Good morning. US stock futures moved higher in Thursday morning trading boosted by strong results from Big Tech and industrial firms. 

"People aren't just loss-averse, they're also effort-averse"

Dan Ariely

Top News

McCarthy debt plan passes House 

WHAT: US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy managed to pull a rabbit out of his hat and get his debt limit bill through the House, setting the stage for a standoff with the White House over averting a catastrophic US default. McCarthy's plan would increase the US debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, which would stave off a US payments default until March 31st, 2024.   

WHY: The US Treasury is soon to release a new estimate of when the department thinks the government will be at risk of default without raising the federal borrowing limit.   

Blocked!  

WHAT: UK regulators have put the kibosh on Microsoft's big plans to buy Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, citing concerns that the acquisition might quash competition in the world of cloud gaming.  

WHY: The UK decision could ultimately stop the deal if Microsoft is unable to win on appeal. The merger agreement for the deal expires in July, with Microsoft having to incur a $3 billion break up fee if the deal fails to go through.      

US skittish about Chinese cloud computing companies 

WHAT: US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was in no mood to mix matters about her position on Chinese cloud computing companies. Raimondo noted that companies like Huawei Cloud and Alibaba Cloud were causing cyber-jitters in Washington and vowed to review a request to add them to an export control list. 

WHY: "I've put over 200 Chinese companies on the entity list, and we are actively, constantly investigating additional threats, and if we think companies need to go on the list, I will not hesitate" Raimondo said as she delivered remarks at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.      

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In Other News

High on...pot ads? 

WHAT: Twitter's 420-friendly owner Elon Musk is really going for it! Musk made Twitter the first major social media platform to allow cannabis advertisements and now, in a move to make even more green, the platform is relaxing the rules further to lure more advertisers from US states where marijuana is legal.   

WHY: Facebook parent Meta, Google and other major tech companies all prohibit cannabis ads. Since his acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion, Musk has been aggressively pursuing ways to raise revenue while slashing costs at the same time.     

Union coming to YouTube? 

WHAT: A group of contract YouTube workers in Texas have decided to come together like an old school boy band and unanimously voted to unionize, setting the stage for a situation that could force parent company Alphabet to collectively bargain with US workers for the first time in their history.     

WHY: The treatment of contract workers has been a recurring flashpoint for Alphabet, which relies heavily on staffing firms. Several of Alphabet's contract staff have won collective bargaining with their staffing agencies, but because Alphabet was not deemed a joint employer, it has not had to negotiate with them.      

R.I.P Halo Fitness 

WHAT: Looks like Amazon's recent health-focused venture Halo is going the way of the dodo bird! In a move to reign in costs, and citing uncertainty about the wider economic environment, the e-commerce giant said it was calling it quits on the devices and would soon be refunding customers who had already paid subscriptions.   

WHY: Amazon introduced its Halo line in 2020 with the launch of a fitness tracking wristband that worked alongside a subscription service and smartphone app.    

Key Economic Events

• Thursday - US GDP Growth Rate Q-o-Q

• Friday - U. Of. Mich. Consumer Sentiment, Baker Hughes Rig Count

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