The details and implications of Meta’s $18 billion dollar settlement in social-media addiction litigation on Aug. 26 led Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes and Verdicts podcast on Aug. 27. We also discussed Abbott’s $670 million settlement on Aug. 20 in cases alleging its baby formula caused necrotizing enterocolitis and what it means for Reckitt’s Mead Johnson, which faces similar claims. The team also looked at data center bans in New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas and what it means for hyperscalers such as Alphabet, Amazon.com and Microsoft. Valero, Marathon Petroleum and other refiners may record a small profit increase if the federal gas tax is suspended, which we think has a 40% chance of happening this year. Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook is likely to prevail in court if President Donald Trump tries to fire her again.

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A lawsuit filed by Disney to halt the FCC’s early TV license renewal review of Disney’s broadcast TV stations, as well as lawsuits that could potentially expose Meta to billions in settlements against cases involving social media addiction lead Bloomberg Intelligence’s latest Votes and Verdicts podcast. The discussion led by BI’s Nathan Dean also looks at how refiners such as PBF Energy, CVR Energy and HF Sinclair could get at least partial relief from the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2026-27 renewable-fuel blending requirements from a lawsuit against the agency. The team also discusses the impact the shrinking of the Internal Revenue Service may have on companies, as well as an update on crypto developments after a White House meeting with executives from Coinbase and Robinhood.

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The outlook for crypto legislation and rulemaking, with implications for Coinbase, Circle and others, leads this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes and Verdicts. We also discussed a CFPB open banking proposal and what it means for banks like JPMorgan and Bank of America as well as fintechs like Plaid. Elsewhere, Mead Johnson’s liability exposure will likely be clarified in the first federal test trial in lawsuits alleging preterm infant formula causes necrotizing enterocolitis. Fox, Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have the clearest exposure if Congress enacts a federal framework for college sports. President Donald Trump’s renewed bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook probably fails, and the midterm elections could threaten the Supreme Court’s business-friendly tilt.

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Nathan Dean’s analysis of the likelihood of a government shutdown and potential passage of a crypto bill - with implications for Coinbase, Circle and others - leads this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence's Votes and Verdicts podcast. He also discussed a proposed bill to impose sanctions on Russia and a bill to ease regulations for banks like Truist, Zions, PNC, Regions Financial and others. Matt Schettenhelm analyzed the FCC's Aug. 6 vote to scrap the 39% US national TV-ownership cap and why Nexstar, Sinclair, Scripps and Gray may benefit. Andrew Silverman discussed federal film-production tax credits that would cut annual taxes for Paramount Skydance, Disney, Netflix and Warner Bros. He also explained why tax policy matters for AI infrastructure and hyperscalers like Alphabet, Amazon.com, Meta and Microsoft.

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Analysis of litigation challenging Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery leads this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes and Verdicts podcast. We also discuss why Meta’s request to the Ninth Circuit to put on hold an Aug. 18 social-media-addiction trial probably won’t succeed. Lastly, we look at the implications of Johnson & Johnson’s $5.5 billion settlement in litigation alleging the company’s talcum powder products caused cancer. For more of Bloomberg Intelligence’s litigation and policy research, please visit BI LAWS .

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Corporate tax inversions once dominated international tax planning, prompting decades of congressional action and Treasury regulations with the result that we still had some of the largest cross-border mergers in history. Yet, despite the rollback of the last round of anti-inversion regulations in 2017, large US companies have largely stopped leaving the country. In this episode of Votes and Verdicts, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Government Analyst Andrew Silverman and PKF O’Connor Davies Tax Partner Chris Migliaccio discuss why inversions have faded, whether the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act fundamentally changed corporate tax incentives and what Bloomberg Intelligence’s latest research says about how multinational tax planning has evolved over the past decade. They also examine whether future tax increases or global tax reforms could ever make inversions attractive again.

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Senator Lindsey Graham’s passing makes some of US President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, particularly a reconciliation 3.0 package, harder. This episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes & Verdicts podcast centers on the implications of Graham’s death and the outlook of Apple’s suit accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets. Elsewhere, an appeals court reinstated some of the plaintiffs’ experts in federal cases against Johnson & Johnson and spinoff Kenvue alleging that Tylenol causes autism and ADHD, making settlement more likely. Hyperscalers like Alphabet, Amazon.com and Microsoft potentially face further data-center bans following New York’s one-year moratorium. Trump Organization entities are filing amended claims accusing Capital One of debanking them.

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The settlement implications of a $1.4 trillion demand by states in an upcoming trial against Meta related to allegedly addictive features leads this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes and Verdicts podcast. We also discussed why Meta can cut $10 billion from a $22 billion IRS tax case in connection with IP offshoring. An NAACP lawsuit against SpaceX’s xAI unit seeks to shut down the gas turbines powering its Colossus 2 data center and could jeopardize part of its $45 billion contract with Anthropic. Hyperscalers like Alphabet, Amazon.com and Microsoft face heightened nationwide policy risk after New York passed what appears to be the first data-center ban in the US. Prediction market litigation is poised for Supreme Court review, with New Jersey’s Aug. 4 deadline to seek high court review of its loss to Kalshi.

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