Votes & Verdicts

An update on the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill making its way through Congress — which is important to companies like Coinbase, Robinhood and Circle — was among the key catalysts Bloomberg Intelligence litigation and policy analysts are watching this week. The team also discussed potential bills to increase credit-card competition and cap credit-card fees, which could affect Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. We also discussed pending motions to dismiss in a pair of antitrust cases - one by Texas and other red states against BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street alleging collusion to reduce coal output, and the other a Justice Department monopolization case against Visa over debit transactions. Finally, we discussed the status and outlook of lawsuits challenging US “Liberation Day” and fentanyl-related tariffs.

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The June 3 lifting of Wells Fargo’s asset cap imposed by the Federal Reserve in 2018 was among the key catalysts Bloomberg Intelligence analysts examined this week. BI’s litigation and policy team also discussed Michelle Bowman’s confirmation as Fed vice chair of supervision and what it means for deregulatory efforts for banks like JPMorgan and others. We also discussed closing arguments in the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google over search, and the possible remedies the company might face, as well as the TikTok ban and what might happen as President Donald Trump’s order putting the ban on hold expires June 19. Last, we discussed FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington’s resignation and what it means for deregulatory efforts that might affect broadcasters like Nexstar, Sinclair, Tegna and Fox.

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Court rulings on May 28 and 29 deeming unlawful US tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico and reciprocal tariffs — with ramifications for retailers like Nike, automakers such as Ford, tech companies including Apple, and other sectors — are among the key catalysts Bloomberg Intelligence litigation and policy analysts are watching this week. The team also discussed President Donald Trump’s social-media posts about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the complexities of exiting conservatorship and government ownership. Finally, they examined the FTC dropping its price discrimination case against PepsiCo.

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The passage of the Republicans’ tax-cut bill in the House and what happens next — with ramifications for multinational corporations, clean-energy companies like First Solar, and wireless carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon — are among the key catalysts Bloomberg Intelligence litigation and policy analysts are watching this week. The team also discussed stablecoin legislation advancing in the Senate and plans to attach credit card bills to it, with implications for card networks including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Capital One/Discover. We also discussed the hurdles to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exiting conservatorship and government ownership. Finally, we discussed the several lawsuits challenging US tariffs.

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Antitrust law has been unusually busy in recent years, with several high-profile cases, including in Big Tech. Steve Berman, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of plaintiff-side firm Hagens Berman Sobol and Shapiro LLP, joins Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Justin Teresi for a discussion of antitrust developments and trends, as seen from the plaintiffs’ bar. Topics include Berman’s recent litigation around the growth of artificial intelligence-based pricing algorithms in setting hotel rates, as well as work on alleged collusion in agriculture. Berman and Teresi also discuss how plaintiffs’ firms — and private aggregate litigation, like class actions — are working alongside government enforcement efforts.

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The status of the Republicans’ tax-cut bill and the Inflation Reduction Act — with ramifications for hospitals like HCA and Tenet, health insurers like Centene, electric-vehicle makers like Ford and Tesla and solar companies like First Solar — is among the key catalysts BI litigation and policy analysts are watching this week. The team also discussed President Donald Trump’s “Most-Favored Nation” drug-pricing executive order and the status of antitrust trials, specifically DOJ v. Google over search, and FTC v. Meta. We also discussed an FCC inquiry of EchoStar on May 12 asking for comments on whether the agency should reconsider a Sept. 20 decision by its wireless telecommunications bureau to extend the company’s deadlines to complete construction under a series of FCC licenses.

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A May 13 hearing in lawsuits challenging US tariffs, with ramifications for retailers like Nike, automakers like Ford, tech companies like Apple and other sectors are among key catalysts BI litigation and policy analysts are watching in the coming week. The team also discussed a recent op-ed by FCC commissioner Nathan Simington and what it means for potential rulemaking by the agency to cap revenue that local TV stations must pay to affiliated broadcast networks, which could shift revenue to Nexstar and Tegna from ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. This episode also covered an update and our outlook for a pair of crypto bills, on stablecoins and market structure, making their way through Congress, which could affect Coinbase and Robinhood.

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President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office have brought major tariff, tax and regulatory actions that have roiled global markets and diplomacy. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts hosted a webinar on May 1 to discuss how these evolving policies will shape sectors, markets and companies — from banks like Bank of America and Citigroup, retailers like Walmart and Kroger as well as technology providers Apple and Google — through the remainder of 2025.

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Updates and our outlook on the various lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s tariffs, with ramifications for retailers like Nike, automakers like Volkswagen and numerous other sectors, are among key catalysts that BI litigation and policy analysts are watching this week. The team also discussed various antitrust matters, including the ongoing FTC v. Meta trial, proceedings over remedies in the DOJ’s case against Google over search, and the recent court ruling for DOJ against Google concerning its ad tech. Congress returns next week and Republicans will pick up their efforts to pass a reconciliation bill to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The European Commission’s light-touch fines issued on April 23 against Apple (€500 million) and Meta (€200 million) — for noncompliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) — suggest an easing of European regulatory pressure on US tech giants, though pending DMA probes into Alphabet and Apple still pose a risk.

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A preview of the upcoming trial in which the FTC is challenging Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp as anticompetitive, as well as a preview of a remedy hearing in the DOJ vs. Google search, were among the key catalysts that BI litigation and policy analysts are watching this week. Though divestitures are at risk in the FTC case, we think Meta has the better of arguments heading into trial. We also discussed how the Senate Commerce Committee took action on two of President Donald Trump’s nominees for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission. Finally, we discussed how House Republicans delivered a key win for the Trump administration in advancing a budget resolution that we believe will eventually end with extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

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