s workplace culture in an interview with Variety as lawsuits and investigations over harassment and gender equality loom over the company. Kotik also said he wanted to buy Time Warner in 2018.
Former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt dies
Harvey Pitt becomes SEC’s youngest general counsel and later returns as chairman died on tuesday Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001, Mr. Pitt ran government agencies during the turmoil following the September 11 attacks and enforced new regulations passed in the wake of the attacks. Enron accounting scandal.
Pitt’s dream job turned nightmare. He lasted only 18 months as chairman before resigning after a string of political missteps.These include his elect head of new treasurer committee It was established in response to the leadership of the audit committee of a company that fell into an accounting scandal in the Enron scandal. A few months ago, Mr. Pitt was widely ridiculed for trying to insert a clause into the law that would give him a higher salary and higher status. He later said his role became politicized after the Enron scandal.
Pitt returned to the private sector, but the SEC’s role remained a focus for him. He founded and led Kalorama Partners, a legal and consulting firm, and taught for many years in Georgetown.but the agency always was in my head all along. “Even last year he made himself available to advise,” SEC commissioners said in a joint statement Wednesday. “Harvey loved this agency.”
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Information of sale
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electric car manufacturers Lucid plans to sell The stake is worth $3 billion, much of which will go to a major shareholder, a Saudi sovereign wealth fund. (CNBC)
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wee sodaThe company, a leading manufacturer of critical glass-making components, plans to list on the London Stock Exchange in an effort to counter the trend of companies shying away from the UK stock market. (FT)
policy
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Mr. Mehta asked the federal court: block the FTC. We do not impose sanctions on companies for alleged privacy violations.it also threatened Get news from California platforms If a state passes a law requiring tech companies to pay publishers. (WSJ)
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned: Incident with the Chinese Army Fighters could “go out of control” after making “aggressive” maneuvers near U.S. aircraft. (FT)
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