Welcome to The Free Press Report’s Weekly Digest. This week a lot has happened – Musk and Twitter kicked off their legal battle, Britain’s government was thrown into chaos, and Japan’s former Prime Minister was assassinated. Read on for more of the stories you might have missed.
Market Recap
U.S. Politics
Bureaucrats threaten to fine Pennsylvania church for doing too much charitable work. Zoning officials insist that the free meal services, mental health counseling, and monthly pantries provided by two Philadelphia-area churches exceed their permitted charitable activity. Pottstown officials will levy $500 in fines every day that the charity work continues. The churches declared that “we're not in the mood to ask permission to do … what Jesus calls us to do,” insisting that they had no intention of stopping their community work. In response, Zoning Officer Winter Stokes insisted that he “must enforce the zoning code." [Reason]
Derek Chauvin feels “no remorse” for murder of George Floyd. Chauvin murdered Floyd by kneeling on his neck for about nine minutes during an arrest for alleged use of counterfeit banknotes in May 2020. Chauvin was found guilty of unintentional second degree murder, third degree murder, and second degree manslaughter, and was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment. Chauvin offered blank-faced “condolences” to Floyd’s family, but did not offer remorse or apologies. [Reason]
Pregnant cancer patients may be left to die under the strictest anti-abortion laws, a group of experts have warned. Prior to the overturning of Roe v Wade, patients had the right to decide on their own treatment in concert with doctors. However, medical professionals may now face prosecution over treatment which could harm unborn fetuses, including chemotherapy. Stephanie Blank, president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology warned that some cancers are impossible to treat without ending the patient’s pregnancy. [Insider]
Historic Nantucket hotel destroyed in blaze. Veranda House, a 17th-century building that now houses a boutique hotel, was extensively damaged in a fire on Saturday. No civilians were injured, but two firefighters suffered heat exhaustion as they attempted to contain the blaze. [BBG]
Social and Business
Musk set to kill Twitter buyout deal in “nightmare scenario” for struggling tech giant. The Tesla CEO’s net worth has plummeted over $60bn this year, whilst Twitter shares have remained comparatively buoyed since the $44bn buyout was announced. Twitter has sued Musk to enforce the deal, in what is likely to be a long and costly legal battle. The merger agreement, signed in April, imposed a $1bn breakup fee if either party walks away from the deal. Musk has insisted that Twitter supplied misleading figures regarding spam accounts, and may use this argument to justify breaking off the deal. However, professor of corporate governance Ann Lipton warned that “it’s actually not a reason to cancel a merger agreement” – potentially leaving Musk to either pay the $1bn fee, or forcing him to buy a company he no longer wants to own. [BBG]
Gamestop cuts staff, fires CFO in “bold” turnaround plan. The layoffs, which predominantly affect corporate rather than retail staff, were announced in an internal memo. Since the start of 2021, Gamestop has hired 600 staff, but is now looking to “reduce bloat” as it seeks to expand business online. CFO Mike Recupero, who joined the company last year, was “fired because he was not the right culture fit” and was “too hands off.” He will be replaced by the company’s current chief accounting officer, Diana Jajeh. [CNBC]
World View
British Prime Minister set to resign amidst scandal. Boris Johnson, who was lead the UK through Brexit and the pandemic, has announced his resignation after a series of senior defections crippled his government. Johnson has been mired by controversies, including being fined by police for breaking lockdown restrictions, and promoting Chris Pincher, a politician with a long history of allegations of sexual misconduct (Johnson previously referred to him as “Pincher by name, Pincher by nature”). Johnson plans to remain in power until Autumn, when a leadership contest will determine the next Prime Minister. [BBG]
Japanese Former Prime Minister killed in shooting. On July 8th, Shinzo Abe was shot twice while delivering a campaign speech, and later died of his injuries. The assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami, believed that Abe had secret connections to a religious group responsible for engineering his mother’s bankruptcy. Yamagami is an unemployed 41-year-old who used a homemade gun, constructed from steel pipes and other parts purchased online, to circumvent Japan’s strict anti-firearm laws. Tetsuya may have served in the navy, where he may have trained with firearms, although a navy chief said “it's hard to believe they gain enough knowledge to be able make guns." [Reuters]
Sri Lankan protesters burn down Prime Minister’s house. The violence in capital city Colombo caps months of peaceful protests against the government’s economic mismanagement which lead to rising prices and widespread shortages. On Saturday, thousands of angry citizens stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office. Rajapaksa has announced that he will resign next week, while the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated he was also willing to resign if necessary. It is unclear how the new government will be decided, nor whether the resignations are sufficient to quell the protests. [Reuters]
Canada suffers network failure, as households and businesses were left without internet or phone service for two days. The CEO of Rogers Communications – Canada’s largest network provider – has issued an apology, explaining that the outage was triggered by router malfunction after a maintenance update. Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, who is responsible for the heavy regulations imposed on Canadian internet companies, called the situation “unacceptable.” [BBG]
IMF offers $638 million to credit-strapped Benin as West African countries suffer in the global economic slowdown. The 42-month fund and credit facility will include $143mm to immediately bolster Benin’s budget, with the remainder of the fund intended to “ensure medium-term debt sustainability." [Reuters]
Crypto
Crypto exchange seeks to recover $84 million after client fails margin call. CoinFlex imposed emergency withdrawal restrictions last month after crypto investor Roger Ver failed to meet a $47 million margin call. CoinFlex now estimates that the total owed by an individual investor – who they did not name – has risen to over $80 million. They have commenced arbitration in Hong Kong, and expect settlement to take approximately 12 months. [BBG]
Regulators investigate Voyager collapse. The director of enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board warned that “crypto-lending firms may not have fully disclosed what they were doing on the backside with investors' money.” Investigators in Texas, Alabama and New Jersey will examine whether Voyager properly disclosed information on its lending risk. [Decrypt]
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