Is google search dying?

Today we have:

• X date nears as partisan talks intensify

• TikTok sends a return volley to Montana

• Bill Gates says Google search will die.

  Read on.

The Big Picture

There is an ‘X date’ coming on June 1st and it seems to be quite significant. This is when projected Federal spending exceeds income by $75 billion. What do the bills look like? $47 billion in Medicare, $25 billion in social security benefits, and so on. So here’s what happens if the government defaults on debt. There could be missed pension payments, interest payments, and delayed government staff paychecks.

These would just be the 1st order effects. What would be the short or midterm effects of the default?

According to an analysis by Moodys, there could loss in GDP and about 2 million lost jobs. Unemployment could rise from 3.5 - 5%. The dollar would lose some of its value vs other currencies. If the default lasts longer, leading to a so-called protracted default; there could be a sharp recession of the order of the Great Depression of 1929.

Okay, all this doesn’t sound very good. So where do the partisan talks stand right now? Republicans wanted continued spending cuts if the debt ceiling was raised. Democrats refused to budge on this. Democrats proposed increased taxes on wealthy Americans which Republicans don’t agree on.

There doesn't seem to be a consensus yet, but talks continue.

Sector Sweep

Tech

• TikTok is suing Montana for banning the app, alleging it violates the First Amendment and other laws.

• Meta was fined $1.5 billion by the EU for sending user data to the US, violating privacy laws.

• Bill Gates, in a Goldman Sachs event, said that the AI personal assistant could destroy Google search and Amazon with changing landscape of user behavior.

• As trade relations between US and China intensify, China has banned certain local firms from buying chips from American manufacturer Micron citing national security risks.

Space

• China is set to create a satellite network, to rival SpaceX Starlink network. Chinese company Beijing Tianbing Technology is looking to launch 60 satellites at a time.

Trade

• Weakened demand for apparel, furniture, and electronics has affected shipping companies. Companies like A.P. Moller-Maersk they would have to raise freight rates to account for the drop in demand.

Health

• Raleigh Radiology Associates, a radiology group filed a lawsuit against insurance broker Arthur J Gallagher. Hackers deployed ransomware on their network which was not covered by the policy since it was lapsed and they weren’t notified by the insurance brokers.

• Companies with less than 5000 employees will possibly not cover the popular weight loss drug Ozempic in health insurance. Only 18% of these companies provide coverage for the drug, which was shot into fame due to several celebrities taking them.

That’s all we got today. Do keep a lookout for our weekly email about stock deep dives and personal finance strategies this Saturday.

Do tell us how we did. Just hit us with a reply.

Cheers!

Memetic Universe

Is the world cyclical?

Productive partisan talks today.