Business Matters with Don Ma Epoch Media Group

The House of Representatives has just passed a bill to stop the federal reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. The bill passed the chamber pretty much along party lines. Proponents of the bill argue a central bank digital currency would threaten Americans' financial privacy. Meanwhile democrats say the bill will hold back American innovation.

The U.S. Justice Department and more than two dozen states on Thursday sued to break up Live Nation, arguing the big concert promoter and its Ticketmaster unit illegally inflated concert ticket prices and hurt artists.

Norfolk Southern agreed to pay a $15 million civil penalty and $57.1 million in past government cleanup costs on Thursday, as well as millions in future costs to resolve a U.S. government lawsuit over a February 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced the cancellation of another $7.7 billion in student debt for 160,000 borrowers, bringing the total number of people to get their debt cancelled to 4.75 million, despite Republican opposition.
U.S. existing home sales unexpectedly fell in April as higher mortgage rates and house prices weighed on demand, dealing another setback to the housing market.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will apply some credit card consumer protection rules to buy now, pay later (BNPL) lenders, in a bid to impose more oversight on the fast-growing sector.
China is rolling out their own version of Chat-GPT. But content generated by this chatbot is based on the philosophies and writings of Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping.
May is National Military Appreciation Month, and memorial day is upon us. For veterans transitioning from military to civilian life, which states among the 50 make it easier for military families to adjust and thrive financially? NTD spoke to Christie Matherne, editor from WalletHub about their latest ranking.

Trucking companies are reporting more and more theft. Some are happening in new and unusual ways. Co-Owner of J.K.C. Trucking Inc. Mike Kucharski shared one example of thieves posing as the company and trying to book loads in its name. Theft has become so prevalent, Kucharski says thieves are stealing anything.
A conservative shareholder has pulled a resolution calling on JPMorgan to report how its policies based on religious or political views affect employees. A representative for the shareholder says the resolution was pulled because JPMorgan has made steps to pull back from political tests for customers.

Macy's raised its profit forecast for the year on Tuesday, as its new CEO's turnaround plan helped to shield the department store chain from falling sales due to a cautious consumer.

Restaurant chain Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Florida court. It said its restaurants will be open and operate as usual during the proceedings, and plans to reduce its locations as well as pursue a sale of substantially all its assets.
Target is lowering prices on at least 5,000 frequently shopped products across its assortment ranging from milk to diapers, as it looks to attract budget-stretched customers.
Gold touched record highs, coasting on last week's encouraging inflation data, while silver reached its highest level in over 11 years.

China on Friday announced some of its most sweeping measures yet to stabilize the crisis-hit property sector, allowing local governments to buy “some” apartments, relaxing mortgage rules and pledging further efforts to deliver unfinished homes.
U.S. workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama handed a stinging loss to the United Auto Workers on Friday, rejecting the union in a vote it had expected would build on a win at a Tennessee Volkswagen plant and push it deeper into the U.S. South.

A former OpenAI leader who resigned from the company earlier this week said Friday that safety has “taken a backseat to shiny products” at the influential artificial intelligence company.

The Dow Jones industrial average crossed the 40,000 level on Thursday for the first time, on hopes of U.S. interest rate cuts and strong earnings before stocks turned mostly flat in afternoon trading.
Walmart raised its full-year forecast and reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday, betting that easing inflation will drive stronger sales of groceries and non-essential merchandise like clothing and electronics, sending its shares to a record high in their biggest one-day gain in four years.


Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping on May 16, reaffirming their “no limit” partnership amid increasing pressure from the United States and the European Union (EU).