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☆ North Carolina Passes 12-Week Abortion Ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | Laura Kusisto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

From a high-stakes legal battle over the abortion pill mifepristone, to states debating their own legislation, WSJ’s Laura Kusisto highlights where abortion access stands now and what could come next. Photo Illustration: Preston JesseeNorth Carolina’s Republican-led legislature passed a ban on most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, setting the state on a path to restricting access that could ultimately reverberate across the region. North Carolina has become a crucial access point for patients in the Southeast seeking abortions after the Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade and many states in the region enacted near-total bans on the procedure.

☆ PacWest and the Bank Confidence Genie
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Aaron Back | Telis Demos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The FDIC seized First Republic Bank early Monday and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase. WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to the bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston JesseePacWest Bancorp is the latest lender to face an investor panic. What is becoming clear is that investors aren’t willing to give some banks much credit beyond the bare minimum. The immediate trigger for Thursday’s selloff in PacWest and other regional bank stocks appeared to be a Bloomberg story Wednesday afternoon saying the California lender is looking at “strategic options,” including a sale or breakup.

☆ Regional-Bank Shares Dive as Investors Fret About Contagion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Gina Heeb | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to First Republic Bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston JesseeRegional-bank stocks tumbled Thursday morning despite assurances from the Federal Reserve that the banking system is on solid footing. PacWest Bancorp , which has been hit hard since regional banks started wavering in March, fell a record 42% after the market opened. The stock started falling in after-hours trading Wednesday evening, after a report that it was considering selling itself.

☆ Toronto-Dominion Bank, First Horizon Call Off Merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Vipal Monga | Adriano Marchese | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sent shock waves through Wall Street and Main Street. WSJ’s Dion Rabouin explains what this means for investors and everyday Americans. Illustration: Preston JesseeToronto-Dominion Bank and Tennessee-based First Horizon have called off their $13.4 billion merger. TD ran into hurdles getting regulators to sign off on the deal, announced in February 2022. The Canadian lender said it couldn’t be sure when or if it would get the necessary approvals, so the two banks decided to terminate the deal.

☆ Russian Government Says Kremlin Hit by Ukraine Drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

First Republic Seized and Sold: Why It Happened and What Comes Next The FDIC seized First Republic Bank early Monday and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to JPMorgan Chase. WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to the bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston Jessee

☆ Writers Strike in Hollywood and New York: Here’s What to Know
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ U.S. Businessman Ajay Banga Approved to Lead World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Yuka Hayashi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As economists warn that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will cost many more trillions than anticipated, WSJ looks at how the funds could be spent, and who would pay. Illustration: Preston Jessee/WSJWASHINGTON—The World Bank’s executive board approved Ajay Banga as its next president on Wednesday, putting the India-born American businessman in charge of an effort to expand lending capacity and fight climate change. Mr. Banga, who was nominated for the post by President Biden, succeeds David Malpass , a nominee of former President Donald Trump who is stepping down in June, a year before his term ends.

☆ TikTok Is Launching Ad Product for Publishers and Giving Them 50% Cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Alexandra Bruell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TikTok is at a crossroads, as U.S. concerns about its Chinese ownership grow. Some officials have explored the idea of forcing a sale to a U.S. company. WSJ explains the challenges of making that happen. Illustration: Preston JesseeTikTok said it is launching a new product that will make it possible for publishers to sell ads alongside their posts, a shift for the video-sharing app, which historically has focused on independent creators. The product, Pulse Premiere, is the evolution of TikTok’s Pulse program, which allows an elite group of creators to collect half the revenue from video ads that appear just after their TikTok posts.

☆ Regional Bank Stocks Plunge Ahead of Fed Meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Gina Heeb | Rachel Louise Ensign | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Preston JesseeShares of a number of midsize lenders fell sharply Tuesday following the collapse of First Republic Bank, a sign that investors are still worried about the industry’s health in a world of higher interest rates. Banks that took a hit following the March collapse of Silicon Valley Bank fell the most. Los Angeles-based PacWest was down 25% in midday trading, while Phoenix-based Western Alliance fell 19%. Metropolitan Bank , based in New York, declined 20%.

☆ Hollywood Writers Strike: What It Could Mean for Your Favorite Shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ How Washington Got on Board With a Big-Bank Deal for First Republic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Ben Eisen | Andrew Ackerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ’s Ben Eisen explains what led to the bank’s failure and what it means for customers, investors and the industry. Illustration: Preston JesseeFederal regulators wanted a strong deal for First Republic Bank. As a result, they helped America’s largest lender get even bigger. JPMorgan Chase beat out bids from at least three smaller peers, according to people familiar with the matter. The bank said it had some 800 people working over the weekend to scour First Republic’s books and assess its business.

☆ Why Washington Let JPMorgan Buy First Republic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Ben Eisen | Andrew Ackerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ The Booming Texas Border Town at the Center of a Global Trade Shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

How This Construction Technique Prevents Skyscrapers From Sinking Super-tall skyscrapers are being built in cities around the world where they might normally sink. But a process called deep-soil mixing allows builders to give skyscrapers a stronger base. WSJ explains how the process changes the earth, and the risks it poses as cities expand. Illustration: Preston Jessee

☆ ChatGPT Ban Lifted in Italy After Data-Privacy Concessions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Sam Schechner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft is combining the tech behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT with its Bing search engine. In an interview, WSJ’s Joanna Stern spoke with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about the new tools and how AI is going to change search. Photo illustration: Preston Jessee for The Wall Street JournalItaly’s privacy regulator rescinded its temporary ban on ChatGPT after the chatbot’s developer, OpenAI, implemented changes demanded by the regulator, the latest twist in the complex regulatory response to new artificial-intelligence technology. Italy’s ban was one of the first nationwide measures restricting the use of ChatGPT since it exploded globally in popularity in recent months. The Italian Data Protection Authority ordered the ban late last month, saying that OpenAI had “no legal basis” for using the data it had amassed about Italian residents to train its algorithms and that it was too easy for children to access.

