Newsletter May 19, 2023

Quick Six

Supreme Court sides with big tech on internet shield law
The Supreme Court on Thursday sidestepped a challenge to federal protections for internet and social media companies that free them of liability for user-posted content. The case involves a lawsuit against Google about the practices of its video-sharing platform YouTube. The justices returned to a lower court a lawsuit by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old college student from California who was fatally shot in a 2015 Paris terrorist attack.
WHY THE SCOTUS RULING IS A MAJOR WIN FOR BIG TECH

Republicans upbeat about reaching debt ceiling agreement
Top Republican Kevin McCarthy said Thursday he saw "the path" to a breakthrough in talks to avert a looming debt default, despite signals from his party's hard right that they would not soften their demands for deep spending cuts. The government is expecting to hit the legal borrowing limit as soon as June 1, raising the chance of the US defaulting on repayments on its $31.8 trillion debt.
WHY REPUBLICANS ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT A DEBT DEAL

Walmart rides grocery sales to higher annual profit forecast
Walmart raised its full-year profit forecast on Thursday following strong sales growth in the US fueled by gains in grocery and other household staples. The US retail giant, which has been seen as a winner in a period of consumer inflation pressure because of its ability to keep prices lower through economies of scale, pointed to gains in grocery market share with higher-income households.
WALMART'S REVISED NUMBERS FOR PROFIT FORECAST

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Markets

DJIA	33,535.91	0.34%
S&P 500	4,198.05	0.94%
Nasdaq Composite	12,688.84	1.51%
Japan: Nikkei 225	30,573.93	1.60%
UK: FTSE 100	7,742.30	0.25%
Crude Oil Futures	72.05	0.26%
Gold Futures	1,960.70	0.05%
Yen	138.65	-0.04%
Euro	1.08	0.06%
* As of market close

US-Taiwan reach trade deal despite China

The US and Taiwan concluded negotiations on a trade agreement to deepen economic ties amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. The US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade looks to boost trade by streamlining customs checks, improving regulatory procedures and establishing anti-corruption measures between the two. While the US and Taiwan, which China has long-claimed as part of its territory, do not have official diplomatic relations, they do maintain unofficial ties.

SEE CHINA'S REACTION TO THE NEW US-TAIWAN TRADE DEAL

Disney scraps campus amid DeSantis row

Disney canceled plans for a new employee campus in central Florida on Thursday in the latest fallout from its feud with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The entertainment giant will not move forward with the Lake Nona project due to "considerable changes" since the announcement. The project, announced in July 2021, was expected to relocate 2,000 jobs from California to the Disney World complex in Orlando.

SEE THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CANCELLING THE PROJECT

Montana's TikTok ban faces legal barriers

A total ban of TikTok in the state of Montana is set up to face an epic battle in the courts, but many experts wonder whether the law is even technically possible. Montana is the first state to ban TikTok, with the law set to take effect next year as debate escalates over the impact and security of the popular video app owned by Chinese company ByteDance. The prohibition will serve as a legal test for a national ban.

SEE THE LIKELY LEGAL OBSTACLES OF A TOTAL TIKTOK BAN

Extra point

Montana holds the world record for the greatest 24-hour temperature change. How much did the temperatures swing in one day, and when?

Thursday's answer: With more than $30 billion in sales, Call of Duty is the highest-grossing video game franchise of all-time.