The daily business briefing: June 2, 2022

1. Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg says she's stepping down

Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg announced Wednesday that she was leaving the company, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other apps. Sandberg said she would step down in the fall after 14 years, but continue to serve on the company's board. Sandberg, 52, has long been second in command at the social media giant, behind founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. She leaves as Facebook continues to confront a backlash over misinformation spread over the platform during and after the 2016 election campaign. "Have we gotten everything right? Absolutely not," Sandberg told The New York Times in an interview. "Have we learned and listened and grown and invested where we need to? This team has and will."

The Wall Street Journal The New York Times

2. Biden administration forgives Corinthian Colleges student debt

The Education Department announced Wednesday it would cancel all remaining $5.8 billion in federal student loan debt of 560,000 people who attended for-profit schools owned or operated by Corinthian Colleges. The chain closed in April 2015 under pressure from investigations and lawsuits accusing it of defrauding students. Former Corinthian students won't have to apply. The debts will be erased automatically. "For far too long, Corinthian engaged in the wholesale financial exploitation of students, misleading them into taking on more and more debt to pay for promises they would never keep," U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

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Axios The Washington Post

3. Report: Saudi Arabia ready to hike oil output to offset Russia embargo

Saudi Arabia has signaled to Western allies it could increase oil production to offset the loss of Russian crude due to sanctions imposed to punish Moscow for its Ukraine invasion, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing five people familiar with the discussions. The kingdom resisted earlier White House requests for production increases as the war sent oil prices jumping to the highest level in a decade. The European Union has just announced new sanctions that would ban imports of Russian oil by sea, and an agreement to bar insurance of tankers carrying Russian oil later this year. That move could limit Russia's ability to sell its oil to other customers, potentially causing deeper supply shortages.

Financial Times

4. Stock futures rise after June starts with losses

U.S. stock futures rose slightly early Thursday after Wall Street started June with a choppy day of trading that ended with losses for the main U.S. indexes. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.3 percent at 6:30 a.m. ET, as oil prices fell following a report that Saudi Arabia might increase output to offset the effects of the European Union's embargo on Russian crude. Nasdaq futures were up 0.5 percent. Pet retailer Chewy's shares jumped by nearly 19 percent in after-hours trading after a strong quarterly report. The Dow fell 0.5 percent on Wednesday. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell just over 0.7 percent.

CNBC

5. Dimon warns economic 'hurricane' is coming

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday warned investors to prepare for a looming economic "hurricane" fueled by the Federal Reserve's tightening monetary policy and the ongoing effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "That hurricane is right out there down the road coming our way," Dimon said at a conference sponsored by AllianceBernstein Holdings Wednesday. "We don't know if it's a minor one or Superstorm Sandy. You better brace yourself." His company's shares dropped 1.8 percent after the remarks, deepening a 2022 drop to 18 percent. JPMorgan economists last month cut their growth forecast to 2.4 percent from 3 percent for the second half of 2022, and to 1.5 percent from 2.1 percent for the first half of 2023.

Bloomberg