The daily business briefing: June 23, 2023

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1. Meta, Google restrict Canadian users' news access due to new law
2. Ford planning another round of layoffs
3. 3M reaches $10.3 billion forever-chemical settlement
4. Stock futures fall as winning streak ends
5. Honeybee losses reached 2nd highest rate on record last year

published 23 June 2023

1. Meta, Google restrict Canadian users' news access due to new law

Meta said Thursday it would start restricting news to Canadian users of its platforms, including Facebook, after the country's parliament passed an online news bill forcing platforms to pay publishers for news posted on social media. Google, too, has been testing limiting news access in Canada. Facebook users in Australia lost the ability to view and share news in 2021 after Australian lawmakers passed a similar law. Meta called Canada's law "fundamentally flawed," saying it "ignores the realities of how our platforms work." Canada's government said the legislation would "enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news market" and ensure "fair compensation" for outlets that produce news content.

Ford plans more layoffs in its ongoing effort to cut costs as it invests heavily in electric vehicles, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The move could be announced as soon as next week. It wasn't immediately clear how many workers would be affected. Ford laid off 3,000 white-collar and contract workers last August and started cutting 3,800 jobs in Europe earlier this year. The Journal said the next round of layoffs was expected to focus on U.S. salaried workers, including some in Ford's gas-engine operations, as well as EV and software division employees. A Ford joint venture has lined up a record $9.2 billion Department of Energy loan to finance Tennessee and Kentucky battery plants crucial to its EV push.

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3M reached a $10.3 billion settlement with U.S. cities and towns that accused the chemical and manufacturing giant of contaminating drinking water with so-called forever chemicals. The settlement calls for 3M to pay municipalities to detect and clean up perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, in public water supplies for the next 13 years. The chemicals are used in numerous products, from firefighting foam to nonstick coatings. States and municipalities have filed about 4,000 lawsuits against 3M over PFAS contamination. Under the settlement, 3M didn't admit liability but committed to covering remediation of any water supply contamination. The company has said it will end PFAS manufacturing by 2025.

U.S. stock futures fell early Friday as Wall Street remained on track to break a multi-week winning streak. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively, at 6:30 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were down 0.7%. The Dow and S&P 500 went into the last day of the week down 1% and 0.6%, respectively. The Nasdaq has fallen 0.4% so far this week and is poised to snap an eight-week winning streak. The Federal Reserve's plan to raise rates two more times this year to fight high inflation, despite a decision to pause rate hikes this month, has put markets "under a bit of pressure," said Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at BMO Wealth Management.

U.S. beekeepers lost 48% of their honeybee hives in the year that ended April 1, the second highest death rate on record, according to an annual survey released Thursday by the University of Maryland and Auburn University, and funded by the Bee Informed Partnership, a nonprofit research group. The loss was up from 39% the previous year, and a 12-year average of 39.6%. The record mortality rate of 50.8% was set in 2020-2021. Scientists say several factors, including parasites, pesticides, and climate change, are killing honeybees, which pollinate more than 100 crops, including nuts, berries, vegetables, and citrus fruit. Beekeepers say a 21% winter loss rate is acceptable.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.