一周财经新闻综述（Business This Week）

America’s Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases that could potentially undermine the business model of social-media companies(社交企业的商业模式). In Gonzalez v Google the parents of a woman who was killed in a terror attack（恐怖袭击） on Paris in 2015 claim that YouTube aided the terrorists by recommending the group’s videos to users. The case focuses on the legal protection（司法保护） from liability given to internet companies under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. In Twitter v Taamneh the family of a man killed in an attack in Istanbul in 2017 allege that Twitter, Google and Facebook should be held accountable for spreading terrorist propaganda. The court’s decisions are expected in June.

Pay for your security

Meta launched a subscription service on Facebook and Instagram that verifies（认证） the authenticity of accounts（账户真实性） and protects users from impersonation（非真人）. The service, which is being tested in Australia and New Zealand, is similar to Twitter’s blue-tick system（蓝标认证系统）. Social-media companies are looking for ways to increase revenue to offset（抵销） smaller returns from advertising.

The Bank of Israel lifted its main interest rate（主要利率） by half a percentage point, to 4.25%. It was the eighth consecutive rise（连续第八次上调）, prompting a rebuke（斥责） from Israel’s foreign minister, who called on the government to put a stop（阻止） to the increases. Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, said he had no intention of messing with（干扰） the central bank’s independence.

Switzerland’s financial regulator is reportedly investigating the chairman of Credit Suisse for potentially misleading markets when he said that a run of huge client outflows(大量的客户流失) at the bank had stopped. A subsequent earnings report showed that the outflows had continued. News of the investigation sent Credit Suisse’s share price to a new low.

The benchmark price for natural-gas futures in Europe fell below €50 ($53) a megawatt hour for the first time in 18 months. A mild winter and the switch to liquefied natural gas（液态天然气，LNG） imports have helped offset the shock from Russia withholding its supplies. Storage levels remain high. However, prices could shoot up（飙升） if power companies turn back to gas to fire their plants, and away from the current cheaper alternatives（当前低廉的替代能源）, such as coal.

The price of permits（许可价） on the EU’s carbon-trading market（碳排放交易市场） hit €100 ($107) a tonne for the first time. The price of the permits, which allow companies to emit pollutants, subject to a cap, has risen by a fifth this year. Traders are betting that cheaper natural gas and a resilient economy（经济坚韧） will lead to higher industrial output.

HSBC reported solid quarterly earnings: pre-tax profit soared as higher interest rates helped push up revenues. The bank increased its shareholder dividend（股东分红）, which may help it fend off(抵挡) a demand by Ping An, a Chinese insurer and its biggest investor, to hive off(转让、出售) its Asian business. That business accounted for 78% of HSBC’s profit last year.

Revenue and profit rose sharply in 2022 at Stellantis, which saw global sales of its electric models rise by 41%. Like others in the industry the maker of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot cars benefited from higher retail prices for its vehicles. It thinks those prices will now level off（价格趋缓）. Tesla is busily discounting prices for its cars to shore up(支撑) demand.

Lower forecasts of annual revenue from Walmart and Home Depot unsettled（造成不安） stockmarkets. Walmart reported strong sales in its latest quarter as shoppers, including higher-income families, looked for cheaper food options. But non-food goods, such as toys and homeware, struggled. The company warned that economic uncertainties would affect consumer behaviour later in the year. Home Depot told a similar tale, but added that customers are warier（小心谨慎） of paying the higher prices that sustained its business amid soaring inflation.

Marking the days

The results of a six-month trial in Britain that tested the viability of a four-day working week showed that employers and staff were happy with it; most firms in the trial said they would continue working four days. Researchers from the University of Cambridge helped conduct the study. They found that 71% of workers reported lower levels of burnout(精疲力竭), sick days were reduced by 65% and generated revenue barely changed. Company meetings, which seem to exist merely to fill out a five-day week, were “cut short or ditched completely”.