☆ Europe’s Green-Energy Push Struggles to Match U.S. Momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Anna Hirtenstein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Preston Jessee/WSJThis was supposed to be renewable energy’s big year in Europe. It isn’t going according to plan. After Russia pitched the continent into an energy crisis last year, European leaders moved to bolster energy security and speed up their embrace of alternatives to fossil fuels. But those efforts appear to be falling short, even as a government-fueled boom in the U.S. draws attention and capital.

☆ SEC Climate Rules Could Decide Whether U.S. Firms Face Tough EU Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paul Kiernan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Preston Jessee/WSJThe European Union plans to require thousands of U.S. companies to disclose extensive details about how their operations affect the climate—unless the Securities and Exchange Commission passes rules that EU officials see as tough enough to take their place. More than 3,000 U.S. companies are expected to have to gather and disclose data on their greenhouse-gas emissions and those of their suppliers and customers under a European Union law passed in 2022. The law says non-EU companies can get out of the new rules only if they face equivalent requirements elsewhere.

☆ SEC Climate Rules Could Decide Whether U.S. Companies Face Tough EU Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paul Kiernan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Preston Jessee/WSJThe European Union plans to require thousands of American companies to disclose extensive details about how their operations affect the climate—unless the Securities and Exchange Commission passes rules that EU officials see as tough enough to take their place. More than 3,000 U.S. companies are expected to have to gather and disclose data on their greenhouse-gas emissions and those of their suppliers and customers under a European Union law passed in 2022. The law says non-EU companies can get out of the new rules only if they face equivalent requirements elsewhere.

☆ Biden Announces 2024 Re-Election Campaign: Here Are His Challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Abortion Access: Where It Stands After Supreme Court Allows Mifepristone From a high-stakes legal battle over the abortion pill mifepristone, to states debating their own legislation, WSJ’s Laura Kusisto highlights where abortion access stands now and what could come next. Photo Illustration: Preston Jessee

☆ Microsoft Revenue Growth Stays Low as Economic Concerns Hurt Demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Tom Dotan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo illustration: Preston Jessee for The Wall Street JournalMicrosoft Corp. said its growth remained subdued last quarter as economic concerns cooled consumer demand and corporate orders for the company’s software and cloud services. The software giant said revenue for the three months through March rose 7% from a year earlier. That marked the second straight quarter below the company’s yearslong trend of double-digit percentage growth, but the latest quarter and the company’s outlook for the current period both topped analysts’ expectations, helping send Microsoft’s share price sharply higher.

☆ Google Ad Revenue Drops for Second Straight Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Miles Kruppa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo illustration: Preston Jessee for The Wall Street JournalGoogle reported a second straight drop in advertising revenue, extending a rare decline as the company navigates economic concerns and tries to capitalize on recent advances in artificial intelligence. Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, posted $54.5 billion in ad revenue for the first quarter, a decrease of less than 1% from the same period last year but a smaller decline than Wall Street anticipated. That is the third drop in ad sales since Google became a public company in 2004, and the second consecutive quarterly decline following a 3.6% drop in the fourth quarter.

☆ A Satellite Phone That Works Anywhere? The U.S.-China Rivalry Makes That Harder.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Yang Jie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo illustration: Preston Jessee for The Wall Street JournalBuilding an affordable service that works everywhere on the planet has been the dream of mobile telephony since its early days. Companies in the U.S. and China are among those getting closer to delivering that service through satellite technology. But there is a problem. Both of the superpowers are determined to dominate the technology, and each has the ability to tarnish the dream for the other. Each can wield regulations to prevent the other’s satellite services from being used within its own borders.

☆ Supreme Court Faces Fresh Deadline on Access to Abortion Pill Mifepristone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Laura Kusisto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo Illustration: Preston JesseeThe Supreme Court faces another deadline Friday to decide whether to preserve access to a widely used abortion pill while a legal battle over its approval continues. The high court on Wednesday extended by two days a temporary stay allowing sales of the pill mifepristone to continue while it weighs whether to block lower-court orders that would impose significant new limits on the drug. Those restrictions are set to go into effect at the end of the day on Friday absent Supreme Court intervention.

☆ Supreme Court Faces Fresh Deadline in Abortion-Pill Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Laura Kusisto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Fed Rethinks Loophole That Masked Losses on SVB’s Securities
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Andrew Ackerman | Rachel Louise Ensign | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which held $200 billion in assets, has sent shock waves through Wall Street and Main Street. WSJ’s Dion Rabouin explains what this means for investors and everyday Americans worried about a broader, systemic problem in the U.S. banking system. Illustration: Preston JesseeWASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve may close a loophole that allows some midsize banks to effectively mask losses on securities they hold, a contributing factor in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Led by vice chair for supervision Michael Barr , the Fed is considering ending an exemption that allows some banks to boost the amount of capital they report for regulatory purposes, according to people familiar with the matter. Capital is the buffer banks are required to hold to absorb potential losses.

☆ Supreme Court Allows Abortion Pill Mifepristone to Stay on the Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Laura Kusisto | Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo Illustration: Preston JesseeWASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the widely used abortion pill mifepristone to remain on the market indefinitely, granting emergency requests from the Biden administration and the brand-name manufacturer of the drug. The high court blocked the effect of lower-court orders that would have limited access to the pill, which is used in more than half of U.S. abortions. The Supreme Court’s action wasn’t a decision on the merits of the case; instead, the justices were deciding whether the pill could remain available during a continuing legal challenge brought by antiabortion groups.

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