The daily business briefing: June 5, 2023

1. Treasury to issue new debt to replenish cash after Biden signs deal

President Biden's signing of the bipartisan deal to suspend the debt ceiling cleared the way for the Treasury Department to issue new debt to replenish the nation's cash balance, which dropped below the dangerously low level of $23 billion on June 1. Before Biden signed the bill on Saturday, Treasury was forced to use special accounting procedures to continue paying all the federal government's financial obligations and avoid default. Now it is expected to issue more than $1 trillion in new securities to get the government's cash balance up to a more normal level around $550 billion by the end of the month. The replenishing process could drain cash from the banking sector and push up short-term funding rates, among other unwanted consequences.

Bloomberg

2. Saudi Arabia says it will slash oil production

Saudi Arabia said Sunday it would cut its oil production by another million barrels per day starting in July to boost prices. Saudi Arabia made the announcement after meeting with fellow members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia-led oil-rich allies, who agreed to stick with current output targets through the end of 2023. The 23 countries participating in the meeting account for nearly half of the world's oil supply. The push for production cuts to prop up prices came amid concerns that global economic troubles could reduce demand for crude oil. Saudi Arabia had pushed other countries to cut output but producers in Africa and other regions resisted.

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The Wall Street Journal

3. Orlando's Gay Days draws LGBTQ crowds to Disney World

Tens of thousands of people attended Gay Days, an annual celebration at Walt Disney World in the first weekend of June, over the weekend after organizers urged LGBTQ visitors to come out in force in a show of defiance against a raft of anti-LGBTQ legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). "Rainbow-hued merchandise designed by Disney — including a plush Mickey Mouse waving a Pride flag — flew off the shelves almost as quickly as it could be restocked," The Washington Post reported Sunday. "Drag queen bingo was held. In the end, all 1,001 rooms at the host hotel were booked." Gay Days, which began as a one-day event at Disney World in 1991, has faced opposition from conservative groups before but remained popular.

The Washington Post

4. U.S. stock futures mixed after Friday's rally

U.S. stock futures were mixed early Monday after last week's rally. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1% at 6:30 a.m. ET. S&P 500 futures were flat, while those of the tech-heavy Nasdaq were down 0.3%. Oil prices briefly rose 1% after Saudi Arabia said it would cut production by 1 million barrels a day to boost prices as a global economic slowdown threatens to weaken demand. Stocks jumped on Friday after a better-than-expected May jobs report doused fears that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes to fight high inflation would tip the economy into a recession anytime soon. The Dow rose 2.1%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively.

CNBC

5. 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' has blockbuster opening

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" brought in $120.5 million in domestic ticket sales over the weekend in the second biggest movie debut of 2023 after "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." The opening exceeded expectations, beating out "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," which made $118.4 million in its debut weekend, in the biggest opening of the summer so far. "Across the Spider-Verse" far exceeded its predecessor's opening, as "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" debuted to just $35 million in 2018. "Into the Spider-Verse" went on to win the Oscar for best animated film and has often been called the greatest superhero movie of all time, including by "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" director James Gunn.

Variety